Structure OF AN Academic TEXT PDF

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STRUCTURE OF AN ACADEMIC TEXT An academic text is a written material in an organized way and in a specific manner. One salient feature of this writing is that it has a clear structure. This structure makes it easier for the reader to explore the text and to navigate with it for him to better understand the piece. It must be clear on all levels of academic text such as the entity of the material, each section it presents, every paragraph it provides, and even in each sentence that bears a concept or an idea. To expound a number of ideas that are gathered together to makes sense is the purpose of an academic writing. Undeniably, the amount of concepts, new terminologies and information can be immense and complicated. Hence, teachers, text book authors and researchers utilize blueprints that serve as their guides in trying to put their ideas together as clearly as possible. IDENTIFYING TEXT STRUCTURE How the ideas, facts, and other information within a written text are organized make up the text structure. This particular strategy makes one understand that a text might present the central idea as well as the details. Recognizing the text structure can genuinely help students scrutinize their comprehension of the academic text. The structure of the text, however, can be altered several times in a work and even within a paragraph. Hence, it is significant to expose readers to different text structures that can amplify their comprehension of the written material being read. Taylor emphasized that students who have been taught on how to identify the structure of expository and narrative texts have better comprehension tha those who have not received such instruction. The guides, also known as organizational patterns, are commonly employed in all forms of academic writing across various disciplines. These patterns definitely aid writers, professional or not, in organizing their ideas that make sense which eventually exhibit understanding of the material being presented to its specific audience. IDENTIFYING ORGANIZATIONAL PATTERNS The transition words or the signal words that the writer employs in the academic text can help the reader identify what type of organizational pattern being utilized. This leads the reader to grasp all the facts presented to decipher what the written text has to say. Several books identified various patterns. However, this lesson will expose you to 13 organizational patterns commonly used in academic texts.

The tabular presentation below explains the types of organizational patterns, their purposes as well as the transition words used. Organizational Pattern Definition

Purpose

Transitional Devices

Explains the meaning of new words or phrases

Classification

Divides a topic into parts based on shared characteristics

Is, refers to, can be defined as, means, consists of, involves, is a term that, is called, is characterized by, occurs when, are those that, entails, corresponds to, is literally. Classified as, comprises, is composed of, several varieties of, different stages of, different groups that, includes, one, first, second, another, finally , last

Chronological Order

Describes the sequence in which events occur in time Describes the order in which things are done or how things work Describes ideas in order of priority or preference Describes physical location or position in space

Process

Order of importance Spatial order

Cause and Effect

Describes how one or more things cause or are related to another

Comparison and Contrast

Discuss similarities and/or differences among ideas, theories, concepts, objects, or persons.

Listing/Enumeration

Organizes lists of information: characteristics, features, parts, or categories

First, second, next, then, following, after that, last, finally Less, more primary, next, last, most important, primarily, secondarily Above, below, beside, next to, in front of, behind, inside, outside, opposite, within, nearby Because, for since, stems from, one cause is, one reason is. Leads to, creates, yields, produces, due to, breeds, for this reason consequently, results in, one result is, Therefore, thus, as a result, hence Both, also, similarity, like likewise, too, as well as, resembles, correspondingly, in the same way, to compare, in comparison, share, unlike, differs from, in contrast, on the other hand, instead, despite, nevertheless, however, in spite of, whereas, as opposed to The following several, for example, for instance, another, also, too, in other words, first second,

Statement and clarification Summary

Generalization and Example Addition

Indicates that information is explaining a concept or idea will follow Indicates that a condensed review of an idea or piece or writing is to follow Provides examples that clarify a broad, general statement Indicates that additional information will follow

numerals(123) letters(abc) most important, the largest, the least, finally Infact, in other words, clearly, evidently, obviously In summary, in conclusion, in brief, to summarize, to sum up, in short, on the whole

Furthermore, additionally, also, besides, futher, in addition, moreover, again

STRUCTURE OF ACADEMIC TEXTS The most salient feature of an academic text is that, it is organized in a specific way. Such text has a clear and well-defined structure. These qualities of the structure make it easier for the reader to explore the text so that one can fully grasp the message it tries to convey. This particular structure must be clear on all levels of the academic text such as the whole text, each section of the text, every paragraph, and even every sentence that makes up the text. For example, most academic texts in science utilize the IMRAD mode. The acronym stands for Introduction, Methods and Materials, Results, and Discussion. The illustration below explains the IMRAD structure. The model should, however, be complemented with sections for aims and research questions, as these make up the very backbone of the academic text. They often appear towards the end of the introduction, but sometimes after a separate heading. Aim The aim establishes the totality of the text and the components in all its parts. This encapsulates what you intend to achieve in your study, It is very significant that the aim is the exactly the same in every part of the academic text. The title should highlight the same aspects as the explicit aim and all the subsequent parts must have the same focus

Research questions The aim in the academic text is usually general. The aim can be trimmed down into research questions. Research questions are specific questions that will enable you to reach your aim. When you have several research questions, you always have to consider the order of these according to importance. Is there a logical order, so that some questions may only be understood after having read others? Are some questions more important than others. Place the research questions in an order that makes sense to you and then keep to the order in the rest of your thesis. Again, your aim and your thesis must be narrowed because we can only make a study about a small part of the world. Thus, some parts that concern in what we have to do In our research like the methods and results are likewise narrowed in the IMRAD model. Introduction In order to make our narrow research interesting to others we must however place it in a larger context. For that reason the introduction of the text must start with something much more general than your research questions. It is often said that the introduction should be shaped like a funnel that means that you should start in a broad and general manner and then gradually zoom in on your own specific and narrow topic. The text needs to start with something that shows what field your research will contribute to, and how. The introduction should provide everything the reader needs to know in order to understand your aim. This also helps the reader to understand why the aim is important. Convincing your reader that your aim is important often entails showing that there is something we do not know, but that we would benefit from knowing. When you have accounted for the context and pointed to the importance of new knowledge in the field, your reader will be well prepared when you present your aim and research questions towards the end of the introduction. Methods and Materials In this particular section, you don’t have to tell your reader exactly how you have conducted your study. Instead, you have to discuss about what you have done in order to accomplish your aim and to address the research questions. Foremost, your reader must understand what did you do to get the results, and that secondly, they will be given the opportunity to conduct the same study, if the reader is

interested in doing so. This particular section focuses on what you actually did In your study as well as the account for the choices you made, when needed. Results In this particular part, it is relevant that you present the results in an objective way. You do not make any interpretation here since interpretation is done in the discussion part. Using graphical aids like tables, charts and other illustrations can definitely aid readers in understanding the result. Discussion This is now the interpretation of the results. This requires you, as the researcher, your indepth analysis, assessment, and explanation of the results obtained from the study. That is, you just don’t write something about you gave done. Instead you write and analyze what you have researched. Conclusion This is an expression of the fulfillment of your aim and what you have found in your study. This provides you the opportunity to assess whether all parts of your academic writing are interrelated with one another. This is a reassurance that you have done what you intended to do. Conclusion is not a brief repetition of your results, it is expressing the implications of your study....