Literary Vs Academic

prepared by Leah E. Gustilo,

PhD.
 Presentation Outline
The nature of Academic Writing
Literature Defined
Functions of Concepts associated with
Literature AW
Genres of Literature Features of AW
Elements of Fiction Types of AW
Tips in Writing AW
 The nature of literature
It is an enduring expression of a significant human experience in words
well-chosen and arranged.
enduring – lasting, not ephemeral
expression – sharing; a manifestation
significant – important, necessary, meaningful
human – people; different human conditions
experience – heart of literature
words well-chosen and arranged

Source: Literature: Definition, nature, and function. (2017). Retrieved from

https://anelepapers.wordpress.com/2017/01/03/literature-definition-nature-and-function/
 The nature of Literature
• The language that is used by literature differs from ordinary spoken or
written language.
• Literature uses special words, structure, and characteristics. Primarily
the language of literature differs from ordinary language in three
ways:
• language is concentrated and meaningful;
its purpose is not simply to explain, argue, or make a point but rather
to give a sense of pleasure in the discovery of a new experience; and
it demands intense concentration from the readers.
• It indicates that the language of literature has originality, quality,
creativity, and pleasure.
• Literary competence is the ability to unlock the “grammar” of
literature.
Sources: Literature: Definition, nature, and function. (2017). Retrieved from
https://anelepapers.wordpress.com/2017/01/03/literature-definition-nature-and-function/
NTOT Session 6-7 A guide
 Functions of Literature

Dulce and Utile

Dulce – to entertain; to give pleasure and enjoyment
Utile – to instruct

Literature: Definition, nature, and function. (2017). Retrieved from https://anelepapers.wordpress.com/2017/01/03/literature-definition-nature-and-function/

 Genres of Literature
NON-
FICTION
FICTION

NON-
FACTUAL
FACTUAL
 Activity: Game
1. Go to your micro-groups
2. List down all subgenres of fiction and non-fiction in
three minutes.
3. Exchange your work with another micro group.
4. The group with the highest number of listed genres
under fiction and non-fiction will be declared winner
(with a price).
 Fiction common genres
• Comics/Graphic novel – comic magazine or book based on a sequence of pictures (often hand drawn) and
few words.
• Crime/detective – fiction about a crime, how the criminal gets caught, and the repercussions of the crime
• Fable – legendary, supernatural tale demonstrating a useful truth
• Fairy tale – story about fairies or other magical creatures
• Fan fiction – fiction written by a fan of, and featuring characters from, a particular TV series, movie, or book
• Fantasy – fiction with subplot(s), theme(s), major and minor characters, in which the narrative is presented
in verse form (usually free verse)
• Folklore – the songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a people or "folk" as handed down by word of mouth
• Historical fiction – story with fictional characters and events in an historical setting
• Horror – fiction in which events evoke a feeling of dread and sometimes fear in both the characters and the
reader
• Humor – usually a fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement, meant to entertain and sometimes cause
intended laughter; but can be contained in all genres
• Legend – story, sometimes of a national or folk hero, that has a basis in fact but also includes imaginative
material
• Magical realism – story where magical or unreal elements play a natural part in an otherwise realistic
environment
 Fiction common genres
• Mystery – fiction dealing with the solution of a crime or the revealing of secrets
• Mythology – legend or traditional narrative, often based in part on historical events, that
reveals human behavior and natural phenomena by its symbolism; often pertaining to the
actions of the gods
• Mythopoeia – fiction in which characters from religious mythology, traditional myths,
folklore and/or history are recast into a re-imagined realm created by the author
• Picture book – picture storybook is a book with very little words and a lot of pictures;
picture stories are usually for children
• Realistic fiction – story that is true to life
• Science fiction – story based on the impact of actual, imagined, or potential science, often
set in the future or on other planets
• Short story – fiction of great brevity, usually supports no subplots
• Suspense/thriller – fiction about harm about to befall a person or group and the attempts
made to evade the harm
• Tall tale – humorous story with blatant exaggerations, such as swaggering heroes who do
the impossible with nonchalance
• Western – fiction set in the American Old West frontier and typically in the late
eighteenth to late nineteenth century
Non-fiction common genres
• Biography – a narrative of a person's life; when the author is also the main sub, this is an autobiography.
• Essay – a short literary composition that reflects the author's outlook or point.
• Owner's manual (also Instruction manual, User's guide) – an instructional book or booklet that is supplied
with consumer products such as vehicles, home appliances, firearms, toys and computer peripherals
• Journalism – reporting on news and current events
• Lab Report – a report of an experiment
• Memoir – factual story that focuses on a significant relationship between the writer and a person, place, or
object; reads like a short novel
• Narrative nonfiction/personal narrative – factual information about a significant event presented in a
format that tells a story
• Reference book – such as a dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, almanac, or atlas
• Self-help book – information with the intention of instructing readers on solving personal problems.
• Speech – public address or discourse
• Textbook – authoritative and detailed factual description of a topic.

