Welcome to the English for Academic and

Professional Purposes Alternative Delivery Mode

(ADM) Module on Reading Academic Texts!
Academic language represents the language
of the discipline that students need to learn. It
helps develop their content understandings and
a means to participate in the content area in
meaningful ways. While some features of
academic language may vary, it is also important
to note that academic or informational texts are
also different to a certain extent depending upon
the author’s purpose, the topic and the genre.
LESSON 1

ACADEMIC
LANGUAGE
USED FROM
VARIOUS
DISCIPLINES
NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS
OF AN ACADEMIC TEXT
Academic text is a written
language that provides information,
which contain ideas and concepts
that are related to the particular
discipline. Essay, Research Paper,
Report, Project, Article, Thesis, and
Dissertation are considered as
academic texts.
 STRUCTURE
The basic structure that is used by an
academic text is consist of three (3)
parts introduction, body, and
conclusion which is formal and logical.
This kind of structure enables the
reader to follow the argument and
navigate the text. In academic writing
a clear structure and a logical flow are
imperative to a cohesive text.
 TONE
This refers to the attitude conveyed
in a piece of writing. The arguments
of others are fairly presented and
with an appropriate narrative tone.
When presenting a position or
argument that disagrees with one’s
perspectives, describe the argument
accurately without loaded or biased
language.
 LANGUAGE
It is important to use unambiguous
language. Clear topic sentences enable a
reader to follow your line of thinking
without difficulty. Formal language and
the third person pointof-view should be
used. Technical language appropriate to
area of study may also be used,
however, it does not mean using “big
words” just for the sake of doing so.
CITATION

Citing sources in the body of the paper

and providing a list of references as
either footnotes or endnotes is a very
important aspect of an academic text. It
is essential to always acknowledge the
source of any ideas, research findings,
data, or quoted text that have been
used in a paper as a defense against
allegations of plagiarism.
COMPLEXITY

An academic text
addresses complex
issues that require
higher-order thinking
skills to comprehend.
EVIDENCE-BASED ARGUMENTS

What is valued in an academic

text is that opinions are based
on a sound understanding of the
pertinent body of knowledge and
academic debates that exist
within, and often external to a
specific discipline.
THESIS-DRIVEN

The starting point of an

academic text is a particular
perspective, idea or position
applied to the chosen research
problem, such as establishing,
proving, or disproving solutions
to the questions posed for the
topic.
 FEATURES OF ACADEMIC TEXTS:
1.Complex
- Written language has no longer words, it is lexically
more varied vocabulary.
- Written texts are shorter and the language has more
grammatical complexity, including more subordinate
clauses and more passives.
2. Formal
- Should avoid colloquial words and expressions.
3. Precise
- Facts are given accurately and precisely.
4. Objective
- has fewer words that emphasize on the
information you want to give and the
arguments you want to make
- mostly use nouns (adjectives), rather
than verbs (adverbs)
5. Explicit
- It is the responsibility of the writer in
English to make it clear to the reader
how the various parts of the text are
related.
6. Accurate
- Uses vocabulary accurately
- Most subjects have words with
narrow specific meanings.
7. Hedging
- It is necessary to make decisions
about your stance on a particular
subject, or the strength of the claims
you are making.
8. Responsible
- You must be responsible for and must be able to
provide evidence and justification for any claims you
make.
9. Organize
- Well-organized.
- It flows easily from one section to the next in a
logical fashion.
10. Plan
- Well-planned.
- It usually takes place after research and
evaluation, according to specific purpose and plan.
 Purposes in Reading an Academic Text
1.To locate a main idea;
2. To scan for information;
3. To identify gaps in existing studies;
4. To connect new ideas to existing ones;
5. To gain more pieces of information;
6. To support a particular writing
assignment; and,
7. To deeply understand an existing idea.
FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN
WRITING ACADEMIC TEXT
1.State critical questions and issues;
2. Provide facts and evidence from
credible sources;
3. Use precise and accurate words
while avoiding jargon;
4. Take an objective point of view;
5. List references; and,
6. Use cautious language.
Academic language is the language needed
by students to do the work in schools. It
includes, for example, discipline-specific
vocabulary, grammar and punctuation, and
applications of rhetorical conventions and
devices that are typical for a content area
(e.g.,
essays, lab reports, discussions of a
controversial issue.) Students who master
academic
language are more likely to be successful in
academic and professional settings.
Social language is the
set of vocabulary that
allows us to communicate
with others in the context
of regular daily
conversations.
 Here are some of
the differences
between social
and academic
language includes:
 CHARACTERISTICS OF ACADEMIC
LANGUAGE

