Academic Writing Quiz

EAPP Notes

• EAPP stands for English for Academic Purposes
• The course is taught by Mrs. Tapit
• The course covers various components of academic writing

Academic Text

• Academic text provides information related to a specific field
• It starts by posing a question, problematizing a concept, evaluating opinions and ends with answering questions, clarifying problems, or arguing for a perspective
• It functions as a tool of communication, sharing knowledge within a subject area
• Common examples include Textbooks, Research papers, Academic Journals, Essays, Dissertations, Abstracts, Concept papers, Critique papers, and Position papers.

Characteristics of Academic Language

• Formal: Precise language that avoids slang, jargon, and colloquialisms
• Objective: Impersonal writing; avoids first-person pronouns (I, we, us).
• Explicit: Includes signposts to guide readers through the relationships within the material
• Cautious: Avoids sweeping generalizations; knowledge is built on proven theories and concepts

Text Structure

• Text structure refers to how a piece of writing is organized
• It improves the reader's ability to find information within the text and understand the material
• The structure of the text should be clear across all sections, paragraphs, and sentences
• It generally follows different patterns depending on the author's purpose

Patterns of Text Structure

• Cause and Effect: Shows relationships between events or actions, using words like "cause," "leads to," "therefore," "because," and "consequently"
• Description: Provides details using the five senses to create a mental image, including person, place, object, or event
• Order/Sequence: Presents events in a chronological or logical order, such as "first," "second," "next," "finally," and "lastly"
• Comparison and Contrast: Highlights similarities and differences between two or more items (people, ideas, events) using words like "like," "unlike," "in comparison," "whereas," and "however"
• Problem-Solution: Introduces a problem and proposes a solution, the problem typically forms the thesis statement

Summarizing Techniques

• Summarizing is a crucial skill for critical reading, and it distills the main ideas from the text
• It condenses a longer text into a shorter version while retaining the core content
• It excludes personal judgment
• The Cornell Method divides the paper into two columns; one for main points, and the other for detailed explanations
• Summarizing experimental reports focuses on purpose, method, results, and conclusions
• Summarizing argumentative texts involves identifying main arguments, counterarguments, and supporting evidence; it presents a comprehensive and accurate summary without personal commentary

Thesis Statement

• A thesis statement summarizes the topic and declares a position on it
• It guides the direction of an essay and is the central idea
• It provides focus, unity, and structure for the paper
• It is distinct from a topic sentence, as it covers the entire essay, while a topic sentence focuses on a single paragraph
• A strong thesis statement is focused, clear, and arguable, and can be supported by evidence
• Characteristics of a strong thesis statement include : Specificity, Debatability, and Supportability by evidence

Outlining

• Outlining is a writing tool to organize a writer's ideas
• It helps visualize the structure of the paper and develops the various points
• After choosing a topic, brainstorming, and creating a thesis statement, the next step is creating an outline
• Outlines categorize main points, organize paragraphs logically, and ensure that each idea is appropriately developed
• Formal outlines exist as Topic Outlines (organizes ideas into headings and subheadings) and Sentence Outlines (provide more detail by stating ideas in full sentences)

Writing a Critique

• A critique evaluates or analyzes a work or concept
• It often includes judgment, but does not always focus solely on negativity
• It involves highlighting both strengths and weaknesses
• Critical approaches, also called lenses, are different perspectives used to analyze literary works. This is similar to wearing different sunglasses.
• Examples of Literary criticism/Critical approaches: Formalism, Biographical Approach, Historical Criticism, Psychological Criticism, Reader-Response Criticism, Marxism, Feminism.
• A critique for artworks (using the Feldman's approach) involves four major steps, Description, Analysis, Interpretation, and Judgement. .