Lesson 1: Nature and Characteristics of Academic Texts Features of Academic Texts

-An academic text is a written language that provides 1. Complex: Written texts are shorter, and the language has
information, which contain ideas and concepts that are more grammatical complexity, including more subordinate
related to the disciplines. clauses and more passives.

Example: Academic textbooks, research papers, thesis, 2. Formal: Should avoid colloquial words and expressions.
academic modules.
3. Precise: In academic texts, facts are given accurately and
Characteristics of an Academic Texts precisely.

1. Structures: the basic structure is used by an academic text 4. Objective: Academic texts use fewer words that emphasize
is consist of three (3) parts "introduction, body, and on the information you want to give and the arguments you
conclusion" which is formal and logical. want to make. It uses nouns (adjectives) rather than verbs
(adverbs).
Introduction: Sets up the argument and tells the readers what
to expect. The main goals are to catch your readers attention, 5. Explicit: It is the responsibility of the writer in English to
give background on your topic, and present your thesis make it clear to the reader how the various parts of the text
statement. are related. Direct statement.

Body: The main body of your essay is where the arguments 6. Accurate: The use of vocabulary must be accurate, and
are delivered. Body is where you lead the reader through your most subjects must have words with specific meanings.
ideas, elaborating arguments and evidence for your thesis.
7. Hedging: It is necessary to make decisions about your
The body is always divided into paragraphs.
stance on a particular subject or the strength of the claims
Conclusion: should reaffirm your answer to the question, and you are making and to limit the risk. “Cautious language”
briefly summarize key arguments. It does not include any
8. Responsible: The writer must be responsible and must be
new points or new information.
able to provide evidence and justification for any claims you
2. Tone: This refers to the attitude in a piece of writing make.
towards the subject, audience, and self. It is primarily
9. Organize: The content and structure must be well-
conveyed in writing through diction, point of view, syntax, and
organized. The flow of the arguments should be logical.
level of formality.
10. Plan: Texts are well-planned and takes place after research
3. Language: Clear topic sentences enable a reader to follow
and evaluation, according to specific purpose and plan.
your line of thinking without difficulty. Formal language and
the third person POV should be used. Use of technical Purpose in Reading an Academic Text
language. “Big words”
1. To locate a main idea;
4. Citation: Citing source in the body of the paper and
providing a list of references as either footnotes or endnotes 2. To scan for information;
is vital. It is essential to acknowledge the source as a defense
3. To identify gaps in existing studies;
against allegation of plagiarism.
4. To connect new ideas to existing ones;
5. Complexity: An academic text addresses complex issues
that require HOTS to comprehend. 5. To gain more pieces of information;

Example: “If you’re always trying to be normal, you will never 6. To support a particular writing assignment;
know how amazing you can be.” —Maya Angelou
7. To deeply understand an existing idea.
6. Evidence-based arguments: In academic texts, opinions are
based on a sound understanding of the pertinent body of Lesson 2: Characteristics of Academic language and Social
knowledge and academic debates that exist within, and often language
external to a specific discipline. Academic language - is the language needed by students to
7. Thesis-driven: The starting point of an academic text is a do work in schools. Students who master academic language
particular perspective, idea or position applied to the chosen are more likely to be successful in academic and professional
research problem, such as establishing, proving, or disproving settings.
solutions to the questions posed for the topic.
Social language- is the set of vocabulary that allows us to The purpose of text structures is to help readers focus
communicate with others in the context of regular daily attention on key concepts and relationships, anticipate what
conversations. is to come, and monitor their comprehension as they read
and write.
Characteristics of Academic language
Different types of Text Structures
1. Formal: It should not sound conversational or casual.
1. Narrative: Narrates an event/story with characters, setting,
EXAMPLES:
conflict, point of view, and plot
Consider, monitor
Narration means the art of storytelling, and the purpose of
Revise, review narrative writing is to tell stories. Any time you tell a story to a
friend or family member about an event or incident in your
Solve, repair, amend day, you engage in a form of narration. In addition, a narrative
can be factual or fictional.
2. Objective: This means it is unbiased. It should be based on
facts and evidence and are not influenced by personal Elements of the Story
feelings.
Characters: The characters are the people (or sometimes
3. Impersonal: This involves avoiding the personal pronouns animals) who are featured in a story.
'I' and 'we'.
Settings: The characters are the people (or sometimes
4. Explicit: Use clear and precise language, clarity of the animals) who are featured in a story.
writing structure, and the use of clear conjunctions and other
connectors. Plot: Plot is the series of connected events that make up the
main action of a story in a play, novel, film, or other narrative
5. Caution: The careful attention to avoid sweeping literary work.
generalization.
Guide Questions:

Who is the narrative about?

