ACADEMIC TEXTS

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WRITING

A form of communication
Factors:
1. Topic What is the piece of writing about? What details am I
imparting to the readers?
2. Role Who am I as a writer? Do I write as a sibling? A student? A
son/daughter? Customer?
3. Purpose Why am I writing this in the first place?
4. Audience Who is reading this piece? What knowledge does he/she
need to understand my writing?

ACADEMIC WRITING

Is a process that starts with posing a question, problematizing a

concept, evaluating an opinion, and ends in answering the question/s
posed, clarifying the problem, and/or arguing for a stand.
Purpose: to inform, to argue a specific point, to persuade
Audience: teacher, peers, academic community
Difference of academic writing from a personal narrative or a creative
essay, or a legal document: the knowledge of the writer is assumed to
be greater than that of the readers

GUIDES IN ACADEMIC WRITING

AW is thinking; do not just write anything that comes to your mind.

Abide by the set rules and practices in writing.
Write in a language that is appropriate and formal but not too
pretentious.
However, do not use big and difficult words because ultimately the
purpose of writing is to engage the readers.
Keep the readers in mind. They will determine the language of your
paper. (Ex. Experts jargons; students laymans terms)
Consider the knowledge and background of your audience.
Make sure that you can back up your statement with a strong and valid
evidence.
AW requires deliberate, thorough, and careful thought and that is why
it involves research
Give clear ideas and points to evaluate and question.
Make sure that your purpose (ex. To react to an issue or an event, to
convince readers to take your side) is clear and that your language,
style and tone are appropriate to convey your purpose

TEXT STRUCTURE

Organization or text structure is the arrangement of ideas and the

relationships among ideas.
Important to determine for you to expect how the information will
unfold (know what approach)
Basic text structures:
1. Narrative
2. Expository
I. NARRATIVE STRUCTURES

An account of sequence of events

Story-like structures
Telling stories, sharing anecdotes, relating event that are personally or
vicariously experienced
Purpose: to tell a story
Elements: characters, plot, conflict, theme, setting
Usually, a narrative is written from the authors imagination

II. EXPOSITORY STRUCTURES

Purpose: to describe or inform

Writers do a lot of research to gain information
The information is organized in a logical and an interesting fashion
Includes elements of:
1. Description
2. Enumeration
3. Cause and effect
4. Comparison and contrast
5. Exemplification
6. Problem-solution

1. DESCRIPTION
Provides detailed information about a specific person, place or any
subject in order to give the reader a mental image.
The writer uses the five senses (smell, taste, sight, touch, hearing)
The writer uses sense words (roaring, hushing, stuttering, growling,
etc) and vivid action words (traverse, cascade, thrust, lumber, sprout,
etc)
Sample (Description)

She is the mother goddess of my dream. I see her shimmering gold

and white garments dazzle like a thousand suns. The jewels in her
crown shine like the crescent moon. Her winsome smile reflects the
beauty of the world. Her body lushes like an immortal Venus. Her
perfect beauty rings a sense of joy and purity. Her porcelain-like skin
attracts everyone. The emerald-green trees brighten the world of
contentment. In her hands lies a pot of nectar that nourishes my soul.
She is an emblem of love and immortality.

2. ENUMERATION

Presents a complete list of items in proper sequence.

Sample (Enumeration)

The human brain is a specialized organ that is specifically responsible

for all the processes of thoughts and movements. It is composed of
the cerebrum, frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, occipital lobe,
cerebellum, limbic system, and brain stem.

The cerebrum is made up of nerve cells which carry signals between

the organ and the nerve cells which run through the body. The frontal
lobe controls creative and abstract thoughts, problem solving,
behavior, judgment, intellect, movement, smell, and personality. The
 parietal lobe is focused in comprehension. The temporal lobe is
responsible for visual and auditory memory. The occipital lobe controls
vision. The cerebellum (called the little brain) controls essential body
functions such as balance, posture and coordination, allowing humans
to move properly and maintain their structure. The limbic system is
responsible for emotions. The brain stem facilitates basic life
functions, including heartbeat, blood pressure and breathing.

3. CAUSE AND EFFECT

Starts with a topic sentence or a thesis statement.

The cause is the reason that certain event happens.
The effect is the result of such cause.
Sample (Cause and effect)

Procrastination is putting off till tomorrow what we can do today.

