Introduction
Students are asked to write many different kinds of texts. Depending on your subject, these could be essays, laboratory reports, case-studies, book reviews, reflective diaries, posters, research proposals, and so on and are normally referred to as genres. These different genres, though, can be constructed from a small range of different text types.
If, for example, you are asked to write an essay to answer the following question:
Discuss possible solutions to the problem of international credit control.
You could answer it in the following way:
- Define credit control, say what it is and give an example;
- Explain why international credit control is a problem in business today, support your explanation by evidence from your reading;
- Describe some possible solutions to the problem of credit control in an international context, again support your suggestions with evidence from your reading;
- Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each of the possible solutions;
- Decide which solution you would prefer and give reasons.
So in order to answer the question you need to be able to write texts to do the following:
- Define
- Give an example
- Explain why
- Support your explanation with evidence
- Describe a solution
- Describe advantages and disadvantages
- Choose
- Explain why
Bruce (2008) calls these various texts cognitive genres, but they are commonly known as Rhetorical Patterns or Functions.
Examples of Rhetorical Patterns or Functions
| Descriptive | Critical | Reflective |
| · Describing objects, location, structure and direction
· Reporting and narrating · Defining · Writing instructions · Describing function · Describing processes, developments and operations · Classifying / categorising · Giving examples · Including tables and charts
|
· Writing critically
· Arguing and discussing · Evaluating other points of view · Comparing and contrasting: similarities and differences · Generalising · Expressing degrees of certainty · Expressing reasons and explanations / cause and effect · Expressing feelings · Analysing · Planning action · Providing support · Application · Working with different voices and finding your own · Taking a stance · Using theory · Persuading · Introducing · Using previous research · Indicating a gap · Presenting findings from statistical analyses · Presenting findings from interviews · Discussing limitations · Drawing conclusions · Recommendations · Implications |
· Writing reflectively
|
Defining
In academic writing, it is often necessary to define your terms.
Examples
| Lava is the name applied to the liquid rock material, or magma, when it reaches the surface, as well as to the solid rock formed by consolidation due to cooling. The temperature of lava as it comes to the surface may exceed 2000°F, for copper wire with a melting point of 2200°F was melted in the lava from Vesuvius, and at Kilauea a temperature of 2300°F. has been observed. This earth of ours by Victor T Allen, p. 3 |
In this case, the term “lava” is being defined.
| The sediment deposited by a stream is called alluvium. This earth of ours by Victor T Allen, p. 97. |
In this example, “alluvium” is being defined.
| Diseases and symptoms A disease is normally defined as an abnormal condition of the body that has a specific cause and characteristic outward ‘signs’ and symptoms. Technically speaking, a ‘sign’ is considered to be an indication of a disease that is noticed by the doctor but not by the patient, while a symptom is something felt or perceived by the patient himself – but this distinction is often blurred in ordinary conversation. |
In this example, definitions of “disease”, “symptom” and “sign” are defined.
| Most metals are malleable; they can be hammered into flat sheets; nonmetals lack this quality. Some metals are also ductile; they can be drawn out into thin wires; nonmetals are not usually ductile.
Inquiry into earth and space science, by William J Jacobson, p 104-105. |
The definition is not explicit in this case, but the words “malleable” and “ductile” are defined.
Language
X is …
X is called …
X is known as …
X may be defined as …
X is a type of Y that/which …
A type of Y which … is X
Definition:
A definition is a statement of the meaning of a term (a word, phrase, or other set of symbols). A term may have many different senses and multiple meanings, and thus require multiple definitions.
Definitions can be classified into three large categories,
- Intensional definitions that try to give the sense of a term. An intensional definition, also called a connotative definition, specifies the necessary and sufficient conditions for a thing to be a member of a specific set. Any definition that attempts to set out the essence of something, such as that by genus and differentia, is an intensional definition.
- Extensional definitions that try to list the objects that a term describes. An extensional definition, also called a denotative definition, of a concept or term specifies its extension. It is a list naming every object that is a member of a specific set.