Where is it set?

What is the conflict?

Who is telling the narrative?

What is happening?

Lesson 3: Variety of Text Structures in Academic Text

Text Structure- Refers to the internal organization of a text.

Also, the organization an author`s uses when presenting 2. CHRONOLOGICAL, PROCESS, OR SEQUENCE
information.
A way of organizing information by the time or date that
A text's structure can often be described as a sort of motion, events happened. It is often used in expository writing, such
following the focus as it shifts from one place to another. - as narrating a story, describing a process, or giving
Khan Academy, 2023 instructions.
Purpose of Text Structure Transitional words
First, second, third… , later, next, before, then, finally, Transitional words
after/later , when, since, now/previously, actual use of dates
problem is, dilemma is, if/then, because, so that,
Guide Questions: question/answer, puzzle is solved

What items, events, or steps are listed? Guide questions:

Do they have to/always happen in this order? What is the problem?

What sequence of events is being described? Why is this a problem?

What are the major incidents that occur? Is anything being done to try to solve the problem?

How is this structure revealed in the text? What can be done to solve the problem?

3. CAUSE AND EFFECT 5. COMPARE AND CONTRAST

It is primarily used to communicate the causal relationship It involves taking two or more subjects and analyzing the
between an event, action, or idea and what follows. differences and similarities between them.

Paragraphs structured as cause and effect explain reasons You might find yourself comparing all kinds of things in an
why something happened or the effects of something. academic essay: historical figures, literary works, policies,
research methods, etc. Doing so is an important part of
constructing arguments.

Transitional words

if/then, reasons why, as a result, therefore, because,

Transition words:
consequently, since, so that, for, due to
However/yet, nevertheless, on the other hand, but/where as,
Guide questions:
similarly, although, also/likewise, in contrast/comparison,
What happened? different, either/or, in the same way/just as

Why did it happen? Guide questions:

What caused it to happen? What items are being compared?

4. PROBLEM AND SOLUTION In what ways are they similar? Different?

Problem and solution is a pattern of organization where What conclusion does the author reach about these items?
information in a passage is expressed as a dilemma or
What conclusion does the author reach about these items?
concerning issue (a problem) and something that was, can be,
or should be done to remedy this issue (solution or attempted 6. DESCRIPTION
solution)
Description is a type of academic writing that provides facts
It is a type of argument that seeks to convince the reader to or information about something in a vivid and detailed way.
take a particular course of action.
It is also defined as a critical, objective, specialized text
written by experts or professionals using formal language.
 3. You need to analyze the text to save time in thinking what
you will do.
Transitional words
4. You should avoid original words of the author instead; use
for example, characteristics, for instance, such as, including,
your own vocabulary.
to illustrate, next, top of that
5. Organize your ideas.
Guide questions
6. Write down all information in a coherent and precise form.
What are the most important characteristics?
Summary is a condensed version of the original paper, so
How is it being described (what does it look like, how does it avoid making it long.
work, etc.)?
7. You can also decide to represent information through using
What is important to remember about it? dimensional constructions in representing concepts, skills or
facts.
Lesson #3: Techniques in Summarizing Variety of Academic
Text Basic Rules

Summary Erase things that don’t matter - Delete trivial material that is
unnecessary to understanding.
-Summary is a short account, which gives the main but not
the details. Erase things that repeat - Delete redundant material. In note
taking, time and space is precious. If word or phrase says
-Summarizing is essential and useful study tool as well as basically the same thing you have already written down, then
good writing practice. don’t write again.
-Summarizing means identifying the main idea and Trade, general terms for specific names - Substitute
important facts and brief overview. superordinate terms for lists (example: flower for daisies,
tulips for roses.) Focus on the big picture.
-According to Buckley (2004), in her popular writing text Fit to
Print, summarizing is reducing text to one-third or one- Use your own words to write the summary - Write the
quarter its original size, clearly articulating the author’s summary using your own words but make sure to retain the
meaning, and retaining main ideas. main points.
-According to Diane Hacker (2008), in A Canadian Writer’s Techniques in Summarizing
Reference, explains that summarizing involves stating a work’s
thesis and main ideas “simply, briefly, and accurately”. 1. Somebody Wanted But So Then