There are a lot of causes of procrastination. First, we have fear of the
outcome. When we fear the outcome, then we do not concentrate and
avoid working. Fear brings us to total avoidance of the task. Next, we
have lack of motivation. When we do not have motivation, our
tendency is to dilly-dally. Lack of motivation gives us a feeling of
lethargy. Lastly, we have lack of focus. If we do not have focus, then
we easily get bored. We lose our focus because sometimes we are
overwhelmed by problems.

4. COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

Presents similarities between two things (comparison) or differences

between them (contrast).
Sample (Comparison)

The human brain and the computer are similar in some ways. The
human mind can store and retrieve voluminous amount of information.
In the same way, the computer is used for storage and retrieval of
information. In terms of function, both are utilized in carrying out
complex tasks of mathematical calculations, storage of crucial
information and retrieval of the same when needed. Similarly,
computer memory increases by adding chips. The human mind grows
and develops by increasing its synaptic connections. Like the
computer, the human mind is composed of various parts. Each
contributes to facilitate the function of information processing and task
performance.

Sample (Contrast)

Japanese and Filipino culture have some points of differences. Filipinos

show their respect by using po and opo. They also show such
respect by obeying the elders. On the other hand, Japanese show their
respect by bowing their heads in greeting others. Filipinos call their
friends and others in their first names. On the contrary, Japanese call
people with their last names and they smile at their friends when they
greet them. The Japanese wear kimonos while the Filipinos wear their
barong tagalog during special occasions. The Japanese have their
Valentines Day and White Day. In contrast, Filipinos have only the
Valentines Day. In Japan,women present chocolates to men as gifts
on Valentines Day. One month later (March 14), men are supposed to
return the favor by buying two to three times more expensive gifts for
 the women on White Day. In the Philippines, the men usually present
chocolates to women. They do not have White Day to celebrate.

5. EXEMPLIFICATION / ILLUSTRATION

Is used to explain a class, type, method, condition or an object, and

idea by providing concrete examples.
Sample (Exemplification)

Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between two or more

people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than a mere
association. Friendship comes in various forms and it varies from
place to place. Friendship knows no boundaries. For example, we may
have friends in India or United States. Although we differ in cultural
background, we can still be friends because friends are connected
through honesty, sympathy, empathy, love, concern, understanding,
compassion, and enjoyment of each others company. In the case of
people who are far from each other, they can still communicate
because of technology.

6. PROBLEM SOLVING

Presents a problem and describes two or more possible solutions to

that problem
Steps:
1. State the problem.
2. Suggest the possible solutions.
3. Evaluate the solutions. Discuss the advantages (strengths) and the
disadvantages (weaknesses) of the solutions. Your aim is to make
your reader understand why one solution is better than the others.
4. Make a recommendation. If you think that one of the solutions is
better than the other, state directly which of the solutions in your
opinion is better (the best) and why.
Sample (Problem Solving)

During examinations, students suffer a lot from test anxiety.

Experiencing anxiety is a normal thing to happen. However, if
students really want to succeed, they can simply overcome test
anxiety. To start with, they should develop effective study habits. If
they only study every day or allot certain amount of time for each
subject each day, then they may not cram during the tests. If they
change their habits and focus on their studies, then they can develop
self-confidence.

The next effective solution is by reviewing or studying with a friend in

order to exchange practice questions. By merely doing this, they may
increase the level of their motivation and do well during the exams.
The third solution is getting good night sleep prior to the examination
dates. If they sleep well, they can surely concentrate and perform well
on their tests.

STRUCTURE OF ACADEMIC TEXTS

Academic texts typically consist of formal, clearly structured

introduction, body, and conclusion which incorporate information or
ideas from credible sources with proper citation.
A list of references is also attached at the end.
CONTENT AND STYLE OF ACADEMIC TEXTS

Academic texts include concepts and theories that are related to the
specific discipline they explore.
Exhibits all the properties of a well-written text: organization, unity,
coherence and cohesion, as well as strict adherence to language and
mechanics rules.
In general, authors do the following when writing academic texts:
1. State critical questions and issues
2. Provide facts and evidence from credible sources
3. Use precise and accurate words while avoiding jargon and
colloquial expressions
4. Take an objective point-of-view and avoid being personal and
subjective
5. List references
6. Use hedging or cautious language to tone down their claims

