READING ACADEMIC TEXTS  They include information from credible

sources which are in turn, properly

Reading Goals
cited.
 Why am I reading this text?  They include a list of references used in
 What information or pieces of developing the academic paper.
information do I need?
Content and style of Academic Texts
 What do I want to learn?
 State critical questions and issues
General purposes for reading an Academic Text
 Provides facts and evidences from
 To better understand an existing idea credible sources
 To get ideas that can support a  Use precise and accurate words while
particular writing assignment avoiding Jargon and Colloquial
 To gain more information expressions.
 To identify gaps in existing studies
 To connect new ideas to existing ones Jargon : Special words or expressions that
are used by a particular profession or
ACADEMIC NON- group and are difficult for others to
TEXTS ACADEMIC understand.
TEXTS Colloquial : Used in ordinary or familiar
conversation; not formal or literary.
Reader Academics Family and
friends  Take an objective point-of-view and avoid
being personal and subjective
 They list references.
Content Serious Conversation
thought al  Use hedging or cautious languages to
tone down their claims
Style Complex Mostly simple
Hedging : Avoid making a definite
sentences and
decision, statement, or commitment.
showing compound
considerabl sentences Critical Reading Strategies
e variety in joined by
constructio conjunctions  Requires Focus and Understanding.
n such as and  Connecting it to real-life
or but experiences and applications
 Analyze concepts presented in text
Organizatio Clear and Less likely to Reading Strategies
n well be as clear
planned and as  SQ3R Method of Reading
organized Survey (Skim)
Question
Grammar Likely to be May not Read, Recite (Recall), Review
error free always use  KWL METHOD
complete Know, Want, Learned
sentences Language Cues and Visual Representation of
Text Structures :
Vocabulary Technical Use of short
and forms, Recount of a sequence
academic idioms, and  Is a chronological narration of a
language slang historical period, a sequential
used description of a process or a procedure.
accurately
Problem and Solution

 Text starts off with a negative situation

Structure of Academic Texts and ends with a positive situation

 Academic texts are typically formal.

 They have a clearly structured
introduction, body, and conclusion.
Flow Chart
 May also be used to show the sequence
of events of actions; arrows are
important to show the linear flow
Classifications
 Text presents groupings, types, classes,
categories and sub-categories that
constitute a concept presented in a
hierarchical order.
Definition
 Text explains the nature of something.
Oftentimes, aside from giving the
general class to which the concept
being defined belong, this text
describes the thing being defined
and/or cites example of it.
Description
 Text gives concrete details about
appearance, characteristics, and actions
Comparison and Contrast
 Text are presented through giving
similarities and differences.
Language Cues and Text Structures Across
Disciplines :
Mathematics Text
 It’s most prominent language feature is
the use of symbols
 Math uses symbols for operations like +
for addition, and x for multiplication.
Social Science Text
 Reading in the social sciences requires
knowledge of the jargon of its specific
disciplines. For example : Political
Science (communism, monarchy, and
executive branch) Economics (market,
profit, equity, and trade relations)
Sociology (migration, social class,
discrimination) Psychology (depression,
suicidal, personality, motivation)
Literature and the Arts
 The dominant use of connotative
language and figures of speech to
describe and convey content. Vivid
language is used to create images and
expressions.
Business Text
 Like Mathematics, business has a
special vocabulary (jargon), like remit,
loan, collateral, interest, stocks, supply,
demand.
Natural Science Text
 Texts such as physics, chemistry, and
biology, technical terms, symbols ( pH,
NaCl, CO2) and abbreviations are
common. (power, pressure, force, work,
impulse, chromosomes, DNA, etc.)
Main Idea
 The main idea is at the heart of a text,
it’s driving force, it’s reason for being.
The main idea is the thesis or main
point of an informational text.
 Deductive order : If the main idea is
stated at the beginning, then you can
expect the sentences that follow to
support or develop the main idea.
 Inductive order : If the thesis or main
idea is expressed at the end, then the
earlier statements are details/specifics
that build up on the main point or
general statement.
Thesis Statement
 The thesis statement presents or
describes the point of an essay.
 In an academic text, The thesis
statement is usually presented in the
abstract or executive summary or found
at the last part of the introduction.
Topic Sentence
 The topic sentence presents or
describes the point of the paragraph.
 It can be located in the beginning,
middle, or last part of a paragraph.
Strategies in Locating the Topic Sentence
1. Most authors state their topic sentence
in the beginning of the paragraph.
2. The sentence that best describes the
topic of the paragraph is the topic
sentence.
3. The sentence that defines the Big Word
is usually the topic sentence
4. The sentence that presents or describes
the purpose is the topic sentence
5. Observe the writing style of the author.
Focus specifically on where he/she
usually places his/her sentence.
Summary YOUR OWN WORDS TO STATE THE
AUTHOR’S IDEAS.
 A short version of a longer text.
 This means you can skip the specifics SUMMARIZE WHEN YOU WANT TO:
and just present the central idea and
 AVOID OR MINIMIZE DIRECT
main supporting details.
QUOTATION; OR USE THE MAIN IDEA
Paraphrase OF THE TEXT AND WRITE IT IN YOUR
OWN WORDS.
 Is a restatement and a restructuring of
ideas for the purpose of clarifying the QUOTE DIRECTLY WHEN YOU WANT TO:
meaning of a text.
 BEGIN YOUR DISCUSSION WITH THE
 Restatement means that you rephrase
AUTHOR’S STAND; OR
the original using your own words.
 HIGHLIGHT THE AUTHOR’S EXPERTISE
Summarizing and Paraphrasing IN YOUR CLAIM, ARGUMENT, OR
DISCUSSION
 Does not match the source word for
word Basic Principles and Rules in Outlining :
 Involves putting the main idea into your
own words, but including the main
points I. Main Subtopic
 Presents a broad overview, so is usually A. main point
much shorter than the original text.
 Must be attributed to the original 1. Sub-point
source
 Summarize a text that has a long i. smaller point
sections a. smallest point
Paraphrasing

 Does not match the source word for PRINCIPLE OF DIVISION

word
 You cannot claim to have divided
 Involves putting a passage from a
something and have only one part, so
source into your own words
since outlining is based on division,
 Changes the words or phrasing of a
every part of an outline that has
passage, but retains and fully
subtopics should have at least two parts
communicates the original meaning
or subsections.
 Must be attributed to the original
source PRINCIPLE OF CLASSIFICATION
 Paraphrase a short text with one or two
 Similar idea should go together. This
sentences or a paragraph with a
implies that there should be no
minimum of five sentences.
overlapping of topics and subtopics in
Direct Quoting an outline.

 Matches the source word for word PRINCIPLE OF COORDINATION

 Is usually a short part of a text
 Ideas of equal rank and value are
 Cited parts appears between quotation
coordinate, therefore, they belong to
marks
the same level of outline. Coordinate
 Must be attributed to the original
headings must be expressed in parallel
source
construction.
 Quote a text that conveys powerful
message or will show less impact if it is PRINCIPLE OF SUBORDINATION
Paraphrased or Summarized.
 There are big ideas and small ideas;
PARAPHRASE WHEN YOU WANT TO: small ideas should fall under the
appropriate big ideas.
 AVOID OR MINIMIZE DIRECT
QUOTATION
 REWRITE THE AUTHOR’S WORDS BY
NOT CHANGING THE MESSAGE OR USE
Types of Outline 2 Forms of Writing extensively used in
academe:
1. Sentence Outline- heading of each
level is one sentence: Critiques

Example:  Assessing or Evaluating objectively,

using criteria.
I. There are two types of sports fan.
Reaction Paper
A. The first type is the spectator.
 Evaluating subjectively, involving
B. The second type is analyst.
feelings.
II. Sports fans express their involvement in the
2 Kind of Statements
game in several ways.
Facts

 Verifiable statements tested through

2. Topic Outline- heading of each level is
direct experience
a phrase:
Opinions
Example:
 Expression of person’s feeling, attitude,
I. Two types of sports fan
or beliefs that are neither true nor false.
A. The spectator  Unlike facts, can never be conclusively
proven as true or false.
B. The analyst
Critical Approaches in writing a Critique
II. Ways sports fans express their involvement
in the game Formalism

 Claims that literary works contain

intrinsic properties and treats each
Inferences
work as a distinct work of art.
 Conclusion of Facts and Evidences  It posits that the key to understanding a
text is through the text itself
Writing the REACTIONPAPER/REVIEW/CRITIQUE
Feminist Criticism
Critical Thinking
 Focuses on how literature presents
 Evaluative thinking.
women as subjects of sociopolitical,
 In order of you to judge properly you
psychological, economic oppression.
should know the standards or criteria to
 It also reveals how aspects of our
use.
culture are patriarchal.
Critical Reading  How our culture view men as superior
and women as inferior.
 A close “relative” of critical thinking is
critical reading. Reader Response
 To read critically means to apply critical
 Concerned with the reviewer’s reaction
thinking skills upon the things that we
as an audience of a work.
read.
 This approach claims that the reader’s
 It is actually a life skill one that has a
role cannot be separated from the
great value especially in the internet
understanding of the work.
age where the problem is no longer lack
 A text does not have meaning until the
of information, but the overabundance
reader reads it and interprets it.
of all sorts of information, from every
 Readers are therefore not passive and
source imaginable.
distant, but are active consumers of the
Critical Writing material presented to them.

 Critical writing is a product of critical Marxist

thinking and reading.
 Concerned with differences between
 It is our judgment ( of an idea, action,
economic classes and implication of
decision, or piece of work) presented in
capitalist system,
a written form.
 It attempts to reveal that the ultimate
source of people’s experience is the SEC
 The Content and Structure of the
Critique/Reaction Paper

Accurate

 It provides and accurate description

of the work being evaluated by
giving its summary and/or
background details.

Evaluative

 It gives the writer’s overall

judgment of the work. It makes this
judgment convincing by giving three
or more supporting evaluations of
selected analytical elements of the
work being evaluated

Balanced

 The writer shows balance by

pointing out weaknesses of a work,
if the overall judgment is positive,
or the other way around, by
recognizing strong points of a work
for which the overall judgment is
negative.