ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

3rd Quarter
Week 1
I. OBJECTIVES: At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:
1. Define academic writing;
2. Identify the authors purposes in academic writing; and
3. Show appreciation of the importance of academic texts.

II. LESSON PROPER

Nature of Academic Texts

Academic Writing
Is a process that starts with posing a question, evaluating an
opinion and ends in answering the questions posed, clarifying the
problem, and arguing for a stand.
Just like other kinds of writing, academic writing has a specific
purpose, which is to inform, to argue specific points, to express

Developed by: Gateways Institute of Science and Technology

Subject: English for Academic and Professional Purposes
Quarter & Week #: 3rd Quarter – Week 1
feelings, to entertain, to compare different thoughts and ideas and to
persuade.

Why is academic writing so important?

 Students who master academic writing are more likely to:
 Be successful in academic and professional settings
 Students who do not lean academic writing may:
 Struggle academically
 Be at a higher risk of dropping out of school.

Academic writing in action

Two writing samples from a student

Letter #1: Before Academic Writing Instruction

Dear Mrs. Robbin,

I really not need humanity20 writing class because since time I come to
United State all my friend speak language. Until now everyone
understands me and I don’t need study language. I don’t know Vietnam
language. I speak only English. I have no communication problem with
my friend in dorm. My English teacher in high school key person to
teach me.
My teacher explained to me that how important the book was for the
student and persuaded me read as many book. I get A in English
throughout high school and I never take ESL. I agree that some student
need class but you have not made a correct decision put me in English
class. Please do not makes me lose the face. I have confident in English.

Letter #2: After Academic Writing Instruction

Developed by: Gateways Institute of Science and Technology

Subject: English for Academic and Professional Purposes
Quarter & Week #: 3rd Quarter – Week 1
Hi Robin, I am apologizing for having to send you this information at the
last time minute. I still need a letter. This letter should discuss my
qualifications, skills and accomplishments. It should be written on
letterhead and addressed “To Whom It May Concern” and submitted
with a Recommendation From (which I will give to you tomorrow).
Please write a letter that addresses my academic achievement,
seriousness of purpose. Personal maturity, and whether or not I
possess the skills necessary to adapt to a new environment. Also,
please address my ability to think analytically, my aptitude, my overall
maturity and independence. Thank you so much Robin for doing this for
me. I truly appreciate it. Let me know if you have any last minute
questions.

RECOGNIZING INFORMAL VS ACADEMIC WRITING

When comparing informal and academic writing, students should look
for the following differences:

Informal Language Academic Language

Repetition of words
Sentences start with “and” and
“but”
Use of slang: guy, “cool”, and
“awesome”
Variety of words, more
sophisticated vocabulary
Sentences start with transition
words such as “however,
“moreover, and “in addition”
No slang

Other examples how academic writing is differ from other kinds of

writing.

Developed by: Gateways Institute of Science and Technology

Subject: English for Academic and Professional Purposes
Quarter & Week #: 3rd Quarter – Week 1
 Creative essay- Are one of the most open-minded, and free-
spirited writing. it gives the students the freedom of self-
expression, and trains them to stretch their imagination.

Example:
TEXT A

It’s Friday afternoon, and you have almost survived another week
of classes. You are just looking forward dreamily to the weekend
when the English instructor says: “For Monday you will turn in a
five-hundred-word composition on college football”.
Well, that’s puts a good hole in the weekend. You don’t have any
strong evidence views on college football one way or the other.
You get rather excited during the season and go to all the games
and find it rather more fun than not. On the other hand, the class
has been reading Robert Hutchins in the anthology and perhaps
Shaw’s “Eighty-Yard Run”, and from the class discussion you have
got the idea that the instructor thinks college football is for the
birds. You are no fool. You can figure out what side to take.
After dinner you get out the portable typewriter that you got for
high school graduation. You might as well get it over with and
enjoy Saturday and Sunday. Five-hundred words is about two
double-spaced pages with normal margins. Put in a sheet of
paper, think up a title and you’re off.

 Legal Letter- It demands enforceability. Written on it is terms, and

it urges the recipients to put these into actions.

Developed by: Gateways Institute of Science and Technology

Subject: English for Academic and Professional Purposes
Quarter & Week #: 3rd Quarter – Week 1
 Example:
TEXT B
Republic of the Philippines
REGIONAL TRIAL COURT
_____Judicial Region
Branch _____, _____ City
EX-PARTE MOTION FOR EXTENSION
TO SUBMIT COMPROMISE AGREEMENT
Defendants, by the undersigned counsel and unto the Honorable
Court, respectfully state that:
1. On 5 January 2015, the Honorable Court, in open court, directed
the Parties to submit their Compromises Agreement within ten
(10) days therefrom, or on 15 January 2015. Said day being a
Sunday, the parties have until the next working day, 16 January
2015,to submit said Compromise Agreement.
2. Defendant Hannah Dy is presently abroad and needs to execute a
Special Power of Attorney authorizing her brother and Co-
Defendant Roland Dy to sign the compromise Agreement on her
behalf.
3. Thus, the Defendants respectfully pray that the Parties be given
additional fifteen (15) days from today, or until 30 January 2015.
Within which to submit their Compromise Agreement.
4. This motion is not intended to delay the instant proceeding but
field soled by reason of the foregoing. Moreover, the filing of the
same will not result in any injustice or prejudice to any of the
parties herein.
 Business Letter- A LETTER FROM A COMPANY TO ANOTHER SUCH
AS ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR CUSTOMERS, CLIENTS, OR OTHER
EXTERNAL PARTIES.
Example:

Developed by: Gateways Institute of Science and Technology

Subject: English for Academic and Professional Purposes
Quarter & Week #: 3rd Quarter – Week 1
 TEXT C

Dear Prof. Lanuza

Congratulations for being chosen as one of the recipients of the
ASEAN Educational Program Award. You are invited to the 5th
Annual ASEAN English Teacher’s Conference. Our sponsors value
the important work done by English language teachers and they
are willing to support your professional endeavors by giving
financial aid in the conference.
The conference organizers and sponsors want to know more
about your work and how the ASEAN English Teachers’
Conference will be able to help you. May we ask you to complete
the attached questionnaire to help us provide that information?
Also, we would appreciate the opportunity for members of our
Sponsorship Profile team to talk with you about your work and
the challenges and opportunities that you have identified in your
study.
If you have questions, just send me an email or check this link to
the conference website. Thank you and we look forward to
meeting you.
Best regards,
Prof. Hannah Lee

Academic writing is about to:

 demonstrate a thorough understanding of your subject at hand
 Abide by the set of Rules and practices of wiring.
 background of the audience

Developed by: Gateways Institute of Science and Technology

Subject: English for Academic and Professional Purposes
Quarter & Week #: 3rd Quarter – Week 1
  Back up statement with a strong and valid evidence.
 Consider the purpose of writing which is to give clear ideas.
 The language, style of writing and tone should be appropriate to
convey your purpose.

ACADEMIC WRITING NEEDS TO:

 Understand texts and definitions
 Use the word correctly
 Produce accurate language with the word
 Understand the definitions of related words
 Discuss the text using target words correctly
 Purposes of academic text/language

Consider the following areas as you write:

1. Content: clarity of the purpose and the thesis statement, relevance
of the supporting points
2. Structure: coherence and logical sequence of the ideas
3. Language and style: word choice, sentence constructions
4. Mechanics: grammar, punctuations, capitalization, formatting and
documentation

Author’s Purpose
Persuade- written convince you to change your thinking, spend money,
support a cause, or offer a solution to a problem.
Examples:
 Advertisement/ commercials
 Political Speeches
 Church sermons or literature
 Opinion Editorials
 Movie or book reviews

Developed by: Gateways Institute of Science and Technology

Subject: English for Academic and Professional Purposes
Quarter & Week #: 3rd Quarter – Week 1
Key Words!
 Encourage
 Prove
 Sell
 Convert
 Assure
 Influence
 Convince
 Urge

Inform - written to give information or describe something. Authors use

facts and reasons to get the point across.
Examples
 Textbooks
 NewsArticle
 Informational Brochures
 encyclopedia
 Schedules, charts, instructions
Key Words!
o Show
o Educate
o Explain
o Give information
o Illustrate
o Understand
o Describe
o Discuss
o Teach

Developed by: Gateways Institute of Science and Technology

Subject: English for Academic and Professional Purposes
Quarter & Week #: 3rd Quarter – Week 1
Entertain- Written to interest the reader, or appeal to emotions such as
pleasure, sadness, anger or humor.
Examples:
 Fiction books and other stories
 Plays and Movies
 Comic Strips
 Video games
 Sports articles or programs
Key Words!
 Tell
 Share an experience
 Relate

Compare- Examine the way two or more things are alike or different.
Can have a secondary purpose to either inform or persuade
Examples:
 Comparison essays
 Political Analysis
 Product Reports
 Consumer reports
Key Words!
 Contrast
 Alike/ Different

Express- Written to share a writer’s feelings or express opinions.

