Holy Rosary College of Santa Rosa, Inc.

Tagapo, City of Santa Rosa, Laguna

LEARNING MODULE
SCHOOL YEAR 2020-2021

English for Academic and Professional Purposes

11
First Semester-First Quarter
Lara Bernadette B. Balderas
lara.bernarte@hrcsrl.edu.ph
Time allotment: 1 week (4 hours)
Module 2

Lesson Description: Adapting your writing to various elements such as purpose, audience, and
topic will give you a better direction as you go through the writing process.

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
• Identify the factors to consider in writing.
• Apply these in their written outputs.

Lesson: The Rhetorical Situation in Writing

Understanding the circumstances in which you write (rhetorical situation) is an important

step toward a purposeful writing process. This means that as you prepare to write, you examine
several factors that will affect what, why, and how you write. Adapting your writing to various
elements such as purpose, audience, and topic will give you a better direction as you go through
the writing process.

1. PURPOSE
Why are you writing this in the first place? What do you hope to achieve? These are
important questions to consider as you embark on a writing task. There are several purposes for
writing academically and professionally – to inform, to educate, and to persuade.

Purpose for Writing Examples

thesis/dissertation, research journals, news articles, office
To inform
memorandum, company reports
medical pamphlets/leaflets/brochures, corporate workshop modules,
To educate
training manuals
To persuade editorials, position paper, project proposals

2. AUDIENCE
Who is reading this piece? What knowledge does he/she need to understand in my
writing?
In academic and professional writing, the audience is a primary consideration because
they are the ones you are directly communicating with. Understanding and adapting to your
audience can fulfill your purpose for writing.

3. TOPIC
What is the text about? What details am I imparting to the readers?
The topic is an important element in the rhetorical writing situation since the entire output
revolves around it. Choosing a specific, relevant, focused topic is a crucial step every writer must
undertake. The choice of topic is based on the discipline you are writing about.

HRC English for Academic and Professional Purposes, Grade 11, 1st Quarter / 1st Semester 1
 Holy Rosary College of Santa Rosa, Inc.
Tagapo, City of Santa Rosa, Laguna
LEARNING MODULE
SCHOOL YEAR 2020-2021
Being aware of the factors that exist when you write is very important in
academic and professional writing. Adapting your writing depending on your purpose, audience,
and topic will help you accomplish a purposeful and effective written output.

Exercise 1:

Match the type of written report on the left with the descriptions on the right. Write the letter
only.

Types of Written Work Description

____1. Essay A. A short piece of research, either individual or group wok,
with the topic chosen by the student(s)
____2. Paper B. An inter-office document distributed to inform
employees, request data, give responses, confirm decisions,
and provide directions
____3. Thesis/Dissertation C. A piece of academic writing that aims to explain a
concept in a specific discipline
____4. Memorandum D. An official workplace document that presents and
analyzes data to provide information and recommendations
____5. Report E. A lengthy piece of writing normally done by a student
often for a higher degree, on a topic chosen by the students,
and approved by the instructor

Exercise 2: choose a type of written work from among those discussed in Exercise 1. Then think
of a topic in your strand that you wish to discuss in writing. Make sure to narrow down your
topic. Then identify your purpose for writing and your audience. Accomplish the items below.

Type of Written
Work

Reasons for choosing

this type of written
work:

Topic:

Reason for choosing

this topic:

Purpose for writing:

Audience:

HRC English for Academic and Professional Purposes, Grade 11, 1st Quarter / 1st Semester 2