- Ostensive definitions that convey the meaning of a term by pointing out examples.
Thus, the “seven deadly sins” can be defined intensionally as those singled out by Pope Gregory I as particularly destructive of the life of grace and charity within a person, thus creating the threat of eternal damnation. An extensional definition, on the other hand, would be the list of wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. In contrast, while an intensional definition of “Prime Minister” might be “the most senior minister of a cabinet in the executive branch of parliamentary government”, an extensional definition is not possible since it is not known who the future prime ministers will be (even though all prime ministers from the past and present can be listed).
Certain rules have traditionally been given for definitions
- A definition must set out the essential attributes of the thing defined.
- Definitions should avoid circularity. Note, however, that it is acceptable to define two relative terms in respect of each other.
- The definition must not be too wide or too narrow. It must be applicable to everything to which the defined term applies (i.e. not to miss anything out), and to nothing else (i.e. not to include any things to which the defined term would not truly apply).
- The definition must not be ambiguous. The purpose of a definition is to explain the meaning of a term which may be obscure or difficult, by the use of terms that are commonly understood and whose meaning is clear.
- A definition should not be negative where it can be positive. We should not define “wisdom” as the absence of folly, or a healthy thing as whatever is not sick. Sometimes this is unavoidable, however. For example, it appears difficult to define blindness in positive terms rather than as “the absence of sight in a creature that is normally sighted”.
Describing:
Description is one of four rhetorical modes (also known as modes of discourse), along with exposition, argumentation, and narration. Description is the pattern of narrative development that aims to make vivid a place, object, character, or group.
The purpose of description is to re-create, invent, or visually present a person, place, event, or action so that the reader can picture that which is being described.
Description can be presented through a written or spoken mode. A descriptive writing aims to make vivid a place, an object, a character, or a group. The writer tries, not simply to convey facts about the object, but to give readers a direct impression of that object, as if they were standing in its presence. The descriptive writer’s task is one of translation: he wants to find words to capture the way his five senses have registered the item, so a reader of those words will have a mental picture of it.
That is, such a paragraph should be vivid, precise, and climactic, so that the details add up to something more than random observations.
Examples of descriptive writing include:
- Journal writing
- Any type of literature
- Essay
Writing descriptions
Examples
Read the following descriptions:
| An octopus appears to be just a huge head with eight long, fearful arms. Its head is soft and rubberlike. Its eyes stick out on stalks so that it can see in all directions. Its mouth is on the underside of its body and has powerful jaws shaped like a beak. The long arms, or tentacles, have double rows of suckers. These can fasten onto objects with such suction that they cannot be pulled off. |
| The liver is the largest organ in the body. It weighs a little more than three pounds in an adult. It is wedge-shaped and is situated under the diaphragm, mostly on the left side of the body, where it is protected by the lower ribs. Somewhat like an intricate chemical factory, the liver takes the particles of glucose (which come from digested starches and sugars) and changes them into another kind of carbohydrate called glycogen , which it then stores. When the body needs sugar, the liver turns the glycogen into glucose again and sends it to the body tissues through the bloodstream. |
| The Leclanché cell consists of a leakproof jacket containing a porous pot in which there is a paste of manganese dioxide and carbon granules surrounding a carbon rod . The top can be sealed with pitch. A zinc rod stands in a solution of ammonium chloride, and is connected to the carbon rod via a circuit and a light bulb . The zinc dissolves in the solution, setting up an electromotive force. The ammonium ions migrate to the carbon anode and form ammonia (which dissolves in the water), and hydrogen ions. Torch dry batteries and use wet paste cells of the Leclanché type. |
