Abstract (academic paper) The summary of the paper. There are two kinds of abstracts: descriptive abstracts and informative abstracts.
Composition See essay.
Creative writing Writing to entertain, such as writing a poem, a novel, a short story, a song’s lyrics, etc.
Delimitations (academic paper) The limits/boundaries/scope of the study
Descriptive abstract (academic paper) The summary of the paper discussing briefly the background and purpose of the study and the research methodology
Discussion (academic paper) A part of the research paper after the results are reported (see results). This is the part in the paper where the author makes sense of the research findings, compares the results with other research studies, and talks about implications or practical applications of the study and recommendation for further research.
Draft A first or earlier pieces of writing that has not been finalized and can be revised (See Revision/To revise)
EFL English as a foreign language (where English is not used in everyday life)
Endnotes (academic paper) Explanations or additional details that are not directly related to the topic being discussed in the paper. Endnotes are placed at the end of the paper.
ESL English as a second language (where English is used as a major language of communication)
Essay A piece of writing consisting of a number of paragraphs (See paragraph) on a specific topic
Expressive writing Writing with a purpose mainly to express how one feels and what one thinks without any other intention
Footnotes (academic paper) Explanations or additional details that are not directly related to the topic being discussed in the paper. Footnotes are placed at the end of the corresponding page.
Informative abstract (academic paper) The summary of the paper discussing briefly the background, research purposes, results, and the conclusion and implications of the study
Introduction (academic paper) The general background, problem, hypotheses or research questions, expected outcome, significance of the study (also if applied, definition of terms and delimitations
Limitations (academic paper) The constraints found in the study that prevent the generalizability of the research
Literature review/review of literature (academic paper) A discussion on past and present research related to the paper’s research study
Main idea The main idea of a piece of writing is the the entire text is about. It is oftentimes analogous to a topic sentence in a paragraph or a thesis statement in an essay. However, a main idea may not necessarily be stated explicitly in these flag sentences.
Methodology (academic paper) A report on the study’s participants, research instrument, and the process of data collection (research procedure) and analyses
Paragraph (definition from Oxford American Dictionary and Thesaurus) A distinct section of a piece of writing, usually dealing with a single theme and indicated by a new line, indentation, or numbering
Poetic writing See creative writing.
Results (academic paper) A report of the research results after data analysis. The results may be organized based on research questions or importance, and are represented in words and by tables and figures.
Revision/To revise Making changes to what one has written by adding, deleting, changing, or moving ideas/words/sentences
Thesis statement A thesis statement–or a thesis–is one (or a few more) sentences in an essay (see essay), an article, or a book that states the main point of the author which is described, discussed, elaborated, etc., in the entire essay, article, or book. It is constituted by a topic (what the essay is about) and a controlling idea (what aspects of the topic is focused on in the essay)In academic writing (see academic writing) and essays for such English language tests as TOEFL and IELTS, an essay without a thesis is incomplete both in terms of ideas and organization.
Topic sentence A topic sentence is similar to a thesis statement (see thesis statement) of an an essay. It is, however, often used with writing at the paragraph (see paragraph) level.
Transactional writing Writing in order to make something happen, get something done, cause something to change, etc. Most pieces of writing are in this category. Some examples are school reports, business letters, and newspaper articles.
