Reading Academic Texts

English for Academic and Professional Purposes

PRE-TEST
Test I. Direction: Categorize the information based
on their characteristics below by filling in the table
to differentiate academic text from non-academic
text. Write your answer on a separate sheet of
paper.
Test II. Direction: Read the passages and determine
how the information is being organized. Choose your
answer from the list of words below. Write the letter
of your choice on a separate sheet of paper.
a. Narrative
b. Cause and Effect
c. Chronological/sequence
d. Descriptive
e. Problem-Solution
f. Compare & Contrast
1. Ice-cream is a delicious frozen treat that comes in a
many different colors and flavors. Two of my favorite
flavors are strawberry and chocolate. Though both of
these flavors are delicious, strawberry may contain pieces
of fruit while chocolate usually will not. Even though
more chocolate ice-cream is sold across the country
annually than strawberry, each flavor tastes great inside
of a milk shake.
2. The ice-cream shop around the corner from my house
has the best ice-cream in the city. When you first walk
inside, there is a long chrome counter with matching stools
extending to alongside the far wall. Right where the
counter stops, the booth seating begins. There are lots of
old-timey knickknacks on the walls and chrome napkin
holders on all the tables. My favorite part of the shop is
behind the counter glass, where they keep all of the ice-
cream flavors. A rainbow of delicious sugary flavors is kept
cool and delicious behind the counter glass.
3. Freezer burn may have wasted more ice-cream than sidewalks.
If you don’t know, freezer burn is when ice crystals form on the
surface of ice-cream. These ice crystals can ruin the texture and
flavor of the ice cream. But you can prevent freezer burn. Since
freezer burn is caused when melted ice-cream is refrozen, rather
than eating your ice-cream from the container as it melts, scoop
your ice-cream into a bowl and put the container back in the
fridge immediately. Doing this ought to help you solve your issues
with freezer burn.
4. Have you ever had an ice-cream headache? That’s
when a painful sensation resonates in your head after
eating something cold (usually ice-cream) on a hot
day. This pain is produced by the dilation of a nerve
center in the roof of your mouth. The nerve center is
overreacting to the cold by trying to heat your brain.
Ice-cream headaches have turned many smiles to
frowns.
5. One time my mom and I made ice-cream. We added sugar
and cream into a big glass bowl. We kept it frozen in the
middle of a bigger glass bowl. While it froze, I stirred the
mixture with a hand mixer. It was the first time that had I
used one and it splattered ice-cream mixture all over the
kitchen. The rest of the mixture finally froze, so we ate some
ice cream, and then put the remaining portions in the
freezer so that it wouldn’t get freezer burned. That was a
good day.
Test III. Direction: Summarize the paragraph
below in 2-3 sentences.
 “The Northern Lights”

There are times when the night sky glows with bands of color.
The bands may begin as cloud shapes and then spread into a great arc
across the entire sky. They may fall in folds like a curtain drawn across
the heavens. The lights usually grow brighter, then suddenly dim. During
this time the sky glows with pale yellow, pink, green, violet, blue, and
red. These lights are called the Aurora Borealis. Some people call them
the Northern Lights. Scientists have been watching them for hundreds
of years. They are not quite sure what causes them. In ancient times
people were afraid of the Lights. They imagined that they saw fiery
dragons in the sky. Some even concluded that the heavens were on fire.
• How many times have you been
asked to write about your summer
vacation or your Christmas
vacation?
• How many times have you been
assigned to do a book review or a
reaction paper?
• Have you really pondered on the
differences of various writing
assignments that you have done?
• Do you know the difference
between an academic essay and
a personal narrative?
• What is the easiest writing assignment you
have done so far?
• How about the most difficult writing
assignment you have done?
• What do you think made the writing
assignment difficult or easy?
Write an essay about your life.
In (10-15) sentences summarize
your story.
Based on your answer, what do you think is academic
writing and its differences from other kinds of
writing?
Identify whether each passage can be an academic
text or non-academic text.