Source: List of writing genres (n.d). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_writing_genres

 Atmosphere
Setting

Local color

Ways of
revealing

Types

Characters
Elements of roles
Fiction
elements
Plot

types

Theme Principles in
stating

Point of
1st, 2nd, 3rd
View
 Time and place—
social and
environmental
context of the story

Setting

Atmosphere– the
Local color—superficial
aura or the mood
elements of setting,
of the story
dialect, customs
Characters
•Characters are the representations of a
human being – the complex combination of
both inner and outer self.
• For characters to be true to life, an author
must provide them with sufficient reason to
behave as they do. This is referred to as a
character’s Motivation.
DepEd Session Guide
Four ways of Revealing Characters
What they do, how
they react

What they say and

think about others and How they are
themselves described

What other characters say

about them
Types of Characters
Type Definition Provide an
Example
1. Major the plot and resolution of conflict revolves around these
characters.

2. Minor complement the major characters and help move the plot
events forward.

3. Dynamic A dynamic character is a person who changes over time, usually

as a result of resolving a central conflict or facing a major crisis.

4. Static Does not change over time

5. Round Has a complex personality
6. Flat Only one kind of personality
7. Stock Conventional or stereotypical through repeated use
 Types of Characters
Type Definition Provide an Example

1. Major the plot and resolution of conflict revolves around these characters. Cinderella

2. Minor complement the major characters and help move the plot events Cinderella’s step sisters
forward.

3. Dynamic A dynamic character is a person who changes over time, usually as a Malificent, Marimar,
result of resolving a central conflict or facing a major crisis. Beast/Prince, Harry Potter

4. Static Does not change over time Gaston

5. Round Has a complex personality Lead Character in Pirates of
the Caribean
6. Flat Only one kind of personality Belle

7. Stock Conventional or stereotypical through repeated use Proud, evil, deceitful

 Types of Characters
Type Definition Example
PROTAGONIST Central Character, faced with conflict to Belle, Sleeping
resolve Beaty
ANTAGONIST Opposition to the protagonist Gaston, The Witch
ANTI-HERO A major character, usually the protagonist
who is self-centered
FOIL Usually the antagonist, his character Gaston
contrasts with another
SYMBOLIC Major or minor character, symbolizes
aspects of society
Source: Types of Characters. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://learn.lexiconic.net/characters.htm
Plot--refers to the series of events that occur in the story. The plot
is the underlying pattern of the story that gives it unity and order.

Source: https://study.com/academy/lesson/plot-analysis-example-lesson-quiz.html
Types of Plot
structures
• Linear –arranged chronologically, the most
common plot because it follows the natural
order of events.
• Circular –combines linear with flashback. The
opening scene will be repeated in the series
toward or at the end.
• En Medias Res – the story begins in the
middle part of the action.
Activity:
Draw the plot of Cindirella’s story
Draw the plot of Beauty and the Beast
Draw the plot of Sleeping Beauty
Conflict in literature
Conflict
•Conflict is the dramatic struggle between two
forces in a story.
•No conflict, no plot.
•May be external: the character vs outside
forces
•May be internal: the character vs something
in himself/herself
Source:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1w649SDYb4fljgE9JhWTOBn5qBGDfKSGUdwDSASTEFZY/edit#slide=
id.p8
Types of External Conflicts
Person
Nature
Society
Technology
God
Reality
Activities for students

1. Show pictures with conflict and ask

students to identify the conflict depicted.
2. Show lines in literature and ask students to
identify the type of conflict in the text.
 Theme
• refers to the general point that the story attempts to
make.
• The theme is not merely limited to the fictional reality of
the character’s lives, but often comments upon the
reality of our own existence as well.
• The theme is described as the significant truth about life
and human nature reflected in actions, preoccupations,
and decisions of the characters.

