READING

ACADEMIC
TEXTS
WHAT IS AN
ACADEMIC
TEXT?
The text that you read in
school are different from
the text you read during
your leisure time.
While the text you read for pleasure,
such as graphic novels or magazines,
can be likened to appeal of sweet
desserts, academic texts are more like
the heavy main course.
More often than not they
need to be chewed and
savored for a long time
before their meanings can
be fully digested.
 BELOW ARE SOME
EXAMPLES OF ACADEMIC
TEXTS
Articles Conference papers
Published in scholarly journals, These are papers presented
this type of academic texts offers in scholastic conferences,
results of research and
development that can either
and may be revised as
impact the academic community articles for possible
or provide relevance to nation publication in scholarly
building. journals.
 BELOW ARE SOME
EXAMPLES OF ACADEMIC
TEXTS
Reviews Thesis, dissertations
These provide
evaluation or reviews These are personal
of works published in researches written by a
scholarly journals. candidate for a college
or university degree.
Based on the examples, it can be said
that in academic reading, full
concentration and comprehension are
required for you to understand the
key ideas, information, themes, or
arguments of the text.
READING GOALS
It is important for you to know your
purposes for reading early on, so you
can save time and improve your
comprehension.
BEFORE YOU READ AN ACADEMIC TEXT, ASK
YOURSELF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. Why am I reading this text?

2. What information or pieces of
information do I need?
3. What do I want to learn?
BELOW ARE SOME GENERAL PURPOSES FOR
READING AN ACADEMIC TEXT:

 To better understand an existing idea

 To get ideas that can support a
particular writing assignment
 To gain more information
To identify gaps in
existing studies
To connect new ideas to
existing ones
 Structure of academic texts
• Academic texts are typically formal. They have a
clearly structured introduction, body, and
conclusion.
• They also include information from credible
sources which are, in turn, properly cited.
• They also include a list of references used in
developing the academic paper.
 CONTENT AND STYLE OF
ACADEMIC TEXTS
In general, authors observe the following when writing academic texts.
 They state critical questions and issues.
 They provide facts and evidence from credible sources.
 They use precise and accurate words.
 They take an objective point-of-view and avoid being personal and
subjective.
 They list references.
 They use hedging or cautious language to tone down their claims.
 Critical Reading Strategies
Reading academic texts requires focus and
understanding. You have to interact with the
text by questioning its assumptions,
responding to its arguments, and connecting it
to real life experiences and applications.
 TO ADOPT A CRITICAL
READING APPROACH,
PRACTICE THE STRATEGIES
TO BE EMPLOYED DURING
EACH STAGE OF READING.
 Before Reading
 Determine which type of academic text you are reading.
 Determine and establish your purpose for reading.
 Identify the author’s purpose for writing.
 Predict or infer the main idea or argument of the text based on its title.
 Identify your attitude towards the author and the text.
 State what you already know and what you want to learn about the topic.
 Determine the target audience
 Check the publication date for relevance. It should have been published at most five
years earlier than the current year.
 Check the reference list while making sure to consider the correctness of the
formatting style.
 Use a concept map or graphic organizer to note your existing ideas and knowledge on
the topic.
ACTIVITY 1
 During Reading
ANNOTATE IMPORTANT PART OF
THE TEXT.
 It can help you determine essential ideas or
information, main ideas or arguments, and new
information or ideas. Here are some ways to
annotate a text.
 During Reading
 Write key words or phrases on the margins in bullet
form.
 Write something on the page margin where important
information is found.
 Write brief notes on the margin.
 Write questions on information that you find
confusing.
 Write what you already know about the ideas.
 During Reading
 Write notes on the reliability of the text.
 Comment on the author’s biases.
 Use a concept map or any graphic organizer to note down
the ideas being explained.
 Underline important words, phrases, or sentences.
 Underline or circle meanings or definitions.
 Mark or highlight relevant/essential parts of the text.
 During Reading
 Create a bank of unfamiliar or technical words to be defined later.
 Use context clues to define unfamiliar or technical words.
 Synthesize author’s arguments at the end of chapter or section.
 Determine the main idea of the text.
 Identify the evidence or supporting arguments presented by the
author and check their validity and relevance.
 Identify the findings and note the appropriateness of the research
method used.
Sample annotated text
AC
TIV
ITY
2 Read the following excerpt from the
conclusion of Dhiraj et al’s study. To
understand the text better, apply any
of the “During Reading” activities
previously discussed.
AC
TIV
ITY
2
 After Reading
 Reflect on what you learned.
 React on some parts of the text through
writing.
 Discuss some parts with your teacher or
classmates.
 Link the main idea of the text to what you
already know.
AC
TIV
ITY
3
 READING
STRATEGIE
S
In addition to the given strategies
before, during, and after reading,
there are other reading strategies that
you can employ to ensure critical
reading not only of academic texts, but
also of other texts in general.
A. SQ3R Method of
Reading
- The SQ3R method stands for
Survey (or Skim). Question,
Read, Recite (or Recall),
Review.
STAG GUIDELINE
E S
• Skim the target text.
• Check the headings and tables,
diagrams, or figures presented in
the text.
SURVE • Read the first few and last
sentences of the text to determine
STAGE GUIDELINE
S
• Annotate the headings with
your questions.
QUESTIO • Develop questions on the
N types of information you
expect from the text.
STAG GUIDELINE
E S
• Look for answers to your questions
as you read the text.
• Stop and slow down if the passage is
READ not clear.
• Make sure to proceed reading only
when you already understand the
previous texts.
STAG GUIDELINES
E
• Recount the main point of the
text.
• Recall by writing a summary or
RECIT synthesis based on what you
understand of the text.
E • Highlight or underline the
STAG GUIDELINES
E
• After finishing the text, go back and re-
read the questions you wrote and see if
you can answer them; if not refresh your
REVIE memory.
• Evaluate what you learned to ensure that
W you are convinced and satisfied with the
information presented in the text.
B. KWL Method
- KWL method guides
you in reading and
understanding a text.
- To apply KWL ,
simply make a table
with three columns.
- In the first column,
write what you know
about the topic. (K)
- In the second, write
down what you want
to learn. (W)
- And in the
third, write down
what you learned.
(L)
 Using article which focus on age and gender

K W L
(What I know) (What I want to learn) (What I have learned)
• There is a
connection
between
language and
gender.
• Women and
men are on
different levels
of
talkativeness.
 Using article which focus on age and gender

K W L
(What I know) (What I want to learn) (What I have learned)
• There is a • Are women really more
connection talkative than men?
between • What accounts for the
language and difference in the
gender. frequency of language
• Women and use between men and
men are on women?
different levels
of
talkativeness.
 Using article which focus on age and gender

K W L
(What I know) (What I want to learn) (What I have learned)
• There is a • Are women really more • Women are reported to
connection talkative than men? speak 20,000 words a day
between • What accounts for the while men speak an average
language and difference in the of 7,000 words.
gender. frequency of language • It was shown that women
• Women and use between men and have higher levels of this
men are on women? protein than men.
different levels
of
talkativeness.
THANK
YOU!