READING AND WRITING

11-SHS-4th QUARTER

4th QUARTER
Name
Strand

FEATURES AND REQUIREMENTS OF AN ACADEMIC PAPER

Academic writing is a style practiced by teachers or students as they produce educational

materials. It is a form of writing produced as part of academic work. Hence, whenever you write and it
needs to be submitted to fulfill an academic requirement, it could simply fall into the category of academic
writing.
In a more academic sense, it is said that academic writing should be clear, concise, focused,
structured, and backed up by evidence and its primary purpose is to aid readers’ understanding.

Types of Academic Paper

1. Book Review or Article Critique. One of the basic school requirements is writing a book review
or an article critique. A book review or an article critique gives essential information about a book
(fiction or nonfiction) or an article (e.g., from the newspaper, magazines, academic journals) and
provides an evaluation or a critical analysis of it.
2. Literature Review. Integrated analysis and synthesis of scholarly articles related to the topics
or issues included in your written thesis, dissertation, or journal article. It is used to describe
critically, summarize, and evaluate the updated information from sources like academic books,
journal articles, research resources, and government articles.
3. Research Report. Research is “the systematic investigation into and study of materials and
sources to establish facts and reach new conclusions (Google).” The key to a good research report
is the phrase “systematic investigation.” Thus, researchers follow certain processes to reach valid
conclusions and discoveries.
4. Project Proposal. A Project Proposal sometimes referred to as ‘Terms of Reference’, is a
document used to present the general plan and justification to pursue a project. It is usually two
to four pages in length. The purpose of writing a project proposal is to serve as a guide, to get
funding, to convince people to participate, and to serve as a reference for evaluating the project.
5. Position Paper. A position paper, also known as the point of view paper, is used to claim a one-
sided position on a specific issue. This type of paper is used in academics, law, and politics and
is usually one to one and-a-half pages in length. It contains factual arguments to support the
one-sided claim or position statement, but this will not limit the paper to present just only the
strength but also the weakness of the position statement.

Before writing a paper, one must determine the unique features and requirements in composing an
academic text. Below are the requirements needed and features of each type of academic paper.

1. Book Review or Article Critique

Before writing a book review or an article critique, you are required to do the following:

Read the Material

• Before you can begin writing a book review or an article critique, you must read and
understand the material first. Academic materials demand a different way of reading from
those which require mere pleasure reading. The material that you will review, or critique
would require you to read actively, intelligently, and critically. You must go beyond the
content of the material.
• As you read, take down notes. Write down the following elements which will be useful in
your review or critique: title; genre; for a book: theme(s), characters, mood, and tone;
for an article: main ideas or arguments, and presentation of ideas; author’s writing style
and language; and author’s purpose.

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• Formulate questions about the content. These questions may be about concepts that you
do not fully understand, or you want to elaborate on later on in your analysis.
• Read the material more than once for an in-depth understanding of what the author is
trying to convey.

Write the Review or Critique Paper

• Your paper should give an informed analysis of the material. It should be more than just
a summary of the book or article.
• Be mindful of the structure of your review or critique. Like all essays, a book review or an
article critique has an introduction, body, and conclusion.

The Structure and Features of a Book Review and an Article Critique

1. Introduction
As a starting point for your book review or article critique, use the notes that you have
taken down while you were critically reading the material.
2. Body
This is the analysis and evaluation part of the review or critique paper.
3. Conclusion
This is a summary of your overall evaluation of the material. You may include here the
main reasons stated in the body paragraphs, why you agree or disagree with the author.

Example 1: Book Review: The Devil's Company by David Liss

"The Devil's Company," a treat for lovers of historical fiction, sees the return of Benjamin
Weaver in his third exciting romp through the varied and sometimes surreal landscape of 18th-
century London. Weaver is an endearing protagonist, a former pugilist, and investigator for hire
whom we first met in David Liss's "A Conspiracy of Paper" (1999). His underlying humanity saves
him from the macho posturing that ultimately undermines the moral authority of most action-
adventure heroes. And he is a Jew, which imbues him with the romance of an outsider and
permits Liss to show us how anti-Semitism was expressed in the relatively unfamiliar context of
Hanoverian England.
Explanation:
The sample paragraph is an excerpt of Frank Tallis’ book review of The Devil’s Company.
It can be observed that he included important elements such as the setting, theme(s), and
characterization in the introduction of his book review.

Example 2: Article Critique: Pesch, Udo, “Administrators and Accountability: The Plurality of
Value Systems in the Public Domain,” Public Integrity 10, Fall, no. 4 (2008): 335-343.

