English for Academic and Professional Purposes (EAPP)

Vocabulary and key concepts from the lecture on Academic Texts, including writing styles, definitions of specific paper types, and structural formats like IMRaD.

Academic Text

A formal way to present words and terms typical for the field, typically used for textbooks, tests, and classrooms.

Academic Writing Process

A process that starts with posing a question, problematizing a concept, evaluating an opinion, and ends in answering the questions posed, clarifying the problem, and arguing for a stand.

Formal Writing

Writing that utilizes formal instead of informal vocabulary, avoids contractions, and avoids emotional language.

Objective Writing

An impersonal writing style that emphasizes things and ideas instead of people and feelings, avoids evaluative words based on non-technical judgements, and uses modality to show caution.

Modality

The use of specific language to show caution about views or to allow room for others to disagree.

Technical Writing

Writing that requires a large vocabulary for concepts specific to a particular discipline or specialization.

Literary Analysis

A type of academic text that examines, evaluates, and makes an argument about a literary work while going beyond mere summarization.

Research Paper

A document written in various disciplines that uses outside information to support a thesis or make an argument.

Dissertation

A book-length summarization of a doctoral candidate’s research submitted at the conclusion of a Ph.D. program.

Three-Part Essay Structure

A basic structure consisting of an introduction, body, and conclusion, where the introduction and conclusion are shorter than the body.

IMRaD Structure

A common structure for academic text that stands for Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion.

Introduction (IMRaD)

The section that depicts the background of the topic, introducing the aims and central focus of the study.

Method (IMRaD)

The section describing how the study was conducted, including data collection methods, research instruments, and sample size.

Results (IMRaD)

The section where the findings of the research are reported without active discussion or analysis.

Discussion (IMRaD)

The most substantial section of the paper where the writer interprets, analyzes, and compares results to previous research.

Discourse

A technical term used in multiple disciplines that may carry different meanings depending on the specific field.