-From dictionaries, it is defined as taking a lot of information Each word represents a key question related to the story's
and creating a condensed version that covers the main essential elements:
points; and to express the most important facts or ideas
Somebody: Who is the text about?
about something or someone in a short and clear form.
Wanted: What did the main character want?
Two aims of Summary
But: What was the problem encountered?
-To reproduce the overarching ideas in a text, identifying the
general concept through the entire text. So: How was the problem solved?

-To express these overarching ideas using precise, specific Then: Tell how the story ends.
language.
Example:
Approaches in Summarizing
Somebody: Little Red Riding Hood
1. Read the work first to understand the author’s intent.
Wanted: She wanted to take cookies to her sick grandmother.
2. Present information through facts, skills and concept in
But: She encountered a wolf pretending to be her
visual formats.
grandmother.
3. To avoid difficulty, you need first to know the main points
So: She ran away, crying for help.
and the supporting details. You can exclude any illustrations,
examples or explanations. Then: A woodsman heard her and saved her from the wolf.
“Little Red Riding Hood wanted to take cookies to her sick When: When isn’t specified in this story, so it’s not important
grandmother, but she encountered a wolf. He got to her in this case.
grandmother’s house first and pretended to be the old
Where: An old country road
woman. He was going to eat Little Red Riding Hood, but she
realized what he was doing and ran away, crying for help. A Why: The tortoise was tired of hearing the hare boast about
woodsman heard the girl’s cries and saved her from the wolf.” his speed.
2. SAAC method How: The tortoise kept up his slow but steady pace.
This method is particularly helpful for students who are "The Tortoise and the Hare."
learning the format of a summary and need reminders to
include the title and author's name. “Tortoise got tired of listening to Hare boast about how fast
he was, so he challenged Hare to a race. Even though he was
State: the name of the article, book, or story slower than Hare, Tortoise won by keeping up his slow and
steady pace when Hare stopped to take a nap.”
Assign: the name of the author
4. First Then Finally
Action: what the author is doing (example: tells, explains)
The "First Then Finally" technique helps students summarize
Complete: complete the sentence or summary with keywords
events in chronological order. The three words represent the
and important details
beginning, main action, and conclusion of a story,
Example: respectively:

State: "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" First: What happened first? Include the main character and
main event/action.
Assign: Aesop (a Greek storyteller)
Then: What key details took place during the event/action?
Action: tells
Finally: What were the results of the event/action?
Complete: what happens when a shepherd boy repeatedly
lies to the villagers about seeing a wolf Example:

"The Boy Who Cried Wolf," by Aesop (a Greek storyteller), State: "The Boy Who Cried Wolf"
tells what happens when a shepherd boy repeatedly lies to
Assign: Aesop (a Greek storyteller)
the villagers about seeing a wolf. After a while, they ignore his
false cries. Then, when a wolf really does attack, they don’t Action: tells
come to help him.”
Complete: what happens when a shepherd boy repeatedly
3. 5 W's, 1 H lies to the villagers about seeing a wolf
The Five W's, One H strategy relies on six crucial questions: "Goldilocks and the Three Bears"
who, what, when, where, why, and how. These questions
make it easy to identify the main character, important details, First, Goldilocks entered the bears' home while they were
and main idea. 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,
Who: is the story about? so she jumped up and ran away.
What: did they do? 5. Give Me the Gist
When: did the action take place? When someone asks for "the gist" of a story, they want to
know what the story is about. In other words, they want a
Where: did the story happen?
summary—not a retelling of every detail. To introduce the gist
Why: did the main character do what s/he did? method, explain that summarizing is just like giving a friend
the gist of a story, and have your students tell each other
How: did the main character do what s/he did?
about their favorite books or movies in 15 seconds or less.
Example: You can use the gist method as a fun, quick way to practice
summarizing on a regular basis.
Who: The tortoise
Simply the essential meaning of it. It is different from a
What: He raced a quick, boastful hare and won. summary, which is an accounting of the main points of
something. A gist has the nuance of the core meaning or
heart of an idea, whereas summary has the nuance of
including all the bullet points (shade of distinction).