Academic
Language used
from Various
Disciplines
Nature and Characteristics of an
Academic Text
An 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 point-
of-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. Responsible - You must be responsible for and must be able to
provide evidence and justification for any claims you make.
8. Organize - Well-organized. - It flows easily from one section to the
next in a logical fashion.
9. 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
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.
Text Structure
Common Text Structures
Text structures (WDPI, 2012) refer to the way authors
organize information in text. Recognizing the underlying
structure of texts can help students focus attention on key
concepts and relationships, anticipate what is to come, and
monitor their comprehension as they read.
Why is Text Structure Important?
The readers can significantly improve their comprehension
and retention of information when they can identify and
recognize the text structure of a text. It can also help them:
1. Organize information and details they are learning in their
minds while reading.
2. Make connections between the details being presented in a
text
3. Summarize the important details shared in a text
Techniques in Summarizing
Variety of Academic Texts
Summarizing is how we take larger selections of text and
reduce them to their bare essentials: the gist, the key ideas,
the main points that are worth noting and remembering.
Webster's calls a summary the "general idea in brief form";
it's the distillation, condensation, or reduction of a larger
work into its primary notions. (“Reading Quest Strategies |
Summarizing”)
Basic Rules:
A. Erase things that don’t matter. Delete trivial material that
is unnecessary to understanding.
B. Erase things that repeat. Delete redundant material.
In note taking, time and space is precious. If a word or
phrase says basically the same thing you have already
written down, then don’t write it again!
C. Trade, general terms for specific names. Substitute
superordinate terms for lists (e.g., flowers for daisies, tulips
for roses). Focus on the big picture. Long, technical lists are
hard to remember. If one word will give you the meaning,
then less is more.
D. Use your own words to write the summary. Write the
summary using your own words but make sure to retain the
main points.
Techniques:
1. Somebody Wanted But So. The strategy helps students generalize, recognize cause and effect
relationships, and find main ideas.
After answering the questions, combine the answers to
form a summary:
Little Red Riding Hood wanted to take cookies to her
sick grandmother, but she encountered a wolf. He got
to her grandmother’s house first and pretended to be
the old woman. He was going to eat Little Red Riding
Hood, but she realized what he was doing and ran
away, crying for help. A woodsman heard the girl’s
cries and saved her from the wolf.
2. SAAC Method. This method is particularly helpful in
summarizing any kind of text. SAAC is an acronym for
“State, Assign, Action, Complete.” Each word in the
acronym refers to a specific element that should be
included in the summary.
"The Boy Who Cried Wolf," by Aesop (a Greek
storyteller), tells what happens when a shepherd boy
repeatedly lies to the villagers about seeing a wolf.
After a while, they ignore his false cries. Then, when a
wolf really does attack, they don’t come to help him.
3. 5 W's, 1 H. This technique relies on six crucial questions:
who, what, when where, why, and how. These questions
make it easy to identify the main character, important
details, and main idea.
4. First Then Finally.
This technique helps students summarize events in
chronological order.
First: What happened first? Include the main character and
main event/action.
Then: What key details took place during the event/action?
Finally: What were the results of the event/action?
Here is an example using "Goldilocks and the Three Bears."
First, Goldilocks entered the bears' home while they were
gone.
Then, she ate their food, sat in their chairs, and slept in their
beds.
Finally, she woke up to find the bears watching her, so she
jumped up and ran away.
5. Give Me the Gist. This type of technique is like
giving a friend the gist of a story. In other words, they
want a summary – not a retelling of every detail.
Activity. Direction: Read the text below. Write a 3-
5 sentence summary of the following text using any
of the techniques mentioned above. Use a separate
sheet in writing your summary.
SAAC Technique:
State Assign Action Complete
Understanding Calories Unknown author Explains what calories The article describes
are, how the body uses calories as units of
them, and how they energy used by the body
relate to weight gain or for various functions
loss and activities, showing
how energy intake and
expenditure affect body
weight.
Why SAAC Method?
SAAC Method because it works well for informational texts
like the sample text given to you. It helps break down the
article into key parts—title, author, purpose, and main idea—
without overcomplicating the summary. Since
"Understanding Calories" is an explanatory text rather than
a story or event sequence, methods like “First Then Finally”
or “Somebody Wanted But So” would not be as effective.
SAAC helps highlight the article’s structure and purpose
clearly.
