Lesson 1

Reading Academic Texts: Differentiate

language used in academic texts
from various discipline
▪ Academic Language – Academic language includes language used in
textbooks, in classrooms, on tests, and in each discipline. It is different
in vocabulary and structure from the everyday spoken English of social
interactions. Each type of communication (both academic and social) has
its purpose, and neither is superior to the other.

▪ Linguistic register - are certain registers of language (types of

language use) peculiar to specific professions such as medical science,
engineering, and business.
▪ Medical language - is used to describe components and processes of the
human body, medical procedures, diseases, disorders, and pharmacology.
Simply put, it is the vocabulary that medical professionals use to describe
the body, what it does, and the treatments they prescribe.

▪ Legal language -means a language used by the persons connected to the

legal profession. The language used by the lawyer, jurist, and the legislative
drafts man in their professional capacities. Law being a technical subject
speaks through its own register.
▪ Journalistic language - This type of language helps understand how journalists
create their stories or reports, shape points of view, deliver expected news and
how media language is different from other languages we encounter.

▪ Literary language - register of a language that is used in literary writing.

▪ Jargon - special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession

or group and are difficult for others to understand.
▪ Autopsy – (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or
autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a
thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine
the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any disease
or injury that may be present for research or educational
purposes.
 Academic Text
Academic text is typically used for textbooks, tests
in classrooms, and any other discipline related to the
field of academics. It is very different from the
structure of vocabulary and structure from everyday
conversations through social interactions. Academic text
is a formal way to present words and terms typical for
the field.
Examples:

POSITION PAPER THESIS STUDY

TEXTBOOK BOOK REVIEW
FEASIB STUDY ACADEMIC JOURNAL
REACTION PAPER ACADEMIC ESSAY
EDUCATIONAL REPORTS RESEARCH PAPER
Content and Style of Academic Texts
⮚ Include concepts and theories related to the specific
discipline
⮚ Have clearly structured introduction, body, and
conclusion.
⮚ Include information from credible sources that are properly cited.
⮚ Include concepts and theories that are related to the specific
discipline they explore.
⮚ Usually exhibit all properties of a well-written text --- organization,
unity, coherence, and strict adherence to the rules of language and
mechanics.
 The specific ideas in various academic texts are dependent on
the field of academic text one is reading in. For example,
Humanities texts discuss more about the various human
expressions, such as art and languages, while the sciences contain
the scientific method that discusses the objective result of an
experiment or the specific research methodology. The specific
ideas in various academic text can be understood after skimming
and closely reading the text.
 What is the easiest reading
assignment you have done so
far?How about the most difficult
one?What do you think made the
reading assignment difficult or easy?
● When you access information, you should pay attention on how ideas are
arranged in the text. There are instances when complex information can
be better understood if the ideas are presented in an organized manner
which is one of the characteristics of an academic text.
● The clustering of ideas under specific headings can facilitate
understanding of texts.
● I know you find it difficult to understand some information
because of the language used.
● There are certain registers of language (types of
● Language use) peculiar to specific professions such as
medical science, engineering, and business. These types of
language use may be unintelligible to people not belonging to
the same profession. Such language use is also referred to
as jargon.
 In the case of aspirin, its common use as a drug to relieve pain and reduce fever has gained
popular knowledge. The explanation given in the MIMS entry, however, contains jargon and codes
that are not familiar to the lay reader. It is, therefore, important to grasp the coding system. What
do the initials stand for?
MIMS explains that C stands for “Contents.” Therefore, aspirin is acetyl salicylic acid. D is for
“Dosage,” which is 1 tablet daily. "I" stands for “Indications” or what the medicine is
recommended for, that is, it prevents certain health threatening conditions. The list that followers
again consists of jargon in the medical sciences. CI stands for “contra indications.” When these
conditions are present in the patient, the medicine should not be administered. SP stands for
“Special Precautions,” when extra care should be taken when the medicine is prescribed. AR
stands for “Adverse Reactions” or bad or unfavorable effects or reactions to the medicine. DI
stands for “Drug Interactions.” This means aspirin interacts with any of the items included in the
list. P/P, or Presentation and Packing, shows how the medicine is sold or its available packaging.
What is Linguistic Register?

✔ The concept of the linguistic register has been described by Trudgill (1983:101) as
follows:
● Linguistic varieties that are linked to occupations, professions, or topics have been
termed registers. The register of law, for example, is different from the register of
medicine, which in turn is different from the language of engineering---and so on.
Registers are usually characterized solely by vocabulary differences.
● Registers are simply a rather special case of a kind of language being produced by
the social situation.

✔ According to Harold Schiffman (1997) it is a set of specialized vocabulary and

preferred (or dispreferred) syntactic and rhetorical devices/structures, used by specific
socioprofessional groups for special purposes. A register is a property or characteristic of
a language, and not of an individual or a class of speakers.
Stylistic Variation: Degrees of Formality in Language Usage

1. Registers are marked by a variety of specialized vocabulary and

turns of phrases, colloquialisms, and the use of jargon.
2. A register can be considered a unique way a speaker uses
language in different circumstances.
3.Registers encompass all the ways in which humans communicate to
one Another in specific parameters.
Some of the Language Registers are as follows:
 ACTIVITY 1
Do practice task 1, read “From the Autopsy Surgeon’s Report” and
answer that following question;
1. Did you encounter difficulties in understanding the text? Why?
2. List down words that you found difficult to understand and look for its definition in the dictionary.
3. How was the report structured?
4. What did you learn from each sentence in the report? Begin with a simple grid like the one below:
 ACTIVITY 1
Do practice task 1, read “From the Autopsy Surgeons Report” and
answer that following question;
5. State briefly the content of the autopsy surgeon’s report.