1. Some educators suggest that

the distinction between
conversational and academic
language is somewhat arbitrary
and that it is the situation,
community, or context that is
either predominantly social or
academic.
2. The current study showed
that COVID-19 pandemic
lockdown affected the
academic performance of most
participants with varying
degrees.
3. In his reverie he
remembers how nature
marked the season it
happened.
4. I believe they are the first
and last and the closest
things I have to say about
my own life.
5. The current study showed
that the most popular device
that students used to access
the online materials was the
smart phone followed by
laptop, while the least used
tool was the personal
computer.
Nature and Characteristics of an
Academic Text
An academic text is a written
language that provides
information, which contain
ideas and concepts that are
related to the particular
discipline.
• Structure
The basic structure that
is used by an academic text is
consist of three parts which is
formal and logical.
• Tone
This refers to the
attitude conveyed in a
piece of writing.
• Language
It is important to use
unambiguous language. Clear
topic sentences enable a reader to
follow your line of thinking
without difficulty.
• Citation
Citing sources in the body of
the paper and providing a list of
references as either footnotes or
endnotes is a very important
aspect of an academic text.
• Complexity
An academic text addresses
complex issues that require
higher-order thinking skills to
comprehend.
• Evidence-based Arguments
What is valued in an academic
text is that opinions are based on a
sound understanding of the pertinent
body of knowledge and academic
debates that exist within, and often
external to a specific discipline.
• Thesis-driven
The starting point of an academic
text is a particular perspective, idea or
position applied to the chosen research
problem, such as establishing, proving,
or disproving solutions to the questions
posed for the topic.
QUIZ
 Modified TRUE or FALSE
1. An academic text is formal.
2. An academic text addresses simple issues that
require higher-order thinking skills to
comprehend.
3.Language refers to the attitude conveyed in a
piece of writing.
4. In language is important to use ambiguous
language.
5. Citing sources in the body of the paper and
providing a list of references as either footnotes
6-8. What is the structure of an academic
text?
9. The starting point of an academic text is a
particular perspective, idea or position
applied to the chosen research problem.
10. What is valued in an academic text is
that opinions are based on a sound
understanding of the pertinent body of
knowledge and academic debates that exist
within.
11. I believe that the youth is the only hope
of the world.
12. Jesus is my savior.
13. The study of Paglinawan showed that
contemporary Filipino families are closely-
tied.
14. I suggest that the most effective way of
learning is by doing.
15. We believe they are the first and last and
the closest things we have to say about our
own lives.
 Features of Academic Texts
• Complex • Accurate
• Formal • Hedging
• Precise • Responsible
• Objective • Organize
• Explicit • Plan
1. Complex
- Written language has no longer words, it
is lexically more varied vocabulary.

2. Formal
- Should avoid colloquial words and
expressions.
3. Precise
- Facts are given accurately and
precisely.
4. Objective
- has fewer words that emphasize on
the information you want to give
and the arguments you want to
make
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.
6. Accurate
- Uses vocabulary accurately
- Most subjects have words with narrow
specific meanings.
7. Hedging
- It is necessary to make decisions
about your stance on a particular
subject, or the strength of the claims
you are making.
8. Responsible
- You must be responsible for and
must be able to provide evidence and
justification for any claims you make.
9. Organize
- Well-organized.

10. Plan
- Well-planned.
Purposes in Reading an Academic text
1. To locate a main idea;
2. To scan for information;
3. To identify gaps in existing studies;
4. To connect new ideas to existing ones;
5. To gain more pieces of information;
6. To support a particular writing
assignment; and,
7. To deeply understand an existing idea.
Factors to Consider in Writing Academic
Text
1. State critical questions and issues;
2. Provide facts and evidence from
credible sources;
3. Use precise and accurate words while
avoiding jargon;
4. Take an objective point of view;
5. List references; and,
6. Use cautious language.
Academic Language vs.
Social Language
 Social Language Academic Language
In everyday interactions in In textbooks, research
spoken/written form papers, conferences in
spoken/written form
For everyday conversation Used in school/work
conversations
Used to write to friends, Appropriate for written
family, or for other social papers, classwork,
purposes homework
 Social Language Academic Language
Informal, such as words like Very formal and more
''cool,'' ''guy,'' ''kidding'') sophisticated in its
expressions, such as words
like ''appropriate,'' ''studies,''
''implementation''
Can use slang expressions Don't use slang

