ACADEMIC WRITING

 it is what scholars do to communicate with

other scholars in their fields of study, their
disciplines.
 it is the process of breaking down ideas and
using deductive reasoning, formal voice, and
third person point of view.
 it is generally quite formal, objective
(impersonal) and technical.
 ACADEMIC WRITING
PRONOUNS ( first, second and third person)

FIRST PERSON – I, me, my, our, ours, us, mine and

we
SECOND PERSON – you, you’re and your
THIRD PERSON – He, she, his, her, it, them and
they
 ACADEMIC WRITING

Academic Writing is a process.

Posing a question
Problematizing a concept
Evaluating an opinion
Answering the question/s posed
 ACADEMIC WRITING

Academic writing has a specific purpose.

To inform
To argue a specific point
To persuade
 AREAS
IN
ACADEMIC WRITING
 AREAS IN ACADEMIC WRITING
1. CONTENT
 clarity of the purpose and statement,
relevance of the supporting points to
the statement, knowledge on the
subject matter.
 AREAS IN ACADEMIC WRITING
2. STRUCTURE
 coherence and logical sequences of the
ideas.
3. LANGUAGE
 word choice, sentence constructions.
 AREAS IN ACADEMIC WRITING
4. MECHANICS
 grammar,punctuations, capitalizations,
formatting documentation.
 STRUCTURES OF A
SPECIFIC ACADEMIC TEXTS
 Depends on a primary purpose of a text
which in turn determines how it is written.
 What information the author introduces in
the text?
 How this information is organized?
 STRUCTURES OF A
SPECIFIC ACADEMIC TEXTS
three-part essay structure 
the reader is introduced to the topic that will be
discussed and to the argument that will be presented
the discussion/analysis is carried out and the results
are presented
the argument is summed up and conclusions are
drawn
INTRODUCTION
to provide the reader with a clear idea of
the focus and aim of the text
 the topic of the essay/article will be
presented in the introduction,
often accompanied by a thesis statement
(the claim that the writer wishes to make)
INTRODUCTION
provides the context/background of the
argument
introduces the theoretical perspectives,
terminology, etc. that will be used
explains how the writing will be organised
BODY

where the essay's (or article's) argument,

ideas and results are developed and
discussed
CONCLUSION

should not contain any new facts or ideas,

but rather function as a brief restatement
of the main arguments and facts that have
been treated in the essay
 NINE MAIN STRUCTURES OF
ACADEMIC TEXTS
 These are the organizational patterns found
within the text types.
 An author often chooses one main text
structure for a piece but may incorporate
several of the text structures throughout the
text.
 NINE MAIN STRUCTURES OF
ACADEMIC TEXTS
1. DEFINITION – explain the nature of
something.
2. DESCRIPTION – gives concrete details
about the appearance, characteristics
and actions.
 NINE MAIN STRUCTURES OF
ACADEMIC TEXTS
3. RECOUNT AND SEQUENCE –
chronological narration.
4. CAUSE AND EFFECT – presents the reason
why a situation is obtained.
 NINE MAIN STRUCTURES OF
ACADEMIC TEXTS
5. COMPARISON AND CONTRAST – presents
similarities and differences.
6. ENUMERATION – listing parts and
characteristics of examples.
 NINE MAIN STRUCTURES OF
ACADEMIC TEXTS
7. PROBLEM SOLUTION – starts off with a
negative situation and ends with a
positive situation.
8. CLASSIFICATION – presents groupings,
types, classes and categories.
 NINE MAIN STRUCTURES OF
ACADEMIC TEXTS
9. THESIS EVIDENCE – argues, points or
interpretation.
 FOUR TYPES OF TEXT
 list four general reasons why authors
write.
 Identifying the text type of a passage
helps the reader set the purpose for
reading and alerts the reader to the
organization of the piece.
 FOUR TYPES OF TEXT
1. NARRATIVE
 Entertains
 Tells a story
 Character(s), setting, problem,
resolution.
 FOUR TYPES OF TEXT
2. EXPOSITORY
 Facts/information
 Test features (headings, bold,
words, charts, graphs, captions)
 FOUR TYPES OF TEXT
3. TECHNICAL
 Information to perform a task
 Steps
 FOUR TYPES OF TEXT
4. PERSUASIVE
 Author tries to convince reader to
take a certain opinion or perform
a certain action.
INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITY
DESCRIPTION TEXT:
 Give the concrete details about your
mother/father or any favorite person in
your life.
 A4 bond paper with picture of the
subject.
 FEATURES
OF
ACADEMIC TEXTS
 FEATURES OF ACADEMIC TEXTS
1. COMPLEX
Written language has longer words, it is
lexically more dense and it has a more varied
vocabulary.
Written texts are shorter and the language
has more grammatical complexity, including
more subordinate clauses and more passives.
 FEATURES OF ACADEMIC TEXTS
2. FORMAL
should avoid colloquial words and expressions

3. PRECISE
 Facts are given accurately and precisely
 FEATURES OF ACADEMIC TEXTS
4. OBJECTIVE
objective rather than personal
has fewer words that refer to the writer or
the reader
main emphasis should be on the information
that you want to give and the arguments you
want to make, rather than you
 FEATURES OF ACADEMIC TEXTS