Source: SG 6-7A provided by DepEd

Principles in stating the theme
•It should be expressed in complete
statements.
•It must be stated as a generalization about
life.
•It must account for all major details of the
story.
•It may be stated in more than one way.
•It should avoid statements that reduce the
theme to some familiar saying or moral.
Source: SG 6-7A provided by DepEd
Sample Theme Statements

People rarely change their values and beliefs unless influenced by

a traumatic event.

People create their own beliefs in reaction to personal

experience.

A child's sense of identity is formed through interaction with

others.
Source:Sample Theme Statements (n.d.). Retrieved from
www.mccoyhighschool.ca/documents/.../1%20Sample%20Theme%20Statements.doc
Point of View -- the narrative technique or the
vantage point that the writer uses to tell the story
• First Person: A narrator who is a character in the story &
refers to him/her/itself as I. When First Person Point of
View is used, it is important to realize that the story is being
told from that character’s individual perception of reality.
• Second Person: A narrator who addresses “you” directly.
Reading a story that uses this point of view is similar to the
experience of reading a letter.
• Third Person: A narrator who does not appear in the story
as a character. There are three types of third person
narrators:

Source: SG 6-7A provided by DepEd

Three types of 3rd person narrators
• Omniscient: A non-participating narrator who sees into the
mind of all other characters, moving from one to the other
when necessary. This is often referred to as an “all-knowing”
narrator.
• Limited Omniscient: A non-participating narrator who sees the
events of the story through the eyes of a single character.
• Objective: A non-participating narrator who does not enter the
mind of any characters but merely describes the events as they
occur. This type of narration is similar to the way a movie
camera would record the events of a story.

Source: SG 6-7A provided by DepEd

Students must be taught how to spot the ff:
Interdependence of the Elements of Fiction

Source:
https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_
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 Language of Literary texts
Figurative Language
Figurative language uses figures of speech to be more
effective, persuasive, and impactful. Figures of speech such
as metaphors, similes, and allusions go beyond the literal
meanings of the words to give readers new insights. On the
other hand, alliterations, imageries, or onomatopoeias are
figurative devices that appeal to the senses of the readers.
Source: Literary Devices (n.d.). Retrieved: https://literarydevices.net/figurative-language/
Activity: Figures of Speech Exercise

1.The righteous shall flourish as the palm

tree. (simile, metaphor, euphemism).
2.Substituting the word “euthanasia” for
“mercy killing" or "killing the terminally
ill“ (simile, euphemism, litotes)
3. The camel is the ship of the desert.
(Simile, Metaphor, Oxymoron)
4. Let's just say that Bozo the Clown is not the
brightest bulb on the Christmas tree. (litotes,
Personification, Metaphor)
5. Pride goeth forth on horseback, grand and
gay. (Oxymoron, Apostrophe,
Personification).
6. O Solitude! Where are the charms that
sages have seen in thy face? (Personification,
Hyperbole, Apostrophe)
7. Death lays his icy hands on kings. (Epigram,
Apostrophe, Personification)

8. We talked with each other about each other

Though neither of us spoke — (Emily Dickinson).
(Alliteration, Paradox, Onomatopoeia).

9. Pitching pennies with the Pittsburgh Pirates in a

pitter-patter of rain outside the Pitti Palace. (James Thurber,
Lanterns and Lances, 1961) ( Onomatopoeia, Apostrophe,
Alliteration)
10. Man proposes, God disposes. (Antithesis,
Hyperbole, Oxymoron)

11. 6. The chug-a, chug-a, chug-a of the train

echoed down the hill, while a cloud of smoke
rose up to the blue western sky. (Onomatopeia,
Apostrophe, Personification )

