EAPP(2)

• Academic Text


  Typically used for textbooks, in classrooms and other discipline related to the field of academics
• Academic Text


  • Impersonal and formal, avoiding conversational language (informal)
  • Always in 3rd person
  • No contractions or informal vocabulary
• Content and Style of Academic Texts

  • Include concepts and theories related to the specific discipline
  • Have clearly structured introduction, body, and conclusion
  • Minimum paragraphs - 3
  • Include information from credible sources that are properly cited
  • Exhibit properties of a well-written text- organization, cohesion, coherence, language use and mechanics
• Organization


  • Ideas are logically and accurately arranged
• Coherence and cohesion

  Ideas are logically, clearly and smoothly linked to one another
• Cohesion


  Connection of ideas at the sentence level, achieved through pronouns, transitional devices, and repetition of keywords
• Language Use


  • Use clear and concise sentences
  • Avoid redundancies, wordiness, clichés, and high falutin language
  • Avoid excessive use of "there" and "it" structures
  • Use precise vocabulary
  • Be consistent with pronoun use
  • Avoid sexist language
• Formality


  Reflects a dignified stance, use of standard English, avoidance of contractions, appropriate use of modals, avoidance of exclamation marks, proper citation of sources, appropriate use of numbers
• Objectivity


  Writing must be impersonal and maintain social distance, avoidance of personal pronouns, rhetorical questions, and emotive language
• Explicitness


  Use of appropriate signposting strategies to clearly indicate relationships between ideas
• Caution


  Avoiding sweeping generalizations, using hedging language to distinguish facts from claims
• Hedging


  Using an intentionally noncommittal or ambiguous statement, using evasive or deliberately vague language, avoiding fulfilling or answering a question completely, using verbal (auxiliary or modal form) and adverbial (adverb) expressions such as can, perhaps, may, suggest, which deal with degrees of probability in order to distinguish between facts and claims
• A feature of academic writing is the need to be cautious in one's statements in order to distinguish between facts and claims
• Words that lack caution

  • All; always; never; every concerned citizen; clearly; it is obvious that; absolutely; obviously there is no doubt that; without a doubt; definitely; this essay has proven; absolutely certain; any right-thinking person; certainly; undoubtedly; every
• Cautious words

  • Assume, suggest, estimate, indicate (verbs)
  • Can, could, would, may, might, should, appear, look, seem, tend, appear (modals)
  • Appear, tend, look, seem, often, usually, generally, occasionally (adverbs)
  • Likely, unlikely, probable, possible (adjectives)
• Skimming


  Reading rapidly in order to get a general overview of the material
• Scanning


  Reading rapidly in order to find specific facts
• Text structures

  • Structure
  • Text
  • Academic text
  • Elements
  • Thesis
  • Introduction
  • Conclusion
  • Body
• Structure


  How the important points, moments or events are organized and emphasized in a text
• Structure is the backbone of the text
• Structure is particularly critical in academic texts because the sequencing of your ideas give them an acceptable and easy to understand shape
• The purpose of structure is to guide readers to easily navigate through your points
• Six general classifications of academic texts

  • Essay
  • Concept paper
  • Reaction paper
  • Position paper
  • Report
  • Research
• Essay


  A formal analytical composition written for a professional audience that exhibits formal tone, sentence structure, and language
• Concept paper


  Defines an idea or a concept and clarifies its 'whatness'; its most prominent structure is the use of definition
• Reaction paper


  An informed and insightful perspective on art, popular culture, and a technical topic
• Position paper


  Asserts an argument, which should be backed up with supporting evidence
• Report


  Retells data, incident, or event
• Research


  A highly formal kind of report
• Introduction


  • Aims to make a good impression on readers, can use strategies like telling a story, quoting a reputable person, using sayings, mentioning startling facts, citing a law or the Bible, asking rhetorical questions, or sharing a personal experience and realization (the latter is commonly not applicable in academic writing)
• Thesis statement


  The one-sentence gist or summary of the entire paper, which the evidence and discussion in the body will revolve around
• Body


  • Composed of several paragraphs that cohesively discuss the thesis, with each paragraph dealing with only one main topic (the key or topic sentence), and using transitional expressions to link one paragraph to the next
• Conclusion


  • Leaves the impression that the topic has been relevantly and thoroughly dealt with, often includes summarising the key points, and can end with a call to action or something for the reader to think about
• Coherence


  Ideas are connected at a conceptual or idea level.
• Cohesion can be applied using three ways:

  • Through the use of pronouns
  • Through the use of transitional devices
  • Employs a repetition of keywords
• Language Use


  Considered as the clearest indicator of a well written text
• Mechanics


  Refers to the technical aspect of writing

  Is characterized as a set of conventions on how to spell, abbreviate, punctuate, and capitalize a composition
• There are four important features of language:

  1. Formality
  2. Objectivity
  3. Explicitness
  4. Caution