Kidapawan City National High School

Roxas St. Kidapawan City

Module Title & CG Code: English for Academic and Professional Purposes
CS_EN11/12A-EAPP
Teacher’s Name: SHEENA F. CORDOVA, LPT
Session Number: First Quarter/Unit 1-Lesson 1
Time Duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes

CONTENT: Reading Academic Texts

LEARNING OUTCOMES: At the end of the period, the students can:

1.Identify terminologies used in academic texts from various disciplines.

LECTURE NOTES:

Before you start, fill in the short survey below. Encircle the reply (YES or NO) that applies to you.

1.) YES/NO I have a very handy dictionary application on my mobile phone or tablet computer.

2.) YES/NO I refer to a thesaurus to use new words in my writing style.

3.) YES/NO I play games related to vocabulary building in my mobile phone or tablet computer.

4.) YES/NO I can usually guess the meaning of a word when reading academic texts.

5.) YES/NO I look at a dictionary when I don’t understand a word and avoid asking my classmates
or teacher for its meaning.

6.) YES/NO I know the meanings of most prefixes and suffixes and I use them effectively.

7.) YES/NO I can easily identify even the subtlest root word and know its meaning.

8.) YES/NO I carefully use words especially if they have connotative meanings.

9.) YES/NO I want to enrich my vocabulary.

10.) YES/NO I want to take what I already know to the next level.

Based on your score in the activity, how do you assess your vocabulary skills?

If you answered YES to many of the statements above, you are well on your way to improving your
vocabulary. If NO to any of the statements above, then it is time to form a new habit or change an
attitude.

1
 Kidapawan City National High School
Roxas St. Kidapawan City

After sharing and reflecting on your answers, discuss what you already know about the following
topics: context clues, prefixes, suffixes, root words, connotations, and denotations. Then,
write what you still want to find out about each topic. Write your answers in the following table.

Topic What I Already Know What I Want to Find Out

Context clues
Prefixes
Suffixes
Root words
Denotations
Connotations

Academic texts
As you move from one grade level to the next, you probably noticed how your textbooks
change. Your preschool textbooks had large-sized fonts and filled with colorful pictures. Now,
your high school textbooks are mostly text and have smaller fonts and fewer pictures.

Aids in Developing Your Vocabulary

Your vocabulary bank is the determining factor for the improvement of your reading speed and
comprehension. If you encounter a word you don’t understand, you would normally pause to think
about it; this temporary pause affects your reading speed and comprehension of the text.

Do you think your vocabulary level is enough to understand academic texts? Explain.

2
 Kidapawan City National High School
Roxas St. Kidapawan City

Building your vocabulary can increase your chance

to understand a text better.

Before the advent of mobile applications, students use notecards to track the improvement of their
vocabulary. Here are basic steps in creating note cards:

1.) Use a ¼ index card for each word.

2.) On one side of the card, write the word in big letters with a marker.
3.) On the other side, write its pronunciation, other words forms, and meaning.
4.) Write a sample sentence that makes use of the word.

Here is how your sample notecard should look:

AMELIORATE

(back)

Pronunciation: ₔ’ mēlyₔ , rāt

Definition: make something better

Sentence: Education can ameliorate one’s

poor living conditions.

(front)

It is best to keep your notecards with you often. You should also keep blank or spare notecards. In case
you encounter an unfamiliar word, record it as a new entry in your notecard set.

3
 Kidapawan City National High School
Roxas St. Kidapawan City

Why do you think it is necessary to write a sample sentence in your notecards?

Context Clues
Using context clues to guess the meaning of an unfamiliar word is a strategy to improve one’s reading
skills. Context clues are the words or sentences surrounding the unfamiliar word that give hints on
its meaning.

See how much you already know in effectively using context clues by guessing the meaning of the
following underlined words. Write your answers on the blanks.

1.) Carbohydrates such as pasta, bread, and rice may contribute to weight gain.
___________________________________________________________________________

2.) When the storm subsided, the residents came out to clean the mess on their yard.
___________________________________________________________________________

3.) Grace had no choice but to acquiesce to the orders of her boss; otherwise, she might get fired.
___________________________________________________________________________

4.) A theory is futile when it is not practiced.

