Reading_Lesson 2 text as connected discourse

1. Discourse - an extended expression of thoughts or ideas - utterance, talk, speech, discussion, and conversation * The
ideas in discourse are not connected or do not have a particular structure.

2. Text - a large unit of written language - a group of ideas put together to make a point or one central idea - has a
structure which requires the ideas in the discourse to be relevant to each other - an actually connected discourse

3. Properties of a Well-written Text 1. Organization - refers to the arrangement of ideas in a text * Creating an outline of
ideas before you start writing can help your work become organized.

4. Outline - provides a format in which ideas can be arranged in a hierarchy- that is, it distinguishes the general ideas
from the specific or subordinating ideas

5. 2. Coherence and Cohesion - refer to the connection of ideas and connection between sentences and between
paragraphs * In order for you to assure coherence and cohesion, you need to use transitional or cohesive devices.

6. 3. Appropriate Language Use - refers to the acceptable style of language for a particular form of text

7. 4. Proper Mechanics - refers to the conventions of writing which includes capitalization, punctuation, spelling,
numerals, abbreviations, acronyms and contractions

8. Morphology - the study of words, how they are formed, and their relationship to other words in the same language -
analyzes the structure of words and parts of words, such as root words, prefixes, and suffixes

9. Morpheme Two Types of Morpheme: 1. Free Morpheme 2. Bound Morpheme - the smallest grammatical unit in a
language

10. 1. Free Morpheme - can function independently as a word Examples: house, cat, blood

11. 2. Bound Morpheme - a word element attached to a root word (the main part of a word) to give it another meaning -
cannot function independently as a word Examples: affixes (prefixes and suffixes)

12. Affix - a morpheme that is attached to a root word to form a new word 1. Prefix 2. Suffix

13. Prefix - a morpheme that comes before a root word Examples: auto- (automobile) in- (incorrect) over- (overcharge)

14. Suffix - a morpheme that comes after a root word Examples: -ful (forgetful) -ish (childish) -ive (active)

15. Two Varieties of Suffixes - modify the grammatical class of words by signaling a change in number, tense, degrees of
comparison, and so on, but they do not shift the base form into another word class 1. Inflectional Suffixes

16. Inflectional Morphemes Added to Examples -s plural Nouns She got two guitars. -'s possessive Nouns Zeynep's hair is
too long. -er comparative Adjectives Zeynep hair is longer than Derya. -est superlative Adjectives Zeynep has the longest
hair. -s 3rd person singular present tense Verbs Zeynep plays the guitar. -ed past tense Verbs She played the guitar at
the party. -ing progressive Verbs She is playing the guitar at the party. -en past participle Verbs She has taken the guitar
at the party.

17. - modify either the part of speech or the actual meaning of a word 2. Derivational Suffixes Derivational Morpheme
Meaning Examples -al relating to formal, postal, practical -less without homeless, hopeless -ous full of famous, cautious -
hood state, condition, quality brotherhood, neighborhood

18. Compound Words - combination of two different words Examples: back + ward = backward (towards the reverse
direction) book + shelf = bookshelf (storage of books) full + moon = full moon (a moon appearing as a bright circle) six +
pack = six-pack (often in reference to a pack of drinks)

19. Context Clues - are words, phrases, and sentences that surround an unfamiliar word and help you recognize the
meaning of an unknown word

20. Example: The narrator in the poem was euphoric at his son's victory, for he cried out triumphantly when the boy
came home. - victorious; triumphant; very happy and excited 1. Synonyms - used when the text has words or phrases
that ae similar in meaning to the unknown word euphoric

21. Other Examples: a. This situation is a conundrum - a puzzle. conundrum - a confusing or a difficult situation

22. b. Humpty Dumpty took great pleasure in obfuscating the poem's meaning to Alice. His explanations about the poem
were confusing and complicated. obfuscating - making more difficult to understand; confusing

23. c. We are planning a picnic for today. It is sunny and warm outside. It will be an idyllic day - just perfect for a picnic.
idyllic - perfect; very peaceful, happy, and enjoyable

24. Example: Although Mary was willing to play in the snow, Jack was reluctant because he was so cold. - not willing to
do something 2. Antonyms - words that reveal the opposite meaning in relation to the unknown word reluctant
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25. a. Marty is gregarious, not like his brother who is quiet and shy. gregarious - sociable; outgoing; extrovert

26. b. The lanky dog was not fat, even though he ate a lot. lanky - skinny

27. c. The rich woman gave a paltry sum to the charity even though she was able to give much more. paltry -very small
or too small in amount

28. Example: Projectiles include those items that are shot forward such as a cannon shell, bullet, or rocket. - things (such
as bullet or rocket) that are shot from weapon 3. Examples - are specific details in a text that are used to clarify the
meaning of a word projectiles