| A 12-volt car battery has six two-volt cells connected in series. The cells have anodes of brown lead oxide and cathodes of porous grey lead immersed in sulphuric acid. An electric current flows if the electrodes are connected through a conductor. When the battery supplies current the sulphuric acid converts the anode to lead sulphate, thus reducing the strength of the acid. This process is reversed during recharging. Each cell of the battery is made of several anodes and cathodes separated by porous insulators. The cells are housed in a hard rubber case and the various cells are interconnected with lead bars. |
Language
Position, weight, structure, colour, composition, size, shape, function
Position
| A is | adjacent to alongside below beyond facing (diagonally) parallel to underneath opposite in the middle of on the right of on the left of near close to touching behind in front of under on top of above below level with diagonally above vertically below |
B |
| between equidistant from |
B and C. |
Structure
| X | is | nailed screwed fixed fastened linked welded tied connected attached |
to | Y | by | Z |
| consists | of | Y and Z | ||||
| contains includes |
||||||
| is | held in place secured supported suspended |
by | Y | |||
| joined | to | |||||
| mounted placed pivoted |
on | |||||
Colour
| X | is | dark light pale bright dull |
green. blue. red. yellow. |
Composition
| X | is | made of | metal. steel. alluminium. an alloy of A and B. cloth. silk. china. wood. plastic. glass. |
Size and weight
| X | is | 6 cm | long high wide |
| X | is | 6 cm | in | length height width diameter |
| 6 Kg | weight |
| The | length height width diameter |
of | X | is | 6 cm |
| weight | 6 Kg. |
| X | has | a | length width height diameter |
of | 6 cm. |
| weight | 6 Kg. |
| X | weighs | 10 Kg |
Shape
| X | is | square round rectangular triangular semi-circular conical spherical hexagonal octagonal oval circular irregular |
in shape |
| X | is | is shaped like a | square circle rectangle triangle semi-circle hexagon octagon |
| X | is | cubical cylindrical pyramidal spherical tubular spiral hemispherical conical |
in shape |
| X | is | bulbous tapering concave convex |
in shape. |
| diamond-shaped kidney-shaped U-shaped star-shaped bell-shaped dome-shaped mushroom-shaped X-shaped crescent-shaped egg-shaped pear-shaped Y-shaped |
. |
Function
| The | function purpose aim objective |
of the | thermometer tripod |
is to | measure the temperature. hold the beaker. |
| The | thermometer tripod |
is used for | measuring the temperature. holding the beaker, |
Properties
| X is | light |
| tough | |
| soft | |
| elastic | |
| malleable | |
| flexible | |
| soluble | |
| a good conductor of electricity/heat | |
| corrosion resistant | |
| combustible | |
| transparent | |
| smooth | |
| heavy | |
| brittle | |
| hard | |
| plastic | |
| ductile | |
| rigid | |
| insoluble | |
| a bad conductor of electricity/heat | |
| not corrosion resistant | |
| non-combustible | |
| opaque | |
| rough |
Describing processes
Examples
Here is a description of the process of sorting letters.
|
First of all, letters and packets are collected in bags from pillar boxes, post offices and firms, in post office vans. They are then taken to the sorting office, where the bags are emptied and the letters separated from the packets. Following this step, the letters are put through machines so that the stamps can be cancelled. In this process the date and place of sorting are put over the stamps on each envelope. In the next stage, the sorting of the letters takes place, according to the county they are addressed to. This is done by placing them in the appropriate pigeon hole. Subsequently, the letters are taken from the pigeon holes and placed in baskets, which are then put onto a conveyor belt. While on this conveyor belt, the baskets are directed to the appropriate secondary sorting section by means of coding pegs. At the secondary sorting frames, the letters are put into towns in the county. Later, the letters are tied in bundles and a label is put on showing the towns they are addressed to. Finally, the letter bundles are placed in bags, which have the Post Office seal, Post Office Railway number and Destination Code number on them, and then these are sent to the railway station. |
Notice that the passive form of the verb is widely used. This is because in this type of writing, we are usually more interested in the process than in the people doing the work. Observe all the link words.
Example 1
|
MAKING A TRANSISTOR 1 FIRST MASKING The silicon base is first coated with silicon dioxide, which does not conduct electricity, and then with a substance called photoresist. Shining ultraviolet light through a patterned mask hardens the photoresist. The unexposed parts remain soft. 2 FIRST ETCHING A solvent dissolves away the soft unexposed layer of photoresist, revealing a part of the silicon dioxide. This is then chemically etched to reduce its thickness. The hardened photoresist is then dissolved to leave a ridge of dioxide. 3 SECOND MASKING Layers of polysilicon, which conducts electricity, and photoresist are applied, and then a second masking operation is carried out. 4 SECOND ETCHING The unexposed photoresist is dissolved, and then an etching treatment removes the polysilicon and silicon dioxide beneath it. This reveals two strips of p-type silicon. 5 DOPING The hard photoresist is removed. The layers now undergo an operation called doping which transforms the newly revealed strips of p-type silicon into n-type silicon. 6 THIRD MASKING AND ETCHING Layers of silicon dioxide and photoresist are added. Masking and etching creates holes through to the doped silicon and central polysilicon strip. 7 COMPLETING THE TRANSISTOR The photoresist is dissolved, and a final masking stage adds three strips of aluminium. These make electrical connections through the holes and complete the transistor. In this transistor, known as an MOS type, a positive charge fed to the gate attracts electrons in the p-type silicon base. Current flows between the source and the drain, thereby switching the transistor on. A negative charge at the gate repels electrons and turns the current off. |
Example 2
|
Carbon, the basic element of organic chemistry, undergoes a natural cycle in the environment. It exists in the form of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. From there it is absorbed by plants to build carbohydrates in green leaves. When plants burn, and animals breathe out, carbon dioxide passes back into the air. Also in decaying plant and animal remains, carbohydrates are broken down to release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. |
Example 3
|
THE PHOTOCOPIER Static electricity enables a photocopier to produce almost instant copies of documents. At the heart of the machine is a metal drum which is given a negative charge at the beginning of the copying cycle. The optical system then projects an image of the document on the drum. The electric charge disappears where light strikes the metal surface, so only dark parts of the image remain charged. Positively charged particles of toner powder are then applied to the drum. The charged parts of the drum attract the dark powder, which is then transferred to a piece of paper. A heater seals the powder to the paper, and a warm copy of the document emerges from the photocopier. A colour copier works in the same basic way, but scans the document with blue, green and red filters. It then transfers toner to the paper in three layers coloured yellow, magenta and cyan. The three colours overlap to give a full colour picture. |
Example 4
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PAPERMAKING Printing is of little use without paper. A sheet of paper is a flattened mesh of interlocking plant fibres, mainly of wood and cotton. Making paper involves reducing a plant to its fibres, and then aligning them and coating the fibres with materials such as glues, pigments and mineral fillers. 1 FELLING Trees are felled and then transported to paper mills as logs. 2 DEBARKING The bark has first to be stripped off the logs without damaging the wood. 3 PULPING Pulping reduces the wood to a slurry of loose fibres in water. The logs are first sliced into chips and then treated with chemicals in a digester. These dissolve the lignin binding the wood fibres together. Alternatively, machines may grind the logs in water to produce pulp. The pulp is then bleached. 4 MIXING The pulp goes to the mixer, where materials are added to improve the quality of the paper. The additives include white fillers such as china clay, size for water-proofing, and coloured pigments. The mixer beats the fibres into a smooth pulp. 5 FORMING THE WEB Liquid pulp is fed from the flowbox onto the mesh belt. Water drains through the holes in the mesh; the drainage is accelerated by suction. The dandy roll presses the fibres together into a wet ribbon known as a web. 6 PRESSING Belts move the web between the press rolls, which remove more water and compress the paper. 7 DRYING The damp web moves through the dryer, where it passes between hot cylinders and felt-covered belts that absorb water. It then passes through the calender stacks before being wound on reels or cut into sheets. |
Example 5
|
THE REFRIGERATOR
(Adapted from: The Penguin book of the physical world, London, 1976) |