12. Here is the smell of blood still; all the

perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little
hand. (Euphemism, Oxymoron, Hyperbole)
Answers
Answers
1. The righteous shall flourish as the palm tree. (Simile)
2. Substituting the word “euthanasia” for “mercy killing" or
"killing the terminally ill“ (euphemism)
3. The camel is the ship of the desert. (Metaphor)
4. 5. Let's just say that Bozo the Clown is not the brightest bulb
on the Christmas tree. (litotes)
5. Pride goeth forth on horseback, grand and gay.
(Personification)
6. O Solitude! Where are the charms that sages have seen in thy
face? (Apostrophe)
7. Death lays his icy hands on kings. (Personification)
8. We talked with each other about each other Though neither of us spoke
— (Emily Dickinson). (Paradox).
9. Pitching pennies with the Pittsburgh Pirates in a pitter-patter of
rain outside the Pitti Palace. (James Thurber, Lanterns and Lances,
1961) (Alliteration)
10. Man proposes, God disposes. (Antithesis)
11. 11. 6. The chug-a, chug-a, chug-a of the train echoed down
the hill, while a cloud of smoke rose up to the blue western sky.
(Onomatopeia)
12. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.
(Hyperbole)
• Source: Figures of Speech Exercises(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.englishgrammar.org/figures-
speech-exercise/
Examples from literature
Source: Source: Literary Devices (n.d.). Retrieved: https://literarydevices.net/figurative-language/

Example #1: The Base Stealer (By Robert

Francis)
Poised between going on and back, pulled
Both ways taut like a tight-rope walker,

Now bouncing tiptoe like a dropped ball,

Or a kid skipping rope, come on, come on!
…
Example #2: I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings (By Maya Angelou)

But a BIRD that stalks down his narrow cage

Can seldom see through his bars of rage
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
The caged bird sings with a fearful trill …
And his tune is heard on the distant hill for
The caged bird sings of freedom.
Example #3: She Sweeps with Many-Colored Brooms (By
Emily Dickinson)
She sweeps with many-colored Brooms
And leaves the Shreds behind
Oh Housewife in the Evening West
Come back, and dust the Pond!
Example #4: The Raven (By Edgar Allen Poe)
Once upon a midnight dreary while I pondered weak and weary;
rare and radiant maiden;
And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain …
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering,
fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream
before.
Example #6: The Bluest Eyes (By Toni
Morrison)
She ran down the street, the green knee
socks making her legs look like wild dandelion
of stems that had somehow lost their heads.
The weight of her remark stunned us.

Personification, Consonance,
and Simile
Simile Shows similarities between two different things.
Metaphor Compares two unlike things having similar characteristics

Personification an idea or an animal – is given human attributes.

Onomatopoeia a word which imitates the natural sounds of a thing.

two opposite ideas are joined to create an effect (e.g. cruel
Oxymoron kindness)

Hyperbole overstatement
a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or
Allusion idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance.
idiom the expression is not interpreted literally.
use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities, by
giving them symbolic meanings that are different
Symbolism from their literal sense.
a word group with the same consonant or sound
Alliteration group
a part of something represents the whole, or it
Synecdoche may use a whole to represent a part.

replaces the name of a thing with the name of

Metonymy something else with which it is closely associated
 used in such a way that their intended meaning is
Irony different from the actual meaning of the words.
Sarcasm Somehow, in simple words it means to speak bitterly.
that employs an understatement by using double
negatives or, in other words, a positive statement
expressed by negating its opposite expressions (e.g.
Litotes not doing badly)
Use of words with similar meanings (“If I perish,
I perish.”
(Esther 4:15)
Tautology
 Basic categories of response strategies for
literature (Purves and Beach)
• Engaging: defining one’s emotional experience or relationship with
the text.
• Connecting: relating similar experiences, attitudes, knowledge of
other texts to the text.
• Describing: describing the nature of character’s acts, traits, beliefs,
plans, goals or an author’s use of language.
• Interpreting: inferring, explaining or interpreting the symbolic
meaning of acts, author’s intentions, character’s perspectives,
themes, social norms, predictions, or difficulties in understanding
the text.
• Judging: Judging the character or the quality of the text.
Source: SG 67-A provided by DepEd
ACADEMIC WRITING
Academic Writing Defined
Academic Writing is an objective, factual, and
formal type of writing on a specific body of
knowledge done by students or researchers
(Cequena, Canlas, De Vera, 2017).