29. a. Famous conquistadors include Cortes, who conquered Aztec Mexico and Pizarro, who conquered Inca Peru.
conquistadors - conquerors; ones that take control of (a country or city) through the use of force

30. b. A sleuth, such as Sherlock Holmes, can be very helpful in solving crimes. sleuth - detective - someone who looks
for information to solve crimes

31. c. Precipitation, such as rain and snow, falls from the sky. precipitation - water that falls to the ground (such as rain
and snow)

32. Example: The prisoner was in a state of wrath—a feeling of intense anger. - extreme anger 4. Definition - is usually
signaled by a form of the verb to be (am, is, are, was, were) or by commas or dashes wrath

33. a. To shun someone is to have nothing to do with that person. shun - to avoid deliberately

34. b. He seemed to be ill, but it was merely a ruse, that is, a clever trick to deceive us. ruse - a trick or act that is used to
fool someone - a wily subterfuge - deception

35. c. Sedentary individuals, people who are not very active, often have diminished health. sedentary - not doing or
involving much physical activity

36. Example: An evanescent ring surrounded the moon as it rose. It was there for a moment, and then it disappeared. -
lasting a very short time; brief; momentary 5. Explanation - words or phrases that explain the unfamiliar word's meaning
evanescent

37. a. Elis is a blithe young girl. She always greets everyone with a smile. blithe - cheerful; happy, lighthearted

38. b. Katie appeared infallible in math class because she had never gotten a problem wrong. infallible - unerring; -
unfailing - not capable of being wrong

39. c. The tornado annihilated the whole town to the point that nothing was left standing. annihilated - destroyed;
eradicated; exterminated; abolished

40. Simile - is identified by the use of “like,” “as,” “similar to,” and the like. They compare dissimilar objects that share
certain characteristics Examples: 1. When he walked into the room, the entire audience looked up, like flowers turning
towards the sun. 2. His headache was as painful as a root canal without the benefit of laughing gas.

41. Metaphor - directly refers to the object being described as being or previously being the object it is compared or
connected to Examples: 1. The boom of his voice, all thunder and lightning, echoed through the entire hall. 2. The dog
was a jack-in-the-box, trying to jump up on the visitors.

42. Essential Learning A text is a connected discourse, which means that all ideas in the text must be related in the sense
that they would express only one main idea, or that the text must have unity by combining all ideas to emphasize central
idea.

Reading and Writing - Text as a Connected Discourse

1. Text as a Connected Discourse Reading and Writing

2. Discourse ▪It is the conceptual generalization of communication ▪Uttered talk, speech, discussion and conversation
▪An extended expression of thoughts and ideas

3. Text ▪Came from the Old French word text us which means “the scriptures” ▪A large unit of written language ▪A group
of ideas that have been combined together to have a main idea

4. Morphology Types of Morphemes: Definition: Free Morpheme A type of morpheme that could function
independently as a word Bound Morpheme A type of morpheme that are bounded meaning to say, it could not function
independently as a word. - Uses affixes (prefixes & suffixes) ▪Morpheme – the smallest grammatical unit of language

5. Text Linguistics ▪It is a branch of linguistics that studies texts as a way of relaying information or communication ▪The
presentation of language as sets of sentences ▪Logical Meaning – the language gives meaning or understanding to the
text

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6. Text as a Connected Discourse ▪It is the string of individual target segments joined together in series (sentences) ▪Each
segment influences the segments around it

7. Text as a Connected Discourse ▪Coherence ▪This is what makes the text semantically meaningful ▪Gives its writing its
flow

8. Text as a Connected Discourse ▪Cohesion ▪It concerns the ways in which the components of text are connected within
the sequence ▪The use of repetition, transitional expressions and other cohesive cues.

1 Written Text as a Connected Discourse

1. TEXT AS CONNECTED DISCOURSE Introduction: Reading and Writing Skills

2. WHAT MAKES TEXT A CONNECTED DISCOURSE?

3. What is READING? • READING is a cognitive process of decoding • symbols to derive meaning from a text. It is •
always an interaction between the text and the • reader. • We read to gain and share information and • ideas, whether
for academic, personal, or • professional purposes.

4. EFFECTIVE READING STRATEGIES

5. Reading Strategies Previewing Previewing means looking at the readily visible parts of the text. It helps familiarize you
with the contents of the selection and focus on the important information in the text. Skimming Skimming the text
means you look for the main point of the reading and identify the ideas that develop it. Scanning Scanning the reading is
looking for specific information. This strategy involves physically moving your eyes quickly along the lines of text.

Reading and writing skills

1. Reading and Writing Skills

2. DEFINITION OF DISCOURSE The difference between text and discourse • Originally the word 'discourse' comes from
Latin 'discursus' which denoted 'conversation, speech'. Discourse is a term used in LINGUISTICS to refer to a continuous
stretch of (especially spoken) LANGUAGE larger than a SENTENCE — but, within this broad notion, several different
applications may be found. At its most general, a discourse is a behavioral UNIT which has a pre-theoretical status in
linguistics: it is a set of UTTERANCES which constitute any recognizable SPEECH event, e.g. a conversation, a joke, a
sermon, an interview… [Crystal, Dictionary of linguistics and phonetics, 3rd edn 1991]

3. • In the broad sense discourse ‘includes’ TEXT (q.v.), but the two terms are not always easily distinguished, and are
often used synonymously. • Some linguists would restrict discourse to spoken communication, and reserve text for
written

4. Text 1. result of the process of speech production in graphic form 2. indirect (processed) speech 3. no personal
contacts between agents 4. perception of speech in different space and time 5. one agent

5. Discourse 1. The process of speech production in the form of a sound 2. Spontaneous speech in a particular situation
with the help of verbal and nonverbal means 3. Personal contacts between agents 4. generation and perception of
speech in a unity of space and time 5. two authors constantly change their roles ‘speaker – hearer’ (bilateral discourse).

6. There are a number of approaches to discourse analysis and pragmatics is one of them. Definitions of pragmatics:
The underlying concepts behind pragmatics are meaning, context and communication. Early researchers considered
pragmatics as having originated from semiotics, a process that involves the use of signs; hence signs are central to
pragmatics users. Pragmatics is a broad approach to discourse that deals with the widely vast concepts of meaning,
context and communication. Due to the wide scope of pragmatics, experts have failed to reach an agreement on the
best definition of this approach. In language, pragmatics and discourse are closely connected. Discourse is the method,
either written or verbal, by which an idea is communicated in an orderly, understandable fashion. Used as a verb,
discourse refers to the exchange of ideas or information through conversation. Comparatively, pragmatics involve the
use of language to meet specific needs or for a predetermined purpose. As such, pragmatics and discourse are related in
that pragmatics are the means by which the purpose of discourse is achieved.

7. • Both pragmatics and discourse involve concepts far deeper than mere word definitions and sentence structure.
Unlike grammar, which involves the rules governing proper language structure, pragmatics and discourse focus on the
meaningfulness of spoken or written language. Whether storytelling, explaining, instructing, or requesting, a speaker or
writer has an intended purpose for communicating. How a speaker or writer constructs sentences to meet his intended
purpose involves both pragmatics and discourse.

8. It is only with the aid of considerations of a pragmatic nature that we can go beyond the question "What does this
utterance mean?" and ask "Why was this utterance produced?".and explain how utterances are interpreted and how
successful interpretation of utterances is managed. F.E. 1 Ms: (You should hurry up a little in persuading the PSOE,
because we're all in a hurry to do all that) Mr: (Do you read the papers ?) To know why Mr (Maragall) asks the question,

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we need to bear in mind quite a number of considerations of a pragmatic nature, for example, the degree of relevance
of the question: in fact considerable, given that this is a political debate.

9. While discourse analysis can only explain that this is a reply to the observation made by Ms (Mas) or explain what
type of sentences make up each of the utterances, pragmatics will explain what kind of reply it is, based on one or more
implicatures. For example, "if you read the newspapers you will know that I have done so many times", or "as I am sure
that you read the newspapers, I think you know perfectly well that I have done so, therefore your observation is
unnecessary". Taking a pragmatic approach, the linguist can successfully uncover the intention that Mr has in selecting
"Do you read the papers?", and why he selected this utterance rather than another one. Pragmatics' object of study is
"language use and language users" (Haberland & Mey 2002, 1673).

10. Argumentative discourse. The concept of argument has a long history in communication. An argument is a
concluding statement that claims legitimacy on the basis of reason. But argumentative discourse is a form of interaction
in which the individuals maintain incompatible positions. More specifically, argumentative discourse directs attention to
the arguments of naïve social actors engaged in intersubjective social interaction rather than the nature and structure of
abstract arguments ( Willard 1989 ). The traditional notion of argument has the logical syllogism as its elemental
structure. Thus, the concluding statement (A = C) is logically necessitated in: A = B, B = C, therefore A = C. A politician
who states that “Democrats are liberals; my opponent is a democrat; therefore, my opponent is a liberal” is arguing
from such syllogistic logic. Argument in this case is abstract and separate from the perspective of social actors.

