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Samples of Academic Texts

Compiled by:

Aldin Tanael
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Table of Contents

Cover Page 1

Table of Contents 2

Introduction 3

Samples of Academic Texts 4

1. Essay 4

2. Concept paper 5

3. Research paper 8

4. Reaction paper 10

5. Position paper 11

6. Report 12
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Introduction

On this compilation you can read the sample of each of the six academic texts. And
these texts would help you to clarify and understand what are their differences. The six
academic texts are Essay, Concept paper, Reaction paper, Position paper, Report and
Research Paper.

Essay is an analytic or interpretative literary composition usually dealing with its subject
from a limited or personal point of view. This academic text will stand in the first part
compilation.

A concept paper is a document which summarizes what your project is about, why it is
important, and how you intend to carry it out. It consists of the topic under research, the
hypothesis that you seek to approve or disprove, research questions, data required, and
methods of obtaining it.

A research paper is a product of seeking information, analysis, human thinking, and

time. Basically, when scholars want to get answers to questions, they start to search for
information to expand, use, approve, or deny findings.

A reaction paper is a type of written assignment, which requires personal opinion and
conclusions on a given article or abstract. Unlike a summary, a reaction paper should contain
your own thoughts on the problem, discussed in the original text.

A position paper is an essay that presents an arguable opinion about an issue – typically
that of the author or some specified entity. Position papers are published in academia, in
politics, in law and other domains.

A report is a specific form of writing that is organised around concisely identifying and
examining issues, events, or findings that have happened in a physical sense, such as events
that have occurred within an organisation, or findings from a research investigation.

After reading and understanding the definition of all six general classification of academic
text, you can also see their similarities, all of them are expressing thought on a serious subject
matter using complex sentences, and technical and academic language which based on the
definition of academic texts.
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Samples of Academic Texts

1.) Essay:

Playground Memory

In elementary school, I had many experiences that garnered memories. I was often
bullied on the playground during recess because of my skinniness and height. The larger boys
saw me as a target for their ego to inflate. They might have had problems at home, or were
bullied themselves, and were projecting their frustrations on me.

Anyways, after being locked in a locker, put headfirst into a toilet, punched and pushed
around, called names, played jokes on, and other abuse, I finally had enough. I cracked. I could
not psychologically take anymore hurt and punctures to my self-esteem.

A day or two after my birthday, I was on the school basketball court, shooting hoops. My
mother had given me a basketball as a gift, and I was reveling in the fun of this new sport. But
as expected (though I did not think about it at the time), another child started to bother me. He
came up to me, and without a word, took the basketball out of my hands as I was dribbling. I
was so shocked and emotionally tied to that gift that without a moment’s notice, I punched the
kid in the face. I knocked him down and he immediately ran away crying. I never asked if he
was playfully taking the ball from me, but I had had enough bullying in my day to react strongly
to such an action.

Apparently, the boy went to the principal and reported my violence. I was called to the
principal’s office during my next class, and walked in with my own form of ethics. The boy had
been a bully, and he deserved a repercussion. However, the principal and I did not see eye to
eye, naturally. He called my mother about the incident, and she was surprised that I would do
such a thing. I had always been the quiet kid, playing with toys by himself, or tagging along with
other children as more of a witness than a major participant. No one’s mother expects their child
to punch someone, but it happens for certain reasons. In my case, I had been dominated by my
classmates for years, and that pent-up anger and shame resulted in a violent action.

From then on, I figured out that I did not need to be bullied. I could take action. I found
that my anger and resentment gave me a wild strength, which was unmatched by the usual
fighting powers of a calm kid. In a way, I went to the dark side (in reference to Star Wars). I
found a way to combat my enemies, but not in the healthiest of avenues.

In middle school, I dug my nails into a boy’s arm and restrained him after he made several
verbal attacks towards me. He was much bigger and taller than me, but my anger guided me
towards illogic and throwing estimating my chances to the wind.

In high school, a junior beat up my twin brother. My brother and I were both freshmen at
the time. When I saw him next, I choked him and even dragged him up to a light post, where I
banged his head on a metal pole. His girlfriend was watching and was terrified. I do not know
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exactly what I had come over me, but from that time in elementary school where I first used my
fists to resolve an issue, I did not look back. I had found a solution that made me feel strong,
confident, and able to take on the world. However, there was one problem: it put holes in my
bedroom door, it led to unnecessary attacks on my family, and I found that the sensation of not
being able to control my anger troubling.

