| General purpose | informs, explains, interprets |
| Specific purpose(s) | presents detailed account of original research (or replication / extension of previous research) in view of state-of-the-art |
| Skills | author demonstrates ability to carry out theoretical and / or empirical research that may include developing a research design, as well as collecting, filtering, analyzing and critically interpreting data vis-à-vis one or more research questions; author demonstrates ability to present results in an organized, meaningful way |
| Stance | author's opinion / evaluation not usually overt, but may occur in literature review |
| Structure | structured into predictable sections (usually with subheadings); may include the following structural elements: abstract, introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion, conclusion |
| Length | varies |
| Function | entire text serves to answer one or more research questions; contains original data, or compiles existing data for the purpose of providing new interpretation(s) |
Research paper (RPA)
| General purpose | informs, explains, interprets |
| Specific purpose(s) | presents piece of original research (small case study or replication / extension of previous study) |
| Skills | author demonstrates ability to carry out theoretical and/or empirical research that may include developing a research design, as well as collecting, filtering, analyzing and critically interpreting data vis-à-vis one or more research questions; author demonstrates ability to present results in an organized, meaningful way |
| Stance | author's opinion / evaluation not usually overt, but may occur in literature review |
| Structure | structured into predictable sections (usually with subheadings); may include the following structural elements: abstract, introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion, conclusion |
| Length | shorter than dissertation / thesis; varies |
| Function | entire text serves to answer one or more research question; contains original data, or compiles existing data for the purpose of providing new interpretation(s) |
Summary (SUM)
| General purpose | describes |
| Specific purpose(s) | summarizes content of published research |
| Skills | author demonstrates ability to understand and summarize complex text coherently |
| Stance | author's opinion / evaluation absent |
| Structure | not structured into sections (no subheadings) |
| Length | shorter than report; varies |
| Function | entirely descriptive, no critical assessment; not driven by an original thesis or research question |
Abstract (ABS)
| General purpose | informs |
| Specific purpose(s) | captures the essence of published research (i. e. the why, how, and what, e. g. research focus, methodology results / findings, conclusion and recommendations); should help reader to quickly ascertain purpose, content and usefulness of publication |
| Skills | author demonstrates ability to extract and provide essential information in an exhaustive and compelling way |
| Stance | author's opinion / evaluation absent |
| Structure | not structured into sections; appears at beginning of text it accompanies; may also occur as stand-alone entity instead of full paper |
| Length | rather short (approx. 100–250 words), rarely exceeding 500 words |
| Function | self-contained piece of writing, can be understood independently from accompanying publication |
Review (REV)
| General purpose | informs, describes and evaluates / assesses |
| Specific purpose(s) | presents brief descriptive summary and evaluation / assessment of effectiveness, validity, or usefulness of published research; may offer recommendations for improvement |
| Skills | author demonstrates ability to understand significance of publication and to evaluate / assess its quality |
| Stance | author's opinion / evaluation foregrounded, drives text |
| Structure | usually not structured into sections, but may distinguish between descriptive summary of content and evaluation (with accompanying subheadings) |
| Length | varies |
| Function | driven by an evaluation of published research as to its methodology, quality of data, findings and line of argumentation (often interwoven with descriptive account) |
Proposal (PRO)
| General purpose | informational – informs, describes, argues |
| Specific purpose(s) | proposes potential study: puts forth one or more research questions that author wishes to explore in order to further understanding of given topic; provides information about how proposed study will be tackled methodologically |
| Skills | author demonstrates ability to convincingly argue for relevance, significance and manageability of proposed study |
| Stance | author's opinion / evaluation not usually overt, but may occur in literature review |
| Structure | may be structured into sections with subheadings; may include the following structural elements: introduction, literature review, research questions, proposed methodology |
| Length | varies |
| Function | does not present or synthesize new data, but may include projected results; links back to relevant literature and/or previous studies; justifies the need for and outlines methods of data collection |
| Exercise 4. Scan the texts for specific information and answer the questions. |
1. What skills are required for writing any academic paper?
2. What are the purposes of academic papers?
3. Are all types of academic papers structured?
4. How do the functions of different academic papers vary?
5. What is the difference between a thesis and a research paper?
6. What is the difference between a summary and an abstract?
7. What is the function of a review?
8. What are proposals written for?
9. What academic genres have you come across in your study?
10. Do you have any experience of academic writing in English?
| Exercise 5. Study the tips on abstract writing. |
Abstract Writing Tips