11. Institutional discourse. Over the past thirty years or so, scholars of language and social life have investigated
discourse within a variety of institutional contexts, most notably within schools, courtrooms, corporations, clinics and
hospitals. In Institutional Discourse, you will have multiple opportunities to build on your knowledge and practice of
discourse analysis by exploring some of the intriguing regions in which institutions and discourse intersect.

12. QUIZ TIME

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Academic text style and structure

1. Instructor: Mrs. Jelliane Rose D. Villacuatro

2. FORMAL VS FICTION

3. Mechanics: 1. The class will count off from 1-3. 2. Each student gets into their group number. 3. The teacher will read
a passage. 4. The groups decide if its formal or fiction. 5. The highest scorer among the groups wins.

4. Passage 1 If you establish the purpose for reading early on, you will be able to save time and improve your
comprehension.

5. Passage 2 Plagiarism is the use of ideas or any relevant information of another without giving proper credit or
acknowledgment.

6. Passage 3 He saw the pure crystal water from where the lass is heavenly plunged.

7. Passage 4 When you synthesize information, you develop new understanding about a topic by using information from
more than one source.

8. Passage 5 Just as the sun rises and peeps from the east, and as the roosters of the neighborhood crow, vivid came the
assiduous man.

9. Academic Text: Style and Structure

10. ACADEMIC TEXT Articles Conference Papers Reviews Theses/ Dissertations

11. What is an Academic Text?

12. An academic text is a reading material that provides information which include concepts and theories that are
related to the specific discipline.

13. How does an academic text usually look like?

14. Structure of an Academic Text Introduction Body Conclusion

15. Why do I read an Academic Text?

16. Purposes in reading an Academic Text To locate a main idea To scan for information To identify gaps in existing
studies To connect new ideas to existing ones To gain more pieces of information To support a particular writing
assignment To deeply understand an existing idea

17. What do authors observe in writing an Academic Text?

18. Common styles in writing an Academic Text State critical questions and issues Provide facts and evidence from
credible sources Use precise and accurate words while avoiding jargon Take an objective point of view List
references Use cautious language

19. End

20. Q Time

21. Quiz 1: Academic Text

22. Instruction: Write True if the statement is CORRECT and False if it is NOT.

23. 1. One of the purposes of reading an academic text is to look for a specific information.

24. 2. An academic text makes use of complex jargons to promote a higher level of comprehension.

25. 3. It uses words which tones up claims expressing certainty.

26. 4. It helps fill existing gaps between information.

27. 5. An academic text observes a format.

28. 6. In reading an academic text, it helps acquire new information.

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29. 7. An academic text needs less concentration and focus because the terms are simple.

30. 8. It is in academic text that issues are stated to provoke information discussion.

31. 9. A magazine is an academic text.

32. 10. Critique paper is classified as an academic text.

33. Academic Text: Style and Structure

Structure and Features of Academic Text

1. English for Academic Purposes

2. EAP focuses instruction on skills required to perform in an English-speaking academic context across core subject
areas generally encountered in a university setting

3. Structure of academic texts three-part essay structure the reader is introduced to the topic that will be discussed
and to the argument that will be presented the discussion/analysis is carried out and the results are presented the
argument is summed up and conclusions are drawn

4. introduction to provide the reader with a clear idea of the focus and aim of the text the topic of the essay/article
will be presented in the introduction, often accompanied by a thesis statement (the claim that the writer wishes to
make)

5. introduction provides the context/background of the argument introduces the theoretical perspectives,
terminology, etc. that will be used explains how the writing will be organised

6. Body where the essay's (or article's) argument, ideas and results are developed and discussed

7. conclusion should not contain any new facts or ideas, but rather function as a brief restatement of the main
arguments and facts that have been treated in the essay

8. Academic Writing process that starts with: Posing a question Problematizing a concept Evaluating an opinion
Answering the question/questions posed or Clarifying the problem or Arguing for a stand

9. Purposes to inform to argue a specific point to persuade

10. Features of Academic Texts

11. COMPLEX Written language has longer words, it is lexically more dense and it has a more varied vocabulary.
Written texts are shorter and the language has more grammatical complexity, including more subordinate clauses and
more passives.

12. FORMAL should avoid colloquial words and expressions

13. PRECISE Facts are given accurately and precisely

14. OBJECTIVE objective rather than personal has fewer words that refer to the writer or the reader main emphasis
should be on the information that you want to give and the arguments you want to make, rather than you

15. 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

16. ACCURATE uses vocabulary accurately most subjects have words with narrow specific meanings

17. HEDGING it is necessary to make decisions about your stance on a particular subject, or the strength of the claims
you are making

18. RESPONSIBLE you must be responsible for, and must be able to provide evidence and justification for, any claims
you make. You are also responsible for demonstrating an understanding of any source texts you use

Reading Academic Texts

Why Evaluate Academic Reading Strategies?

Reading is fundamental to writing and research at University, but often gets overlooked – lecturers assume that
students know how to read, and students assume there’s only one way to read – but neither of these things is
necessarily true! There are ways to read that can improve information processing, can help with building an argument,
and importantly for many students, can save lots of time!! — Academic Literacy Workshops, University of Cape Town[1]

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The passage above makes an important point: most of us assume we know how to read for school. However, methods
that may have been fine in the past (skimming, quick reviews, relying upon class lectures or notes) won’t hold up well as
we move further into higher education.

Academic reading is a specific category of reading. It’s helpful to remember that academic reading is an act of
performance. Rather than sitting back and passively receiving information we read in college, we will be asked to
directly act upon that information in some way. We will be quizzed or tested. We will be asked to debate, analyze, or
critique what we read. We will need to read closely, remember the text accurately, and compare it to other texts for
style and content.

Photo of woman lying on grass, reading "How Ottowa Spends 2009–2010"

Purpose of Academic Reading

Casual reading across genres, from books and magazines to newspapers and blogs, is something students should be
encouraged to do in their free time because it can be both educational and fun. In college, however, instructors
generally expect students to read resources that have particular value in the context of a course. Why is academic
reading beneficial?

Information comes from reputable sources: Web sites and blogs can be a source of insight and information, but not all
are useful as academic resources. They may be written by people or companies whose main purpose is to share an
opinion or sell you something. Academic sources such as textbooks and scholarly journal articles, on the other hand, are
usually written by experts in the field and have to pass stringent peer review requirements in order to get published.

Learn how to form arguments: In most college classes except for creating writing, when instructors ask you to write a
paper, they expect it to be argumentative in style. This means that the goal of the paper is to research a topic and
develop an argument about it using evidence and facts to support your position. Since many college reading
assignments (especially journal articles) are written in a similar style, you’ll gain experience studying their strategies and
learning to emulate them.

Exposure to different viewpoints: One purpose of assigned academic readings is to give students exposure to different
viewpoints and ideas. For example, in an ethics class, you might be asked to read a series of articles written by medical
professionals and religious leaders who are pro-life or pro-choice and consider the validity of their arguments. Such
experience can help you wrestle with ideas and beliefs in new ways and develop a better understanding of how others’
views differ from your own.

Reading Strategies for Academic Texts

Recall from the Active Learning section that effective reading requires more engagement than just reading the words on
the page. In order to learn and retain what you read, it’s a good idea to do things like circling key words, writing notes,
and reflecting. Actively reading academic texts can be challenging for students who are used to reading for
entertainment alone, but practicing the following steps will get you up to speed:

Preview: You can gain insight from an academic text before you even begin the reading assignment. For example, if you
are assigned a nonfiction book, read the title, the back of the book, and table of contents. Scanning this information can
give you an initial idea of what you’ll be reading and some useful context for thinking about it. You can also start to
make connections between the new reading and knowledge you already have, which is another strategy for retaining
information.

Read: While you read an academic text, you should have a pen or pencil in hand. Circle or highlight key concepts. Write
questions or comments in the margins or in a notebook. This will help you remember what you are reading and also
build a personal connection with the subject matter.

Summarize: After you an read academic text, it’s worth taking the time to write a short summary—even if your
instructor doesn’t require it. The exercise of jotting down a few sentences or a short paragraph capturing the main ideas
of the reading is enormously beneficial: it not only helps you understand and absorb what you read but gives you ready
study and review materials for exams and other writing assignments.

Review: It always helps to revisit what you’ve read for a quick refresher. It may not be practical to thoroughly reread
assignments from start to finish, but before class discussions or tests, it’s a good idea to skim through them to identify
the main points, reread any notes at the ends of chapters, and review any summaries you’ve written.

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The following video covers additional active reading strategies readers can use before, during, and after the reading
process.

Reading Strategies for Specialized Texts and Online Resources

In college it’s not uncommon to experience frustration with reading assignments from time to time. Because you’re
doing more reading on your own outside the classroom, and with less frequent contact with instructors than you had in
high school, it’s possible you’ll encounter readings that contain unfamiliar vocabulary or don’t readily make sense.
Different disciplines and subjects have different writing conventions and styles, and it can take some practice to get to
know them. For example, scientific articles follow a very particular format and typically contain the following sections:
an abstract, introduction, methods, results, and discussions. If you are used to reading literary works, such as graphic
novels or poetry, it can be disorienting to encounter these new forms of writing.

Below are some strategies for making different kinds of texts more approachable.

