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    Types of Academic Text

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    4I Dw Gd Anom Putra D
    This document provides background information on academic writing. It discusses the purpose of academic writing, common writing tasks like essays and reports, and the typical formats for short and long writing assignments. It also covers features of academic writing like using simple and complex sentences, integrating sources through citations, and structuring information into clear paragraphs.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Types of Academic Text

    Uploaded by

    4I Dw Gd Anom Putra D
    33 views7 pages
    This document provides background information on academic writing. It discusses the purpose of academic writing, common writing tasks like essays and reports, and the typical formats for short and long writing assignments. It also covers features of academic writing like using simple and complex sentences, integrating sources through citations, and structuring information into clear paragraphs.

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    © © All Rights Reserved

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    This document provides background information on academic writing. It discusses the purpose of academic writing, common writing tasks like essays and reports, and the typical formats for short and long writing assignments. It also covers features of academic writing like using simple and complex sentences, integrating sources through citations, and structuring information into clear paragraphs.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    33 views7 pages

    Types of Academic Text

    Uploaded by

    4I Dw Gd Anom Putra D
    This document provides background information on academic writing. It discusses the purpose of academic writing, common writing tasks like essays and reports, and the typical formats for short and long writing assignments. It also covers features of academic writing like using simple and complex sentences, integrating sources through citations, and structuring information into clear paragraphs.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 7

    1EEE

    Background to
    CHAPTER
    2
    3
    4
    1.1
    5
    6
    7
    writing
    8
    9
    10
    1
    2
    EEE3
    4
    5
    62222
    7
    Most academic courses assess students through written
    82
    9 assignments. These include coursework, which may take weeks
    20 to write, and exam answers, which often have to be written in an
    1 hour or less. This unit deals with:
    2
    3 • The names of different writing tasks
    4 • The format of long and short writing tasks
    5EEE • The use of sentences and paragraphs
    6
    7
    8
    9 1 The purpose of academic writing
    30
    1 Writers should be clear why they are writing. The most common reasons
    2 for writing include:
    3 • to report on a piece of research the writer has conducted
    4
    • to answer a question the writer has been given or chosen
    5
    6 • to discuss a subject of common interest and give the writer’s view
    7 • to synthesise research done by others on a topic
    8
    9 I Can you suggest any other reasons?
    40
    •
    1
    2 In all cases it is useful to bear in mind the likely readers of your work.
    36222 How can you explain your ideas to them effectively? Although there is no
    4 Part 1 The writing process

    fixed standard of academic writing, it is clearly different from the written


    style of newspapers or novels. Similarly, it is generally agreed that academic
    writing attempts to be accurate and objective. What are its other features?

    I Working alone or in a group, list your ideas below.

    • Impersonal style
    ____________________________________________________________

    • ____________________________________________________________
    • ____________________________________________________________
    • ____________________________________________________________

    2 Common types of academic writing


    Below are the most common types of written work produced by students.

    I Match the terms on the left to the definitions on the right.

    Notes A piece of research, either individual or group


    work, with the topic chosen by the student(s).

    Report The longest piece of writing normally done by


    a student (20,000+ words) often for a higher
    degree, on a topic chosen by the student.

    Project A written record of the main points of a text or


    lecture, for a student’s personal use.

    Essay A general term for any academic essay, report,


    presentation or article.

    Dissertation/ A description of something a student has done


    Thesis e.g. conducting a survey.

    Paper The most common type of written work,


    with the title given by the teacher, normally
    1000–5000 words.
    5 1.1 Background to writing

    1EEE 3 The format of long and short writing tasks


    2
    3 Short essays (including exam answers) generally have this pattern:
    4
    5
    6 Introduction
    7 Main body
    8
    9 Conclusion
    10
    1 Longer essays may include:
    2
    EEE3
    4 Introduction
    5 Main body
    62222 Literature review
    7 Case study
    82 Discussion
    9
    20 Conclusion
    1 References
    2 Appendices
    3
    4 䉴 See Units 4.3 Reports, case studies and literature reviews
    5EEE and 4.5 Writing longer essays
    6
    7 Dissertations and journal articles may have:
    8
    9
    30 Abstract
    1 List of contents
    2 List of tables
    3 Introduction
    4 Main body
    5 Literature review
    6 Case study
    7 Findings
    8 Discussion
    9
    40 Conclusion
    1 Acknowledgements
    2 References
    36222 Appendices
    6 Part 1 The writing process

    I Find the words in the lists above that match the following definitions:

    (a) A short summary of 100–200 words, which explains the


    paper’s purpose and main findings.
    __________________________________________________________
    (b) A list of all the sources the writer has mentioned in the text.
    __________________________________________________________
    (c) A section, at the end, where additional information is included.
    __________________________________________________________
    (d) A short section where people who have helped the writer are
    thanked.
    __________________________________________________________
    (e) Part of the main body in which the writer discusses relevant
    research.
    __________________________________________________________
    (f) A section where one particular example is described in detail.
    __________________________________________________________

    4 The features of academic writing


    There is considerable variation in the format of academic writing required
    by different schools and departments. Your teachers may give you guide-
    lines, or you should ask them what they want. But some general features
    apply to most formats.

    I Read the text below and identify the features underlined, using the
    words in the box.

    sentence heading sub-title


    paragraph title phrase

    (a) A fishy story


    (b) Misleading health claims regarding omega-3 fatty acids
    (c) Introduction
    7 1.1 Background to writing

    1EEE (d) There has been considerable discussion recently about the
    2 benefits of omega-3 fatty acids in the diet. (e) It is claimed that
    3 these reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and may even
    4 combat obesity. Consequently food producers have added
    5 omega-3s to products ranging from margarine to soft drinks in
    6 an attempt to make their products appear healthier and hence
    7 increase sales.
    8
    (f) However, consumers may be unaware that there are two types
    9
    of omega-3s. The best (long-chain fatty acids) are derived from
    10
    fish, but others (short-chain fatty acids) come from cheaper
    1
    sources such as soya. This latter group have not been shown
    2
    to produce the health benefits linked to the long-chain variety.
    EEE3
    According to Tamura et al. (2009) positive results may only be
    4
    obtained either by eating oily fish three times a week, or by
    5
    taking daily supplements containing 500mg of
    62222
    eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
    7
    82 (a) __________________________________________________________
    9
    (b) __________________________________________________________
    20
    1 (c) __________________________________________________________
    2
    (d) __________________________________________________________
    3
    4 (e) __________________________________________________________
    5EEE
    (f) __________________________________________________________
    6
    7
    8
    9 5 Some other common text features
    30
    1 (a) Reference to sources using citation:
    2 According to Tamura et al. (2009)
    3
    (b) The use of abbreviations to save space:
    4
    docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)
    5
    6 (c) Italics: used to show words from other languages:
    7 Tamura et al. (= and others)
    8
    (d) Brackets: used to give subsidiary information or to clarify a point:
    9
    . . . but others (short-chain fatty acids) come from cheaper sources such
    40
    as soya.
    1
    2
    36222
    8 Part 1 The writing process

    6 Simple and complex sentences


    I Study the table below.

    Annual vehicle production 2005–9

    2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

    135,470 156,935 164,820 159,550 123,075

    All sentences contain verbs:

    In 2005 the company produced over 135,000 vehicles.


    Between 2005 and 2006 vehicle production increased by
    20 per cent.
    Simple sentences are easier to write and read, but complex sentences are
    also needed in academic writing. However, students should make clarity a
    priority, and avoid writing very complex sentences until they feel confident
    in their ability.Complex sentences contain conjunctions, relative pronouns
    or punctuation, which link the clauses:

    In 2005 the company produced over 135,000 vehicles but


    between 2005 and 2006 production increased by 20 per cent.
    Over 164,000 vehicles were produced in 2007; by 2009 this had
    fallen to 123,000.

    I Write two simple and two complex sentences using data from the
    table above.

    (a) __________________________________________________________
    __________________________________________________________
    (b) __________________________________________________________
    __________________________________________________________
    (c) __________________________________________________________
    __________________________________________________________
    (d) __________________________________________________________
    __________________________________________________________
    9 1.1 Background to writing

    1EEE 7 Writing in paragraphs


    2
    3 I Discuss the following questions:
    4
    5 What is a paragraph?
    6 Why are texts divided into paragraphs?
    7
    8 How long are paragraphs?
    9 Do paragraphs have a standard structure?
    10
    1
    2 I Read the text below and divide it into a suitable number of paragraphs.
    EEE3
    4
    5 7.1 BIOCHAR
    62222
    7 Charcoal is produced by burning wood slowly in a low-oxygen environment.
    82 This material, which is mainly carbon, was used for many years to heat iron ore
    9 to extract the metal. But when Abraham Darby discovered a smelting process
    20 using coke (produced from coal) in 1709 demand for charcoal collapsed. At
    1 approximately the same time the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere began
    2
    to rise. But a new use for charcoal, re-named biochar, has recently emerged. It is
    3
    4 claimed that using biochar made from various types of plants can both improve
    5EEE soil quality and combat global warming. Various experiments in the United States
    6 have shown that adding burnt crop wastes to soil increases fertility and cuts the
    7 loss of vital nutrients such as nitrates. The other benefit of biochar is its ability to
    8 lock CO2 into the soil. The process of decay normally allows the carbon dioxide in
    9 plants to return to the atmosphere rapidly, but when transformed into charcoal
    30
    this may be delayed for hundreds of years. In addition, soil containing biochar
    1
    2 appears to release less methane, a gas which contributes significantly to global
    3 warming. American researchers claim that widespread use of biochar could
    4 reduce global CO2 emissions by over 10 per cent. But other agricultural scientists
    5 are concerned about the environmental effects of growing crops especially for
    6 burning, and about the displacement of food crops that might be caused.
    7
    However, the potential twin benefits of greater farm yields and reduced
    8
    greenhouse gases mean that further research in this area is urgently needed.
    9
    40
    1
    2 䉴 See Unit 1.10 Organising paragraphs
    36222

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