English for
Academics and
professional purposes
Week 1:Language used in academic texts
ACADEMIC TEXT
✓defined as critical, objective, specialized texts
written by experts or professionals in a given field
using formal language.
✓ Academic writing is clear, concise, focused,
structured and backed up by evidence/s. Its
purpose is to aid the reader’s understanding.
✓ refers to a style of expression that writers use to
define the intellectual boundaries of their
disciplines and specific areas of expertise.
✓ a formal style of writing used in universities and
scholarly publications.
PURPOSE
✓ To inform
✓ To argue a specific point
✓ To persuade
AUDIENCE
✓ Teacher
✓ Peers
✓ Academic community
Academic writing is different from a personal
narrative or creative essay, or a legal document, in
which the knowledge of the writer is assumed to be
greater than that of the readers.
"The purpose of academic writing is to engage the
readers in a conversation by giving them clear
ideas and points to evaluate and question (i.e., to
react to an issue or an event, and to convince
readers to take your side)"
IMPORTANCE
The Big Picture
-It must be cohesive and possess a logically
organized flow of ideas.
Tone
-Throughout your paper, it is important that you
present the arguments of others fairly and with an
appropriate narrative tone.
Diction
-Use concrete words [not general] that convey a
specific meaning. If this cannot be done without
confusing the reader, then you need to explain what
you mean within the context of how that word or
phrase is used within a discipline.
Language
-It is important that you use unambiguous
language. Well-structured paragraphs and clear
topic sentences enable a reader to follow your line
of thinking without difficulty.
Punctuation
-In academic writing, punctuation marks are used
very deliberately.
Academic Conventions
-Citing sources in the body of your paper and
providing a list of references as either footnotes or
endnotes is a very important aspect of academic
writing.
Evidence-Based Reasoning
-Opinions are based on evidence-based reasoning.
-You need to support your opinion with evidence
from scholarly [i.e., academic or peer-reviewed]
sources.
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Thesis-Driven -Academic writing is “thesis-driven,” • Not gender-neutral terms
meaning that the starting point is a particular
perspective, idea, or position applied to the chosen In formal texts
topic of investigation, such as, establishing, • The tone should not sound conversational or
proving, or disproving solutions to the research casual.
questions posed for the topic. • You should particularly avoid colloquial, idiomatic,
slang, or journalistic expressions in favor of precise
Complexity and Higher-Order Thinking -Academic vocabulary.
writing addresses complex issues that require
higher-order thinking skills applied to
understanding the research problem [e.g., critical,
reflective, logical, and creative thinking as opposed
to, for example, descriptive or prescriptive thinking].

MORE
INFO:https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/acade
micwriting
Languages used in academic texts It refers to the
appropriateness of the vocabulary being used.
OBJECTIVE
Academic text is based on research and not on the
writer’s own opinion about a given topic.
• It is unbiased – based on facts and evidence and
is not influenced by personal feelings.
• When presenting an argument to the reader, try to
show both sides if you can and avoid making value
judgments.

A writer must avoid using words that are too

informal, too unsophisticated, and too vague.
• Jargons
• Clichés
• Slangs
• Abbreviations (if unnecessary)
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Lesson 3: Academic Writing Conventions

How important are these in Academic Writing?

Academic Writing
● Reading academic textbooks and journal
articles, attending lectures, and being part
of a student and professional community
have exposed you to a habit of writing

Scholarly writing
● follows certain academic conventions
● It includes distinctive features such as
formality, complexity, objectivity,
explicitness, and hedging

Six Academic Writing Conventions

IMPERSONAL
● Generally don’t refer to yourself as the
performer of actions.
● This involves avoiding the personal
pronouns ‘I’ and ‘we’. The second person,
‘you’, is also to be avoided.
● These are rules and principles of academic
writing that are generally acceptable among
scholars (IGI Global, 2021), and give
distinctive features to academic texts apart
from creative texts.
● Academic Writing Conventions are also
known as Features of Academic Writing.

1. Formality
- Academic writing style is formal, which
means that words and expressions are
chosen to suit the academic writing
setting.
- You should choose more complex
terminologies over simple
conversational expressions and words
(Lee, et al. 2014).

