English for Academic and Professional Purposes Reviewer

Vocabulary flashcards covering academic and non-academic texts, text structures, linguistic registers, literary critique approaches, methods of clarification, and logical fallacies.

Academic Text

Written language produced by professionals that provides information, ideas, and concepts related to a specific discipline, using formal language to advance human understanding.

Non-Academic Text

Text written for the mass public that publishes quickly, contains informal or conversational language, slang, and expresses personal or subjective perspectives.

Descriptive Text

A text type that provides facts and information to identify, report, record, summarize, and define.

Analytical Text

A text type that organizes facts and information into categories, groups, parts, types, or relationships.

Persuasive Text

A text type that presents arguments, recommendations, evaluations, and interpretations supported by evidence to advocate a specific point of view.

Critical Text

A text type that considers at least two points of view, including the author's own, to critique, debate, disagree, and evaluate.

Academic Language

Language used in textbooks, classrooms, tests, and academic disciplines that differs in vocabulary and structure from everyday spoken language.

Linguistic Register

Certain registers of language peculiar to specific professions, characterized by specialized vocabulary and preferred syntactic and rhetorical structures.

Jargon

Special words or expressions used by a particular profession or group that are difficult for outsiders to understand.

Medical Language

Linguistic register used by medical professionals to describe components, processes, procedures, diseases, disorders, and treatments of the human body.

Legal Indictment

A formal accusation voted by a grand jury determining that there is enough evidence to justify putting a defendant on trial for a crime.

Autopsy

A surgical procedure consisting of a post-mortem examination of a corpse by dissection to evaluate disease, injury, or cause of death.

MIMS (Monthly Index of Medical Specialities)

A pharmaceutical prescribing reference guide published in the UK since 1959 by Haymarket Media Group to help reduce medication errors.

Formality

The aspect of academic writing that adheres to accepted rules, forms, and conventions while avoiding colloquialisms, contractions, and direct question forms.

Complexity

A feature of academic language marked by using a higher ratio of lexical words to grammatical words, resulting in longer and more complex phrases.

Objectivity

Academic writing style centered on factual evidence and third-person perspective rather than personal feelings or first-person references.

Explicitness

The clear organization of ideas in a text that signals relationships between concepts and explicitly indicates source materials.

Hedging

The practice of using cautious language (such as introductory verbs or lexical modifiers) to express tentativeness and open up possibilities for discussion.

Precision

The requirement in academic writing to provide exact details, numerical figures, and specific dates rather than vague quantities.

Three-Part Essay Structure

A basic organizational framework for academic writing consisting of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

Thesis Statement

A one-sentence summary presenting the main claim, controlling idea, stance, and structural preview of an entire academic paper.

IMRaD Structure

A common structure for research papers, theses, and dissertations comprising Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion.

Reaction Paper

A 2 to 5 page academic document providing a personal, insightful reaction to a work backed by outside sources and analysis.

Position Paper

An academic paper that asserts a clear argument and defends an author's stance on a particular issue using evidence and analysis.

Critique Paper

A concise summary and detailed evaluation that examines the theoretical, methodological, and historical strengths and weaknesses of a scholarly work.

Concept Paper

A preliminary overview document for a project or research proposal detailing what the study is, why it is necessary, and how it will be conducted.

Summary

A concise academic text following an Introduction-Body-Conclusion format that extracts and reformulates only the essential main ideas of a source.

Paraphrasing

The process of restating another author's ideas in one's own words without direct quotation while acknowledging the original source.

Topic Outline

An outline format that organizes main ideas and supporting details using only key words or phrases.

Sentence Outline

An outline format that arranges ideas, arguments, and details using complete grammatical sentences.

Review

A critical assessment or evaluation of a work of art or literature, typically ranging from 200 to 700 words.

Historical Approach

A literary critique approach that interprets a text through the historical, social, and cultural conditions present during its creation and reception.

Formalism

A literary critique framework that treats a work as an isolated art piece, analyzing its intrinsic properties such as structure, style, sound, and theme.

Explication

A literary criticism technique involving close analysis and line-by-line interpretation of specific excerpted verses or phrases.

Feminism (Literary Critique)

A critical approach that examines literary works through the perspective of social, economic, political, and intellectual gender equality.

Reader-Response

A critique approach focusing primarily on the reviewer's personal reception, interpretation, and reaction as an audience member.

Structuralism

A theory developed by Ferdinand de Saussure examining language as a system of signs consisting of signifiers and signifieds.

Deconstruction

A critique approach that takes apart a text to reveal underlying assumptions, hidden hierarchies, and contradictory meanings.

Concept

A general abstract idea derived from specific occurrences, derived from the Latin word 'concipere' meaning 'to conceive'.

Formal Definition

A definition structure that specifies the genus (class) and differentia (distinguishing characteristics) of a term.

Informal Definition

A operational definition that explains how a term is used in a specific context, often using synonyms or antonyms.

Extended Definition

An expanded definition of complex concepts utilizing methods like analogy, etymology, contrast, function, and detailed analysis.

Clarification

A method of concept elucidation that analyzes real-world examples and specific characteristics to establish a working definition.

Manifesto

A public document declaring a program, set of beliefs, motives, or plan of action regarding an issue or artistic stance.

Fallacy

An error in reasoning that invalidates or undermines an argument's support for its conclusion.

Attacking the Person (Ad Hominem)

A fallacy involving personal attacks on an opponent's character rather than addressing the substance of their argument.

Bandwagon

A logical fallacy asserting that a claim must be true or good simply because a large number of people believe or practice it.

False Dilemma

A logical fallacy that presents a situation as having only two exclusive alternatives when additional options exist.

Hasty Generalization

A fallacy in which a broad, sweeping conclusion is drawn based on insufficient or limited evidence.

False Analogy

A fallacy that incorrectly compares two items or situations that share no fundamental similarities.

Post Hoc (False Cause)

A logical fallacy assuming that because one event preceded another, the first event caused the second.

Complex Cause

A logical fallacy that oversimplifies an outcome by attributing it to a single cause when multiple factors contributed.

Wrong Direction

A fallacy that reverses the true cause-and-effect relationship between two correlated events.

Irrelevant Conclusion (Ignoratio Elenchi)

A logical fallacy where an argument presented succeeds in proving a claim that is completely unrelated to the core issue.