A domestic refrigerator uses the cooling effect of an evaporating liquid. A refrigerant liquid (such as Freon, a compound of carbon, fluorine and chlorine) is pumped through cooling coils (the evaporator) in which it expands (evaporates) and absorbs heat from the surroundings. The evaporator is formed into the ice-making compartment of the refrigerator. After passing through the cooling coils in the evaporator, the vapour is then compressed by a compressor (usually driven by an electric motor) and condensed back to a liquid when the absorbed heat is given out. The cycle of events is then repeated over and over again. The refrigerator is really a heat engine working in reverse. In order to take heat out of the low-temperature interior of the refrigerator and transfer it to the higher temperature of the surrounding air, work must be done. If it is to work continuously, a refrigerator must be supplied with energy from outside. This external energy is usually electricity, which operates the electric motor driving the compressor, but it could be a gas flame. In the food chamber of a domestic refrigerator the temperature is just above the freezing point of water, about 1° or 2°C: in the ice-maker and in the deep-freeze it is usually around -15°C.Example 6
|
The Steam Engine
(Adapted from: How things work 1, Paladin, 1972) |
A steam engine utilises the energy contained in steam under high pressure. The energy that is released when steam expands is made to produce rotary motion which can be used for the driving of machinery. The steam from the boiler is admitted into the cylinder in which there is a piston and in which the steam expands, causing the piston to move (Fig. la). When the piston has travelled to the end of the cylinder and thus completed its stroke (Fig. lb), the now expanded steam is allowed to escape from the cylinder. At the same time the steam is changed over, live steam under pressure being admitted to the other side of the piston, causing the latter to travel back, past its starting point (Fig. lc), until it has reached the other end of its stroke (Fig. Id). A steam engine of this kind is called “double-acting” because the force of the steam is applied alternately on two sides of the piston. While the piston is being forced in one direction by the expanding steam, the spent steam is pushed out of the cylinder on the other side of the piston. Reversing, i.e., the change-over of the steam supply so as to ensure the admission of live steam to the appropriate side of the piston and the discharge of the spent steam on the other side, is effected automatically by a control device called a slide valve.Example 7
|
Car Braking System
If air leaks into the system, the brakes become much less efficient. This is because, unlike liquids, gases are compressible and some of the movement of the brake pedal is taken up in squeezing the air bubble. (From: The Penguin book of the physical world. Penguin, 1976) |
The braking system of a car is a good example of how a hydraulic system works. When the brake pedal is pressed a piston operates which forces brake fluid out of the master cylinder and along four narrow pipes to the slave cylinders attached to the brake drums or discs so that the same pressure is applied to the brakes in each wheel. This brings the car to a smooth halt. Provided the system is kept filled with brake fluid, hydraulic brakes work instantly because liquids cannot be compressed to any great extent.Language
Sequence
| Firstly, | The first step is |
| First of all, | The first stage is |
| To begin with, | … begins with |
| Initially | … commences with |
| Beforehand, | Before this, |
| Previously, | Prior to this, |
| Earlier, | |
| At the same time, | During |
| Simultaneously, | When this happens |
| While | |
| Secondly, Thirdly etc | After this, |
| Next, | The next step is |
| Then, | In the next stage, |
| Subsequently, | In the following stage, |
| Later, | Following this, |
| As soon as the committee has finished its work, … | |
| Eventually, | … until … |
| Lastly | … finishes with … |
| Finally, | concludes with |
| In the last stage, | The last step is … |
Passive
| The silicon base | is coated with silicon dioxide. |
| Letters and packets | are collected. |
| The bark | has to be stripped. |
Method – how something is done.
First of all, letters and packets are collected in bags from pillar boxes.
This is done by placing them in the appropriate pigeon hole.
The baskets are directed to the appropriate secondary sorting section by means of coding pegs.
The drainage is accelerated by suction.
The vapour is then compressed by means of a compressor.
Position – where something happens
They are then taken to the sorting office, where the bags are emptied.
The pulp goes to the mixer, where materials are added to improve the quality of the paper.
The steam from the boiler is admitted into the cylinder in which there is a piston.
Purpose
Following this step, the letters are put through machines so that the stamps can be cancelled.
This is then chemically etched to reduce its thickness.
From there it is absorbed by plants to build carbohydrates in green leaves.
In order to take heat out of the low-temperature interior of the refrigerator, work must be done.
Classifying / categorising:
When we classify, we arrange members of a group. For example, if we take the following list:
Physics, Chemistry, Biology, French, German, Spanish.
It is quite clear that we have two different types of word. We have science subjects and languages. So it is simple to divide the list into two:
|
Physics, Chemistry, Biology, |
AND |
French, German, Spanish |
When we are classifying, we often need to say what our classification is and how we are making it.
Examples
Read the following text.
|
Lavas may he divided into two contrasting types, acid and basic. Acid or siliceous lavas have a high silica content, about 70 to 75 per cent, and are stiff or viscous. They move slowly over the surface and solidify close to the vent. Basic lavas have a silica content of about 50 per cent. Dark colored and fluid, they flow more easily at lower temperatures and reach a greater distance from the crater than do acid lavas. This earth of ours, p. 3 . |
- What is the text classifying? Lavas.
- How many types are there? 2
- What are the two types? Acid and basic.
- How do we make the distinction? The amount of silica present.
Look at these examples:
|
ROCKS Scientists group rocks into three main types: igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. IGNEOUS rocks are produced by white-hot material deep inside the earth which rises towards the surface as a molten mass called magma. If the magma stops before on it reaches the surface, it cools and forms rocks such as granite. If the magma erupts, it forms a red-hot stream called lava. When the lava cools it becomes rock. One of the most common lava rocks is called basalt. Igneous rock is used in the formation of the other two main types of rocks – sedimentary and metamorphic. SEDIMENTARY rock is formed by small particles or sediments such as sand, mud, dead sea animals and weathered rock. These are deposited in layers and become solid rock over millions of years as they are squeezed by the weight of other deposits above them. The word metamorphosis means ‘change’. Rocks which have been changed by heat and pressure are called METAMORPHIC rocks. They are formed deep inside the earth. Slate for example is formed from compressed mud or clay. Marble is another type of metamorphic rock. It is produced from limestone which has undergone change through heat and pressure, |
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The chemical elements in the earth’s crust are classified in two major groups – metals and nonmetals. Elements are classified as metallic or nonmetallic, according to their physical and chemical properties. Metals, for example, are usually good conductors of heat and electricity; nonmetals usually are not. Most metals are malleable; they can be hammered into flat sheets; nonmetals lack this quality. Some metals are also ductile; they can be drawn out into thin wires; nonmetals are not usually ductile. Metals usually have luster, and are able to reflect light. They also have a high density. Nonmetals usually do not exhibit these properties. A few elements, such as arsenic and antimony, exhibit both metallic and nonmetallic properties and are sometimes referred to as metalloids. Inquiry into earth and space science, by William J Jacobson, p 104-105. |
|
Types of food and their function Before going further into the question of energy supply and demand, and its relationship to food, the major constituents of man’s diet must be listed. These are: carbohydrates, the major energy-supplying foods; proteins, body building materials; fats, energy-rich food stores; vitamins, vital components of cell chemistry; mineral salts, raw materials of all metabolism; water, an obvious and essential compound required for internal cell pressure, the basic medium of cell chemistry and major constituent of blood and hence the transport system; and roughage, the mass of food, mainly composed of plant cellulose, that gives the solid bulk to food and thus enables the gut muscles to grip it and move it along by peristalsis. Biology by J. M. Hard, p. 14 |
Language
The tables below show some of the most common language used in texts which have classification as their purpose.
|
There are |
two |
types |
of lava |
: acidic and basic. |
|
The |
are acidic and basic. |
|
Lava |
consists of |
two |
categories |
. These are acidic and basic. |
|
Acidic and basic are |
classes |
of lava. |
|
Lava may be classified |
according to |
amount of silica present. |
English Language Lab 