English for Academic and Professional Purposes Module lesson 1

In this age of information when there is so much to know, students are expected
to be good at processing various informational texts. Nonfiction in nature, informational
texts constitute the dominant readings in school and in the workplace.
An understanding of how language works will help the students appreciate the
role of language in communication. Lesson 1 begins with the article “Importance of
English as a subject and as a language,” explaining the importance and the value of
English as a subject and as a language and how communication developed from
manual gestures to oral languages.
Fortunately for you, informational texts follows certain structures or principles of
organization that you need to become familiar with in order to facilitate your
understanding of the information that you have to learn.
Prior knowledge of the text structure, therefore, helps you to mentally prepare
for what are about to read and align your processing of the reading material to be able
to understand faster and remember better a text- that is the practical value of a
knowledge of the text structure

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: At the end of this lesson, the learners are expected to:

1. Define academic text;

2. determine text structure of an academic text; and

3. construct an essay using the components of the three-part essay structure.

What is an Academic Text?

Academic text is defined as critical, objective, specialized texts written by

experts or professionals in a given field using formal language. This means that
academic texts are based on facts with solid basis. Academic writing, therefore, is
generally quite formal, objective (impersonal) and technical. It is formal by avoiding
casual or conversational language, such as contractions or informal vocabulary. It is
impersonal and objective by avoiding direct reference to people or feelings, and
instead emphasizing objects, facts and ideas. It is technical by using vocabulary
specific to the discipline called as jargon. To be a good academic writer, you will need
to learn the specific styles and structures for your discipline, as well as for each
individual writing task. Some examples of academic writing are as follow:
Literary Analysis: A literary analysis essay examines, evaluates, and makes
an argument about a literary work. As its name suggests, a literary analysis essay
goes beyond mere summarization. It requires careful close reading of one or multiple
texts and often focuses on a specific characteristic, theme, or motif.

Research Paper: A research paper uses outside information to support a

thesis or make an argument. Research papers are written in all disciplines and may
be evaluative, analytical, or critical in nature. Common research sources include
data, primary sources (e.g., historical records), and secondary sources (e.g., peer-
reviewed scholarly articles). Writing a research paper involves synthesizing this
external information with your own ideas.

Dissertation: A dissertation (or thesis) is a document submitted at the

conclusion of a Ph.D. program. The dissertation is a book-length summarization of
the doctoral candidate’s research.
Academic papers may be done as a part of a class, in a program of study, or for
publication in an academic journal or scholarly book of articles around a theme, by
different authors.

Structure is an important feature of academic writing. A well-structured text

enables the reader to follow the argument and navigate the text. In academic writing
a clear structure and a logical flow are imperative to a cohesive text. These are the
two common structures of academic texts that you need to learn which depends on
the type of assignment you are required: the three-part essay structure and the
IMRaD structure.

The Three-Part Essay Structure

The three-part essay structure is a basic structure that consists of
introduction, body and conclusion. The introduction and the conclusion should be
shorter than the body of the text. For shorter essays, one or two paragraphs for each
of these sections can be appropriate. For longer texts or theses, they may be several
pages long.

Introduction. Its purpose is to clearly tell the reader the topic, purpose and
structure of the paper. As a rough guide, an introduction might be between 10 and
20 percent of the length of the whole paper and has three main parts:
A. The most general information, such as background and/or definitions.
 B. The core of the introduction, where you show the overall topic, purpose,
your point of view, hypotheses and/or research questions (depending on
what kind of paper it is).
C. The most specific information, describing the scope and structure of your
paper.
You should write your introduction after you know both your overall point of
view (if it is a persuasive paper) and the whole structure of your paper. You should
then revise the introduction when you have completed the main body.

Body. It develops the question, “What is the topic about?”. It may elaborate
directly on the topic sentence by giving definitions, classifications, explanations,
contrasts, examples and evidence. This is considered as the heart of the essay
because it expounds the specific ideas for the readers to have a better understanding
of the topic. It usually is the largest part of the essay.

Conclusion. The conclusion is closely related to the introduction and is often

described as its ‘mirror image’. This means that if the introduction begins with
general information and ends with specific information, the conclusion moves in the
opposite direction. The conclusion usually begins by briefly summarizing the main
scope or structure of the paper, confirms the topic that was given in the introduction,
ends with a more general statement about how this topic relates to its context. This
may take the form of an evaluation of the importance of the topic, implications for
future research or a recommendation about theory or practice.