___________________________________________________________________________

5.) A hushed and mournful milieu dawned inside the church as relatives viewed the deceased
politician for the last time.
___________________________________________________________________________

Context clues will help you know the meaning of a word without consulting a dictionary.

Example Clues
Example clues are easy to spot! First, the author will mention a word and then give examples that
either describe or explain it. Words or phrases indicating that example clues are on their way are
such as, like, for example, for instance, and as an illustration.

Example:
Carbohydrates such as pasta, bread, and rice may contribute to weight gain.
This sentence gives examples of carbohydrates: pasta, bread, and rice. From the given examples of
carbohydrates, we can derive that carbohydrates are food that contain starch!

Synonym or Definition Clues

4
 Kidapawan City National High School
Roxas St. Kidapawan City

In synonym or definition clues, the meaning of an unfamiliar word is given in the sentence if a similar
word is also used to make the meaning clearer. Signal words for synonym clues are or, in other
words, that is, by this we mean, that is to say and also known as.

Example:
Caught in an epiphany, that is, a sudden, strong, and clear realization, I suddenly knew how to solve
my dilemma.
The word epiphany is defined as “a sudden, strong, and clear realization” with the signal words that
is as hint.

Antonym or Contrast Clues

In antonym or contrast clues, the meaning of an unfamiliar word is given in the sentence if an opposite
word is used to suggest the meaning. Signal words for antonym clues are but, however, on the
other hand, nevertheless, yet, and in contrast.

Example:
Jogging long distances exacerbates the pain in my feet. However, soaking my feet in warm water
after jogging feels relaxing and soothing.
The second sentence gives you a clue that the word exacerbate must mean “to aggravate” or
“increase the pain” because of the signal word however, which signifies the opposite.

General Clues
Making sense of a word’s meaning by largely depending on your common sense requires you to use
your knowledge and experience. The more you read, the more you read, the more you will know.
And the more you know, the stronger your capability to figure out things based on what you already
know.

Example:
Paul knew he just made a cultural faux pas when he kissed the Muslim woman on the cheek and he
was met with a dead, stunned stare!

Word Structure
A word in the English language may have three parts: the prefix, the root word, and the suffix.

Prefixes
Pre means “before” and fix means “to attach.” Prefix means “to attach before a word.” There are
negative prefixes that imply the opposite of the root word such as un-, non-, in- ‘and dis--. There are
also prefixes that show location such as tele-; sub-; inter-, and trans-. Other prefixes can show numbers
or amounts such as mono-, bi-, multi-, and deca-.
5
 Kidapawan City National High School
Roxas St. Kidapawan City

See the following table below for examples.

Negative Words Words That Tell Location Words That Connote
Numbers
Unhappy, nonfat, incorrect, Subterranean, international, Monolingual, bicycle,
disappeared transatlantic multifaceted, decagon

Suffixes
Suffixes usually change a word from one form or part of speech (e.g., noun, verb, and adjective) to
another form.

Noun Suffixes Verb Suffixes Adjective Suffixes

-ance, -dom, -hood, -ity, -ive, - -ize, -ify, -ate, -en -ful, -ous, -ious, -ate, -y, -al, -ic,
ment, -ness, -ship, -tion, -tude, - -ish, -ive, -able, -ible, -less, ed
er, -ist

Denotation and Connotation

When we say denotation, we are referring to the real meaning of a word. When we say connotation,
we are referring to the implied meaning of a word. For example, the denotative meaning of the word
snake is “a cold, scaly reptile.” However, it may have a connotative meaning, which is “betrayal, evil,
or danger.”

ASSESSMENT:

1.) “Son, what now is the condition of your heart?” asked the priest to the remorseful, repentant
sinner.
Does the sinner have a heart disease? What does the priest mean when he asked this question?
Explain.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

2.) “This heart of mine is yours now and forever.”

Does one really take out his or her heart and give it to someone else? Explain.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

6
 Kidapawan City National High School
Roxas St. Kidapawan City

Complete the following table by supplying the appropriate suffixes.

Noun Verb Adjective

pure
isolation
relate
rely
white

RESOURCES:
Mondez, R.G. 2016. DIWA Senior High School Series: English for Academic and
Professional Purposes
Pages 2-18.

ONLINE INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS: PowerPoint Presentations

SUPPLEMENTAL LEARNING MATERIALS: