Kinds of Academic Texts
Kinds of Academic Texts
Transcript
Different kinds of texts require different approaches, and present different challenges. There are three broad categories of texts that you'll likely encounter in an academic setting. Each of which may prove difficult in its own way. The three broad categories are textbooks, scholarly texts, and works of literature. Textbooks you're probably already familiar with. They tend to present facts, formulas, and concepts. Pretty straightforward, and usually pretty easy to find what you're looking for. Scholarly texts might be things like an article written by a professor, a book chapter in a scholarly work, or a report by the UN or an NGO, an organization like that.
Typically, these texts are presenting an argument. They're seeking to persuade the reader of something. The third category, literature, is very broad, but literature is typically a work of art. The author is not seeking to present facts or persuade you of a particular point, but rather to present an aesthetic effect or experience, presenting plot, characters, some form of beauty. So, now that we know what we're looking for in each category of text, how do we go about finding these things?
Textbooks make it pretty easy. They often put the important things in bold or they use bullet points to let you know exactly what you should walk away with, and at the end of each chapter there's often a review page or even a quiz to help you make sure you've understood all the important points.
Scholarly texts don't necessarily put the important information in bold or in bullet points, but they do often do the favor of including a summary or abstract right at the beginning. This is a short section, usually a paragraph or two in length that explains the basic gist of what happens in the scholarly text. Once you've used the summary or abstract to get a sense of what the text is all about, you then work to follow the argument. What's the author arguing for or arguing against? That helps you understand what's going on in the text and helps you understand what's the central main thrust and what are the sort of off to the side details.
Literature is presenting, again, neither facts nor an argument, and what you're looking for in a literary text will often depend on the assignment and what kind of literature you're reading. It's a good idea to focus in on formal qualities. In a poem you might look for the rhyme scheme. In a novel you might look for character development. In a play or another kind of literature, maybe it's word play or something else that the professor directs you to look for.
Once you know what sorts of things you're looking for, and how to find them, it's usually much easier to understand the difficult texts that you've been assigned. If you have a text that's tough at first, don't give up and don't bang your head against the wall reading it over and over again the same way. Instead, give yourself some context, some specific goals, and try again.
Typically, these texts are presenting an argument. They're seeking to persuade the reader of something. The third category, literature, is very broad, but literature is typically a work of art. The author is not seeking to present facts or persuade you of a particular point, but rather to present an aesthetic effect or experience, presenting plot, characters, some form of beauty. So, now that we know what we're looking for in each category of text, how do we go about finding these things?
Textbooks make it pretty easy. They often put the important things in bold or they use bullet points to let you know exactly what you should walk away with, and at the end of each chapter there's often a review page or even a quiz to help you make sure you've understood all the important points.
Scholarly texts don't necessarily put the important information in bold or in bullet points, but they do often do the favor of including a summary or abstract right at the beginning. This is a short section, usually a paragraph or two in length that explains the basic gist of what happens in the scholarly text. Once you've used the summary or abstract to get a sense of what the text is all about, you then work to follow the argument. What's the author arguing for or arguing against? That helps you understand what's going on in the text and helps you understand what's the central main thrust and what are the sort of off to the side details.
Literature is presenting, again, neither facts nor an argument, and what you're looking for in a literary text will often depend on the assignment and what kind of literature you're reading. It's a good idea to focus in on formal qualities. In a poem you might look for the rhyme scheme. In a novel you might look for character development. In a play or another kind of literature, maybe it's word play or something else that the professor directs you to look for.
Once you know what sorts of things you're looking for, and how to find them, it's usually much easier to understand the difficult texts that you've been assigned. If you have a text that's tough at first, don't give up and don't bang your head against the wall reading it over and over again the same way. Instead, give yourself some context, some specific goals, and try again.