2. Complexity
- Which observes the use of more
●
noun-based phrases and more content
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or lexical words than function words in
contrast with spoken language.
- It makes use of more subordinate
clauses and complex words (Lee, et al.
2014).
3. Objectivity
- This feature will help you show the
reader that the emphasis is about what
you are writing and not about you, the
writer.
- Objective writing is impersonal rather
than personal (Lee, et al. 2014).
4. Explicitness
- It is your responsibility as a writer to
show how your ideas in the text are
connected.
- For example, if you want to tell the
reader that you are showing contrasting
ideas, examples, or cause and effect
relationships, then you will have to
show it explicitly.
- You can do this by using sign posting
strategies or transition words (Lee, et
al. 2014).
5. Hedging
- an indispensable feature of academic
writing.
- In any kind of academic writing that
you do, it is necessary to make
decisions about your stance on a
particular subject, or the strength of the
claims you are making.
- A technique common in academic
writing is the use of "hedge" (Lee, et al.
2014).
6. Common Sentence Errors
- is correctness in sentence structure.
- A sentence should be written with a
complete thought so that it is
understood by the reader.
- Common sentence errors are found in
sentence fragments, run-on sentences,
choppy sentences, and sprawl
sentences (Lee, et al 2014).
Academic Writing Convention #1: FORMALITY
Key Points of Formal Language
1. Contractions (it’ll, there’s)
- All contracted forms need to be in
full form.
2. Informal adjectives (hard, easy, big)
- Some adjectives are seen as
informal
3. Idioms
- These are often seen as informal
and personal
4. No personal pronouns (I, you, he, she, you,
they)
- Try to avoid personal forms
5. Use passive constructions
- Passive construction help to make
your writing less personal
6. Use Gerunds (-ing)
- Present participle or gerunds help to
create more complex forms
7. Use academic word list
- High-frequency academic words
taken from an academic literature
8. Colloquial/informal words expressions
- Beware of using slang and general
English terms
9. Phrasal verbs/two-word verb forms/
multi-word verbs
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- A verb + preposition are often
considered informal
Academic Writing Convention #2: COMPLEXITY
Complexity
● Written language is relatively more complex
than spoken language.
● Written language has longer words, it is
lexically denser and it has a more varied
vocabulary.
● It uses more noun-based phrases than
verb-based phrases.
● Written texts are shorter and the language
has more grammatical complexity, including
more subordinate clauses and more
passives.
Features of Complexity in Academic Writing
1. Noun-based phrases
Formal written English uses nouns and nominal
group (noun-based phrases) more than verbs.
One simple example is:
● Like all other forms of life, we human beings
are the product of evolution.
● Like all other forms of life, we human beings
are the product of how we have evolved.
The noun "evolution" is preferred to the verb
"evolve" and the "wh" clause.
Another example is:
● Premack used a set of plastic chips to teach
a chimpanzee named Sarah the meaning of
a set of symbols.
● Premack used a set of plastic chips to teach
a chimpanzee named Sarah what a set of
symbols mean.
"the meaning of the symbols" is preferred to "what
the symbols mean".
2. Subordinate Clauses
A subordinate clause is a clause that cannot stand
alone as a complete sentence; it complements a
sentence's main clause, thereby adding to the
whole unit of meaning. Because a subordinate
clause is dependent
upon a main clause to be meaningful, it is also
referred to as a dependent clause.
Some examples are as follow:
● There are several factors which help to
prolong this period to perhaps three or four
times that in the male.
● The other way in which the economic
aspects of military expenditure were
presented was in the form of the public
expenditure costs.
● The family establishes a variety of bases for
refuges which seem to be used at different
times of the year.
3. Sequences of Prepositional Phrases
- Are common in academic English. A
prepositional phrase is a preposition
followed by a nominal group
Examples are:
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● This article analyses the constitutional
aspects behind the formation of the first
and second National Governments,
examining in particular the role of the king
in the formation of the two governments.
● The information very properly reached the
files of the survey for antimalarial
compounds under the Survey Number
SN-183.
● Many of the suggested benefits of group
living have been concerned with avoiding
being eaten by predators.
4. Participles
- Formal written English uses verbs less than
spoken English. -ed and -ing participles
allow verbs to be used nominally or
adjectively.
See examples below:
● Similar temptations overcame philosophers
concerned with establishing a secure base
for individual responsibility.
● The Egyptians regarded time as a
succession of recurring phases.
● Doubts as to the proper division of property
at death, as well as rights between partners
living together, were resolved by having
legal rules prescribing a formula.
● It was only to be tolerated in a controlled
and formalized context.
5. Passive Verbs
- In spoken English we often use a subject
such as "people", "somebody", "they", "we",
or "you" even when we do not know who the
agent is. In formal English, particularly
writing, we often prefer to use a passive.
Compare:
● They're installing the new computer system
next month.
● The new computer system is being installed
next month. (more formal)
6. Lexical Density
- Written English generally has a much denser
pattern of words, thus, it is more lexically
dense. If we define lexical density as the
number of content words in a clause, then
written English has a higher lexical density
than spoken English (Halliday, 1996, p. 347).
● Lexical Density is a measure of the
proportion of content words in a sentence
or text.
● Content word is any noun, verb, adjective, or
adverb which has a stable and significant