A. Formal
- It should not sound conversational or casual.
Colloquial,idiomatic, slang or journalistic expressions should
particularly be avoided.
Examples:
Use… Instead…
Consider, monitor Look at
Revise, review Go over
Solve, repair, amend Fix
B. Objective
- This means it is unbiased. It should be
based on facts and evidence and are not
influenced by personal feelings.
C. Impersonal
- This involves avoiding the personal
pronouns ‘I’ and ‘we’. For example,
instead of writing ‘I will show’, you might
write ‘this report will show’. The second
person, ‘you’, is also to be avoided.
CHARACTERISTICS OR FEATURES OF A TEXT (FECOS)

F -formal or informal. A text used for

academic and professional purposes make
use of a formal rather than informal
language.
E- explicit or implicit. A text used for
academic and professional purposes make
use of explicit or observable, clear and
precise facts or objects rather than
implicit, unclear, unspecified facts.
 C- complex or simple. A text used for
academic and professional purposes is
simplified to be able to reach or connect its
target audience or readers.

O- bjective or subjective – A text for

academic and professional purposes uses
behavioral objectives that could be seen and
touch by the senses. Text with subjective or
unclear purposes could be used in other
purposes rather than for the purpose of
producing an academic text.
 S- specific or holistic - An
academic text could be
written using either of the
two approaches, parts to
whole approach (specific) or
whole to parts approach
(holistic).
FEATURES OF ACADEMIC WRITING
(CFPO)

Complexity - Through written

language, complex ideas could be
simplified using a simple language or
commonly used idioms that are
understandable to a specific target
audience.
Formality - Academic writing uses
formal language rather than slang or
informal language.
Precision - In academic writing,
facts and figures could be quoted
from exact sources for further
reference.

Objectivity - Written language

could provide more explicit or
objective purpose of
communication.
CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD
ACADEMIC WRITING

Good academic writing is

transparent: right from the
start, the reader should have
a clear understanding of the
author's purpose, argument,
and structure.
 GOOD ACADEMIC WRITING, NO MATTER THE
DISCIPLINE, FIELD, OR GENRE, IS
CHARACTERIZED BY:
1. Use Good Ideas.
Your ideas are the most important
element of your project, especially as it
takes shape. But before you show your
final drafts to other readers, you need
to pay attention to style, grammar, and
mechanics. Mechanics include your
punctuations, capitalization and margins
2. Has Clear Sense of Audience,
Genre, and Purpose.
Keep in mind the rhetorical purpose
and academic standards under
which you write:
(a) Who is your audience?
(b) What is your purpose? and;
(c) What is the genre of what you
are writing?
Approaching the “So What”
Question. Academic Writing is
considered successful when it
answers the “So What” question
or problem statement, best
described by the following
guidelines to be answered in the
text:
(a) What is the issue?
(b) What are the specific questions surrounding
the issue?
(c) What is the context and background of the
issue? and
(d) Why does the issue matter?
If the work you produce answers these questions
and tackles the answers by paying attention to
both higher- and lower-order concerns, and adds
new information (called the value add) to make
the writing even more compelling, the paper will
be successful.
3. Use appropriate conjunctions for ideas to
flow logically using a certain pattern .Use
transitions words, signal phrases, and verbs that
tell the reader (the audience) your stand based on
the given evidence from verifiable source/s. Each
paragraph, and your paper as a whole, should
follow this format:

(a) Introduce the main idea that will be discussed,

(b) Provide the evidence used to prove your
argument, and
(c) Outline the significance of the evidence you
have provided.
4. Choose sources judiciously. Choose
appropriate authentic sources of
information and decide:
(a) How much information to provide,
(b) (b) What kind of information to provide,
and
(c) (c) How to sequence the information
you provide.
5. Use clear and direct.
Use strong verbs, rather
than nouns and adverbs.
Use strong verbs, such as
“to speed,” rather than “to
drive quickly,”
6. Specific and detail-
oriented prose. Explain
with specific examples and
elaborate if needed.
7. Be consistent in tone and
style. Voice and verb tenses used
in the text need be consistent from
start to finish. In the Sciences,
passive voice is often used (the
chemicals were mixed), whereas in
the Humanities, active voice is used
(the assistant mixed the chemicals).
Use the appropriate tone and style
needed to communicate.
8. Use compelling
strong voice. Write
with conviction to the
target audience.
9. Be mechanically competent:
Cite references and
acknowledge the source of
information. Failure to do so
could be a case of Plagiarism.
Plagiarism is a “no-no” to
academic writing.
PERFORMANCE/TASK TO DO:
Take your cp camera with you. Go around the
different corners of the school, then take a picture of
people that interests you. Ask yourself if you could
relate to it. Then make a narrative applying the
guideline #2. Has Clear Sense of Audience, Genre,
and Purpose. Consider the following while writing.
(a) What is the issue?
(b) What are the specific questions surrounding the
issue?
(c) What is the context and background of the issue?
and
(d) Why does the issue matter to you?