TEXT STRUCTURE

THE STRUCTURE OF ACADEMIC TEXTS

An important feature of academic texts is that they are organized in a
specific way; they have a clear structure. This structure makes it easier
for your reader to navigate your text and understand the material
better. It also makes it easier for you to organize your material. The
structure of an academic text should be clear throughout the text and
within each section, paragraph and even sentence.
THE THREE-PART ESSAY STRUCTURE

• The three-part essay structure is a basic structure that

consists of introduction, body and conclusion. The
introduction and the conclusion should be shorter than the
body of the text. For shorter essays, one or two paragraphs
for each of these sections can be appropriate. For longer
texts or theses, they may be several pages long.
 A. INTRODUCTION
Your introduction should include the following points
(be aware that not all points may be relevant for your project):

• • Introduce your topic

• • Place your topic in a context
• • Provide background information
• • Point out the aim of the text
• • Describe how you will fulfill the aim
• • Provide a thesis statement or research question
• • Suggest what your findings are
• • Explain why your topic is interesting, necessary or important
• • Give the reader a guide to the text
• • Catch your reader’s interest
 B. Body
• This is the main section of your text and it should also be the longest.
Depending on the length of the text, the body may be divided into subsections.
If your text is divided into subsections, remember to briefly introduce each
section. For longer works you may also need to conclude sections.
• The body of the text is where you as a writer and researcher are the most active.
It is the most substantial part of the text; this is where the research or findings
are presented, discussed and analyzed. This is also where you present your
arguments that support your thesis or answer your question. The structure and
contents of this main part may differ depending on your discipline
 C. Conclusion
• In the conclusion you should return to the thesis or problem that you presented in
the introduction. But be careful to not merely repeat what you wrote in the
introduction; instead, show your reader how what you have written sheds new light
on the problem presented at the beginning. For longer works a brief summary of
your findings may be in place, but this should not be necessary for shorter texts. Be
careful that your conclusion is not just a repetition of what you have already
written. In your conclusion, you may also evaluate and explain whether or not you
have reached the aim or solved the problem presented in the introduction, and how.
No new material should be introduced in the conclusion, but it is quite common to
suggest topics for further studies.
 TASK 2 : TREE MAP
Now that you are familiar with three-part essay structure of an academic
text, complete the Tree Map to identify the unique characteristics of
Introduction, Body and Conclusion.
 PART II. TECHNIQUES IN
SUMMARIZING ACADEMIC TEXT
• As an important skill in critical reading, summarizing is often used to
determine the essential ideas in a book, article, book chapter, an article or
parts of an article. These essential ideas include the gist or main idea,
useful information or key words or phrases that help you meet your
reading purpose. Summarizing is generally done after reading. However, it
can be done as well while reading a text.
 Summarizing is an important skill because it
helps you
• • deepen your understanding of the text;
• • learn to identify relevant information or key
ideas; and,
• • combine details or examples that support the
main idea/s.
 TECHNIQUES IN SUMMARIZING
ACADEMIC TEXT
• 1. Clarify your purpose before reading
• 2. Read the text and understand the meaning. Do not stop reading until you
understand the message. Locate the gist or main idea of the text.
• 3. Select and underline or circle the key ideas and phrases while reading; another
strategy is to annotate the text.
• 4. Write all the key ideas and phrases on the margin or on your notebook in a
bullet or outline form.
• 5. Identify the connections of key ideas and phrases using a concept map.
 TECHNIQUES IN SUMMARIZING
ACADEMIC TEXT
• 6. List ideas in sentence form in a concept map.
• 7. Combine the sentences into a paragraph. Use appropriate transitional devices to improve
cohesion.
• 8. Do not copy single sentence from the original text.
• 9. Refrain from adding comments about the text.
• 10. Edit the draft of your summary.
• 11. Record the details of the original source (author’s name/s, date of publication, title,
publisher, place of publishing, and URL [if online]). It is not necessary to indicate the page
number/s of the original text in citing sources in summaries
 1. Idea Heading Format
• In this format, the summarized idea comes before the citation
Example

Benchmarking is a useful strategy that has the potential to help

public officials improve the performance of local services
(Folz, 2004; Ammons, 2001). Once the practice of a particular
city is benchmarked, it can be guidepost and the basis for the
other counterparts to improve its own.
 2. Author Heading Format
• In this format, the summarized idea comes after the citation. The author’s name/s is/are connected
by an appropriate reporting verb.
Example
The considerable number of users of FB has ked educators to utilize FB for communicating with their
students (Grant, 2008; as cited in Donmus, 2010). The study of Kabilan, Ahmad, and Abidin (2010)
shows that the students perceived FB as an online environment to expedite language learning
specifically English. Donmus (2010) asserts that educational games on FB fecundate learning process
and make students’ learning environment more engaging. As regards literacy, this notion reveals that
FB could be used as a tool to aid individuals execute a range of social acts through social literacy
implementation (ibid). Blackstone and Hardwood (2012) suggest the facilitative strength of FB as it
elicits greater engagement on collaboration among students.
 Date Heading Format
• In this format, the summarized idea comes after the date when the
materials were published
Example
On the other hand, active participation of the citizens in development
contributes to a sound and reasonable government decisions. In their 2004
study on the impact of participatory development approach, Irvin and
Stansbury argue that participation can be valuable to the participants and the
government in terms of the process and outcomes of decision making.
 USING REPORTING VERBS WHEN
SUMMARIZING
• A reporting verb is a word used to discuss another person’s writings or
assertions. In summarizing, you are highly encouraged to vary the verbs
you use to make you writing more interesting and to show importance to
each of your sources.
• You can use either the past or the present tense depending on your
meaning. Using past tense usually indicates that you view the idea to be
outdated and therefore want to negate it. On the other hand, using the
present tense generally indicates that you view the idea to be relevant or
agreeable.
 TASK 3 : CHECKING FOR
UNDERSTANDING

•Write S if the statement

describes good summarizing
and N if not.
 TASK 3 : CHECKING FOR
UNDERSTANDING
• 1. Hazel copied everything from the book.
• 2. Peter extracted the key ideas in the text.
• 3. Sarah concentrated on the important details.
• 4. Anita looked for key words and phrases.
• 5. Sen simplified ideas.
• 6. Neth revised the main idea.
• 7. To add more information, Lea added her analysis and comments to the ideas of the author.
• 8. Crystal wrote down the general and specific ideas of the text.
• 9. Yvette added some of his related research to the information presented in the text.
• 10. Reagan extended the message of the text and included some of his interpretations