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• Academic Text is a kind of text that is commonly characterized with being formal, studied, researched, objective, exact, direct,

  and has the ability to influence its readers.

  The texts that you read in school are different from the texts you read during your leisure time. While the texts you read for

  pleasure, such as graphic novels or magazines, can be likened to the appeal of sweet desserts, academic texts are more like the heavy

  main course. More often than not they need to be chewed and savored for a long time before their meanings can be fully digested
• Academic Text:

  • Articles
  • Conference Papers
  • Reviews
  • Theses, Dissertations
• Articles - Published in scholarly journals, this type of acad. text offers results of research and development that can either impact the acad. community or provide relevance to nation-building.
• Conference Papers - These are papers presented in scholastic conferences, and may be revised as articles for possible publication in scholarly journals.
• Reviews - These provide evaluation or reviews of works published in scholarly journals.
• Theses, Dissertations - These are personal researches written by a candidate from a college or university degree.
• Aside from the fundamental differences in content and form, the difference between academic and non-academic texts lies

  in the approach you take when reading them.
• READING GOALS

  It is important that you know your purpose for reading early on, so you can save time and improve your comprehension.

  Before you read an academic text, ask yourself the following questions.

  1. Why am I reading this text?

  2. What information or pieces of information do I need?

  3. What do I want to learn?
• Below are some general purposes for reading an academic text

  • To better understand an existing idea

  • To get ideas that can support a particular writing assignment

  • To gain more information

  • To identify gaps in existing studies

  • To connect new ideas to existing ones
• STRUCTURE OF ACADEMIC TEXTS

  Academic texts are typically formal. They have a clearly structured introduction, body, and conclusion. They also include

  information from credible sources which are, in turn, properly cited. They also include a list of references used in developing the

  academic paper.
• When writing academic texts, authors use hedging or cautious language to tone down their claims
• When writing academic texts, authors take an objective point-of-view and avoid being personal and subjective
• When writing academic texts, authors provide facts and evidence from credible sources
• Academic texts


  • Include concepts and theories that are related to the specific discipline they explore
  • Exhibit all the properties of a well-written text
  • Adhere to rules of language use and mechanics
• Properties of a well-written text

  • Organization
  • Unity
  • Coherence and cohesion
  • Strict adherence to rules of language use and mechanics
• When writing academic texts, authors state critical questions and issues
• Academic texts usually exhibit all the properties of a well-written text
• When writing academic texts, authors list references
• When writing academic texts, authors use precise and accurate words while avoiding jargon and colloquial expressions
• CRITICAL READING STRATEGIES

  Reading academic texts requires focus and understanding. You have to interact with the text by questioning its assumptions,

  responding to its arguments, and connecting it to real-life experiences and applications. Critical or reflective readings helps you

  identify the key arguments presented by the author and analyze concepts presented in the text.

  To adopt a critical reading approach, practice the strategies to be employed during each stage of reading.
• Annotating a text can help you determine essential ideas or information, main ideas or arguments, and new information or ideas
• Ways to annotate a text

  • Write key words or phrases on the margins in bullet form
  • Write something on the page margin where important information is found
  • Write brief notes on the margin
  • Write questions on information that you find confusing
  • Write what you already know about the ideas
  • Write the limitations of the author’s arguments
  • Write notes on the reliability of the text
  • Comment on the author’s biases
  • Use a concept map or any graphic organizer to note down the ideas being explained
  • React on the arguments presented in the text
  • Underline important words, phrases, or sentences
  • Underline or circle meanings or definitions
  • Mark or highlight relevant/ essential parts of the text
  • Use the headings and transition words to identify relationships in the text
  • Create a bank of unfamiliar or technical words to be defined later
  • Use context clues to define unfamiliar or technical words
  • Synthesize authors’ arguments at the end of chapter or section
  • Determine the main idea of the text
  • Identify the evidence or supporting arguments presented by the author and check their validity and relevance
  • Identify the findings and note the appropriateness of the research method used
• AFTER READING

  • Reflect on what learned.

  • React on some parts of the text through writing.

  • Discuss some parts with your teacher or classmates.

  • Link the main idea of the text to what you already know.
• OTHER READING STRATEGIES

  In addition to the given strategies before, during, and after reading, there are other reading strategies that you can employ to

  ensure critical reading not only of academic texts, but also of other texts in general.

  • SQ3R Method of Reading
  • KWL Method
• The SQ3R Method stands for Survey (or

  Skim), Question, Read, Recite (or recall), Review.
• KWL Method

  This method guides you in reading and understanding a text. To apply the KWL method, simply make a table with 3

  columns. In the 1st column, write what you know about the topic (K), in the second, list down what you want to learn, and W

  in the last part, write down what you learned.
• UNDERSTANDING AND LOCATING THE THESIS STATEMENT

  The main idea of a text refers to the most important concept the writer wishes to impart to the readers,

  which is also called the thesis statement. Here are a few reminders about what a thesis statement is:

  • It is expressed as a complete sentence, not a phrase, topic, title, or question.

  • It expresses an opinion, attitude, or view regarding the topic.

  • It is not a statement of fact or an announcement.

  • It is not too broad nor too specific
• The thesis statement presents or describes the point of an essay. In an academic text, the thesis

  statement is usually presented in the abstract or executive summary or found at the last part of the introduction.

  It is written in a declarative sentence.

  Spotting the thesis statement helps prepare the readers for the content of the material and allows them

  to activate their prior knowledge about the topic.
• In some cases, in academic texts, the thesis statement located at the last part of the introduction is

  replaced with a purpose statement. Unlike the thesis statement, the purpose statement is introduced by signal

  phrases that announce the purpose, scope, or direction of the text as well as its focus. These signal phrases

  include: “This study examined...”, “This paper examines...”, “The aim of this essay is to...”, “This paper begins

  with...”, “In this paper. I hope to...”, “The primary objective of this paper is to...”, and “The purpose of this essay

  is to...” among others.
• STRATEGIES IN LOCATING THE THESIS STATEMENT

  The following strategies are also useful in helping you locate the thesis statement of a text.

  • Read the title of the text and make inferences on its purpose.

  • If the text has no abstract or executive summary, read the first few paragraphs as the thesis statement is

  usually located there.

  • In other cases, you may also check the conclusion where authors sum up and review their main points.
• UNDERSTANDING AND LOCATING TOPIC SENTENCES

  The topic sentence presents or describes the point of the paragraph; in other words, it is the main idea

  of a paragraph. It can be located in the beginning, middle, or last part of a paragraph.
• Another kind of main idea, which comes from the thesis statement and discusses a more focused/specific

  idea, is referred to as the topic sentence. The topic sentence is usually expressed as the first sentence of every

  paragraph – the unifying thought that is expounded on in the paragraph by using supporting details. Just like the

  previous discussion on rhetorical patterns, paragraphs are developed using a specific or a combination of

  organizational patterns in order to elaborate on the concept.
• Strategies in locating the topic sentence

  • Read the first sentence of the paragraph very carefully because most authors state their topic sentence in the beginning of the paragraph
  • Browse the sentences in the paragraph to identify what they describe. The sentence that best describes the topic of the paragraph is the topic sentence
  • Find the concept or idea being tackled, which in colloquial term is the “big word” in the paragraph. The sentence that defines the big word is usually the topic sentence
  • Identify the purpose of the paragraph. The sentence that presents or describes the purpose is the topic sentence
  • Observe the writing style of the author. Focus specifically on where he/she usually places his/her topic sentence