English for ACADEMIC

and professional
Franz Mari Balane-Gidor
Subject Teacher
purposes
 ACADEMIC
TEXT
STRUCTURES
Lesson 1
Learning Competency 1:

Differentiates language used in

academic texts from various
disciplines
Learning Objectives: At the end of this
lesson, the learners are expected to:
• define academic text;

• determine text structure of an

academic text; and
• explain the components of the three-
part essay structure.
TRUE OR FALSE

Write TRUE if the 1. Formality in academic writing

statement is requires precision to make a
correct and FALSE
legitimate piece of writing.
if it is wrong.
Write your
2. Writing is a form of
answer in your communication that is shaped by the
notebook. following factors: topic, role, and
audience.
TRUE OR FALSE

3. The use of personal pronouns such

as I, you, and we are acceptable in
academic writing.
4.“How can these problems be solved?”
is an example of a critical question.
5. Because is an example of
transitional device that expresses cause
TRUE OR FALSE

6. An abstract is a summary of a novel.

7. The conclusion is the section that summarizes
the main points of the essay.
8. A summary is a condensed form of a text
which is usually half of the original material.
9. To introduce a topic in an essay, the writer
must be able to explain its details.
10. A research paper contains background of the
study, body and recommendations.
What is an Academic
Text? generally,
Academic text is quite:
• formal
defined as critical, • objective (im
objective, specialized personal)
texts written by • technical

experts or
professionals in a
given field using
Formal language
• choose formal instead of informal vocabulary. For example,
‘somewhat’ is more formal than ‘a bit’, ‘insufficient’ is more
formal than ‘not enough’.
• avoid contractions. For example, use ‘did not’ rather than
‘didn’t’.
• avoid emotional language. For example, instead of strong
words such as ‘wonderful’ or ‘terrible’, use more moderate
words such as ‘helpful’ or ‘problematic’.
• instead of using absolute positives and negatives, such as
‘proof’ or ‘wrong’, use more cautious evaluations, such as
‘strong evidence’ or ‘less convincing’.
Objective (impersonal)
Although academic writing usually requires you to be
objective and impersonal (not mentioning personal
feelings), often you may still have to present your
opinion.
• interpret findings
• evaluate a theory
• develop an argument
• critique the work of others.
Technical language

This means that you need to develop a large vocabulary

for the concepts specific to the discipline or
specialization you’re writing for. To do this, take note of
terminology used by your lecturer and tutor, as well as
in your readings.
Some examples of academic writing are as
follows:
• goes beyond mere
Literary Analysis: A summarization
• requires careful
literary analysis close reading of
essay examines, one or multiple
evaluates, and texts
• often focuses on a
makes an argument specific
about a literary characteristic,
work. theme, or motif
Some examples of academic writing are as
follows:
• written in all disciplines
and may be evaluative,
Research Paper: A analytical, or critical in n
ature.
research paper uses • common research
outside information sources include data,
primary sources and
to support a thesis secondary sources
or make an • involves synthesizing
this external information
argument. with your own ideas.
Some examples of academic writing are as
follows:
• book-length summarizat
ion of the doctoral candi
Dissertation: A date’s research
dissertation (or • done as a part of a
class, in a program of
thesis) is a study, or for publication
in an academic journal
document submitted or scholarly book of
at the conclusion of articles around a theme,
by different authors.
a Ph.D. program.
 Structure

an important feature of
academic writing. A well-
structured text enables the
reader to follow the argument
and navigate the text. In
academic writing a clear
structure and a logical flow are
These are the two common structures of
academic texts

[Link]-part essay
structure

2. IMRaD structure
The Three-Part Essay Structure

The three-part essay

structure is a basic structure
that consists of introduction,
body and conclusion. The
introduction and the
conclusion should be shorter
than the body of the text.
The Three-Part Essay
Structure
Introduction. Its purpose is to clearly
tell the reader the topic, purpose
and structure of the paper. As a
rough guide, an introduction might
be between 10 and 20 percent of
the length of the whole paper and
has three main parts:
The Three-Part Essay
Structure
A. The most general information, such as
background and/or definitions.
B. The core of the introduction, where you
show the overall topic, purpose, your point
of view, hypotheses and/or research
questions (depending on what kind of
paper it is).
C. The most specific information,
describing the scope and structure of your
The Three-Part Essay
Structure
The Body. It develops the question,
“What is the topic about?”. It may
elaborate directly on the topic
sentence by giving definitions,
classifications, explanations,
contrasts, examples and evidence.
The Three-Part Essay
Structure
This is considered as the heart of
the essay because it expounds the
specific ideas for the readers to
have a better understanding of the
topic. It usually is the largest part
of the essay.
The Three-Part Essay
Structure
Conclusion. The conclusion is
closely related to the introduction
and is often described as its ‘mirror
image’. This means that if the
introduction begins with general
information and ends with specific
information, the conclusion moves
The IMRaD Structure
The sections of the IMRaD structure are
Introduction, Methods, Results and
Discussion. The Introduction usually depicts
the background of the topic and the central
focus of the study. The Methodology lets your
readers know your data collection methods,
research instrument employed, sample size
and so on. Results and Discussion states the
brief summary of the key findings or the
The IMRaD Structure