ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL
PURPOSES
1st Semester
ACADEMIC TEXTS
- critical, objective, specialized
texts written by experts or
professionals in a given field using
formal language
- objective
- based on facts with solid basis
Non-Academic Articles
- written for the mass public
- can be written by anyone
- informal, casual, and may contain
slang
Structure of Academic Texts
1. Formal
2 Clearly structured introduction,
body and conclusion
3. Include information from credible
sources
4. Include a list of references
 Paragraph
 1 topic or idea
 start of a new concept
 topic sentence
 supporting sentences
 concluding/transitional
 3-part Essay
 Intro – thesis statement is
usually found at the end
 Body – research and data
are discussed thoroughly
 Conclusion – restates
thesis & gives suggestions
 IMRcD
 Introduction – aim of the
study
 Methods – study design and
how data is collected
 Results – graphs & charts
 Discussion – remind readers
of the aim, analyze &
discuss results
 Conclusion – give
implications for study and
future research
Types of Academic Text
 Article – offers results of
research and development that
can either impact the academic
community or provide relevance
to nation-building
 Conference Paper – presented in
scholastic conferences
 Reviews – provide evaluation of
works published in scholarly
journals
 Theses, Dissertations – personal
researches written by a
candidate for a college or
university degree
Content and Style of Academic Text
1. State critical questions and issues
2. Provide facts and evidence from
credible sources
3. Use precise and accurate jargon
4. Take an objective point of view
5. List references
6. Use cautious language
Purpose of Reading 2. During Reading

 to locate the main idea - write key words or phrases in bullet

 to scan for information form
 to identify gaps in existing
- write questions on information that
ones
find confusing
 to connect new ideas to existing
ones - write notes on the reliability of
 to gain more pieces of the text
information
- underline important words, phrases,
 to support a particular writing
or sentences
assignment
 to deeply understand an existing - create a bank of unfamiliar words
idea

3. After Reading
Reading Goals
- reflect on what you learned
1. Why am I reading this text?
- react on some parts of the text
2. What information or pieces of
information do I need?
3. What do I want to learn?  SQ3R
 Survey
- skim target text
Critical Reading Strategies - read first few and last
sentences
- reading academic texts requires
focus and understanding  Question
- develop questions on the
- question its assumptions, respond to
types of information
its arguments and connect it to real-
life experiences and applications
 Read
- reflective reading helps you - look for the answers to
identify key arguments and analyse your questions
concepts presented in the text - proceed reading only when
you already understand the
previous text
1. Before Reading
 Recite/Recall
- determine the type of text - highlight the important
- establish purpose of reading parts
- write a summary based on
- check the publication date what you understand
- check the references
 Review
- use a concept map to note existing - evaluate what you learned
text - ensure that you are
convinced and satisfied
with the information
  KWL Method
 Knowledge – what you know
about the topic
 What you want to learn
 What you Learned
 Strategic reading is an
effective way of understanding a
text by employing strategies to
understand content and structure
better = better reading
proficiency
Characteristics of Strategic
Readers (Brown Briggs)
 set a purpose of reading
 employ reading strategies
appropriate to a specific text
 check their understanding of
the text
 show a positive attitude
towards reading
FEATURES OF ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL
WRITING
 Formality
- degree of formality of
language use
- register and tone used in
academic writing are expected
to be formal
- output adheres to the set
standards acceptable in the
academic community
 Avoid contractions
 Avoid figurative languages
– avoid creating multiple
meanings
 Observe rules in writing
numbers and acronyms –
provide what the acronym
stands for the first time
it appears on the paper
and then put the acronym
within parentheses
 Avoid slang and colloquial
words
 Objectivity
- written language is in
general objective rather than
personal
 Structure
- three-part essay structure
 Hedging
- make decisions about your
stance on a particular subject,
or the strength of the claims
you are making
Most Common Rhetorical Patterns used
by writes in Organizing information in
a Text
 Definition
- presenting both denotation
and connotation
- distinguishing the subject
from other topics to clearly
draw the distinction
 Extended – one paragraph
long (Wikipedia)
 Formal – from the
dictionary
 Informal – uses other
words to define
 Illustration
- present examples to support a
general statement
- transitional markers: for
example, to illustrate
 Description
- uses vivid details to
visualize the subject
 Process Analysis
- presenting the steps in an
orderly sequence
 Comparison and Contrast
 - showing similarities and
differences
 Cause and Effect
- why something happened and
what the consequences are or
might be
 Classification
- forming categories on the
basis of their similarities and
characteristics
Rhetorical Situation in Writing
1. Purpose
- to inform
- to educate
- to persuade
2. Audience
3. Topic
THESIS STATEMENT
- presents or describes the point of
an essay
- abstract or summary
- found most of the time at the last
part of the introduction
Strategies in Locating Thesis
Statement
1. Read the title of the text and make
inference on its purpose
2. If the text has no abstract or
summary, read the first few
paragraphs.
3. Check the conclusion where authors
sum up and review their main points.
TOPIC SENTENCE
- presents or describe the point of
the paragraph
- main idea of the paragraph
- located most of the time at the
beginning, sometimes at the middle or
last part of the paragraph
Strategies in Locating Topic Sentence
1. Read the first sentences of the
paragraph
2. Browse the sentences in the
paragraph to identify what they
describe. The sentence that best
describes the topic of the paragraph
is the topic sentence
3. Find the concept or idea being
tackled
4. Identify the purpose of the
paragraph
5. Observe the writing style of the
author. Focus specifically on where
he/she usually places his/her topic
sentence
Thesis Statement vs. Topic Sentence
- thesis statement: for the whole
text/article
- topic sentence: per paragraph
- iisa lang ang thesis statement sa
buong text, maraming topic sentence sa
buong text
- dapat iisa lang ang topic sentence
per paragraph, di pwedeng dalawa
SUMMARY
- important details of the text
-
WRITING