Get to Know the Conventions

Academic texts, like scientific studies and journal articles, may have sections that are new to you. If you’re not sure what
an “abstract” is, research it online or ask your instructor. Understanding the meaning and purpose of such conventions is
not only helpful for reading comprehension but for writing, too.

Look up and Keep Track of Unfamiliar Terms and Phrases

Have a good college dictionary such as Merriam-Webster handy (or find it online) when you read complex academic
texts, so you can look up the meaning of unfamiliar words and terms. Many textbooks also contain glossaries or “key
terms” sections at the ends of chapters or the end of the book. If you can’t find the words you’re looking for in a
standard dictionary, you may need one specially written for a particular discipline. For example, a medical dictionary
would be a good resource for a course in anatomy and physiology.

If you circle or underline terms and phrases that appear repeatedly, you’ll have a visual reminder to review and learn
them. Repetition helps to lock in these new words and their meaning get them into long-term memory, so the more you
review them the more you’ll understand and feel comfortable using them.

Look for Main Ideas and Themes

As a college student, you are not expected to understand every single word or idea presented in a reading, especially if
you haven’t discussed it in class yet. However, you will get more out of discussions and feel more confident about asking
questions if you can identify the main idea or thesis in a reading. The thesis statement can often (but not always) be
found in the introductory paragraph, and it may be introduced with a phrase like “In this essay I argue that . . .” Getting a
handle on the overall reason an author wrote something (“to prove X” or “to explore Y,” for instance) gives you a
framework for understanding more of the details. It’s also useful to keep track of any themes you notice in the writing. A
theme may be a recurring idea, word, or image that strikes you as interesting or important: “This story is about men
working in a gloomy factory, but the author keeps mentioning birds and bats and windows. Why is that??”

Get the Most of Online Reading

Reading online texts presents unique challenges for some students. For one thing, you can’t readily circle or underline
key terms or passages on the screen with a pencil. For another, there can be many tempting distractions—just a quick
visit to amazon.com or Facebook.

While there’s no substitute for old-fashioned self-discipline, you can take advantage of the following tips to make online
reading more efficient and effective:

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Where possible, download the reading as a PDF, Word document, etc., so you can read it offline.

Get one of the apps that allow you to disable your social media sites for specified periods of time.

Adjust your screen to avoid glare and eye strain, and change the text font to be less distracting (for those essays written
in Comic Sans).

Install an annotation tool in your Web browser so you can highlight and make notes on online text. One to try is
hypothes.is. A low-tech option is to have a notebook handy to write in as you read.

Look for Reputable Online Sources

Professors tend to assign reading from reputable print and online sources, so you can feel comfortable referencing such
sources in class and for writing assignments. If you are looking for online sources independently, however, devote some
time and energy to critically evaluating the quality of the source before spending time reading any resources you find
there. Find out what you can about the author (if one is listed), the Web site, and any affiliated sponsors it may have.
Check that the information is current and accurate against similar information on other pages. Depending on what you
are researching, sites that end in “.edu” (indicating an “education” site such as a college, university, or other academic
institution) tend to be more reliable than “.com” sites.

Pay Attention to Visual Information

Images in textbooks or journals usually contain valuable information to help you more deeply grasp a topic. Graphs and
charts, for instance, help show the relationship between different kinds of information or data—how a population
changes over time, how a virus spreads through a population, etc.

Data-rich graphics can take longer to “read” than the text around them because they present a lot of information in a
condensed form. Give yourself plenty of time to study these items, as they often provide new and lasting insights that
are easy to recall later (like in the middle of an exam on that topic!).

Photo of a man lying on the ground, against a tree, holding a book and a pencil in hand

Vocabulary-Building Techniques

Gaining confidence with unique terminology used in different disciplines can help you be more successful in your
courses and in college generally. In addition to the suggestions described earlier, such as looking up unfamiliar words in
dictionaries, the following are additional vocabulary-building techniques for you to try:

Read Everything and Read Often

Reading frequently both in and out of the classroom will help strengthen your vocabulary. Whenever you read a book,
magazine, newspaper, blog, or any other resource, keep a running list of words you don’t know. Look up the words as
you encounter them and try to incorporate them into your own speaking and writing.

Make Connections to Words You Already Know

You may be familiar with the “looks like . . . sounds like” saying that applies to words. It means that you can sometimes
look at a new word and guess the definition based on similar words whose meaning you know. For example, if you are
reading a biology book on the human body and come across the word malignant, you might guess that this word means
something negative or broken if you already know the word malfunction, which share the “mal-” prefix.

Make Index Cards

If you are studying certain words for a test, or you know that certain phrases will be used frequently in a course or field,
try making flashcards for review. For each key term, write the word on one side of an index card and the definition on
the other. Drill yourself, and then ask your friends to help quiz you.

