Academic Writing

Rhetorical functions in academic writing

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 (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. 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.

Examples of texts and language.

A good source of language is Leech & Svartvik (1975). Typical rhetorical functions used in academic writing, based on: Werlich (1976) and Lackstrom, Selinker & Trimble (1973), are:

Descriptive

1. Describing objects, location, structure and direction
2. Reporting and narrating
3. Defining
4. Writing instructions
5. Describing function
6. Describing processes, developments and operations
7. Classifying / categorising
8. Giving examples
9. Including tables and charts

Critical

10. Writing critically
11. Arguing and discussing
12. Evaluating other points of view
13. Comparing and contrasting: similarities and differences
14. Generalising
15. Expressing degrees of certainty
16. Expressing reasons and explanations / cause and effect
17. Expressing feelings

20. Analysing
21. Planning action
22. Providing support
23. Application
24. Working with different voices and finding your own
25. Taking a stance
26. Using theory
    

40. Introducing
41. Previous research
42. Indicating a gap
43. Presenting findings from statistical analyses
44. Presenting findings from interviews
45. Presenting findings from mixed methods
46. Discussing limitations
47. Drawing conclusions
48. Recommendations
49. Practical implications

Reflective

50. Writing reflectively