Characteristics of Academic Texts

Study Notes

Structure includes an introduction, body, and conclusion, allowing for a coherent presentation of ideas.
Tone remains objective and unbiased, focusing on facts rather than personal feelings.
Language is formal and precise; technical terms are utilized appropriately to convey complex ideas.
Citation is essential for acknowledging sources, promoting academic integrity, and avoiding plagiarism.
Complexity requires higher-order thinking, engaging with intricate topics that challenge the reader.
Evidence-based arguments rely on a comprehensive understanding of academic discourse to support claims.

Starts with a specific perspective applied to the research problem, guiding the narrative.
Academic language denotes the vocabulary and structures necessary for success in an educational environment.
Social language contrasts with academic language, consisting of informal vocabulary used in casual conversations.
Formal language avoids colloquialisms, maintaining professionalism and clarity.
Precise language conveys facts accurately, using vocabulary correctly and minimizing jargon.
Objective language is unbiased, emphasizing information and sound arguments over personal opinions.
Explicit connections clarify relationships between parts of the text, enhancing comprehension.
Hedging incorporates cautious language to express uncertainty or limitations in claims.

Recognizing text structures aids readers in understanding information organization.
Narrative structure tells a story, encompassing elements like characters, setting, conflict, and plot.
Chronological, process, or sequence structures present ideas or events in their natural order.
Cause and effect structures explain reasons behind events and their subsequent consequences.
Problem/solution structures identify issues and propose practical solutions.
Comparison and contrast structures analyze similarities and differences between concepts.
Definition/description structures outline topics by listing characteristics and features.

An outline serves as a blueprint for organizing writing clearly and coherently.
Topic outlines use phrases to summarize main ideas and supporting details.
Sentence outlines comprise complete sentences to articulate key points and arguments.
Parallelism ensures entries at the same level maintain consistent grammatical formats.
Coordination confirms that entries at the same level hold equal importance.
Subordination differentiates between major and minor ideas, establishing a clear hierarchy in structure.

Objective assessment emphasizes using evidence to support opinions and enhance credibility.
Language appropriateness is crucial for effectively communicating with specific audiences or disciplines.
Formalist criticism analyzes text features like style and structure for meaning creation.
Gender criticism explores how sexual identity impacts the evaluation of literary works.
Historical criticism considers the cultural and historical contexts influencing a text's creation.
Reader-response criticism highlights individual interpretation in the reading experience.
Media criticism investigates potential biases in media reporting.
Marxist criticism examines texts through the lens of class and economic power.
Structuralism emphasizes how behavior is influenced by social and cultural frameworks.

Media bias indicates if reports show partiality or prejudice.
Technical terms are specialized vocabulary pertinent to specific fields of study.
Jargon refers to intricate terms that may confuse a general audience.
Slang encompasses informal vocabulary used in day-to-day conversations.

Identify the work by providing the author’s name, title, publisher, and publication date or issue date.
An informative summary should objectively highlight main arguments and supporting details.
Incorporate direct quotations to exemplify important ideas and strengthen analysis.