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Developing a strong vocabulary is similar to most hobbies and activities. Even experts in a field continue to encounter
and adopt new words. The following video discusses more strategies for improving vocabulary.

Academic Reading

Reading an academic text differs in many ways from reading comics, novels and magazines. Two important differences
are:

what we read – content and style of academic texts.

how we read – what readers of academic texts are expected to do.

Content and style of academic texts

Academic texts deal with concepts and ideas related to subjects that are studied at college or university.

Authors of academic texts:

raise abstract questions and issues.

present facts and evidence to support their claims.

use logic to build their arguments and defend their positions.

conform to a clearly-defined structure.

choose their words carefully to present their arguments as effectively as possible.

try to convince us to accept their positions.

What are readers of academic texts expected to do?

When you read an academic text you are expected to do much more than simply understand the words of the text and
summarize main ideas.

Readers at college or university level are also expected to:

recognize the author's purpose and possible bias.

differentiate between facts and author's opinions.

challenge questionable assumptions and unsupported claims.

think about possible consequences of the author's claims.

integrate information across multiple sources.

identify rival hypotheses, possible contradictions and competing views.

evaluate evidence and draw their own conclusions instead of simply accepting what the author says.

Doing all this isn't easy – and becomes almost impossible if you don’t know the meaning of the words you read.

Writing

Developing your writing capabilities is an important part of your study at university. You need to understand the
different types of academic writing you’re required to use and how to plan and structure your work and appropriately
acknowledge your references.

1. Academic writing

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2. Types of academic writing

3. Planning your writing

4. Structuring written work

5. Grammar, spelling and vocabulary

6. Editing and proofreading

7. Evidence, plagiarism and referencing

8. Help and support

Academic writing

Academic writing is generally quite formal, objective (impersonal) and technical. It is formal by avoiding casual or
conversational language, such as contractions or informal vocabulary. It is impersonal and objective by avoiding direct
reference to people or feelings, and instead emphasising objects, facts and ideas. It is technical by using vocabulary
specific to the discipline.

Different disciplines also have different styles and structures of writing. For example, some disciplines, such as in the
humanities, expect longer paragraphs, which include topic sentences to show how your argument is structured. Other
disciplines, for example in the sciences, expect short paragraphs, with no topic sentences, which are denser in factual
information.

To be a good academic writer, you will need to learn the specific styles and structures for your discipline, as well as for
each individual writing task. Some ways to do this are to:

ask for more information from your lecturer/supervisor/tutor

study the writing style of the academic articles in the most prestigious journals in your discipline

look at the successful writing by other students in your subject area.

Formal language

You can make your writing more formal through the vocabulary that you use. For academic writing:

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 language

Although academic writing usually requires you to be objective and impersonal (not mentioning personal feelings), often
you may still have to present your opinion. For example you may need to:

interpret findings

evaluate a theory

develop an argument

critique the work of others.

To express your point of view and still write in an objective style, you can use the following strategies.

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Move information around in the sentence to emphasise things and ideas, instead of people and feelings. For example,
instead of writing ‘I believe the model is valid, based on these findings’, write ‘These findings indicate that the model is
valid’.

Avoid evaluative words that are based on non-technical judgements and feelings. For example, use ‘valid’ or ‘did not
demonstrate’ instead of ‘amazing’ or ‘disappointment’.

Avoid intense or emotional evaluative language. For example, instead of writing ‘Parents who smoke are obviously
abusing their children’, write ‘Secondhand smoke has some harmful effects on children’s health’.

Use modality to show caution about your views, or to allow room for others to disagree. For example, instead of writing
‘I think secondhand smoke causes cancer’, write ‘There is evidence to support the possibility that secondhand smoke
increases the risk of cancer’.

Find authoritative sources, such as authors, researchers and theorists in books or articles, who support your point of
view, and refer to them in your writing. For example, instead of writing ‘Language is, in my view, clearly something
social’, write ‘As Halliday (1973) argues, language is intrinsically social’.

Different disciplines often have quite different expectations about how objective or subjective your writing can be. For
example, in some fields it is fine to use first person, such as 'my view is that...', while in other fields this is not
acceptable. You should look at the convention used in published articles in your discipline area, and check with your
lecturer.

Technical language

As well as using formal language, you also need to write technically. This means that you need to develop a large
vocabulary for the concepts specific to the discipline or specialisation you’re writing for. To do this, take note of
terminology used by your lecturer and tutor, as well as in your readings.

Be careful about the meaning of technical terms. Often the same word has a different meaning in another discipline. For
example, ‘discourse’ is a technical term used in multiple disciplines with different meanings.