EXAMPLES OF HEDGING EXPRESSIONS

TYPES EXAMPLES AS USED IN THE

SENTENCE
Modal auxiliary May, might, can, could, Such a measure might be
verbs would, should more sensitive to changes
in health after specialist
treatment.
Modal lexical To seem, to appear In spite of its effects, the
verbs doubting (epistemic verbs), to phenomenon appears to
and evaluating believe, to assume, to have a number of
rather than suggest, to estimate, to important positive
merely tend, to think to argue, to implications.
describing indicate, to propose, to
speculate
Probability Possible, probable, It is likely to result in
adjectives un/likely failure.
Nouns Assumption, claim, There is an estimate that
possibility, estimate, one in five marriages ends
suggestion in divorce.
Adverbs Perhaps, possibly, There is, perhaps, a good
probably, practically, likely, reason why she chose to
presumably, virtually, write in the first person.
apparently
Indicators of Approximately, roughly, Fever is present in about a
degree, about, often, occasionally, third of cases.
quantity, generally, usually,
frequency and somewhat, somehow, a lot
time of
LINGUISTIC PATTERNS, DISCOURSE SIGNALS, LEXICON

LINGUISTIC PATTERNS

Words used to communicate must have grammatical and semantic

relationships to each other in order to make a spoken language useful.
Each word must be related to each other in position and utility in order
to form a linguistic pattern.
Therefore, each pattern has to indicate its relationships to other
patterns and to the language as a whole.
Linguistic patterns are not only based on syntax, semantics, and
pragmatics but also on context.
Example:
1. The dog is barking.
2. The dog is flying.

The first example shows that it is both semantically and syntactically correct.
However, the second example is grammatically correct but semantically
wrong because dogs do not have the ability to fly.

Semantics the study of the meanings of words and phrases in a

particular context
Syntactics a branch of semiotics that deals with the formal relations
between signs or expressions in abstraction from their signification and
their interpreters
Semiotics the study of signs and symbols and how they are used

DISCOURSE SIGNALS

A piece of writing
It is essential for the author to guide readers through the discourse
signalling what is important and how each sentence is connected to
some other sentences within the discourse.

PURPOSES MARKERS / SIGNALS

Addition And, also, as well as, additionally, moreover, too,
furthermore
Sequence First, second, third..
Finally, next, meanwhile, after, then, subsequently
Illustration For example, to illustrate, such as, for instance, in the
case of, as revealed by
Cause and Because, as a result, consequently, so, therefore, thus,
effect hence
Comparison Similarly, likewise, in the same way, in the same manner,
equally
Contrast Whereas, instead of, alternatively, otherwise, unlike,
conversely, on the other hand
Qualification But, however, although, unless, except, apart from, as
long as, if
Emphasis Above all, in particular, excluding, including, significantly,
indeed, notably, especially
LEXICON

Is the vocabulary of a certain language.

It is developed through the following processes:
1. Inventions or innovations. New words have been added to the
language when new machines are invented and new things have
been discovered.
2. Borrowing of foreign words. Borrowing is a consequence of cultural
contact between two language communities.
3. Compounding. It is a process of word formation that creates
compounds.
4. Abbreviation of compounds. These emerge because of forming new
words out of the compounds.
5. Acronyms. It is a process of abbreviation formed from the initial
components in a phrase or a word.
6. Inflection. It is the modification of a word to express different
grammatical categories such as tense, mood, voice, aspect, person,
number, gender and case. Such inflection is also known as
conjugation.
7. Derivation. It is the process of forming a new word on the basis of
an existing word. It often involves the addition of a morpheme in
the form of affixes.

ASPECTS OF PROFESSIONAL AND ACADEMIC LANGUAGE

Academic writing requires sophistication in terms of language use and

structure.
Important features of language used:
1. Formality
2. Objectivity
3. Explicitness
4. Caution

1. FORMALITY

Reflects our dignified stance in our writing as members of the

academic community.*
Can be achieved through:
1. Choosing expanded modal forms over contracted forms (cannot
instead of cant, do not instead of dont)
2. Choosing one verb forms over two word verbs (damage instead of
mess up)
3. Choosing expanded terms over its abbreviated equivalents (as soon
as possible instead of ASAP)
4. Avoiding colloquial/trite/idiomatic expressions (kind of like, as a
matter of fact, I need to go to the John)

2. OBJECTIVITY

Can be achieved by:

1. Avoiding the use of personal pronouns such as You, I, and We since
these pronouns mark closeness with the readers.
Example:

Subjective construction: You need to conduct the

experiment.
 Improved version: The researchers need to conduct the
experiment.