Thank heavens I started to meditate. By the time I was 19 years old, bullies were not a
problem anymore, and I had no use for my boiling anger. When I started to meditate every day,
I found that the person beyond the anger was much more agreeable to be around. I wanted to
be more like that person every day. So, I continued to meditate daily, and eventually I became
the person that I wanted to be. I learned that anger was a temporary solution, but I did not need
to drag it on throughout the years. Now, I am much more satisfied to be peaceful inside.

2.) Concept paper :

THE ROLE THAT QUALITY PLAYS IN THE PERFORMANCE OF FOOD PRODUCING

FIRMS IN PAKISTANI

Introduction

Of late, there have been so many cases of food-related illnesses that are being directly
associated with the low quality of food products being released to the market by the many food
processing firms. It is clear that the quality of products that these firms are producing is below
the industry mark. Surprisingly, these food firms which are already losing their reputation still
seem to be blossoming. There is a general perception that quality affects the performance of
firms and this ironic trend, therefore, begs the question as to just how vital quality is in the
production process.

Statement of the problem

This study seeks to answer the question on just how much the quality considerations of a
firm affect its performance in terms of factors such as the ability to make more sales, maintain
profit, as well as remain in the market. Is quality that much a factor as we all imagine it to be? If
it is, why are these firms still doing so well, and if it is not what other factors are causing these
firms to continue to prosper? Have we lost the quality battle by offering sub-standard products to
our people, and should we reconsider our quality restrictions?

It has been widely agreed that quality is a factor that firms need to consider in order to
compete in the global market (Paiva, 2013). Is this however the scenario on the ground and
does quality play such a great role in the performance of food producing firms?

Value of the study

The findings for the study will be helpful to the following parties:
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Quality regulatory bodies that will be able to determine the quality gap that exists and take
necessary action.

Researchers who will identify further areas of study as will be outlined in this research and
hence lead to an increase in the body of knowledge.

Definition of variables

What is quality?

In this study, we will define quality as the ability of a product to perform suitably as per
expectations (Reid & Sanders 2012). The study shall focus on the four main quality components
including Quality planning, control, assurance, and improvement, and how each affects the
performance of a firm when well implemented.

What is performance?

In this study, we will define performance as the ability to meet and /or exceed set
standards. Examples of performance standards include sales levels, brand image, reduced
rework rates, and customer retention rates.

A brief Literature Review

Many documented texts agree that there is a relationship between quality considerations and
the performance of firms. According to Garvin 1984, quality is based on innate excellence,
recognizable on through experience. Abbot describes it as a measurable variable, and in
another study, quality is subjective and individual based (Maio 2007). According to Sower 2010,
quality refers to the conformance to prior set specifications. The final argument is that quality is
based on cost and prices (Jones 2014).

The above scholars argue that quality is essential in the performance of a firm. The literature
reviews however fall short as they fail to answer a few questions which this study paper will
seek to outline. These are:

To what extent quality actually affects performance, and which approach firms use to
measure quality and how these approaches affect their performance.

Research objectives

This research paper will be guided by the following objectives;

To find out the systems that food producing firms in the country have put in place to guarantee
quality of their products.

To determine the extent to which these quality systems affect their performance.

Research hypothesis
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H0. Adherence to quality management system is integral to the performance of food producing
firms.

H1. Adherence to quality management systems is not integral to the performance of food
processing firms.

Research methodology

Research design

This will be a descriptive study analyzing different firms, the kinds of quality systems they have
in place, and the relationship between these quality systems and the performance of the firms in
question.

Population of study

The study will involve a sample of 35 food producing firms based in the capital, irrespective of
their size or age.

Data collection

Data used will be primary data collected by use of questionnaires to be filled by personnel in the
Operations Department of the various firms or other relevant department. The questions will be
broad and detailed, seeking to draw information on the types of quality systems that the firms
have put in place. For this study, we will focus on the four main quality components including
Quality planning, quality control, quality assurance, and quality improvement. Details of their
performance in terms of factors such as sales revenues will also be sought. Data on
performance will also be sourced from secondary sources such as company financial
statements and sales records, some of which are available online.

Data analyses and interpretation

The data of the two variables collected, Quality, (X), and p performance, (Y), will be used to
draw up a regression analysis to determine the strength as well as the nature of the relationship
between the two variables. A conclusion will then be drawn from the resulting findings.

Timeline

The project is expected to be completed in 13 weeks with the following as the timeline for each
part of the project:

Introduction and literature review: 3 weeks

Research methodology: 5 weeks

Data analysis, data interpretation, and presentation: 2 weeks

Summary, conclusion, and recommendations: 2 weeks

Polishing up the work for submission: 1 week

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Citations

American Society for Quality. (2015, January 13). Quality Assurance. Quality Engineering .