Academic writing is a special genre of writing

that prescribes its own set of rules and
practices (Bowker, 2007).
Three Concepts associated with Academic
Writing
AW is devoted
AW is done by to topics and AW should present
scholars for questions that readers with
other scholars informed
are of interest arguments with
to the academic evidence.
community

Source: Odegaard Writing and Research Center

 The Writing Process

Source: The Writing Process. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://owl.excelsior.edu/wp-

content/uploads/sites/2/2016/03/writing-process-2.jpg
Pre-writing
 Reading
 Outlining
 Generation of ideas
 Conditioning Stage
 Planning
 Researching
 Interviewing
 Brainstorming
 Free-writing
OUTLINING
Drafting First Draft
Self edit
Second Draft
Peer Evaluate
Third Draft
Teacher evaluation
Final Draft
 Revising the First Draft
1. Organization
Introduction
Is the opening grabber catchy?
Is the background clear?
Is the thesis statement clear with supporting points?
Body
Are the body paragraphs directed by the points in the thesis statements.
Do all have topic sentences.
Conclusion
Does it have a clear summary, restatement of the thesis, and concluding
grabber?
Revising the draft for the deep-level items
2. Message content
Are all information correct and well-researched?
Are all the points well-argued or well expressed? 5. Documentation.
Do you have enough support for each point? Did you document
Are the ideas logically arranged?
your sources?

3. Vocabulary/Word choice
Did you use appropriate and formal language?

4. Sentence Structure: Did you vary the way you use your sentences to
avoid choppy, stringy, or very long sentences?
Editing

Conventions of writing

Proofreading
Publishing
•Final copy for
submission to the
teacher
•Online copy in digital
portfolio
•Facebook page
•Personal blogs
 Features of Academic Writing
Complexity Formality Precision Objectivity

Explicitness Accuracy Hedging Organization

Planning Responsibility

Source: Features of Academic Writing: (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.york.ac.uk/media/study/schoolsandcolleges/sixth-form-resources/features-of-academic-writing.pdf
Features of Academic Writing

Complexity
•more complex than spoken language.
•longer words-- it is lexically more dense and
it has a more varied vocabulary.
•has more grammatical complexity
Features of Academic Writing
Formality
•Academic writing is relatively formal.
•In general this means that in an essay you
should avoid colloquial words and
expressions.
• Avoid informal words associated with
casual conversation
Formal language

Informal
Vocabulary—used Formal
in writing friendly Vocabulary—
letters and informal used in formal
essay; used in writing and in
informal speeches, formal speech
conversations,
discussions
Digitalk

•Do we understand digital in

Philippine English
•Do we accept the words in
digitalk in formal English usage?
Development of Philippine English Lexicon in
the Internet
• Borrowed words: bundok
• English words with new forms: routinary,
cellfish,
• English words with new meaning not used in L1
Dictionary: salvage
• New words, new forms– churva,
•What is our attitude towards these newly-
coined words in the internet?
•Are they likely to die or become accepted?
•Why
Give the formal word for the following informal
words:
1. ask 1. Don’t
2. ask for 2. A lot of
3. book 3. Bad points
4. check 4. Besides
5. get 5. Good point
6. give 6. Get better
7. Just
7. help 8. Kids
8. need 9. Kind of/sort of
9. say sorry 10. Nowadays, theses days
10. say hello to 11. OK/okay
11. Tell 12. Pretty, cute
13. Really
14. Till
INFORMAL FORMAL
ask inquire
ask for Request
book Reserve
check Verify
get Receive
give Provide
help Assist
need Request
say sorry Apologize
say hello to Give my regards to
Tell inform
iNFORMAL FORMAL
Don’t Do not
A lot of Much/many
Bad point Disadvantage
Besides Furthermore/ moreover/in addition to
Good point Advantage
Get better Recover/improve
Just Simply/merely
Kids Children
Kind of/sort of Rather/somewhat
Nowadays/those days Currently/presently
Okay/OK Reasonable/acceptable
Cute/pretty Appealing/Attractive
Really Very
Till until
 Avoid Contractions
Are not= aren’t Here is= here’s
Cannot=can’t I am=I’m
Could not=couldn’t I have-I’ve
Did not=didn’t I will=I’ll
Do not=don’t
I would=I’d
Does not=doesn’t
Had not=hadn’t I had-I’d
Have not=haven’t Is not= isn’t
He is=he’s It is= it’s
He has= he’s
it will=it’ll
He will=he’ll
He would- he’d Must not=musn’t
he had= he’d She is=she’s
Features of Academic Writing

