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the structure of academic text

aim: determines the entire academic text and the content found in each section. The aim captures what you intend to achieve with your study.

research questions :are specific questions that enable you to reach your aimIf you have several research questions, you should consider how to order them. Is there a logical order, in other words

the introduction: must start with something much more general than your research questionsyou should start in a broad and general manner and then gradually zoom in on your own, more specific topic. The text needs to start with something that your reader can relate to, and that shows your reader what fielThe introduction should provide everything the reader needs to know in order to understand your aim as well as why the aim is importantd your research will contribute to, as well as how it will do so.

methods and materials: the methods section you should show your reader exactly how you have conducted your research, that is, what you have done to fulfill your aim and answer your research questions. First, your reader should understand how you got the results you did, and second, after reading this section, they should be able to duplicate your research

results: should account for your results in an objective manner, without interpreting them (interpreting your results is what you do in the discussion part). If you posed several research questions, you should account for the results in the same order that you posed your research questions; the consistency will help make the text coherent and help your reader understand the information you are presenting. It may help your readers if you use illustrations such as tables and charts when presenting your results. The illustrations should be clearly linked to your text, but you should not repeat all the information provided in the chartIt may help your readers if you use illustrations such as tables and charts when presenting your results. The illustrations should be clearly linked to your text, but you should not repeat all the information provided in the chart

discussion : is where you interpret your results for your reader you have to write and analyse at the same time. All parts of your discussion should analyse your results. While you may occasionally need to remind your reader of significant points accounted for in earlier sections of your text, your discussion should not include too much repetition from your background or introduction, your methods and materials, or from your results The first paragraph reminds your reader about the aim, preferably hinting at how you will contribute to the field. Then you briefly account for the most important parts of your results, perhaps linking them to your hypothesis if you have one. You may say that the first paragraph makes for a shortcut into the discussion: it should enable your readers to understand the discussion without reading all the sections of your thesis. The rest of the discussion should analyse and discuss your results.

conclusion: you should fulfill your aim and account for what you have found in your study. When you write your conclusion you have a golden opportunity to make sure that all the sections of your thesis are connected and that the focus is consistent in each section. Please remember that the conclusion is not merely a brief repetition of your results. Focus instead on what your results may imply after careful consideration