ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC
of ideas for the purpose of clarifying the
AND PROFESSIONAL
PURPOSES
DAY 1: TEXT STRUCTURES
Text Structure- refers to how information is
organized in a passage. It can change multiple times
in a work, and even within a paragraph
PATTERN OF ORGANIZATIONS
 Cause and Effect- the result of something is
explained
 Chronological- Information in the passage is
organized based on time
 Compare and Contrast- Two or more things
are described. Their similarities and differences
are discussed
 Problem and Solution- A problem is described
and a response or solution is proposed or
explained
 Order of Importance- Information is expressed
as a hierarchy or in priority
 Sequence/ Process Writing- Information is
organized in steps or a process is explained in
the order in which it occurs
 Spatial/ Descriptive Writing- is organized in
order of space.
The importance of different patterns of organization
in a text structure is that it shows relationships
between supporting details in paragraphs, essays and
chapters. It helps you understand how an author
thinks and helps you remember what you read.
The importance of the structure of a specific
academic text is that they are organized in a specific
way and they have a clear structure. It makes it easier
for you and for the reader to navigate the text and
understand the material better.
Day 2: Summarizing and
Paraphrasing Academic Text
Summary- is a short or abbreviated version of a
longer text (about quarter of its original length)
Purpose:
1. To help you understand the main points and
structure of the author’s argument
2. To convey understanding to others
3. To present background information quickly
4. To refer to another writer’s ideas in the course
of making your own original statement
Three important summarization technique
1. Selection- select major idea, key words and
phrases, special terms and interpretations presented
in the original text
2. Rejection- remove unnecessary data or the
specifics
3. Substitution- replace long sentences/ phrases
with shorter ones. Combine several sentences into
one.
Paraphrase- is a restatement and restructuring
meaning of a text.
Restatement- means that you rephrase the
original using your own words. However, you do
not just change some words in the material; you
also need to change the flow of ideas in the effort
to make the original meaning clearer.
STEPS IN PARAPHRASING
1. Read the original passage several times
until you understand it fully. Look for synonyms
for unfamiliar words.
2. Take note of the important details.
3. Write your paraphrase referring only to
your notes.
4. Check your paraphrase against the
original to make sure you have not copied
vocabulary or the sentence structure too closely.
1. What is the importance of summarizing text?
- teaches students how to discern the most
important ideas in a text, how to ignore
irrelevant information, and how to integrate the
central ideas in a meaningful way. Teaching
students to summarize improves their memory
for what is read.
2. What is the importance of paraphrasing a text?
- Paraphrasing is important because it shows
you understand the source well enough to write it
in your own words. It also gives you a powerful
alternative to using direct quotes, which should
be used infrequently.
DAY 3:Stating the Thesis
Statement and Textual Evidence
Thesis statements- It is a sentence or two that tell/s
the reader your topic and what you say about it
Textual evidence- It is an evidence from a text that
you can use to illustrate your ideas and support your
arguments. All textual evidence should:
● Support a specific point
● Be cited with a page number at the end of the
sentence
● Be followed by an “connection” that explains
the relationship of the evidence to your main point.
TYPES OF THESIS STATEMENTS
Direct (Stated) Thesis Statement
 Outline the main idea and the
organization of the essay for the reader
Indirect (Implied) Thesis Statement
 Introduce the topic, but they do not
outline the supporting ideas
COMPONENTS OF THESIS STATEMENT
Topic- the general subject of the essay
Controlling Idea- your opinion/belief/view/feeling
about the topic
Sub-topics - the areas you will focus on to support
your idea
1. What is the importance of thesis statement in
academic writing?
- A thesis statement controls the subject matter of the
essay and states something significant to the reader.
It is the one statement that summarizes the main
point of the essay and states why the essay is
important and worth reading.
2. What is a characteristic of a solid thesis
statement?
- A thesis statement should be easily identifiable by a
reader and should be clear and not ambiguous.
DAY 4: Forming Opinions Based
on Facts
Opinions
● Subjective statements based on a person’s