5. EXPLICIT
 it is the responsibility of the writer in
English to make it clear to the reader how
the various parts of the text are related
 FEATURES OF ACADEMIC TEXTS

6. ACCURATE
uses vocabulary accurately
most subjects have words with narrow
specific meanings
 FEATURES OF ACADEMIC TEXTS

7. HEDGED
it is necessary to make decisions about
your stance on a particular subject, or the
strength of the claims you are making
 FEATURES OF ACADEMIC TEXTS
8. RESPONSIBLE
you must be responsible for, and must be
able to provide evidence and justification
for, any claims you make.
You are also responsible for demonstrating
an understanding of any source texts you
use.
ACTIVITY/ASSIGNMENT:

Look for two examples of academic

writing and explain what makes it as one
write your explanation in your notebook.
Attach the examples.
 LANGUAGE VARIATIONS/ LANGUAGE USED IN
ACADEMIC WRITING
Academic writing is thinking – we cannot just write
anything that comes to our mind.

Abide by the set of rules and practices in writing.

Write in a language that is appropriate and formal
but not too pretentious.
The sentences in academic writing are often longer
and more intricate than the sentences in popular
magazines (Lexical density).
• Academic writing considers knowledge and
background of the audience
Use of jargons – if the readers belong to the same
field/discipline to which the writer belongs
Use layman’s terms – if the readers are outsiders

• Academic writing is backed up/supported with strong

and valid evidence.
deliberate, thorough, and careful thought
involves research
Literary Text vs. Academic Text
 STATING
YOUR THESIS
 STATING YOUR THESIS

A thesis is a one-sentence statement about

your topic.
It's an assertion about your topic, something
you claim to be true. Notice that a topic alone
makes no such claim; it merely defines an area to
be covered. 
 STATING YOUR THESIS

To make your topic into a thesis statement, you

need to make a claim about it, make it into a
sentence. Look back over your materials--
brainstorms, investigative notes, etc.--and think
about what you believe to be true.
 Think about what your readers want or need to know.
Then write a sentence, preferably at this point, a simple
one, stating what will be the central idea of your paper.
The result should look something like this:
Original Subject: an important issue in my major field 
Focused Topic: media technology education for
communication majors
Thesis: Theories of media technology deserve a more
prominent place in this University’s
Communication program
It's always good to have a thesis you can believe in.
NOT a Thesis: This University has a Communication major.
PARAPHRASING
 PARAPHRASING
• To rewrite something in a different way.

• To paraphrase is to say the same thing in another

way, using your own words.

• Can successfully be done using a combination of

techniques.
Method 1:
Use Different Vocabulary with the Same Meaning
Method 2: Change the Order of Words
Method 3: Use Different Grammar
6 Steps to Effective Paraphrasing
• Reread the original passage until you understand
its full meaning.
• Set the original aside, and write your paraphrase
on a note card.
• Jot down a few words below your paraphrase to
remind you later how you envision using this
material.
6 Steps to Effective Paraphrasing
• Check your rendition with the original to make
sure that your version accurately expresses all
the essential information in a new form.
• Use quotation marks to identify any unique term
or phraseology you have borrowed exactly from
the source.
• Record the source (including the page) so that
you can credit it easily if you decide to
incorporate the material into your paper.
WRITING
AN
OUTLINE
 WRITING AN OUTLINE
• An outline is a tool for improving writing. An outline can
help you:
• determine a logical organization (sequence) of your
main ideas and supporting evidence and explanation
• check that all your ideas and information are on-task
and relevant to your thesis
• see at a glance where you need more evidence to
make your point
 WRITING AN OUTLINE

• An outline also saves you time and frustration. It

provides a “picture” of your essay which allows you to
predict many of its strengths and weaknesses before
you write it.
Title:_________________________
Thesis Statement: ______________________________________________________
Main Idea #1__________________________________________________________
* Support: ____________________________________________
* Support: ____________________________________________
* Support: ____________________________________________
Main Idea #2__________________________________________________________
* Support: ____________________________________________
* Support: ____________________________________________
* Support: ____________________________________________
Main Idea #3__________________________________________________________
* Support: ____________________________________________
* Support: ____________________________________________
* Support: ____________________________________________
Conclusion :___________________________________________________________
SUMMARIZING
 SUMMARIZING
• Involves putting the main idea(s) into your
own words, including only the main
point(s).
• Summaries are significantly shorter than
the original and take a broad overview of
the source material.
EXAMPLE:
The original passage (the quote):
Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking
notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final
paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript
should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you
should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of
source materials while taking notes.
Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (1976):
46-47.
EXAMPLE:

An acceptable summary:
Students should take just a few notes in direct
quotation from sources to help minimize the
amount of quoted material in a research paper
(Lester 46-47).
EXAMPLE:

An acceptable summary:
Students should take just a few notes in direct
quotation from sources to help minimize the
amount of quoted material in a research paper
(Lester 46-47).
THANKYOU!