meaning.
For example, the written text:
● Obviously (adv) the government (n) is
frightened (adj) of union reaction (n) to its
move (n) to impose (v) proper (adj) behavior
​ (n) on unions (n).
is more lexically dense than the spoken
version:
● Obviously the government is frightened how
the unions will react if it tries to make them
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​ behave properly.
7. Nominalization
- Formal written English uses nouns more
than verbs. For example, "judgement" rather
than "judge", "development" rather than
"develop", "admiration" rather than "admire".
Changing a verb or other word into a noun is
called nominalization.
Instead of:
This information enables us to formulate
precise questions.
we would write:
This information enables the formulation of precise
questions.
More examples are:
● There appeared to be evidence of
differential treatment of children.
● This is reflected in our admiration for people
who have made something of their lives,
sometimes against great odds, and in our
somewhat disappointed judgment of those
who merely drift through life.
● All airfields in the country would be
nationalized, and the government would
continue with the development of new
aircraft as recommended by the Brabazon
Committee.
Academic Writing Convention #3: OBJECTIVITY
Written language is in general objective rather than
personal. It, therefore, has fewer words that refer to
the writer or the reader. This means that the main
emphasis should be on the information that you
want to give and the arguments that you want to
make, rather than you (Gillett, 2021).
“Objective statements are fact based.”
Academic writing presents and evaluates issues
and arrives at an objective position; a position that
focuses on and is informed by research and
reasoning rather than personal feelings and
opinions.
In a nutshell, Objectivity can be achieved by:
1. Avoiding the use of personal pronouns such
as you, I, me, we, and our;
2. Avoiding rhetorical questions as it marks
the "closeness" with the readers, and
constantly seeks their attention; and
3. Avoiding emotive language that shows
biases and lessens objectivity.
Academic Writing Convention #4: EXPLICITNESS
Explicitness
- is achieved when there is a smooth
transition in the presentation of ideas within
the text.
The ways to accomplish clarity and structure in
your text are by acknowledging the sources of
ideas through citation and by the use of signposts.
Signposts
- are words and phrases that you can use in
your text in order to guide the reader along.
Signposting can be divided into two
different categories: major signposts and
transitional words.
1. Signposts to introduce something new
- One aspect which illustrates …
- can be identified as …
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- The current debate about … -However, …
- illustrates/identifies/highlights … -Conversely, …
- With regard to… -In contrast, …
- with respect to… -Alternatively, …
- Initially/secondly/finally, … -Nevertheless/Nonetheless, …
2. Continuing an argument with a related point -An alternative perspective is given
- Furthermore … by … who
- To further understand the role of … - suggests/argues that …
- In addition … - Despite this, …
- Similarly … - This conflicts with the view held by …
- Likewise … 7. Reasoning/summarizing the point
- What is more …
- Moreover …
- Another issue regarding … is …
- Another line of thought on … is … Transitional devices
3. Going into more detail on a point/rephrasing - These words/phrases create coherence and
- In particular … give the reader directions by marking
- Specifically … transitions between sentences and
- Concentrating on … paragraphs.
- By focusing on …
- In more detail, Being explicit in your writing also means that you
- It is possible to … are not vague but rather very specific in the
- To be more precise … presentation of ideas, numbers, and years. Being
- In other words … specific helps add precision to your writing.
- To put simply …
4. Linking to a different point Academic Writing Convention #5: HEDGING
- Having established …,
- it is possible to consider …… Hedging
- is one key issue; another of - is needed to avoid sweeping
equal/similar generalizations.
- importance/significance is …
- Also of importance is the issue of … Consider example below. The statement is not
5. Reintroducing a topic completely true and the impact of the statement
- As discussed/explained earlier, … might be misleading.
- The earlier discussion on …
- …can be developed further here, …
- As stated previously, …
- As noted above, …
6. Introducing an opposing/alternative view
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This statement can be improved through the use of
different hedging devices (Valdez, 2016).
Four Reasons to Hedge:
1. Reduce the risk of opposition
2. Ways of being more precise in reporting
results
3. Positive or negative politeness strategies
4. Establish writing style in English
Academic Writing Convention #6: COMMON
SENTENCE ERRORS
1. Subject-verb agreement
● Subjects and verbs must agree with
one another in number (singular or
plural)
● A singular subject takes a singular verb
while a plural subject takes a plural
verb
- The child is dancing.
- The children are dancing.
● When the subject consists of two or
more nouns or pronoun that are
connected by “and”, the verb should be
plural.
- The dog and the cat are fighting.
● If the subject is connected by
“or/either” or “nor/neither” the verb will
agree with the subject that is closest to
it.
- My aunt or my uncle has written the
letter.
- My aunt or my parents have sent me
the flowers.
● Be aware of noun phrases with
post-modifiers. An example is phrases
that begin with the word “of”
- The box of donuts is on the table.
2. Words that are easily confused
- Manger daw pero manager naman,
gets?
3. Punctuation
4. Sentence fragments
● Incomplete sentence; cannot stand on its
own
5. Dangling modifiers
● Is a word or phrase that does not connect
properly to the main sentence
- Having finished the experiments, the
results were analyzed = When the
experiments were finished, the
results were analyzed.
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Lesson 4: Thesis Statement & Critique paper