2. Avoiding rhetorical questions in academic writing also marks

closeness with your reader as rhetorical questions constantly seek
the attention of readers.

Poor example: How can these problems be solved?

Improved version: Certain measures must be discovered to
solve the problems.

3. Avoiding emotive language that shows biases also lessens

objectivity.

Poor example:
The investigators were very shocked to see the outcome of
the tests.
Improved version:
The investigators did not expect the results would be
different.

3. EXPLICITNESS (Clarity)

Academic writing demands use of appropriate signposting strategies

which allow your readers to trace the relationship of the various parts
found in your study.*
However, this is due to the, this resulted in..
EXPLICITNESS (Examples)
1. It is apparent that the government hopes to provide assistance to
the poor. However, making dole outs available to the poorest of
the poor seems to work not in the long term.
2. While several cabinet members had proposed measures to
counter the increasing power rates proposed by MERALCO, it was
not until the exposure of Garcia that the breakdown of power
charges on consumers was fully explained. Partly this was
because even retirement benefits of MERALCO employees are
being charged on all power users.
3. A number of MERALCO consumers trooped to the city hall to claim
the Php500.00 cash incentive. This is due to the Supreme Court
ruling that overcharges must be returned to the end users whose
electric consumption for April-May period was below 100kw/hr.
4. With the Supreme Court ordering MERALCO to return overcharges
to the end users, government offices have been tapped to operate
as claim centers. This resulted in a number of MERALCO
consumers trooping to the city hall to claim the Php500.00 cash
incentive.
5. The study showed that 80 percent of the 200 participants involved
in the study were dissatisfied with the operations of MERALCO.
Similarly, the data arrived at revealed that majority of the
participants were not aware of the charges imposed on them by
MERALCO.
6. MERALCO has been operating as a business conglomerate
involving foreign stakeholders and independent power producers
or IPP. In addition, MERALO owns major IPPs operating in the
region.
 7. The MERALCO issue has led to disputes between opposition and
administration sectors. For example, those who have been
labeled as working against the president consider the issue as the
administrations way of avoiding the NBN-ZTE scandal.

4. CAUTION

Academic writing requires tact since we often deal with knowledge that
is built from established theories and concepts.*
Example:

Government officials are corrupt.**

Improved versions:
Some government officials may be corrupt. (modal verb)
Corruption is commonly linked to some key government officials.
(adverb)
A number of government officials tend to be linked with cases of
corruption. (verb)
In academic writing caution needs to be observed in the following parts
of your paper:
1. When a hypothesis needs to be tested.
2. Drawing conclusions or predictions fro your findings which may
generalize certain groups or may not be too conclusive.
3. Referencing others work to build your own paper.
Some forms that you may use in observing caution in writing:

Verbs indicating caution: tends, suggests, appear to be, think,

believe, doubt, indicate
Modal verbs: will, must, would, may, can, might, could
Adverbs of frequency: often, sometimes, usually
Modifiers: quite, rather, fairly

STRUCTURE

Sentences need to be constructed with a certain level of complexity

Ways: Nominalization and Passivization
Avoid redundancy but the ideas are packed

Examples: The earthquake caused a lot of loss of life.

The earthquake caused massive property damage.
The earthquake changed the landscape of the place.
Improved version: The earthquake was a disaster that had caused
loss of life,
property damage, and permanent changes in the
landscape.
In nominalization, transforming verbs into nouns will help readers focus
on the action undertaken and not the doer of the action.

Example: The company created a software to manage the

transactions and it was a success.
The creation of a software to manage transactions was a
success.
(nominalized version)
In passive construction, the results of actions are highlighted.

Example: The researcher conducted experiments to validate

the hypothesis.
 Experiments were conducted to validate the hypothesis.