Precision
•In academic writing, facts and figures are
given precisely.
 Features of Academic Writing
Objectivity
• Objective rather than personal.
• It therefore has fewer words that refer to the writer or
the reader. This means that the main emphasis should be
on the information that you want to give and the
arguments you want to make, rather than you.
• For that reason, academic writing tends to use nouns
(and adjectives), rather than verbs (and adverbs).
 Objective language
• Although academic writing usually requires you to be objective and
impersonal (not mentioning personal feelings), often you may still have
to present your opinion.
• For example you may need to:
• interpret findings
• evaluate a theory
• develop an argument
• critique the work of others.
Objective Language

Ideas
Not feelings
The findings indicate
I feel that the model
that the model is
is erroneous
valid’
 Objective language:
• Avoid evaluative words that are based on non-technical judgements
and feelings. For example, do not use ‘wonderful’, ‘amazing’, ‘pretty,’;
• Avoid intense or emotional evaluative language.
Poorly written: Strict parents abused their children.
More effective: Strict parents tend to be more disciplinarian.
• Use modality to show caution about your views, or to allow room for
others to disagree.
Poorly written: Strict parents produce rebellious children.
More effective: Research has established that children become
rebellious in homes with stricter parents.
 Features of Academic Writing
. Explicitness
1. Signposts the organization of the text to show relationships
in the text.
Writing is the most difficult language skill to learn. However,
with proper instruction, AW can be mastered by students.

2. Acknowledges sources.
Gustilo and Dino (2018 in press) claims that Digitalk can be an
authentic resource in teaching language.
Features of Academic Writing
Accuracy
• Accurate words
• Accurate grammar usage
• Accurate facts
 Features of Academic Writing
Hedging
In AW, you reduce or minimize risks by using devices that
can mitigate your claims

Expresses hesitation and uncertainty to express politeness

and indirectness

Cautious language
Use of Modals help: can, could, may, might, would,
Source: https://www.academic-englishuk.com/hedging-
cautious-language
Features of Academic Writing
Responsibility
• be able to provide evidence and justification for
any claims you make.
• demonstrate understanding of the facts
communicated and sources of information
* Avoid plagiarism
Features of Academic Writing
Organisation
• Academic writing is well organised.
• Smooth flow of ideas from one section to
another.
• Logically arranged.
• Appropriate according to genre conventions
Features of Academic Writing

Planning
•Academic writing is well planned.
• It usually takes place after research
and evaluation, according to a
specific purpose and plan
SOURCE: Features of Acadeic Writing. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.uefap.com/writing/feature/featfram.htm
Types of Academic Writing
• a) Information writing g) Book report
assignment h) Critical
• b) ‘Extended’ analysis/critique
assignment
i) Bibliography
• c) Case study
j) Annotated
• d) Review bibliography
• e) Technical report k) Literature review
• f) Lab report
Types of Academic Writing (2007). Retrieved from
http://www2.indstate.edu/academicintegrity/docs/writingcategories.pdf
Types of Academic Writing
l) Term paper u) Web writing
m) Research paper v) Oral presentation of
n) Position/opinion written report
paper
o) Essay
w) power point
p) Subject outline presentation
q) Statistical summary x) Historical research
r) Senior thesis Y) Examination essays
s) Grant writing z) Resume & other
t) E-mail ‘business’ writing
Types of Academic Writing (2007). Retrieved from
http://www2.indstate.edu/academicintegrity/docs/writingcategories.pdf
Types of Academic Writing
Types of Academic Texts
• The four main types of academic writing are descriptive, analytical,
persuasive and critical.
• Each of these types of writing has specific language features and purposes.
• In many academic texts you will need to use more than one type. For
example, in an empirical thesis:
• you will use critical writing in the literature review to show gaps
• the methods section will be mostly descriptive to summarise the methods
used to collect and analyse information
• the results section will be mostly descriptive and analytical as you report
on the data you collected
• the discussion section is more analytical, as you relate your findings back to
your research questions, and also persuasive, as you propose your
interpretations of the findings.
Source: Types of Academic Writing (n.d.) Retrieved from https://sydney.edu.au/students/writing/types-of-
academic-writing.html
Descriptive
• The simplest type of academic writing.
• to provide facts or information.
• Examples: a summary of an article or a report of the
results of an experiment.
• Example instructions: identify, report, record,
summarise and define.

