Lesson

STRUCTURE OF AN
1 ACADEMIC TEXT
EXPECTATIONS
In this module, you will have to use knowledge of text structure to
glean the information you need.

Specifically, this module will help you to:

• identify the common structures of an academic text; and
• apply knowledge of text structure in gathering information through
critical reading of academic text.

Let us start your journey in learning more about Structure of Academic Text. I
am sure you are ready and excited to answer the Pretest. Smile and cheer up!

PRE-TEST
Directions: Identify what is being asked or described in each item. Write the
letter of the correct answer in the space provided before the number.

__D.____ 1. Academic texts are generally structured with _______.

A. Formality C. Citation and references
B. Clear and good structure D. All of the above
___A.___ 2. Which of the following is NOT a common structure of an
academic text?
A. Order C. Cause and Effect
B. Summary D. Comparison and Contrast
___A.___ 3. A large unit of a written language wherein ideas are put together
in a structure that requires them to make one central idea is
_______.
A. Text C. Discourse
B. Essay D. Paragraph
___C.___ 4. Which of the following is TRUE about text structures?
A. It is synonymous to text features.
B. It can be used within longer texts.
C. It refers to the organizational patterns in the text.
D. It is used in the development of ideas located only in the
body.
___A.___ 5. Ideas in the body can be organized and developed by one or
combination of the following EXCEPT _______.

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 A. Anecdote C. Cause and Effect
B. Description D. Comparison and Contrast

Great! You finished answering the questions. You may request your facilitator
to check your work. Congratulations and keep on learning!

LOOKING BACK TO YOUR LESSON

Directions. Using your knowledge on parts of a composition, label the
numbered parts of a paragraph and essay by choosing the correct answers
from the word pool below. Write them in the given organizers.

topic sentence concluding sentence

thesis
supporting details lead body major points
statement
minor details
background thesis
ment concluding
restate statement
Thesis
1 Topic 4
Statement
PARAGRAPH

Sentence 5 Background
Lead
structure
Hamburger

Supporting
2
ESSAY

6 Body
details 7 Major
3 Concluding Points
Sentence
8 Minor
Source:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php? t
9 Thesis
Details
BRIEF
INTRODUCTIO Restatement
le=Special:Search&profile=advanced&fulltext=1&advancedSe
sort=relevance&search=hamburger+cartoon&ti h-
current=%7B
arc r
ger_Cartoon.p
g
%7D&ns0=1&ns6=1&ns12=1&ns14=1&ns100=1&ns106=1#/media/File:Hambu
n
Concluding
N
1
0
Sentence

BRIEF INTRODUCTION
A text or composition can be classified into academic and non-
academic. In this module, we will focus on academic text.

Academic texts can be articles, conference papers, reviews and

theses/dissertations. How are academic texts typically formed? In general,
academic texts are organized with the following characteristics: (1) has
clearly structured introduction-body-conclusion, (2) is formal, (3) includes
information from credible sources which are properly cited, and (4) includes
a list of references. (Barrot & Sipacio, 2016).
Have you read a thesis or an article? Did you notice how the text was
written? If you notice, thesis, article or other academic text has predetermined
structure. Recognizing the structure will help you understand the text better
since it shows how the ideas are organized and presented in the text. If you
are writer, you would want to make your composition easy to read and make
your content easy to find, right? Otherwise, no reader will get across your
ideas in your text. Therefore, academic texts usually follow an established

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structure which refers to the internal organization of a text. It is called Text
Structure.

Text structure is one of the two

categories of how a text can be
organized. The other category is Text
Features.Text Structures refer to the
organizational patterns of a text.
Generally, it is composed of text
types, parts, transition words and
phrases, patterns of
organization, sentences, and paragraphs.

Source: https://keystoliteracy.com/blog/teaching-text-structures/

The common parts of a text pertain to the I-B-C (Introduction, Body

and Conclusion) structure. Each part consists of sub-components that
could help readers identify the main ideas (stated or implied) and supporting
details using patterns of organization. There are five common patterns of
organization used in a text which are as follow: (1) Description, (2)
Order/Sequence, (3) Comparison/Contrast, (4) Cause and Effect, and (5)
Problem and Solution. Some texts also use the Argument in developing
their ideas which begins with a claim followed by the reasons for the claim
then supported by pieces of evidence. It can include a counter-claim or
refutation. (Gonzales, 2014)
Another component of a text structure is the use of transition words
or phrases. These transition words or phrases are used to show
relationships among ideas. They are found all throughout the text parts and
patterns of organization. Transition words or phrases make the connecting
of one idea to another idea or one part to another part of a text formal, clear
and organized.
The following show how transition words or phrases are used for
specific pattern of organization of ideas.
(Sources: National Education Association, 2019 and University of Tennessee Center for
Literacy Studies, 2019)
A.Order/ Sequence: Texts that follow this structure tell the order in
which steps in a process or series of events occur.
Transitions next, first, last, second, another, then, additionally,
next, finally, before, preceding and others
Example First, read the manual of the device. Second, turn on
the device. Then, set the location, time and date.

