This document discusses the differences between academic and non-academic texts. Academic texts are objective, fact-based, and formally written for experts in a given field. They include textbooks, essays, theses, research articles, case studies, and reports. Non-academic texts are more subjective, informal, and based on personal opinions. Examples provided include emails, blogs, social media posts, magazines, and newspapers. The document also outlines specific features of academic texts from different disciplines.
2. WHAT HAVE YOU WRITTEN SO FAR?
• DIARY
• JOURNAL
• SUMMER VACATION OR CHRISTMAS VACATION
• TITLE OF THESIS
• REACTION PAPERS
• POEMS
• LETTERS
3. NON ACADEMIC TEXT
MAYBE CONSIDERED THAT WRITING WHICH
IS PERSONAL ,EMOTIONAL,
IMPRESSIONISTIC OR SUBJECTIVE IN NATURE
IT CAN ME MORE INFORMAL IN TONE AND
EVEN RELY MORE HEAVILY ON EMOTIONAL
APPEAL OR OPINIONS OF THE AUTHOR.
7. •THEREFORE , ACADEMIC WRITING
IS GENERALLY QUITE FORMAL,
OBJECTIVES (IMPERSONAL) AND
TECHNICAL
8. SIX MAIN TEXT TYPES OF ACADEMIC TEXTS
1. Textbook - These are specifically
designed to help the learners for specific
subjects or disciplines. They have highly
set languages depending on the
discipline to which the textbooks will be
9. 2. Essays – Essays usually help you show how deep
you have learned a topic or lesson. Student essays
vary in length and formality, but they always
contain three parts: Introduction, Main Body,
Conclusion. They usually need to include citations
of sources.
10. 3. Thesis - You will probably have to write
longer texts when and if you decide to enroll
in a post graduate course in the future. Longer
texts include Master's level and theses
(typically 60,000 to 80,000 words) and Doctor's
level (Ph.D.) dissertations (typically 10,000 to
20,000 words)
11. 4. Research Articles - Research articles
are written mainly for a specialist
audience, meaning other researchers,
academics and postgraduate students.
They usually contain the following parts
12. 5. Case studies – These may be found in any discipline,
though they are most common in disciplines such as
humanities, example business, sociology, and law. They
are primarily descriptive. They are in depth studies into
the lives of particular individuals/subjects.
13. 6. Reports – This does not mean the report that
you usually do in front of your classmates. The
purpose of reports is to describe what
happened and discuss and evaluate its
importance. Reports are found in different
disciplines, such as science, law, and medicine.
14. DIFFERENCE OF LANGUAGE USED IN ACADEMIC
TEXTS FROM VARIOUS DISCIPLINES
Academic text or language is typically used for textbooks,
tests, in classrooms and any other discipline related to
academics. It is very different from the structure of
vocabulary and everyday conversations through social
interactions. Academic text is a formal way to present
words and terms typical for the field.
15. SPECIFIC IDEAS CONTAINED IN VARIOUS
ACADEMIC TEXTS
•The specific ideas in various academic text are
dependent on the field of academic text one is
reading. Humanities texts discuss more about
the various human expressions, such as art and
languages, while the sciences contain the
scientific method that discuss the objective
results of an experiment or the specific research
methodology.
16. EXAMPLES OF NON- ACADEMIC TEXTS ARE
THE FOLLOWING:
● Email messages – Simple and informal. They
are sent or received over a computer network and
can be sent to multiple recipients and carry
multiple attachments at the same time.
17. ● Personal opinions - are examples of non-academic
texts that can be communicated through essay
writing or in any other form. You can express your
own opinion on the subject. Your own opinion may
be non-factual or baseless thus, anything that has no
reference is considered non-academic.
18. ● Newspapers – are non-academic texts simply because
the content is not intended for academic use. Sometimes,
you need to verify the content before accepting the
statement in the newspapers, especially with the
proliferation of fake news. Some writers are not realistic
and are relying on fictitious, sensationalized stories so that
their newspapers will sell.
19. ● Magazine – is another kind of non-academic text which
is usually used for leisure time. That is why magazines are
usually placed in a noticeable area in the office for
visitors to browse or read while waiting to be called in for
their appointment or for employees who are taking a
break.
20. ● Blog articles or social media posts – are non-
academic reading or writing. Blogs or social media
contents can add more ideas about a particular thing
but it’s not good to be a source of research, like for a
thesis, except if your topic is about social media.
Bloggers or social media personalities are very popular
when it comes to website content writing.
21. POINT OF VIEW OF NON-
ACADEMIC TEXTS
● Subjective and personal – It is based on
personal opinions and feelings rather than on
facts that come from reliable sources like
research papers do.
22. ● Asking rhetorical questions – Non-
academic texts may not necessarily answer
any question it has though it may give an
obvious answer. Usually, the writer simply
lays the answer to be discovered by the
reader.
23. ● Rule Breaker – rules in spelling, grammar
and other writing mechanics need not be
followed by non academic writers.