Source: Types of Academic Writing (n.d.) Retrieved from https://sydney.edu.au/students/writing/types-of-

academic-writing.html
Analytical
• Analytical writing includes descriptive writing
• Reorganizes facts and information you describe into
categories, groups, parts, types or relationships.
• Examples: comparing two stories/
• The kinds of instructions for an analytical assignment
include: analyse, compare, contrast, relate, examine.

Source: Types of Academic Writing (n.d.) Retrieved from https://sydney.edu.au/students/writing/types-of-

academic-writing.html
Analytical
• To make your writing more analytical:
• Try different ways of grouping ideas, according to patterns, parts,
similarities and differences.
• You could use colour-coding, flow charts, tree diagrams or tables.
• create a name for the relationships and categories you find. For
example, advantages and disadvantages.
• build each section and paragraph around one of the analytical
categories.
• make the structure of your paper clear to your reader, by using topic
sentences and a clear introduction.
Source: Types of Academic Writing (n.d.) Retrieved from https://sydney.edu.au/students/writing/types-of-
academic-writing.html
Persuasive
• Combination of analytical writing plus your own point of
view.
• Points of view in academic writing can include an argument,
a recommendation, interpretation of findings or evaluation
of the work of others.
• Each claim is supported by evidence (e.g. findings, studies,
experts’ opinion)
• The kinds of instructions for a persuasive assignment
include: argue, evaluate, discuss, take a position.

Source: Types of Academic Writing (n.d.) Retrieved from https://sydney.edu.au/students/writing/types-of-

academic-writing.html
Persuasive
• To present your argument, make sure:
• all the individual claims work together to support your
overall point of view
• your reasoning for each claim is clear to the reader
• your assumptions are valid
• you have evidence for every claim you make
• you use evidence that is convincing and directly
relevant.
Source: Types of Academic Writing (n.d.) Retrieved from https://sydney.edu.au/students/writing/types-of-
academic-writing.html
Critical
• Critical writing is common for research, postgraduate and advanced
undergraduate writing.
• It has all the features of persuasive writing, with the added feature of
at least one other point of view.
• While persuasive writing requires you to have your own point of view
on an issue or topic, critical writing requires you to consider at least
two points of view, including your own.
• For example, you may explain a researcher's interpretation or
argument and then evaluate the merits of the argument, or give your
own alternative interpretation.
• The kinds of instructions for critical writing include: critique, debate,
disagree, evaluate.
Source: Types of Academic Writing (n.d.) Retrieved from https://sydney.edu.au/students/writing/types-of-
academic-writing.html
Critical
Critical writing requires strong writing skills. You
need to thoroughly understand the topic and the
issues. You need to develop an essay with a
paragraph structure that allows you to analyse
different interpretations and develop your own
argument, supported by evidence.

Source: Types of Academic Writing (n.d.) Retrieved from https://sydney.edu.au/students/writing/types-of-

academic-writing.html
 Summary
Literary Writing Academic Writing
• Inspired, artistic • Rigid
• Entertaining • Procedural
• With word pictures • Conveys knowledge,
• Enjoyable to read data and information
• Art form/artistic • Orderly
• Subjective • Organized
• Objective/Subjective
Summary: Things to consider in writing
Academic Texts
•Audience
•Purpose
•Genre conventions
•Objective Language
•Factual
•Research
 Activity: Going through the Writing Process
Individual Task:
1. Spend some 15 minutes in pre-writing activities. Use bullet points or
outlined points
2. Write a paragraph on the importance of National Trainers of Teachers
Workshop (minimum of 12 sentences). Have at least three points in
your paragraph/outline. This can be a part of your report. Apply the
lessons you learned on the tips on writing AW
3. After drafting your first draft, exchange your paper with a seatmate
4. Evaluate each other’s work.
5. Revise your paragraph based on the comments of your seatmate
6. Submit both the first and second draft to your Cluster president.
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