B. Comparison/Contrast: Texts that follow this structure tell about

the differences and similarities of two or more objects, places, events or
ideas by grouping their traits for comparison.

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 Transitions However, unlike, like, by contrast, yet, in
comparison, although, whereas, similar to, different
from, as opposed to, instead of, as well as.
Example Unlike quantitative research, qualitative research
uses descriptive data.

C.Description/List: This structure resembles an outline. Each

section opens with its main idea, then elaborates on it, sometimes dividing
the elaboration into subsections.
Transitions For example, for instance, specifically, in particular,
in addition, to illustrate, such as, most important,
another.
Example Filipinos are very appreciative of arts such as plays,
paintings, music, and literature.

D.Cause and Effect: In texts that follow this structure, the reader is
told the result of an event or occurrence and the reasons it happened.
Transitions Consequently, therefore, as a result, thereby, leads
to, because of, in order to, for these reasons, thus, if
then, may be due to.
Example Everyone followed health protocols. As a result, the
pandemic was gradually eradicated.

E.Problem-Solution: This presents a problem and several possible

solutions. The author may also describe the pros and cons of each solution.
Transitions The problem is, the difficulty is, it is possible to, if
then, one challenge is, therefore.
Example The problem that we are facing is the lack of self
discipline of the society.

The last components of text structures mentioned above are

sentences and paragraphs. In writing effective sentences or paragraphs, a
graphic organizer is a great help. A graphic organizer is a visual
presentation with various shapes and connecting marks that is used to show
the organization and relationship of ideas and parts in a text. It serves as the
backbone in writing a formal and effective academic text.
Reading an academic text is challenging; more so, if we are asked to
identify text structures. Therefore, this module tells us that using graphic
organizers helps us identify the structures of an academic text and
understand the whole text. Some charts are shown below.

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 Great! You are now ready for our activities. You can perform the following
activities through collaborating with a partner. You can first answer the
activities individually then just communicate the results after.

ACTIVITIES
Activity 1: Identifying the Structures of the Text
Directions: You are trapped in the text autopsy room to solve the mystery of a failed yet
promising research project. Unlock the four-digit code by correctly identifying the indicated
structures of the text from the given options to break out from the room and revive the
project.
describe the physical appearance of the
Expression of empathy towards person on the card.
others is natural to people. According to
new research published by the American On the other hand, the task in the second
Psychological Association, empathy is an deck was to empathize with the person in
expression of understanding others’ the photo. The participants were free to
feelings. It is described as inspiring. choose which deck they would do. There
However, there are times that people were additional experiments also which
choose to avoid doing it. It is because included photos of persons expressing joy.
empathy requires tremendous mental The researchers found that the
effor t. People avoid empathizing with participants consistently chose the first
others unless they have the strengths deck which did not require empathy or
and capabilities to do it. expression of emotions. According to
Cameron, “We saw a strong preference to
According to Dr. Daryl Cameron, avoid empathy even when someone else
the lead researcher, people generally was expressing joy,". This only showed
assume that they are expected to provide that participants on average chose the first
charitable responses like donating. As a deck over the second deck. There were no
result, they try to avoid it. He said, “"But monetary or emotion solicitation required
we found that people primarily just don't from the participants but they did not
want to make the mental effort to feel want to exert mental effort for empathy
empathy toward others, even when it towards the persons in the photos.
involves feeling positive emotions." This
study was published online in the Journal To support the findings, the researchers
of Experimental Psychology. The results made follow-up interview with the
were conducted through 11 experiments participants. Most of them explained that
with more than 1,200 participants and an expressing empathy was mentally
“Empathy Selection Task”. draining. It required much time, effort and
emotion from them. Also, they felt bad
The researchers employed two decks of about themselves. Therefore, describing a
cards. The task in the first deck was to person in the photo by his or her physical

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appearance was easier than expressing 3 – DESCRIPTION,
empathy. CAUSE-EFFECT

Cameron said, "If we can shift people's

motivations toward engaging in empathy,
then that could be good news for society as
a 2

whole.”. In other words, there could still be IDEA In BOLD?

