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Reading and Study Skills: Genre and rhetorical functions

Learn about reading and study skills which will help you achieve success in your studies.

Genre and rhetorical functions

Genre and rhetorical functions

Recognizing the function of the writing in an academic text will help to improve your reading, recognizing typical language used to express these functions will help you do this.  Frequently recurring sequences of words are known as lexical bundles, chunks or clusters. Such bundles or chunks are most frequently found in the introduction and conclusion sections of a text. Here are some examples:

Evaluating other views

 

  i.   presenting views: X maintains / argues that
  ii.  commenting negatively: This is open to doubt / One of the main     arguments against X is that..
  iii. commenting positively: One advantage of X's view is... / X correctly   identifies Y as ....

Illustrating your ideas

 For example, / For instance / An example of this is …. / …. demonstrates this

Explaining your ideas

This is due to.... / This can be explained by …. / One explanation of this may   be ….

Taking a stance

 

 i.   using adverbs: clearly / perhaps / certainly / undoubtedly
 ii.  using verbs: I argue that / This paper argues/contends/claims that...

Comparing and contrasting

 X  differed in.... / On the one hand.... on the other hand / However, …. / Both

Drawing conclusions

 In conclusion / To summarize / It may be concluded that / Altogether

 

 

Source:  Tilburg University. Libguides: Academic reading.  LibGuides at Tilburg University.   https://libguides.uvt.nl/academic-reading/introduction