Thesis Statement

● It is the central idea of a multiple-paragraph

● composition.
● It is a sentence that guides, controls, and
unifies ideas when writing. All other ideas
present in the essay revolve around the
thesis statement.
qualification + stance+ rationale = THESIS

Characteristics of a good thesis statement

● It must be on the introduction and it must
be original.
● It makes a sound argument that can be
defended.
● It is focused and precise.
How to Write a critique paper
Before you start writing, it is important to have a
thorough understanding of the work that will be
critiqued.
• Study the work under discussion.

• Make notes on key parts of the work.

Example of Explanatory Thesis Statement:
The life of the typical college student is
characterized by time spent studying, attending
class, and socializing with peers.
Example of Argumentative Thesis Statement:
High school graduates should be required to take a
year off to pursue community service projects
before entering college in order to increase their
maturity and global awareness.
• Develop an understanding of the main argument
or purpose being expressed in the work.
• Consider how the work relates to a broader issue
or context (e.g societal, political, racial).
Like an essay, a critique uses a formal, academic
writing style and has a clear structure, that is, an
introduction, body, and conclusion. However, the
body of a critique includes a summary of the work
and a detailed evaluation.

Thesis Statement Formulation Guide The purpose of an evaluation is to gauge the

usefulness or impact of a work in a particular field
1. Formulating a Thesis Statement might be
challenging depending on the topic and its scope. Introduction

2. This Thesis Generator below will guide you in Typically, the introduction is short (less than 10% of
achieving a valid and debatable Thesis Statement. the word length) and you should: A complete
citation of the article goes at the top of the page.

• Name the work being reviewed as well as the

name of the creator.
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• Describe the main argument or purpose of the
work.
• Explain the context in which the work was created.
• Have a concluding sentence that signposts what
your evaluation of the work will be. For instance, it
may indicate whether it is a positive, negative, or
mixed evaluation.
BODY: Summary
Briefly summarize the main points and objectively
describe how the creator portrays these by using
techniques, styles, media, characters or symbols.
This summary should not be the focus of the critique
and is usually shorter than the critical evaluation
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.
A critical evaluation does not simply highlight
negative impressions. It should deconstruct the
work and identify both strengths and weaknesses.
It should examine the work and evaluate its
success, in light of its purpose. DO NOT include
personal opinions.
Sample Questions
a. Who is the creator? Who are the target audience?
b. What are the aims of the work? Were the aims
achieved?
c. What techniques, styles, media were used in the
work? Are they effective in portraying the purpose?
d. What types of evidence or persuasion are used?
Has evidence been interpreted fairly?
e. How is the work structured? Does it favor a
particular interpretation or point of view? Is it
effective?
f. Does the work enhance understanding of a
certain context?
Conclusion
This is usually a very brief paragraph, which
includes:
• a statement indicating the overall evaluation of
the work
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• summary of the key reasons, identified during the However, the body of a critique includes a summary
critical evaluation, why this evaluation was formed. of the work and a detailed evaluation. The purpose
of an evaluation is to gauge the usefulness or
• in some circumstances, recommendations for
impact of a work in a particular field.
improvement on the work may be appropriate.

Reference List

Include all resources cited in your critique at the

last page of your paper. This includes the video
material used the output.

Guidelines:

✓ Review the given material

✓ Be objective and realistic.