The IMRaD Structure

LEARNING ACTIVITY
Directions: Read the article below. Then, extract the essential statements of the
Introduction, Body and Conclusion. Write them in your worksheet. Follow the format
below.
The sections of the IMRaD structure are Introduction, Methods, Results and
Discussion. The Introduction usually depicts the background of the topic and the
central focus of the study. The Methodology lets your readers know your data
collection methods, research instrument employed, sample size and so on. Results
and Discussion states the brief summary of the key findings or the results of your
study.
THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH AS A SUBJECT AND AS A LANGUAGE
 English is almost certainly considered as one of the most important subject that
a student can learn from school. Each and every one of us should have knowledge and
learning when it comes in studying the English subject.
English subject is often split into two main topics which, obviously, can help a
student to improve his/her skills in English. These two topics are English Literature and
English Language. When we talk about English Literature it is simply the study of
different books and writings from authors past and present. One of the important of
studying this English Literature is that it allows every student to develop their ideas and
ethical standpoints. However, when we say English Language it is the study of the
language itself. It is the method of human communication, either spoken or written,
consisting of use of words in a structure and conventional way. The importance of this
one is that it helps students to read and write well, how to use the English Language to
its greatest effect and being creative with the language itself. When we combine these
two main topics, we acquired that studying both topics can increase one’s vocabulary,
increase creative ability and teach about the history of the language and the culture
from which great writers were writing their books.
English is a Lingua Franca which simply means that it is the most universal
language. It is a language systematically used to make communication possible
between people not sharing mother tongue. English as a Lingua Franca is a use of
English language as a common means of communication for speakers of different first
languages. ELF is also defined as inter-cultural communication.
Today, the English language is very useful in our community and society
because we use it in our daily lives. It helps us in communicating with others especially
to those people from the other country. Learning English may also give us better insight
into our native language and other languages we know.
In studying our English language we use different types of communicating; verbal
communication, non-verbal communication, written communication and many different
forms. In addition to this, communication plays an important role in the process of
conveying more knowledge and ideas as well. Communication is a way of interacting
with people to transmit a message the speaker wants to convey to the receiver. In order
to communicate properly we must construct the correct pronunciation because
pronunciation affects how we understand the meaning of the words. The delivery of a
word can be different to what the real meaning it has which can be a form of improper
communication and with that it may lead to a lot of misinterpretations. To avoid this kind
of mistake we need to teach accurate pronunciation.
In culture, society and literature the English language has also its relation to this
one. It is based on the English-speaking world and covers key topics connected to social
issues, literature and other cultural expressions. Working with other cultural expressions
is important for developing linguistic skills and understanding how others live, and their
cultures and views on life.
In using the internet, as what we have observed, majority of websites are written
and created in English. It is the primary language of the press: more newspapers and
books are written in English than in any other languages. It is just normal and dominant
that you will be able to find more information regarding every subject if you can speak
in this language.
In travel and business, if you have a good understanding in English, it will be
easy for you as a travel around the globe because it is the international language for
foreigners, it is much way easier to get assistance and help. In business, English skills
will also help you in this part. If you visit in some offices, companies and governmental
organizations you will see the importance of English. In big company they usually hire
a professional and educated employee who has a good speaking language in English.
 THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH AS A SUBJECT AND AS A LANGUAGE

Introduction

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Body

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Conclusion

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Directions: Read carefully the article, “The Future Gender Equality”. Respond to the
article by writing an essay in selecting the following concepts below. (Select only one
concept). Use the Three-part structure you have learned in the lesson. Write your
response to the article in the worksheet provided.

1. Gender Stereotyping in the Society

2. Women Empowerment in the Philippines
3. No Gender: The New Leader

The essay will be scored using the criteria below.

Criteria for Scoring

Organization/Structure 25%

Support and Development of Ideas 25%

Insight into Subject 20%

Style and Clarity 20%

Submission 10%

Total 100%
 Oftentimes a text follows dominantly a
certain text structure but also uses other thought
patterns. It is best to follow the flow of idea in the
. material to help you graphically presents its
patterns.

Efficient reading of texts across discipline

primarily requires familiarity with the special
vocabulary or jargon of the field. So you should
know the meaning of the technical terms in math,
science, social science, and literature and the
arts.