Communication for academic purposes

Why academic communication has its own rules

A college term paper, a thesis or a research colloquium is read and judged by people who were not in the room when you did the work. They cannot ask what you meant, so the writing must carry the whole argument, show where every idea came from, and let a reader check it. This topic covers the habits that make that possible: the style of academic language, honest use of sources, the conventions of APA citation, the logic of argument, and the common academic genres, namely the position paper, the case study, the abstract and the oral defense.

1. Features of academic language

Academic language is not "big words". It is language chosen so that a reader can trust it. Five features matter most.

• Formal. Avoid slang, contractions and chatty fillers. Write do not rather than don't, and many students rather than a lot of kids.
• Objective. Put the evidence, not your feelings, in front. Avoid emotional words such as terrible or obviously stupid. Whether I is allowed depends on the discipline and the instructor.
• Precise. Use exact terms, numbers you actually have, and specific nouns. Things, stuff and very hide meaning.
• Hedged. Scholars rarely claim certainty. Verbs such as suggest, indicate, appear and tend, and modals such as may and could, match the strength of a claim to the strength of the evidence.
• Evidence-based. Every important claim is supported by data, a documented source or reasoning the reader can follow.

2. Academic integrity and plagiarism

Academic integrity means doing and reporting your own work honestly and giving credit where it is due. Plagiarism is its most common breach, and it is not always deliberate. It takes several forms.

How to avoid it

• Keep notes that separate three things: exact quotations (with page numbers), paraphrases, and your own comments.
• Record the full source details when you read, not afterwards.
• Quote, paraphrase or summarize, and cite each time. Cite ideas as well as words.
• If you reuse your own earlier work, ask your instructor first and cite it.
• Do not cite what is common knowledge in your field and widely documented, such as the fact that the Philippines is an archipelago. When unsure, cite.

3. Quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing

These are three ways of bringing a source into your paper. Each one needs a citation.

Quotations should be the exception. A paper made mostly of quotations shows that you have collected material but not yet thought about it. Under APA 7, a quotation of 40 words or more is set off as an indented block quotation without quotation marks.

4. Citation and referencing: APA 7th edition basics

Citation has two parts that work together. An in-text citation points the reader to a source briefly; a reference list at the end gives the full details. Every in-text citation must appear in the reference list, and every reference-list entry must be cited in the text. APA, from the American Psychological Association, is common in education, psychology and the social sciences. Other fields use other styles; MLA (Modern Language Association), for example, is common in literature and language studies and uses author and page number. Always follow the style your program requires.

In-text citation: author and date

• Parenthetical: the author and year sit in brackets, with an ampersand for two authors: (Reyes & Cruz, 2021).
• Narrative: the author is part of your sentence, with the year in brackets, and "and" is spelled out: Reyes and Cruz (2021) argue that ...
• Direct quotation: add the page: (Reyes & Cruz, 2021, p. 14). A paraphrase may also give a page, which helps the reader.
• No date: use n.d.: (Garcia, n.d.).
• Et al.: for a work with three or more authors, cite the first author followed by et al. from the first citation: (Santos et al., 2020). For one or two authors, always give every name.
• Secondary source: if you read an idea in one book that was reported from another, cite the one you actually read: (Lim, 2019, as cited in Tan, 2022).
• Several sources in one bracket: list them alphabetically, separated by semicolons: (Reyes & Cruz, 2021; Santos et al., 2020).

The reference list

The list is titled References, entries are in alphabetical order by the first author's surname, and each entry has a hanging indent (the first line at the margin, later lines indented). Authors appear as surname plus initials. Titles of books, journals and webpages are in italics. Book and webpage titles use sentence case (only the first word, proper nouns and the first word after a colon are capitalized); the journal name uses title case. Do not include the city of publication.

5. The language of argumentation

An academic argument is not a quarrel. It is a claim backed by reasons that a fair reader can examine. The core vocabulary is short.

• Claim: the point you want the reader to accept.
• Evidence: facts, data, examples, expert testimony or documented cases that support the claim.
• Warrant: the unstated or stated principle that connects the evidence to the claim, answering "why does this evidence prove that point?"
• Counterclaim: a serious opposing position.
• Rebuttal: your response to the counterclaim, by showing it is weaker, partly right but limited, or answered by better evidence.

The Toulmin model, introduced by the philosopher Stephen Toulmin, is a practical way to see these parts. At an introductory level, it pictures an argument as a claim supported by grounds (evidence), linked by a warrant, with optional backing for the warrant, a qualifier that limits the claim (usually, in most cases) and a rebuttal that notes the conditions under which the claim fails.

Three kinds of claim

6. The position paper

A position paper argues for a stance on a debatable issue, usually a policy question: whether ROTC should be mandatory, whether a particular senior high school track should be changed, or how jeepney modernization should treat drivers and operators. It is judged by the quality of its reasoning and evidence, not by how loudly it argues.

1. Introduction. Open with context, define the issue, and end with a clear position statement (the thesis).
2. Background. Explain what the reader needs to know: the history, the key terms, who is affected.
3. Argument. Present two to four main reasons, each as its own paragraph with a claim, evidence, and an explanation of the warrant.
4. Counterargument and rebuttal. State the strongest opposing view fairly and answer it.
5. Conclusion. Restate the position, summarize the strongest reasons, and say what should be done.
6. References. List every source cited.

7. The case report or case study

A case study examines a particular situation, school, class, learner, program or event in depth, in order to understand it and often to recommend action. The parts vary by discipline, but a typical case report has these.

• Title and background: the setting and why the case matters.
• Statement of the problem: what needs to be understood or solved.
• Description of the case: relevant facts, people, timeline and data, with sources of information stated. Protect real identities; use pseudonyms where required and follow your school's ethics rules.
• Analysis: what the facts mean, using concepts from your course.
• Alternatives or options: possible courses of action with their strengths and weaknesses.
• Recommendation: the option you favour and why, and how it could be carried out.
• Conclusion or reflection: what the case teaches.

8. The abstract

An abstract is a short, self-contained summary of a paper, written last and placed first. An informative abstract usually covers: the problem or purpose, the method, the main findings, and the conclusion or implication. It uses past tense for what was done, contains no citations or new information, and is written as one paragraph. Length limits vary: APA sets a maximum of 250 words, but your department or journal may set another figure.

9. Academic presentations: colloquium and defense

A research colloquium or thesis defense is an oral presentation of your study to an audience or a panel, followed by questions. Its aim is to show that you understand your work and can justify its choices.

• Structure: mirror the paper. State the problem and purpose, outline the method, present the main findings, and end with conclusions, limitations and recommendations.
• Questions: listen to the whole question, pause, and answer it directly. If you do not know, say so and explain how you would find out. Do not argue defensively; panel suggestions often become revisions.

Guided writing task (not graded)

Choose a debatable local issue you can treat fairly, such as mandatory ROTC, the K-12 senior high school tracks or jeepney modernization. In your notebook, outline a one-page position paper. Write your position statement in one sentence. Then list two main reasons, with the kind of evidence you would look for to support each. Write one counterclaim and a two-sentence rebuttal. Finally, draft the first line of your reference list for one imaginary source in correct APA format, and check each sentence of your outline for formal, objective, precise and appropriately hedged language.