What characterizes an academic text?

As a student, you will read many different texts, such as textbooks, scholarly articles, theses, popular works and encyclopedic articles (Søk og skriv, 2023, academic genres). These are various academic texts that play a central role in higher education. It is advantageous to be familiar with what characterizes an academic text when you are reading, evaluating, and using sources, not to mention when you are writing assignments yourself.

An academic text can be recognized by the following characteristics:

1) Argumentative

A common feature of academic texts is that they are argumentative, which means that they discuss and problematize topics and questions in a factual manner (Rokstad, 2001, p. 94). This reasoning is conveyed through arguments for and against the claims presented in the text. In academic texts, these arguments are often scientific, and there are primarily two types of claims that can be used to argue for a viewpoint:

claims presenting researchers' theories, methods, insights, and results.
one's own theories, methods, insights, and results that have been achieved through one's own scientific work/research (University of Bergen, n.d. a).

For you as a fresh student who has not conducted scientific research or read the original literature, this means that your task is to show that you are familiar with the central theories, methods, and empirical findings summarized in textbooks and other relevant sources. These texts provide the raw material for the arguments you formulate (University of Bergen, n.d. a).

2) Documenting

This brings us to the second characteristic of academic texts, namely documentation. Since scientific argumentation is based on what others have said and written, it is impossible to write an academic text without referring to other academic texts. Therefore, academic texts are characterized by the fact that they refer to others through paraphrases and direct quotations. Referencing technique and the ability to select the material that is relevant at any given time (University of Bergen, n.d. b) are thus both characteristics of academic texts and important skills when you write academically. An important principle is therefore that you show where you have obtained the information and that you follow the rules for citing your sources.

3) Objectivity

Academic texts should, as far as possible, strive for objectivity. This is an important goal in research (Gilje & Grimen, 1993, p. 19). This means that no personal attitudes, views, or opinions should be expressed in the text. The content should be presented precisely and soberly, and claims should be supported by sources. In research, the researcher should be critical of his/her own results and their significance in the field and draw the reader's attention to any biases that arise in the research.

4) Problem-solving

Research means investigating a phenomenon through research methods with the aim of producing new knowledge (Lackner, 2022). Thus, we can say that research is fundamentally about asking a question and finding answers to it through methodology. These "answers" are often presented in academic texts, such as research articles.

5) Communicative

The university's task is to develop and disseminate knowledge and provide education. As a student, you will encounter many academic texts whose purpose is to convey the knowledge, theories, and methods of the field so that you can acquire the content of the subject. Understanding the characteristics of academic texts will help you choose good sources for use in your written assignments.

In other words ...

Academic texts are therefore characterized by their structured and precise argumentation for and against claims, building on other relevant texts, with credible and well-organized references. If you want to learn more about academic genres and how to write academically, you can read about it on the university library's website.

As students, it's just as important for you to know that academic texts come in different forms, and some are more suitable as sources than others. That’s why you also need to be familiar with different types of academic texts!

Different academic text types

We have so far talked about what all academic texts have in common, but academic texts can also be categorized into different types based on their purpose and intended audience. Here, we divide them into three main groups: instructive, scientific, and popular science texts (Brodersen et al., 2007, p. 64). The group a text belongs to can be determined by looking at its audience, purpose, and form, much like you do when critically evaluating a source based on its internal and external characteristics. This is necessary to determine whether a source is suitable for use in your academic writing.

The following list show the different groups of academic text types, and what you can look for to determine what your source is.

Instructive texts:

Target audience: Students and professionals.

Purpose: Provide training in established knowledge of the subject.

Form:

Textbooks
Method books

Scientific texts:

Image of the scientific article Sykepleierstudent og 19 år by Jacobsen, published in Uniped in 2012.

Target audience: Peers, meaning other professionals, but this doesn't mean you can't read and use it as a source. It only means the language and content has not been adjusted for readers that aren't familiar with the field.

Purpose: Present or disseminate new knowledge, also known as research communication.

Important characteristics: Peer-reviewed, meaning the content has been assessed and accepted by experts in the field prior to publication in a scientific journal or publisher. Read more about scientific/scholarly articles on the library webpage.

Form: Descriptive and argumentative texts, which can take the form of:

Scientific article
Professional article
Scientific book
Individual studies
Knowledge summaries
Dissertations
Reports
Conference contributions
And more.

Popular science texts:

The picture shows the popular science book How to make the world add up by Tom Harford.

Target audience: Everyone

Purpose: Make established and new knowledge generally known

Form: Popular science articles and books

Since popular science sources disseminate knowledge for a general audience, there is a certain risk that the content is conveyed in a superficial and simplified way. Although popular science articles and books are academic genres, this format does not meet the expectations of the academic depth and complexity required for source use in higher education.

Sources:

Brodersen, R.B., Bråten, F.J., Reiersgaard, A., Slethei, K. & Ågotnes, K. (2007). Tekstens autoritet. Universitetsforlaget.

Gilje, N. & Grimen, H. (1993). Samfunnsvitenskapenes forutsetninger: Innføring i samfunnsvitenskapenes vitenskapsfilosofi. Universitetsforlaget.

Lackner, E. J. (2022, October 10). Forskning. In Store Norske Leksikon. https://snl.no/forskning

Rokstad, K. (2001). Kommunikasjonslogikk: elementære logiske forutsetninger for saklig meningsutveksling. Gyldendal Akademisk.

Søk og skriv (2023, January 30). Reading and writing. https://www.sokogskriv.no/en/study-skills/reading-and-writing.html#be-aware-of-different-genres

Universitetet i Bergen (n.d., a). Argumentasjon. https://mitt.uib.no/courses/9194/pages/argumentasjon?module_item_id=29081

Universitetet i Bergen (n.d., b). Dokumentasjon. https://mitt.uib.no/courses/9194/pages/dokumentasjon?module_item_id=29083