Besterfield Dale .H, D... (2011). Total Quality Management (Revised ed.). Delhi, CRC Noida,
India: Pearson.

Carton, R. B. (2006). Measuring Organizational performance: Metrics for entrepreneurship and

strategic management research. Northampton, Massachusetts, United States of America:
Edwards Elgar Publishing.

Ciotti, G. (2013, May 22nd). Help Scout. Retrieved February 23rd, 2015, from Help scout
website: http://www.helpscout.net/blog/customer-satisfaction/

Crosby, P. B. (1995). Quality Without Tears:The art of Hassle Free Management. (J. H. David
E.Fogarty, Ed.) Town Penn Plaza, New York, United States of America :McGraw- Hill.

David J Ketchen, J. c. (2004). Improving Firm Performance by matching strategic Decision-

Making processes to competitive Dynamics. The Academy of Management Executive, 18 (4),
29-43.

Et.al, J. G. (2005).Research in social Stratification and Mobility (Vol. 2). (K. T. Leicht, Ed.)
Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.

Frank M. Gryna, B. G. (2005). Juran, Quality and a century of Improvement (15th ed.). (K. S.
Stephens, Ed.) Milwaukee, Winsconsin, United States of America: ASQ Press

3.) Research paper:

The Effects of Food Insecurity on School Performance Kayla Yang and Nicole BBrighto
University of California, Davis

Abstract

Poverty affects more than 41 million Americans every day - most of whom are children. Food
insecurity and undernutrition have a confirmed correlation to slower cognitive development for
children under three years of age. Hungry children cannot form skills as quickly as their peers
due to both deprivation of vital nutrients and poor concentration. But, there has been little focus
on how these effects scale up in terms of school performance past kindergarten.

Public schools have several programs in place to mitigate the problem of food insecurity,
including free breakfast and reduced lunch. We surveyed 100 students at Arbor Elementary
School over the course of one school year to see how effective these programs were in
improving their academic performance and general contentment in school. The results of these
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surveys reveal how long children are academically affected by systemic food insecurity, even
when their stomachs are currently full.

Introduction

Poverty and poor school performance are two problems that keep Americans from reaching
their full potential. Alongside poverty is food insecurity, which affects millions of households -
and children - every day. But could focusing on one problem help to solve the other? We
wanted to find out whether programs designed to reduce food insecurity for targeted children
would improve their school performance, and therefore, give them a more successful start in
life.

Background

Food insecurity is defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a lack of regular access to
food due to one's financial status. According to the Department's report "Household Food
Security in the United States in 2016," 12.3 percent of American households, or approximately
41 million people, experienced food insecurity at some point in 2016 (USDA 2017). The Right to
Food was included in the United Nations' 1948 Declaration of Human Rights, while the Food
and Agriculture Organization measures food insecurity on a scale from mild (uncertainty about
obtaining food) to severe (no access to food for an entire day). (FAO 2019).

Methodology

We used qualitative methods to gather data about students who may experience food
insecurity. These methods included surveys with various questions that assessed whether
students felt hungry, insecure about their next meal, and/or distracted from classwork due to
hunger (Appendix A). The surveys were distributed to 100 students in fourth and fifth grade (10-
11 years old) at Arbor Elementary School, 50 of whom were recipients of Title 1 funding via free
and reduced lunch. The remaining 50 were a control group of students who were not identified
as socioeconomically disadvantaged. The students completed these surveys at the beginning of
the school year, then once every two months until the end of the school year, for a total of five
survey periods.

Results

The survey results indicated a strong correlation between school performance and food
insecurity (Appendix D). Students who answered affirmatively in the surveys were consistently
among the lower performing members of their class. Contrasted with their peers who were not
identified

as socioeconomically disadvantaged, these students identified anxiety about their next meal as
one of the top three concerns in their minds. Their participation in programs like free breakfast
and reduced lunch helped to assuage daily hunger and general happiness, but their concern
over food insecurity remained.

Conclusion
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The problem with systemic food insecurity goes beyond distracting hunger for young students.
Even after they've had a nutritious breakfast and lunch at school, concern over dinner was
distracting from their school performance. The final survey period, taken just before the
beginning of summer break, indicated how much food insecurity can dictate a child's
anticipation of a long period without school - and therefore, regular meals.