Make sure you also understand and use the key categories and relationships in your discipline, that is, the way
information and ideas are organised into groups. For example, in the discipline of Law, law is separated into two types:
common law and statute law. This will help you structure your writing and make it more technical and analytical.

Types of academic writing

The four main types of academic writing are descriptive, analytical, persuasive and critical. Each of these types of writing
has specific language features and purposes.

In many academic texts you will need to use more than one type. For example, in an empirical thesis:

you will use critical writing in the literature review to show where there is a gap or opportunity in the existing research

the methods section will be mostly descriptive to summarise the methods used to collect and analyse information

the results section will be mostly descriptive and analytical as you report on the data you collected

the discussion section is more analytical, as you relate your findings back to your research questions, and also
persuasive, as you propose your interpretations of the findings.

Descriptive

The simplest type of academic writing is descriptive. Its purpose is to provide facts or information. An example would be
a summary of an article or a report of the results of an experiment.

The kinds of instructions for a purely descriptive assignment include: identify, report, record, summarise and define.

Analytical

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It’s rare for a university-level text to be purely descriptive. Most academic writing is also analytical. Analytical writing
includes descriptive writing, but you also re-organise the facts and information you describe into categories, groups,
parts, types or relationships.

Sometimes, these categories or relationships are already part of the discipline, sometimes you will create them
specifically for your text. For example, if you’re comparing two theories, you might break your comparison into several
parts, for example: how each theory deals with social context, how each theory deals with language learning, and how
each theory can be used in practice.

The kinds of instructions for an analytical assignment include: analyse, compare, contrast, relate, examine.

To make your writing more analytical:

spend plenty of time planning. Brainstorm the facts and ideas, and try different ways of grouping them, according to
patterns, parts, similarities and differences. You could use colour-coding, flow charts, tree diagrams or tables.

create a name for the relationships and categories you find. For example, advantages and disadvantages.

build each section and paragraph around one of the analytical categories.

make the structure of your paper clear to your reader, by using topic sentences and a clear introduction.

Persuasive

In most academic writing, you are required to go at least one step further than analytical writing, to persuasive writing.
Persuasive writing has all the features of analytical writing (that is, information plus re-organising the information), with
the addition of your own point of view. Most essays are persuasive, and there is a persuasive element in at least the
discussion and conclusion of a research article.

Points of view in academic writing can include an argument, a recommendation, interpretation of findings or evaluation
of the work of others. In persuasive writing, each claim you make needs to be supported by some evidence, for example
a reference to research findings or published sources.

The kinds of instructions for a persuasive assignment include: argue, evaluate, discuss, take a position.

To help reach your own point of view on the facts or ideas:

read some other researchers' points of view on the topic. Who do you feel is the most convincing?

look for patterns in the data or references. Where is the evidence strongest?

list several different interpretations. What are the real-life implications of each one? Which ones are likely to be most
useful or beneficial? Which ones have some problems?

discuss the facts and ideas with someone else. Do you agree with their point of view?

To develop your argument:

list the different reasons for your point of view

think about the different types and sources of evidence which you can use to support your point of view

consider different ways that your point of view is similar to, and different from, the points of view of other researchers

look for various ways to break your point of view into parts. For example, cost effectiveness, environmental
sustainability, scope of real-world application.

To present your argument, make sure:

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your text develops a coherent argument where all the individual claims work together to support your overall point of
view

your reasoning for each claim is clear to the reader

your assumptions are valid

you have evidence for every claim you make

you use evidence that is convincing and directly relevant.

Critical

Critical writing is common for research, postgraduate and advanced undergraduate writing. It has all the features of
persuasive writing, with the added feature of at least one other point of view. While persuasive writing requires you to
have your own point of view on an issue or topic, critical writing requires you to consider at least two points of view,
including your own.

For example, you may explain a researcher's interpretation or argument and then evaluate the merits of the argument,
or give your own alternative interpretation.

Examples of critical writing assignments include a critique of a journal article, or a literature review that identifies the
strengths and weaknesses of existing research. The kinds of instructions for critical writing include: critique, debate,
disagree, evaluate.

You need to:

accurately summarise all or part of the work. This could include identifying the main interpretations, assumptions or
methodology.

have an opinion about the work. Appropriate types of opinion could include pointing out some problems with it,
proposing an alternative approach that would be better, and/or defending the work against the critiques of others

provide evidence for your point of view. Depending on the specific assignment and the discipline, different types of
evidence may be appropriate, such as logical reasoning, reference to authoritative sources and/or research data.

Critical writing requires strong writing skills. You need to thoroughly understand the topic and the issues. You need to
develop an essay structure and paragraph structure that allows you to analyse different interpretations and develop
your own argument, supported by evidence.

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