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Reading academic writing (papers, essays and research articles)

Academic papers and research are written in a formal way which includes a high standard of vocabulary and complex sentences with attached phrases and clauses. Academic articles and research are written by scholars and academics mostly for other educated people. Academic articles are not necessarily written for the public consumption or the masses of people who have a lower level of education. What this means is that academic papers are challenging for most university students to read and it takes special understanding of the layout and purpose of the paper for it to be understood.

Below are a few paragraphs of academic writing taken from the Social Science Encyclopedia. Some strategies for reading these kinds of articles will be employed in the attempt to help the reader generate more comprehension in a quicker manner.

Reading strategies employed in academic texts and articles

  1. Deconstruct or reverse engineer the text by analyzing the word choices and their connection to each other. What was the author thinking and attempting to convey?
  2. Note the key words the author chooses and determine the word’s importance by identifying the author’s usage or function within the text. Is the word only mentioned or is it explained? Is it defined or just introduced? Is the word in the text compared to other words, is it criticized or established as important to the meaning being conveyed?
  3. Identify the overall layout and process the author uses to make points including the structure of the article.
  4. Paraphrase phrases and sentences for understanding and comprehension. It may also be necessary to more formally paraphrase passages for use in other academic writing.
  5. Become familiar with research terminology which is commonly used in articles.
Oral History Section 1
Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4
Task Two Re-order these steps into the correct sequence for reading a research study article
When you are ready to begin reading the research study article. It is not necessary to read from page one to the end but to first of catch the overall significance of the report. Re-order the steps below into a proper sequence of success of reading research articles.

Task Three Which paraphrase of the quotation (from Malinowski in paragraph two) is useful, understandable and accurate?
  1. Quotation: 'to grasp the native's point of view, his relation to life, to realize his vision of the world'.
    1. Paraphrase 1. Comprehending an Indian’s opinion of his life and surrounding world is the aim of life history interviews.
    2. Paraphrase 2. The objective of life history interview is to understand a local person’s perspective; both global and personal.
    (Correct answers are bolded.)
Task Four Define other useful vocabulary from the article

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Oral History Section 2
Task 1 Task 2 Task 3
Task Two Which paraphrase of the sentence of the second paragraph is useful, understandable and accurate?
  1. Original text: Oral historians have responded by pointing out that long-term memory remains accurate, and that written sources such as court records or eyewitness accounts are in any case often transcribed oral accounts
    1. Paraphrase 1. Oral historians have accurately noted that long-term memory is still dependable and that eyewitness and court written sources are spoken accounts which have been transcribed.
    2. Paraphrase 2. Oral historians have pointed out that skeptics disagreeing with the accuracy of oral accounts do not understand that courts use people’s worded statements and treat them as evidence.
    (Correct answers are bolded.)
Task Three Other useful vocabulary match to the definition in the right hand column

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Oral History Section 3
Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Rating Form
Task Two Which paraphrase of the sentence of the second paragraph is useful, understandable and accurate?
  1. Original text: Testimonies are interpreted as present cultural artefacts rather than as unmediated reflections of past experience.
    1. Paraphrase 1: Oral histories can be observed to be cultural artefacts rather than past, memory experiences.
    2. Paraphrase 2: Evidence presented orally can be looked at as culture rather than reflecting on past events.
    (Correct answers are bolded.)
Task Three Other useful vocabulary match to the definition in the column below

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