English

for
Academic Purposes
Academic Writing
process that starts
with:
• Posing a question
• Problematizing a concept
• Evaluating an opinion
• Answering the question/questions posed or
• Clarifying the problem or
• Arguing for a stand
Purposes

• to inform

• to argue a specific point

• to persuade
 Features
of
Academic Texts
COMPLEX

W r i t t e n language has longer words, ti

is lexically more dense and it has a
more varied vocabulary.
W r i t t e n texts are shorter and the
language has more grammatical
complexity, including more subordinate
clauses and more passives.
FORMAL

Should avoid colloquial

words
And expressions
PRECISE

F a c t s are given accurately

And precisely
OBJECTIVE

o b j e c t i v e rather than personal

h a s fewer words that refer to the
writer or the reader
m a i n emphasis should be on the
information that you want to give and
the arguments you want to make,
rather than you
EXPLICIT

i t is the responsibility of the writer in

English to make it clear to the reader
how the various parts of the text are
related
ACCURATE

• uses vocabulary accurately

m o s t subjects have words with
narrow specific meanings
HEDGING

i t is necessary to make decisions

about your stance on a particular
subject, or the strength of the claims
you are making
RESPONSIBLE

y o u must be responsible for, and

must be able to provide evidence
and justification for, any claims you
make.
Yo u are also responsible for
demonstrating an understanding of
any source texts you use
• Types of Academic
Writing:
Essay
Thesis paper
Dissertation Report
Article Project
Essay: argumentative text, usually short
(1,500 to 6,000 words).
• Research paper: longer essay
involving library research (3,000 to
6,000 words).
• Research article: an essay written to
be published in scientific journals.
Dissertation: long essay
involving study and research
(6,000 to 20,000 words).
Thesis: completed over a
number of years. Offers an
original contribution to the
research area. (20,000 words).
Technical report: describes
process, progress and results
of scientific research.
Research project: describes
the ideas for an investigation
on a certain topic.
Basic structure of Academic Writing
Argumentative essay: is to persuade
the reader to accept a point of view, an
opinion or perhaps new truth.

Introduction: background of argument,

content of essay, theoretical perspectives
used, definition of key terms, line of
argument and organization of essay.
Body: presents support to thesis
statement, contains developing
sentences that extend topic sentences,
gives evidence to support topic
sentences, provides a concluding
sentence
Conclusion: restates the line of
argument, summarizes the points that
support the thesis, suggests further
research.
Bibliography: sources cited in paper
listed alphabetically.
Problem-solution essays consider the
problems of a particular situation, and give
solutions to those problems. They are in
some ways similar to cause and effect
essays, especially in terms of structure.
• Situation
• Problem
• Solution
• Evaluation
Academic reports are used to present and
discuss the results of an experiment, survey, or
other research method. These reports often
require a specific layout and the inclusion of a
certain set of sections.
• Introduction
• Literature Review/Background
• Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion