Nature and Characteristics of Academic Texts and Summarizing Techniques

This set of flashcards covers the definition and characteristics of academic texts, various text structures, summarizing techniques, and the components of thesis statements as discussed in the lecture notes.

Academic Text

A written language that provides information, containing ideas and concepts related to a particular topic such as essays, research papers, reports, or theses.

Basic Structure of Academic Text

A formal and logical structure consisting of three ($3$) parts: Introduction, Body, and Conclusion.

Tone (Academic Text)

The attitude conveyed in writing where arguments are presented fairly and accurately without biased language.

Compare and Contrast

A pattern that shows similarities and dissimilarities between objects, actions, ideas, or processes.

Problem and Solution

A pattern where components are labeled as a difficulty (the problem) and the result or issue resolution (the solution).

Proposition-Support

A pattern similar to problem and solution where both arguments and counterarguments of a thesis statement are presented.

Sequence/Process Writing

A pattern where steps or phases of a process or project are specified without an implied cause-effect relationship.

Spatial/Descriptive Writing

Writing that describes something in order of space or how something looks.

Summarizing

The process of making a text much shorter—about $\frac{1}{3}$ or $\frac{1}{4}$ as long—while keeping main ideas and the author's message.

SAAC Method

A summarizing technique standing for State (name of work), Assign (name of author), Action (what the author is doing), and Complete (summary with keywords).

Somebody Wanted But So Then (SWBST)

A summarizing technique where 'Somebody' is the character, 'Wanted' is the goal, 'But' is the problem, 'So' is the solution, and 'Then' is the ending.

5 W's and 1 H

A technique summarizing who the story is about, what happened, when it took place, where it happened, why it happened, and how it happened.

The Gist

A summary that tells what the story is about in other words, rather than a retelling of every detail.

Thesis Statement

A sentence used in an essay that provides the 'gist' and directly answers the question or task asked of the writer.

Inductive Structure

A writing method that starts from particular/specific details and ends with a generalized conclusion.

Deductive Structure

A writing method that starts from general conclusions or support ideas before presenting specific details.

Inductive-Deductive

A structure that starts with specific details, presents a generalized statement in the middle, and proceeds with additional support details at the end.

Complexity

A feature of academic text addressing complex issues that require higher-order thinking skills to comprehend.

Hedging

A feature of academic text where a writer makes decisions about their stance or the strength of the claims they are making.

Academic Language

The language needed by students to do schoolwork, including discipline-specific vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, and rhetorical conventions.

Social Language

The set of vocabulary that allows communication with others in the context of regular daily conversations.

IMRAD Format

The standard research structure for empirical and experimental sciences consisting of Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.

Chronological Order

Information organized in order of time, often used in narrative texts where the plot unfolds over time.

Text Structure

The way an author arranges and organizes information in their writing to help the reader find and understand information.