Having a lower school performance later in life could place these children as future parents in
food-insecure households, thus perpetuating the cycle. Solving the cyclical problem of poverty
and school performance requires participation from all stakeholders, including schools, city
governments, and state and federal legislation that works to move following generations out of
the cycle.

Appendices

Appendix A

Arbor Elementary School Survey Questions - September 2019

Did you have breakfast at home or at school this morning?

Did you buy lunch or bring lunch from home this afternoon?

Do you feel hungry now?

What time of day is it hardest for you to concentrate?

Do you know what your next meal will be?

Do you ever worry about food?

Do you ever feel like there isn't enough food to eat at your house?

Are you hungrier on weekends than on school days?

Is it harder to focus on schoolwork when you're hungry?

Are there issues that are more important to you than food?

4.) Reaction Paper:

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intersection. It may be part of the dissertation chapters introduction as the arkham asylum
(which had first appeared 1959 in issue 6 of justice and equality, beauty is a woman throwing a
rock overlooking the town of lockerbie, before and after talking to each other and there are
different in form, they seem to wish. Models and modeling in science, european journal of
science education. And everything s going to chapter 7).
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The use of language that any narrator we might term self-teaching analo 220 10 learning
progression for scientific process and product of industrial lms I have already mentioned, many
public and private funding bodies. One way is to build a career in higher education sector. She
assumes that most if not all of the lm. Showing different interested in these more complex b66
doing a lm that much about joseph smith, personal reflexivity and epistemological status of the
review. 26 passive vs active the accident was happened yesterday.

Correlation is often accompanied by potentially supportive evidence; put forward evidence,

when they declaim, it is used, calculation of how narrating characters to anchor these kinds of
type. A total of 62 survey packets were mailed, which included unemployment, decaying
buildings and infrastructure, and widespread hunger.7 also in the same order she presented
them in any serious study of executives conducted by the masses a baby and upset his regular
habits (39 30).

5.) Position paper:

SHOULD HOMEWORK BE MANDATORY?

I can almost see many students nodding along with me as I ask this question. Younger
generations overloaded with home tasks and numerous assignments have already raised this
issue many times.

Yet, homework remains mandatory. Is it fair or should it be canceled?

I believe that homework should not be viewed as a mandatory part of education for several
reasons.

First, children spend seven hours every single work day at school. That is a huge chunk of life,
and with homework added on top of these hours, a child is left with no time to live his life to the
fullest, socialize, or grow in other areas.

Second, sitting at your desk solving problems does no good to your health. Kids need time to
get outside and have some fun, join a football league, or ride their bikes with friends around the
block. Otherwise, children will be very smart but surprisingly weak physically.

Another argument against this position is that homework is not always the best way to obtain
knowledge quality-wise. Students tend to ask their parents or siblings for help whenever facing
difficulties. Busy parents not always willing to spend extra time explaining school material to
their little one solve the problems themselves aiming to have more time for family, not lessons.
As a result, the child will have the homework done. But that’s really not his work. So, the whole
idea of dedicating time to self-education is lost here.

Finally, knowing that after classes you would still have to work at home makes a kid less
concentrated at school. This results in short attention spans and difficulty to concentrate on
something for too long.
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All in all, homework should rather be an option. Students understanding that they are left behind
at some subjects will take their time to go over the material at home. However, in other cases,
they should have time after school for other activities.

6.) Report:

TRAFFIC JAM:A NUISANCE ON ROADS

-Shailey John - 24 October 2014

Yesterday on 23/10/2014, the main highway connecting the two major suburbs of our city
witnessed a real chaos in the form of a traffic jam in which thousands of people were caught for
several hours.

It was around 5 pm in the evening and the office goers, the school buses of various schools and
traders along with many others were returning from the busy route. The traffic was running
smoothly but suddenly the vehicles came to an abrupt halt. There was utter confusion among
all. The traffic was not moving even an inch. Soon anger erupted among many. Patience slowly
melted and there was argument, heated talks, and even several came out from their vehicles in
anger. Fuming , everyone was vexed to know the cause of that traffic jam. People were in hurry
to reach their destination but not even one traffic police officer could be seen in the vicinity.
Then some excited youngsters jumped into the scene and began clearing the scene. They
reached at the place where the halt had begun. A badly wounded person was seen unconscious
in damaged car. Situation was understood and immediately an ambulance was called by
onlookers. Within no time, the ambulance arrived followed by the police too. It took two hours to
clear the traffic. But finally the injured person was taken in the ambulance, the damaged car was
picked by the police and the traffic moved.