Key Words!
 Share
 Feelings
 Emotions
Tone in Writing

Developed by: Gateways Institute of Science and Technology

Subject: English for Academic and Professional Purposes
Quarter & Week #: 3rd Quarter – Week 1
  Tone usually refers to how a writer uses certain words in a specific
way to convey non-verbal observations about specific subjects.
 Tones are sometimes used interchangeably with the voice of the
author.
 A writer’s voice is a perspective of their personality.
 The tone of a writer conveys their attitude about what is being
writing about.

9 Basics Types of Tone in Writing

1. Joyful- This tone is writing focuses on the positive emotions that
are experienced in the moment of an action.
Example:
 Reciprocal love
 Relationship-building experiences
2. Serious- This tone in writing creates a level of suspense within the
reader.
3. Humorous- Being funny does more than make people laugh.
4. Sad- The reader become sympathetic with the characters or the
authors and this empathy will keep them engaged with the
narrative.
5. Formal- Is often seen from an academic standpoint. It requires
structured language, higher reading skills, and presents more facts
that can be proven than the opinions of the writer.
6. Informal- The goal of this content is to have informal tone. It’s
conversational, but still conveys a certain sense of expertise
within the subject material.
7. Optimistic- a feeling or belief that good things will happen in the
future.
8. Pessimistic- having or showing a bad lack of hope for the future;
expecting bad things to happen.

Developed by: Gateways Institute of Science and Technology

Subject: English for Academic and Professional Purposes
Quarter & Week #: 3rd Quarter – Week 1
 9. Horror- this tone of voice is threatening in nature. It speaks to the
core fears that people have and forces them to confront those
fears.

TYPES OF STYLE IN WRITING

EXPOSITORY
 It explain a concept
 Imparting information from themselves to a wider audience.
 Dos not include the author’s opinions, but focuses on accepted
facts about a topic, including statistics or other evidence.
Examples of EXPOSITORY Writing
• Textbooks
• How-to articles
• Recipes
• News stories (not editorials or Op-Eds)
• Business, technical or scientific writing
DESCRIPTIVE
When an author writes in a descriptive style, they are painting a
picture in words of a person, place, or thing for their audience. The
author might employ metaphor or other literary devices in order to
describe things.

Examples of descriptive Writing

 Poetry
 Journal/Diary Entry
 Description of Nature
 Fictional novels or plays
PERSUASIVE
the main style of writing you will use in academic papers. When

Developed by: Gateways Institute of Science and Technology

Subject: English for Academic and Professional Purposes
Quarter & Week #: 3rd Quarter – Week 1
an author writes in a persuasive style, they are trying to convince the
audience of a position or belief. Persuasive writing contains the
author’s opinion and biases, as well as justifications and reasons given
by the author as evidence of the correctness of their position.
Examples
1. Cover letters
2. Op-Eds and Editorial
3. Newspaper articles
4. Reviews of Items
5. Letters of complaint
6. Advertisement
7. Letters of Recommendation

NARRATIVE
Used in almost every longer piece of writing, whether fiction or
non-fiction. When an author writes to impart information, they are
trying to construct and communicate a story, complete with characters,
conflict and settings.
Examples
1. Oral histories
2. Novels
3. Poetry (especially epic poems)
4. Short stories
5. Anecdotes

III. Learning Resources (References)

Grace M. Saqueton, et al English for Academic and Professional

Purposes. Rex Bookstore, Inc. 84-86 P. Florentino St., Sta. Mesa

Developed by: Gateways Institute of Science and Technology

Subject: English for Academic and Professional Purposes
Quarter & Week #: 3rd Quarter – Week 1
Heights, Quezon City. Page 3-12

Retrieved from: Nature of Academic writing

https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/14011/writing/106/academic_w
riting
https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-academic-writing-
1689052.June 16, 2020

Developed by: Gateways Institute of Science and Technology

Subject: English for Academic and Professional Purposes
Quarter & Week #: 3rd Quarter – Week 1