LEARNING ACTIVITY WORKSHEET I

IN ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

Name_ Date _ Score_ _

OBJECTIVES:
1. Differentiates language used in academic texts from various disciplines.
1.1. Evaluate the language features of the academic text.
1.2. Decipher the appropriate language needed in writing academic texts.
1.3 Differentiate the language, point of view and organization used in passages.

LEARNING INPUTS:
Academic writing refers to a style of expression that researchers use to define the intellectual
boundaries of their disciplines and specific areas of expertise. Characteristics of academic writing include
a formal tone, use of the third person rather than first-person perspective (usually), a clearfocus on
the research problem under investigation, and precise word choice. Like specialist languages adopted in
other professions, such as, law or medicine, academic writing is designed to convey agreed meaning
about complex ideas or concepts for a group of scholarly experts.
Source: Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper.
https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/academicwriting

Language in Academic texts is formal, objective and impersonal.

Academic language is formal if:
- it is not conversational or casual
- it avoids colloquial, idiomatic, slang, or journalistic expressions
- it does not use Informal and colloquial language

For example: ‘international business heavyweights’ (too informal)

Better wording: ‘leading international businesses’
(if referring to corporations, or ‘international business leaders’ if referring to individuals)
Academic writing is objective. It is unbiased, based on facts and evidence and is not influenced
by personal feelings.
Academic language is impersonal in that you generally don’t refer to yourself as the performer
of actions. This involves avoiding the personal pronouns ‘I’ and ‘we’.

For example:
instead of writing ‘I will show’,
Better write: ‘this report will show’
Source: Using Academic Language
https://www.monash.edu/rlo/research-writing-assignments/writing/features-of-academic-writing/academic-language

Text Structures
1. Problem and Solution 4. Chronology/ Sequence
2. Description 5. Cause and Effect
3. Compare and contrast
LEARNING OPPORTUNITY 1
Directions: Match column A with the corresponding impersonal words or phrases in column B.
A. B.
1. I surveyed the literature A. A standard graphical
and discovered… representation was used…
2. We used standard graphical B. The question of… was
representation researched…
to… C. A survey of literature revealed
3. We researched the question of… that…
4. We can see that… D. The report shows…
5. I show… E. It is evident that…
LEARNING OPPORTUNITY 2-3
Directions: Give the corresponding formal and objective counterpart of the underlined phrases.
Choose the letter of the correct answer.

(1) It’s so obvious that (2) people were given jobs (3) just because they were
male or female. (4) I don’t think that is an acceptable approach and is even
against the law. (5) It's outrageous that so many women drink when they're pregnant.

1) A. I am outraged B. It is ridiculous C. It appears

2) A. I got the job B. Positions were assigned to people C. People got jobs
3) A. on the basis of gender B. based on sex C. just because of their books
4) A. This is terrible B. This raises serious concerns C. I am appalled
5) A. Studies have revealed B. I believe C. It is ridiculous

LEARNING OPPORTUNITY 4-5

Directions: Differentiate given passages below. Answer the questions that follow.
Passage A
(1)Regarding nuclear power generation and climate change, Schrader-Frechette (2011) has
argued that the promotion of nuclear power as ‘carbon free’ actually misrepresents the data
by focusing solely on one stage of production; the other thirteen stages of production in fact
generate high greenhouse gas emissions. (2) In addition, Henle et. al (2016) have argued
that even with technological advancements that may moderate some of the environmental
damage caused by uranium mining, the adverse effects on biodiversity and ecosystem
services from nuclear power production has already been acute in Europe.

Passage B
(1)Although plans to create nuclear power plants have been abandoned by many countries
since the explosion of three nuclear reactors at Fukushima in 2011, a claim that persists in the
literature is that nuclear power generation is necessary in order to reduce global carbon
emissions and mitigate climate change. (2) However, several studies contradict this idea.
(3) For example, Schrader-Frechette (2011) has argued that the promotion of nuclear power as
‘carbon free’ actually misrepresents the data by focusing solely on one stage of production;the
other thirteen stages of production in fact generate high greenhouse gas emissions.
(4) In addition, Henle et. al (2016) have argued that even with technological advancements that
may moderate some environmental damage caused by uranium mining, the adverse effects on
biodiversity and ecosystem services from nuclear power production has already been acute in
Europe. (5) These studies demonstrate that nuclear energy may not in fact be an
environmentally sustainable, or responsible, alternative to fossil fuels.

1. Which of the two passages discusses/ discuss about nuclear power plants and climate
change?
A. Passage A B. Passage B C. Passage A & B D. Not mentioned in the two passages.
2. Which of the two passages presents/present the position/claim of the writer about the topic?
B. Passage B B. Passage A C. Passage A & B D. Not mentioned in the two passages.
3. The word ‘However’ in sentence 2 of passage B signals .
A. the argument of the writer C. description of the topic
B. comparison to the other concept D. conclusion of topic
4. The phrase ‘In addition’ in Passage A signals .
A. Introduction of a claim C. opposition of a claim
B. Affirmation of evidence D. presentation of conclusion
5. Which sentences in Passage B present the evidence of the claim?
A. Sentence 1 &2 B. Sentence 1 & 3 C. Sentence 3 & 4 D. Sentence 4 &5

Quarter: 3 Week: 1 and 2

MELCs: • Differentiates language used in academic texts from various disciplines.
Note to Teacher:
(Government Property. Not for sale)
2
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Uses knowledge of text structure to glean the information he/she needs.
1.1. Identify different text structures used in the given passages.
1.2. Determine the appropriate graphic organizer for a particular concept.

LEARNING INPUTS:
TEXT STRUCTURE
The term “text structure” refers to how information is organized in a passage. The structure of a
text can change many times in a work and even within a paragraph.

Types of Text Structures and Its Word Signals

I. PROBLEM AND SOLUTION
Purpose: To state one or more problems and provide one or more solutions.
Signal Words and Phrases
advantage disadvantage question since So that Because
Answer In order to solution Solved puzzle Dilemma
As a result of issue Led to problem cause
II. COMPARE AND CONTRAST
Purpose: To describe what is similar and/or different about two or more subjects
Signal Words and Phrases
Characteristics For instance Most important Such as
Consists of In fact Looks like features
III. DESCRIPTION
Purpose: To explain in a topic, concept, person, place, event or object, by providing
characteristics,features and/or giving examples.
Signal Words and Phrases – descriptive words (e.g., color, shape, size)/position words (e.g., above,
along, beside, between, in front of, near)
Alike But In comparison Same as
also Compared to In contrast Similar to
Although despite Instead of Similarity
As Different from Just Too
As opposed to Either-or On the contrary Unlike
As well as However On the other hand Yet
both In common opposite
IV. CHRONOLOGY
Purpose: To provide information in time order in which events, actions, or steps in a process occur.
Signal Words and Phrases
After Finally Later Soon Prior to
As soon as First/second/third Meanwhile Step Until
At the same time Following Next Then When
Before Immediately Now Today Last
directions initially during simultaneously
V. CAUSE AND EFFECT
Purpose: To explain why or how something happened/happens: effect- what
happenedcause – why it happened
Signal Words and Phrases
As a result If… then Outcome On account of Therefore Thus
Because Impact Reasons for Due to Influenced by How
Consequently In order to Since Is caused by Leads to So that
When… then Effects of For this reason
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES 1-4
Directions. Read the passages and answer the questions in the following activities.
Passage #1 – Chemical and Physical Changes
All matter, all things can be changed in two ways: chemically and physically. Both chemical and physical
changes affect the state of matter. Physical changes are those that do not change the make- up or identity
of the matter. For example, clay will bend or flatten if squeezed, but it will still be clay. Changing the shape
of clay is a physical change, and does not change the matter’s identity. Chemical changes turn the matter
into a new kind of matter with different properties. For example, when paper is

Quarter: 3 Week: 1 and 2

MELCs: •Uses knowledge to text structure to glean the information he/she needs.
Note to Teacher:
(Government Property. Not for sale)
3
burnt, it becomes ash and will never be paper again. The difference between them is that physical
changes are temporary or only lasts for a little while, and chemical changes are permanent,
which means they last forever. Physical and chemical changes both affect the state of matter.

Passage #2 – Bobby Fischer

Robert James Fischer was born in Chicago but unlocked the secrets of chess in a Brooklyn apartment
right above a candy store. At the age of six he taught himself to play by following the instruction booklet
that came with his chess board. After spending much of his childhood in chess clubs, Fischer said that
“One day, I just got good.” That may be a bit of an understatement. At the age of 13 he won the U.S.
Junior Chess Championship, becoming the youngest Junior Champion ever. At the age of 14 he won the
U.S. Championship and became the youngest U.S. Champion in history. Fischer would go on to become
the World Champion of chess, but he would also grow to become his own worst enemy. Instead of
defending the title, he forfeited it to the next challenger without even making a move, and the rise of a
chess superstar ended with a fizzle.
Passage #3 – Save the Tigers
Dr. Miller doesn’t want the tigers to vanish. These majestic beasts are disappearing at an alarming rate.
Dr. Miller thinks that we should write to our congress people. If we let them know that we demand the
preservation of this species, maybe we can make a difference. Dr. Miller also thinks that we should
donate to Save the Tigers. Our donations will help to support and empower those who are fighting the
hardest to preserve the tigers. We owe it to our grandchildren to do something.

Passage #4 – The Great Recession

Many people are confused about why our economy went to shambles in 2008. The crisis was actually
the result of a combination of many complex factors. First, easy credit conditions allowed people who
were high-risk or unworthy of credit to borrow, and even people who had no income were eligible for large
loans. Second, banks would bundle these toxic loans and sell them as packages on the financial market.
Third, large insurance firms backed these packages, misrepresenting these high-risk loans as safe
investments. Fourth, because of the ease of acquiring credit and the rapid growth in the housing market,
people were buying two or three houses, intending to sell them for more than they paid. All of these
factors created bubbles of speculation. These bubbles burst, sending the whole market into a downward
spiral, causing employers to lose capital and lay off employees. Consumer spending then plummeted
and most businesses suffered. The economy is like a big boat, and once it gets moving quickly in the
wrong direction, it’s hard to turn it around.
Passage #5 – Social Media
Because of social media, the reading habits of many people have changed, if people used to rely on
newspapers or magazines for news on current events, a lot of people nowadays depend on social media
for updated information.

1. Which passage is chronological? 2-3. Which passage is compare and

Put information from the passage contrast?
onto the graphic organizer. Put information from the passage onto the
Passage Name: graphic organizer.
Passage Name:

What is being compared & contrasted?

Ways Similar Ways Different

4. Which passage is cause and effect? 1. 1.

Put information from the passage onto the
graphic organizer. 2. 2.
Passage Name:
3. 3.

Cause #1
Effect
Cause #2

Quarter: 3 Week: 1 and 2

MELCs: •Uses knowledge to text structure to glean the information he/she needs.
Note to Teacher:
(Government Property. Not for sale)
4