hope in encouraging people to feel
empathy for others. In another two A - MAIN IDEA
experiments conducted, the results B - SUPPORTING
showed that people who chose empathy DETAIL
deck viewed empathy as less cognitive
effort. Likewise, they viewed themselves
good at it. Cameron

added, "It could encourage people to reach 3

out to groups who need help, such as
immigrants, refugees and the victims of
natura l disasters.” Being able to Can ARGUMENT structure be the OVERALL
empathize could be a great opportunity to STRUCTURE of this text?
spread hope and joy especially during R –YES
challenging times.
S - NO

Source:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/19
4
0422090847.htm
1
Which is most likely the title of the text?

WHICH
STRUCTURES ARE EVIDENT HERE?
2- A Study of Empathy
1 – DESCRIPTION, 4 - Encouraging Empathy among People
SEQUENCE
5 - Empathy is Hard Work: The Cognitive
2 – CAUSE-EFFECT, Costs
CONTRAST

CODE: 3AS5

Item 1 2 3 4
Processing Questions:
1. If your answer for Item 3 is YES, Justify your answer. If NO, what
should be the correct text structure? Explain your answer.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. Why is your answer the most probable title of the article? Provide
textual evidence to support your answer.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

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 ________________________________________________________________________
Activity 2: Writing an Academic Text

Code: _3__ _A__ _S__ _5__ Suppose that… The codes for digits 1 and 4
point
1 2 3 4 to the order of letters in the Roman alphabet.
What letter does digit 1 point to? … digit 4?

Directions: Identify the four-letter word code which is relevant to the

main idea of the article. Revive and improve the project by writing your
own article with the same main idea. Use the Problem-Solution
structure in discussing the main idea/thesis. Relate the decoded word
to the main idea and to your present context. Do not forget to observe
the structure and characteristics of an academic text in the course of
writing. This task is graded according to compliance to structure (10
points), mechanics (5 points), focus and details (5 points), use of
citations (5points) and organization of ideas (5points). Use the given
answer sheet for your composition.

REMEMBER
• How is Academic Text characterized? It is formal, has clearly
structured introduction-body-conclusion, includes information from
credible sources which are properly cited, and includes a list of
references.
• What are the Common Structures of Academic Texts? They are
Description, Sequence/Order, Comparison/Contrast, Cause and
Effect, and Problem-Solution.
• Why is it important to know? Using your knowledge of text
structure will aid you in easy reading and increased comprehension,
as long as it is coupled with critical reading and use of appropriate
techniques for idea organization (e.g. maps, graphic organizers,
outlines, annotation, etc.). If you can recognize the text structure,
you will be able to read more strategically since you know the
predictable information to be laid out in each structure as you read.
Knowing how to write a text through identifying its structures while
you read will also help you understand the text better and
remember its essential information even after reading (National
Institute for Literacy, 2007 as cited in Gonzales, 2014).
Remember to Read like a writer, and write like a reader, as they say.
CHECKING YOUR UNDERSTANDING
Directions: Organize the ideas that you wrote in the article from
Activity 2 by creating an appropriate graphic organizer for the text
structure you used. This is graded according to organization (10points),
summarization (10points), mechanics (10points) and design (5points).
Use the answer sheet provided.

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POST-TEST
Directions: Identify what is being asked or described in each item. Write the
letter of the correct answer on the space provided before the number.
___B.___ 1. This is one of the signal terms in a cause-effect structure.
A. Then C. Whereas
B. Thus D. Following
___D.___ 2. Which is NOT a benefit of knowing the text structure?
A. Easy Reading C. Extensive Reading
B. Increased Comprehension D. Development of Critical
Thinking
B.Annotation__ 3. Which is NOT a technique in idea organization?
A. Outline C. Final Draft B. Annotation D. Graphic
Organizer
__C.____ 4. Which is TRUE about text
structures? A. They are similar
to text features.
B. They can be recognized with the help of signal words.
C. They only develop critical reading and not critical thinking
skills.
D. They are classified into sequence, description, conclusion
and argument.
___B.___ 5. Which can be used to organize ideas in a comparison-contrast
structure?
A. B. C. D.

REFLECTIVE LEARNING SHEET No. 2

Lesson 1: Structure of an Academic Text

Directions: Reflect on what you have learned after taking up this lesson by
completing the chart below.

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 I thought…
What were your thoughts or
ideas about structure of
academic text prior to the
discussion of this lesson?

I learned
What new or additional ideas did
you learn after taking up this
lesson?

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