ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC

AND PROFESSIONAL
PURPOSES
 WRITING A
CONCEPT PAPER
What would you do if there's a
problem or undesirable
situation in your community
and you have an idea that
might possibly solve or
improve it?
INFORMATION
IS POWER.
 WRITING A
CONCEPT PAPER
 Concept Paper

A concept paper is an in-depth

analysis of any idea, situation, or
practice. It can be on anything that
you find significant; it can be a
feeling, a cultural practice, a belief, or
a situation.
 Concept Paper

A concept paper examing the

'what-ness' or nature of something. To
accomplish this, you need to explain
in full a simple definition of the term.
In other words, you have to extend
the definition.
 Concept Paper
CONCEPT PAPER
Extended Definition Project Proposal
A definition paper A project proposal
targets the explanation seeks to present an
of an idea, theory, idea for consideration
practice, or principle. by others.
INFORMATIVE PERSUASIVE
 Concept Paper as Extended
Definition
Comparison and contrast
Giving details
Giving historical background
Analysis
Technical definition
Popular definition
 Comparison and Contrast

This is advisable when the term is not

too familiar or popular with the
audience. What can you is compare
and contrast it with something more
popular or familiar to your audience.
 Giving Details

Giving details through description is

another strategy: you can physically
describe something by giving its
dimensions, parts, and functions.
Nonphysical description can be done by
giving characteristics to define something.
 Giving historial background

Giving historical background may also

enlighten audience about the meaning of a
concept. This strategy is particularly useful
when a concept's definition has gone
thorugh changes in time.
 Analysis

Analysis to extend definition can be

done by discussing the idea's
components and/or its implications.
TECHNICAL
VS
POPULAR
DEFINITION
 Technical Definition

A technical definition, as the term says,

makes use of technical language or
specialized vocabulary of a field, which
is why it is not easily understood by a
person who lacks the necessary
background or training.
 Popular Definition

A popular definition makes use of

layman's language and is thus easy to
understand.
 FORMAL
VS
INFORMAL
DEFINITION
 Formal Definition

In a formal definition, a concept is

defined by first giving the class to which
the term belongs and then proceeding
to a discussion of the characteristics that
make the term different from other
related terms.
 Informal Definition

In contrast, an informal
definition may be just based
on a person's personal
views.
USING THE
DEDUCTIVE
APPROACH
 Deductive Approach
Deductive reasoning presents a thesis
statement and then provides supportive
facts or examples. The traditional academic
approach is deductive, placing the author's
position in the introduction and devoting
the rest of the argument to presenting the
evidence.
 Deductive Approach
A general statement that defines the term,
followed by sentences that develop and detail
the general statement. For instance, the first of
each paragraph mentions an attribute or
characteristics of the term being defined,
followed by details to explain the said
attribute/characteristic.
WRITING AN
EXTENDED
DEFINITION
 First Step
One of the first things to do when you write an
extended definition is to compose the formal
sentence definition of the term you are writing
about. Place it toward the beginning of the
extended definition. It establishes the focus for
the rest of the discussion. It is "formal" because
it uses a certain form.
 First Step

Formal sentence definitions: their

components are the term being defined, the
class it belongs to, and its distinguishing
characteristics.
 First Step

Similarly, provide plenty of specific detail in

the characteristics component of the formal
sentence definition. Readers need these
details to begin forming their own
understanding the term you are defining.
 First Step

Be aware, however, that your formal

sentence definition will likely contain
additional potentially unfamiliar terms.
Somewhere in your extended definition,
you'll need to explain them as well, possibly
by using short definitions
First Step
 Second Step
When you write an extended definition, you
literally grab at any of the writing resources
or tools that will help you explain the term
to your readers. This means considering all
of the various sources of information that
can help define the term adequately (for
example, description, process narration,
causal discussion, and classification).
 Second Step

The key to writing a good extended

definition is to choose the sources of
definition to help readers understand the
term being defined.
Second Step
 Third Step

As mentioned earlier, you'll find that in

writing an extended definition, you must
define other terms as well. Typically, short
definitions--a sentence, clause, or phrase in
length--will suffice.
Third Step
Third Step
 Third Step
This process of supplying short definitions "on the fly" is
critical in good technical writing for nonspecialists. Notice
how many quick definitions occur just in the first two
sentences of Figure G-19. "Maculopapular" is defined in
parentheses as "(raised red)." "Endemicity" is defined by
restating the idea in other words: "that is, people throughout
the world are capable of contracting measles." And
"infective particle" is quickly defined by providing an
alternative: "or organism causing the illness." Obviously, the
passage is almost tripled in length--but that's the price for
thorough explanation and clarity.
 LISTING ITEMS
IN AN EXTENDED
DEFINITION
 Listing
Lists are useful because they emphasize
certain information in regular text. When
you see a list of three or four items strung
out vertically on the page, rather than in
normal paragraph format, you naturally
notice it more and are likely to pay more
attention to it.
 Listing
Certain types of lists also make for easier
reading. For example, in instructions, it is a
big help for each step to be numbered and
separate from the preceding or following
steps. Lists also create more white space
and spread out the text so that pages don't
seem like solid walls of words.
 LISTING
GUIDELINES
 Listing
• Use lists to highlight or emphasize text or to enumerate or
make for easier reference.
• Use exactly the spacing, indentation, punctuation, and caps
style shown in the following discussion and illustrations.
• Make list items parallel in phrasing.
• Make sure that each item in the list reads grammatically
with the lead-in.
 Listing
• Use a lead-in to introduce the list items, to indicate
the meaning or purpose of the list (and punctuate it
with a colon).
• Never use headings as lead-ins for lists.
• Avoid overusing lists; using too many lists destroys
their effectiveness.
• Use similar types of lists consistently in similar text
in the same document.
USING GRAPHICS
AND TABLES
 Graphics and Tables

Uses of illustrations and photos. In the realm of

illustrations and photographs, the types run
from minimal detail to maximal. A simple line
drawing of how to graft a fruit tree reduces the
detail to simple lines representing the hands,
the tools, the graft stock, and graft.
 Graphics and Tables

Diagrams are a more abstract, schematic view of

things, for example, a wiring diagram of a clock
radio; it hardly resembles the actual physical
thing at all. And of course photographs provide
the most detail of all. These graphics, supplying
gradations of detail as they do, have their
varying uses.
 Graphics and Tables
• In instructions, simple drawings (often called line drawings
because they use just lines, without other detail such as shading)
are the most common. They simplify the situation and the objects
so that the reader can focus on the key details.
• In descriptions, you would want to use drawings, but in this case
drawings with more detail, such as shading and depth
perspectives.
• In feasibility, recommendation, and evaluation reports,
photographs are often used. For example, if you are recommending
a photocopier, you might want to include photos of the leading
contenders.
 FORMATTING
REQUIREMENTS
FOR
ILLUSTRATION
 Formatting Requirements
Labels
Just about any illustration should
contain labels words and phrases with
pointers to the parts of the things being
depicted.
 Formatting Requirements
Keys
If the illustration has certain shadings,
colors, line styles, or other such details that
have a special meaning in the illustration,
these should be indicated in a key an area
in an unused corner of the illustration that
deciphers their meaning.
 FORMATTING
REQUIREMENTS
FOR TABLE
 Formatting Requirements
Tables, of course, are those rows and columns of
numbers and words, mostly numbers. They
permit rapid access to and relatively easy
comparison of information. If the data is
arranged chronologically (for example, sales
figures over a ten-year period), the table can
show trends � patterns of rising or falling
activity.
 Formatting Guidelines
• Refer to the table in the text just preceding the table. Explain the
general significance of the data in the table; don't expect readers to
figure it out entirely for themselves.
• Don't overwhelm readers with monster 11-column, 30-row tables!
Simplify the table data down to just that amount of data that
illustrates your point � without of course distorting that data.
• Don't put the word or abbreviation for the unit of measurement in
every cell of a column. For example, in a column of measurements
all in millimeters, don't put "mm" after every number. Put the
abbreviation in parentheses in the column or row heading.
 Formatting Guidelines

• Normally, words in columns are left-justified

(although you will occasionally see columns of
words all centered).
• When there is some special point you need to make
about one or more of the items in the table, use a
footnote instead of clogging up the table with the
information.
CONCEPT PAPER
AS PROJECT
PROPOSAL
 Project Proposal

A project proposal seeks to present

an idea for consideration by others.
Hence, a project proposal entails a
persuasive intent.
SECTIONS OF A
PROJECT
PROPOSAL
 Introduction

Arouse the interest of the reader/target

sponsor by showing your understanding of
their mission. Identify your (organization’s)
mission and show how your mission appeals
to the reader’s priorities.
 Purpose

Identify a problem or need of the reader

that you wish to address and justify the
need for your proposed project.
 Project Description

Describe the activities that your project will

undertake to address the problem/need.
Point out the strengths of your approach.
Discuss the general impact of your
proposed project.
 Objectives

State the specific, measurable, achievable,

realistic, and time-bound (SMART)
objectives of
 Methodology

State the specific, measurable, achievable,

realistic, and time-bound (SMART)
objectives of
 Project Needs

Make a list of materials, personnel,

equipment, and space that will be needed
to carry out the project.
 Time Table

Make an estimate of the time it will take for

the completion of the project