Can be repetitive Uses a variety of terms

 Social Language Academic Language

Can use phrases Uses sentences

Sentences don't follow Sentences begin with
grammar conventions appropriate transitions,
necessarily, with like, ''moreover'' or ''in
phrases like, ''you're addition'')
hungry?''
 Academic Writing
Academic writing is any writing done to fulfill a
requirement of a college, or university. Academic writing is also
used for publications that are read by teacher and researchers or
presented at conferences. A very broad definition of academic
writing could include any writing assignment given in an
academic setting (yourdictionary.com).
Factors that Affect Writing
1. Topic
2. Role of the Writer
3. Purpose of the Material
4. Target Audience
1. Topic
• What is the text
about?
• What details am I
imparting to the
readers?
2. Role of the Writer

• Who am I as a writer?
• Do I write as a student? As a customer? A
professional? A colleague?
3. Purpose of the Material

• Why am I writing this in the first place?

• What are your expectations to your audience
after reading the text?
4. Target Audience
• Who will read the text?
• How much do they already know
about the topic?
Aspects of Professional and Academic Language
1. Formality
2. Objectivity
3. Explicitness
4. Hedging
1. Formality
Formality reflects your dignified stance in
your writing as a member of academic
community.
This means that since your audience are fellow
members of the academic community, the
language you use requires precision to make it
a “legitimate” piece of academic writing.
1. Formality
• Formality can be achieved through the
following ways:
– Avoid using contractions
Ex:
can’t – cannot
won’t – will not
haven’t – have not
1. Formality
• Formality can be achieved through the
following ways:
– Use one verb form over two word
verbs
Ex:
messed up – damage
Gives off – emits/release
1. Formality
• Formality can be achieved through the
following ways:
– Use expanded terms instead of
abbreviated equivalents.
Ex:
ASAP- as soon as possible
1. Formality
• Formality can be achieved through the
following ways:
– Avoid colloquial/trite/idiomatic
expressions.
Examine the following sentences:
1. Writing can’t be done effectively if you
don’t burn the midnight oil.
2. The class is cooking up something big.
3. The convenience store is open 24/7.
4. Drop Dead Diva episodes began airing in
July, when romcom returned for its
sophomore year.
5. The dollar rate went up and down.
Informal Formal Informal Formal
sorry apologize start commence
choose select help assist
buy purchase use consume
tell inform empty vacant
so therefore build construct
ask request seem appear
check verify want desire
maybe perhaps worse inferior
get receive kids children
1. Formality
• Levels of Formality:
– Formal
– Semi-Formal
– Informal
Formal and informal language serve different
purposes, the tone, the choice of words , and
the way they are put together vary between
the two styles.
Formal Language is less personal. It is used for
writing for professional or academic purposes
likes assignments.
Informal language is more casual and
spontaneous.
Aspects of Professional and Academic
Language
2. Objectivity
Academic and professional language
should be objective and unbiased.
This means that writing should be
impersonal and maintains a certain level of
social distance.
2. Objectivity
Examples:
You need to conduct the experiment.
Revision:
The researchers need to conduct the
experiment.

The investigators were very shocked to see the

outcome of the test.
Revision:
The investigators did not expect the results.
3. Explicitness
• Use clear and direct language.
• Academic writing demands the use of
signaling post that allow readers to trace the
relationships in the parts of the study.
• According to Gillet (2020), explicitness is
needed (1) to make it clear to the readers
how the various parts of the text are related
and (2) acknowledge the sources of the
ideas in the text.
Why do we need signaling words?
• To signal that the line of argument is going to
change
• To indicate that the sentence gives reason
• To signal that you are giving extra
information
• To give examples
• To acknowledge sources
https://7esl.com/transition-words/
4. Hedging
• Academic writing requires care since
knowledge is built from proven theories and
concepts. Therefore, hedging is needed to
avoid sweeping generalizations.

• It refers to linguistic
devices to express
hesitation or uncertainty.
https://academicmarker.com/academic-guidance/vocabulary/hedging-language/what-are-the-different-types-of-hedging-
language/
Hedging
Using Modal Verbs
(will, must, would, may, can, might could)
Ex:
The observation of students’ use of social
networking sites may lead to the different behaviors
that manifest in real-life communication.
Using adverbs of frequency
(often, sometimes, usually)
Ex:
The essay that were given marks were usually high.
Hedging

Using Verbs
(tends, suggests, appear to be, think, believe,
doubt, indicate)
Ex:
The findings of the survey suggest that the
student who use the social networking in their
academic work tend to be more updated on recent
developments in their respective subjects.