Academic Text Structures

ACADEMIC TEXT STRUCTURES
What is an Academic Text?
Academic text is defined as critical, objective, specialized texts written by

experts or professionals in a given field using formal language. This means that
academic texts are based on facts with solid basis. Academic writing, therefore, is
generally quite formal, objective (impersonal) and technical. It is formal by avoiding
casual or conversational language, such as contractions or informal vocabulary. It is
impersonal and objective by avoiding direct reference to people or feelings, and instead
emphasizing objects, facts and ideas. It is technical by using vocabulary specific to the
discipline. To be a good academic writer, you will need to learn the specific styles and
structures for your discipline, as well as for each individual writing task. Some examples
of academic writing are as follow:
Literary Analysis: A literary analysis essay examines, evaluates, and makes an

argument about a literary work. As its name suggests, a literary analysis essay goes
beyond mere summarization. It requires careful close reading of one or multiple texts
and often focuses on a specific characteristic, theme, or motif.
Research Paper: A research paper uses outside information to support a thesis or

make an argument. Research papers are written in all disciplines and may be
evaluative, analytical, or critical in nature. Common research sources include data,
primary sources (e.g., historical records), and secondary sources (e.g., peer- reviewed
scholarly articles). Writing a research paper involves synthesizing this external
information with your own ideas.
Dissertation: A dissertation (or thesis) is a document submitted at the conclusion of a

Ph.D. program. The dissertation is a book-length summarization of the doctoral
candidate’s research.
Academic papers may be done as a part of a class, in a program of study, or for
publication in an academic journal or scholarly book of articles around a theme, by
different authors.
Structure: It is an important feature of academic writing. A well-structured text enables

the reader to follow the argument and navigate the text. In academic writing a clear
structure and a logical flow are imperative to a cohesive text. These are the two
common structures of academic texts that you need to learn which depends on the type
of assignment you are required: the three-part essay structure and the IMRaD
structure.
1
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.
Introduction. Its purpose is to clearly tell the reader the topic, purpose and structure of
the paper. As a rough guide, an introduction might be between 10 and 20 percent of the
length of the whole paper and has three main parts:
a) The most general information, such as background and/or definitions.

b) The core of the introduction, where you show the overall topic, purpose, your
point of view, hypotheses and/or research questions (depending on what kind of
paper it is).
c) The most specific information, describing the scope and structure of your paper.
You should write your introduction after you know both your overall point of view
(if it is a persuasive paper) and the whole structure of your paper. You should then
revise the introduction when you have completed the main body.
The Body. It develops the question, “What is the topic about?”. It may elaborate directly
on the topic sentence by giving definitions, classifications, explanations, contrasts,
examples and evidence. This is considered as the heart of the essay because it
expounds the specific ideas for the readers to have a better understanding of the topic.
It usually is the largest part of the essay.
Conclusion. The conclusion is closely related to the introduction and is often described
as its ‘mirror image’. This means that if the introduction begins with general information
and ends with specific information, the conclusion moves in the opposite direction. The
conclusion usually begins by briefly summarizing the main scope or structure of the
paper, confirms the topic that was given in the introduction, ends with a more general
statement about how this topic relates to its context. This may take the form of an
evaluation of the importance of the topic, implications for future research or a
recommendation about theory or practice.
The IMRaD Structure
The sections of the IMRaD structure are Introduction, Methods, Results and
Discussion. The Introduction usually depicts the background of the topic and the
central focus of the study. The Methodology lets your readers know your data collection
methods, research instrument employed, sample size and so on. Results and
Discussion states the brief summary of the key findings or the results of your study.

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ACADEMIC TEXT STRUCTURES

What is an Academic Text?

Academic text is defined as critical, objective, specialized texts written by

Literary Analysis: A literary analysis essay examines, evaluates, and makes an

Research Paper: A research paper uses outside information to support a thesis or

Dissertation: A dissertation (or thesis) is a document submitted at the conclusion of a

Structure: It is an important feature of academic writing. A well-structured text enables

The three-part essay structure is a basic structure that consists of introduction,

a) The most general information, such as background and/or definitions.

The IMRaD Structure

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