✓Comment on strengths and weaknesses.

✓Give specific examples.

✓Suggest alternatives

✓Use positive terms whenever possible and state

the positive points first.

✓Be sensitive in handling negative comments

WRITING A CRITIQUE PAPER

Always start your critique paper with a complete

acknowledgment of the text. Like any essays, it
consists the ff. parts:

• Introduction – 10% of the paper only

• Body – 75 – 80% of the entire paper

• Conclusion – 10 – 15% of the paper

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esson 3: Academic Writing Conventions
Lesson 5: Concept Paper
CONCEPT PAPERS
● are commonly written to propose
Research Topics prior to conducting
them. The purpose of this paper is to
present essential information that a
certain research topic has.
● is a document which gives an overview
of a proposal, a project, or a research
output. This serves as a prelude to the
full paper. It is an embodiment of ideas
on a certain topic or item of interest.
● Writing a concept paper saves time and
effort because there is a possibility that
the full paper is not worth pursuing.
Ideas for revisions can instantly be given
upon checking the concept paper
Common uses of concept paper according to
Grant (2012)
● To provide possible solutions to
problems;
● To determine whether a project is
worthy of sponsorship or funding;
● To interest potential sponsors;
● To serve as a foundation for a full
● proposal.
5 common elements of a concept paper
INTRODUCTION
As the background of the study, this needs to
be concise and must describe the development
issue that the project intends to address.
• Spell out the capacity assets, needs and
priorities of the program relevant for the
project.
• Highlight which capacity gaps of the project
beneficiaries would be addressed by the
project.
• Explain how the project fits into the specific or
overall normative and analytical work of the
author’s entity.
PURPOSE OR RATIONALE
The objective is the overall intended goal of the
project. The project will contribute to achieving
the objective through the expected
accomplishments.
• A well-formulated objective should answer
the question, “What does the project intent to
achieve?”.
• It should be concise, not longer than one
sentence.
• It should include the beneficiaries and the
geographical scope and should not attempt to
explain how the implementing entity intends to
go about achieving the goal.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
This includes the topics to be covered, target
groups/participants, venue, and plan of
activities.
BUDGET
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The paper must liquidate all the expenses done using examples, anecdotes and other
needed for the program since this may also concepts which might enlighten your readers.
reflect the feasibility of the project.
Reporting Cause or Effect - allows your readers
DOCUMENTATION to see how particular events lead to another
thus explaining the relationship of concepts
This includes the organizers contact
information, copy of the program, letter of Direct quotation
invitation and list of set of speakers for the
program if applicable.

Another structure of a concept paper

1. Cover Page
2. Introduction
3. Problem Statement
4. Research Questions, Objectives,
Hypotheses
5. Literature
6. Methodology
EXAMPLES

Bhopal (2002) defines epidemiology

Ways to explain a concept
as “the science and craft that studies
Defining - helpful when you are explaining an
unfamiliar vocabulary to a reader. the pattern of diseases … in
Classifying/Dividing - This allows populations to help understand both
you to break down your concept to a particular their causes and the burden they
category so the reader can see how the
impose” (p. xxii).
concept fits in the “big picture”.
Comparing/Contrasting - This lets your readers
see how different or same the concepts you Sociological theorists, Jureidini and
present from and with the concepts they are Poole (2003, p. 33) define social
familiar with.
integration as “the extent to which
Narrating a Process - This details how a
concept is used in practice. Illustrating - This is individuals have a sense of belonging
to the collective
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Human communication is defined by
Pierce (2003, p. 10) as “a process
wherein one or more humans create
a message (or messages) allowing
meaning to be evoked and understood by one
or more other humans”.
KEY STEPS
1. Always use disciplinary experts
when defining concepts in
assignments. Remember the same
concept/ word can be defined
differently depending on the
discipline. Often this means using
unit sources.
2. Use a direct quotation to provide a
precise and exact statement about
the nature and limits of the concept.
3. Always accurately reference direct
quotations to acknowledge you are
using others’ words and ideas.
4. If using a quote to define a concept
try to introduce the quote (e.g. name
the author, use a reporting verb
such as ‘defines’) and unpack the
quote (e.g. explain the definition in
your own words).
5. If there is more than one definition
for the concept, or disagreement
about the definition, note this, and
then offer the definition you will use
in the assignment. If you are
studying an advanced unit, you will
likely need to also identify
similarities/differences between the
different definitions, and justify the
definition you have chosen to use
(e.g. give reasons for why). Doing
this helps demonstrate your understanding to
the marker.
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