beliefs or attitudes.
● Opinions are not acceptable as support
● You must support it with facts if you wish to
express it
● an expression of a person’s feelings that
cannot be proven.
Facts
● Objective statements of truths
● Piece of information used as evidence or as
support to an opinion
● You must use supporting details (proof) if you
wish to strengthen the validity of the facts presented
● a statement that can be proven true or false.
DAY 5: Describing the Content
and Structure of the
Critique/Reaction Paper
Critique Paper- A formal analysis and evaluation of
a text, production, or performance, etc.--either one's
own (a self-critique) or someone else's.
Content of the Critique/Reaction Paper
1. ACCURATE - It provides an accurate
description of the work being evaluated by giving its
summary and/or background details, like answers to
basic reporter questions of who, what, when, where,
and why.
2. EVALUATIVE - It gives the writer’s overall
judgement of the work. It makes this judgement
convincing by giving three or more supporting
evaluations of selected analytical elements of the
work being evaluated.
3. BALANCED - The writer shows balance by
pointing out weaknesses of a work, if the overall
judgement is positive, or the other way around, by
recognizing strong points of a work for which the
overall judgement is negative.
Parts of a Critique Paper:
Introduction
Typically, the introduction is short and you
should:
● Name the work being reviewed, the date it was
created and the name of the author/creator.
● Describe the main argument or purpose of the
work.
● Explain the context in which the work was
created.
● Have a concluding sentence that clues what
your evaluation of the work will be.
Summary
Briefly summarize the main points and
objectively describe how the creator portrays these
by using techniques, styles, media, characters or
symbols.
Critical evaluation
This section should give a systematic and
detailed assessment of the different elements of the
work, evaluating how well the creator was able to
achieve the purpose through these.
Conclusion
This is usually a very brief paragraph, which
includes:
● A statement indicating the overall evaluation
of the work
● A summary of the key reason
● recommendations for improvement on the
work may be appropriate.
Reference list
Include all resources cited in your critique.
What is the purpose of a critique paper?
The purpose for writing a critique is to evaluate
somebody's work in order to increase the reader's
understanding of it. A critical analysis is subjective
writing because it expresses the writer's opinion or
evaluation of a text.
DAY 06: Using Appropriate
Critical Approaches in Writing
a Critique
Critical Approaches
1. Formalism- emphasizes the form of a
literary work to determine its meaning, focusing
on literary elements and how they work to create
meaning.
2. Psychoanalytic- emphasizes the process of
introspection, or looking into the past
experiences and latent desires, in order to
understand the rationale of human behavior. We
try to look into either the author’s psychological
state and his or her possible motivation, or the
possible reasons why the characters in a story
behave the way they do.
Three sections of the human psyche
 Id- place of deepest secret desires of
humans,
 Ego- which informs human on how to act in
a socially acceptable manner
 Superego- which represents people’s
unselfish tendencies.
3. Feminist Criticism- is concerned with the
role, position, and influence of women in a
 literary text. It asserts that most “literature”
throughout time has been written by men, for
men. Examines the way that the female
consciousness is depicted by both male and
female writers.
Four Basic Principles of Feminist Criticism:
● Western civilization is patriarchal.
● The concepts of gender are mainly cultural
ideas created by patriarchal societies.
● Patriarchal ideals pervade “literature.”
● Most “literature” through time has been
gender-biased.

4. Lesbian/Gay/Queer Criticism- examines

how certain works display fear of the unknown,
especially homophobia, of the fear of the
LGBTQ community, which leads to repression.
Also, it promulgates the idea that gender is
performance. That gender is not something that
is innate in us, but is something that we
constantly do. To borrow Simone de Beauvoir’s
words: One is not born, but rather becomes, a
woman.

5. Marxism- emphasizes economic and social

conditions. It examines literature to see how it
reflects the way in which dominant groups
(typically, the majority) exploit the subordinate
groups (typically, the minority); or the way in
which people become alienated from one another
through power, money, and politics.

Literary criticism is the art or practice of judging

and commenting on the qualities and character of
literary works.