Text Types

Rhetorical functions in academic writing

Introduction

Students are asked to write many different kinds of texts. Depending on the subject, these texts could be essays, laboratory reports, case-studies, book reviews, reflective diaries, posters, research proposals, dissertations, theses and so on and are normally referred to as genres (See: Writing Genres: Introduction). 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:

1. 1. Define credit control, say what it is and give an example;
   2. Explain why international credit control is a problem in business today, support your explanation by evidence from your reading;
   3. Describe some possible solutions to the problem of credit control in an international context, again support your suggestions with evidence from your reading;
   4. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each of the possible solutions;
   5. 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 I have called them Rhetorical Functions.

See: Rhetorical Functions in Academic Writing