Aspects of Academic Reading

Here you will find information and activities related to different types of text and how to recognise them. You will focus on issues such as the purpose that a text is written for, what kind of people write it and who will read it.

Text types in academic writing

You will consider examples of a range of types of text found in academic writing, with a list of their identifying features.

Identifying text types

In this activity you will read short extracts from texts and choose the type they represent.

The reader of academic writing 

You will learn how to define who your reader is and what it implies for your writing.

Recognising the reader

In this activity you will read a set of extracts and identify who they were written for.

Occupational varieties of language

You will see examples of a variety of language used by different professions. You will be asked questions to help you identify the significant features.

Identifying varieties of written language

You will identify text type, variety and readership for a range of written texts.

Reading for stylistic appropriateness

In this task you will distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate styles in academic writing.