The parts of an academic article

This week’s topics

The parts of an academic article

1. What an abstract tells you
2. Introduction, main sections and conclusion
3. How an academic article differs from a news article

What you will be able to do

• 1.1 Identify the structure of an academic article (abstract, introduction, body, conclusion).
• 1.2 Apply skimming and scanning techniques to extract key information.

Activity

Find and highlight the abstract, aims and conclusion in a short academic article.

Study materials

Further resources

• Writing Guide with Handbook, ch. 13.1: Where to look for sources – scholarly articles · PDF · OpenStax (2021), peer-reviewed articles and abstracts; pp. 424–431 · for registered students
• Writing for Success, ch. 11.4: Strategies for gathering reliable information · PDF · Saylor (2012), scholarly journals vs newspapers and magazines; pp. 421–442 · for registered students
• Ten simple rules for reading a scientific paper · Open-access article · Carey et al. (2020), PLOS Computational Biology. What the abstract, introduction, methods, results and conclusion each tell you. · for registered students
• Online instruction in lateral reading strategies and fact-checking COVID-19 news · Open-access article · Brodsky et al. (2021), AERA Open. Why a news story and a research article need checking in different ways. · for registered students