SIMILARITIES OF ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL WRITING

6 COMPONENTS OF ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL WRITING*

1. Context refers to the situation where professional writing is

performed; includes the people involved (sender & receiver),
relationship between the people involved in the communication, time
and place, and some possible interferences
2. Message the content of your document; includes the main topic and
the details that support it (facts, statistics, testimonies, observation)
3. Language the channel used to convey the message; can either be
visual or textual, formal or informal, verbal and non-verbal
4. Purpose the reason or motive that you have when communicating*

2 Levels:
General - to inform and to persuade
Specific - the reason why you want to inform or persuade your
target audience
5. Audience the receiver of the message; can either be primary (direct
receiver of your document) or secondary (indirect receiver)
6. Product the output that you intend to produce after considering all
the other components

Examples of outputs

ACADEMIC WRITING PROFESSIONAL WRITING

Academic essays Instructional manuals

Thesis Specifications
Dissertation Brochures
Library research Business correspondences (letters and
Coursework memos)
Reaction papers Business and technical reports
Book reviews
Literature reviews
Research report
Project proposal
Position paper

DIFFERENCES IN ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL WRITING

ACADEMIC WRITING

A type of writing produced by students in an academic setting

Purpose: to inform and persuade (not to entertain)
Common types: academic essays, book reviews, literature reviews,
research reports, project proposals, position papers, reaction papers
Is impersonal and formal*
Has a wide-ranging, field-specific vocabulary**
Structure: each paragraph contains one main idea and has a clear
topic sentence; also places the thesis statement at the last part of the
introductory paragraph and it is then repeated in the first sentence of
the concluding paragraph
 Mechanics: follow the guidelines for language use and mechanics in
well-written texts; includes citation and referencing; documentation
styles (APA, MLA, IEEE, Chicago, Harvard) depends on the policy of
your school

TIPS IN WRITING ACADEMIC TEXTS

1. Follow the basics in the writing process:
a) Be clear with the assignment or prompt.
b) Analyze the context of writing.
c) Have a clear purpose and audience in mind.
d) Make your thesis evident.
e) Stay focused on your topic; eliminate unnecessary details.
f) Read some academic texts that use similar rhetorical pattern
to the one you are writing.
g) Make sure you use sufficient cohesive devices. However, be
careful not to overuse transitional devices.
h) Avoid wordiness and redundancies.
i) Use brainstorming strategies (listing, free writing, clustering)
to overcome writers block.
j) Edit and proofread your work
2. Use quotations sparingly. Paraphrase information as much as
possible.
3. Avoid using an imperative tone.
4. Avoid excessive font effects such as too much use of boldface,
underlines, and italics.
5. Be consistent with the type of English you use. If you use British
English, stick to it and do not shift to American English.
6. Plan wisely. Allot ample time in preparing your writing assignment.

PROFESSIONAL WRITING

Is any type of written communication performed specifically in a

professional context
Most often applied in business and technical writing
Purpose: to inform and persuade*
Uses business English and a more personal tone; can use the first and
second person POV (I and you)
Does not mean that you can use personal anecdotes, jokes, and
colloquial expressions
Addresses a particular need, follows a standard structure and format,
and conveys business and technical content to a specific audience
Objective, unemotional, accurate, concise, straightforward
Mechanics: Bars the use of emoticons, contractions and unnecessary
exclamation points
Does not require a great number of citations and few relevant citations
may be sufficient
TIPS IN WRITING PROFESSIONAL TEXTS
1. Follow the basics in the writing process:
a) Be clear with your purpose and target reader.
b) Consider the context of writing the document.
c) Organize your ideas using cohesive devices.
d) Avoid wordiness and redundancies; be direct to the point and
avoid unnecessary details.
 e) Be objective and factual with your message.
f) Use brainstorming strategies (listing, free writing, clustering) to
overcome writers block.
g) Edit, edit, edit: eliminate all grammatical and typographical
erors
2. Anticipate the readers beliefs, values, motivations, and possible
objections especially when writing persuasive documents such as
proposals.
3. Adjust your language based on your relationship with the receiver of
the document.
4. Study the format used by your organization and incorporate it to
your writing. However, you may use other formats which you think
are appropriate.
5. Avoid excessive font effects such as too much use of boldface,
underlines, and italics.
6. Be consistent with the type of English you use. If you use British
English, stick to it and do not shift to American English.