The article, “Administrators and Accountability: The Plurality of Value Systems in the Public
Domain,” by Udo Pesch seeks to address how accountability and value systems interact in the
decisions made by public administrators. The research problem being addressed is whether public
administrators are free from accountability for their decisions and what are the different
influences that can affect their decisions. It is clear from the abstract of the article that this is no
simple issue. The article is confusing for the first couple of paragraphs. The author starts by
saying that explicit ethics codes of reference systems make it easier to hold individuals
accountable for their actions, however, a conflict emerges when an individual’s moral values are
different from such accountability policies. What can make accountability more complicated are
the motivations of the administrator and the individual’s inability to perceive the future
consequences of their decisions.

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Explanation:
This sample paragraph is an excerpt of a critique of the article “Administrators and
Accountability: The Plurality of Value Systems in the Public Domain” by Udo Pesch. The writer’s
evaluation and analysis of the article are supported with details that can be found in the entire
article critique.

2. Literature Review
Before writing a literature review, you are required to do the following:

• You must identify the issue to be discussed on the paper;

• It is also important to determine the problem statement, main statement questions,
research/problem findings, and scope and delimitation of the paper;
• After doing so, collect the materials from credible sources. Then evaluate and categorize the
information gathered; and
• Make sure that the information contributes to the understanding of the topic and is supported
by evidence such as case studies, statistics, or scientific findings. The information gathered
can be either the same or against your proposed statement.

The Structure and Features of a Literature Review

After collecting the information from different sources, decide on the structure of the
literature review. It can either be a chronological or thematic literature review.
Chronological Literature Review is a type of review where the information is arranged
sequentially in the progression of time. It is best used for historiographical papers and research
methodology that focuses more on how the ideas have developed over time.
Thematic Literature Review is a type of review that defines or describes theory of
categories significant to your research. It can be compared to an inverted pyramid that focuses
on broad to specific topics and ends with a synthesis. It is considered more essential as compared
to the Chronological Literature Review.

Example:
Cyberbullying is described as an act of embarrassing or communicating false information
using the technology. It is now the new prevalent social phenomenon.
Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire are
conducting the Youth Internet Safety Survey done thrice, each after every five years. The result
shows that there is an increase in cyberbullying behavior rate from the year 2000 with 6% rate,
2005 with 9%, and 2010 with 11% rate.
The data on the increase in the prevalence of cyberbullying can also be counter-checked
based on the School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). NCVS
gathered data on the population of students – ages twelve to eighteen enrolled in grades six and
twelve – stating that there is an increase of cyberbullying from 6.2% in 2009 to 9% in 2011.

Explanation:
In this lesson, the research question to answer is "Effects of Cyberbullying and its Gender-
Related Issue." The first part of the literature review discussed the broad topic which is
cyberbullying. The author also states that cyberbullying is a new social phenomenon and is
attested by two surveys indicated after.

Information Partly Related to the Paper

Writing next after the broad topic is the information somewhat related to the research.
Partly related information refers to data from studies not directly related but somehow can
influence the research.

Example:
The people who are cyberbullies. An important factor in understanding cyberbullying is
the aggressor doing the act. The aggressor often reported as cyberbully are mostly girls (38%)
compared to boys (26%). It is also reported that 20% of these cyberbully girls that are ‘mostly
unkind’ on online social networks1 are from ages twelve to seventeen.

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Explanation:
In this example, the information partly related to the paper is the demographics of a
cyberbully aggressor. Other suggested topics for this part are demographics of cyberbully victims,
the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim, and the theories of cyberbullying.

3. Research Report
Before writing a research report, you are required to use the following skills:
• writing skills;
• obtaining of information; and
• posing convincing arguments.

Reminder!

Formal research is done when you conduct a thorough inquiry on a particular topic. You
determine a research problem first and provide answers to the research questions. On the other
hand, informal research is conducted on tasks that do not require a highly structured paper as
an output.

Example:

Formal Research
1. The Effects of Color on Advertising and its Relationship with Buying Power
2. Determining the Motivation of Toddlers in Learning a Language
3. Alternative Sweeteners in Beverages and their Effect on the Body

Informal Research
1. The different colors of the rainbow
2. The history of computers
3. The reasons for cheating

The Structure and Features of a Research Report

1) The Research Problem and Reviewing Related Literature.

The research problem and the questions that you produce are the heart of your research
report. The research questions embody the main problem of your research that you will
answer later. The first thing that you should do is to have a topic in mind, ask yourself, what
you are interested in. Write down words or phrases on a piece of paper and try to make
connections between the ideas and terms that you have generated.

Example
The terms “poor country”, “dental habit,” and “non-governmental organization”
are simple independent ideas. By establishing connections among the terms, research
questions can be produced. Take note that the research questions that you will produce
should not be simply answerable by "yes" or "no".

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After formulating the research questions, find relevant sources for your research
paper. In some instances, research questions are not stated – a research problem is shown
instead.

2) Materials and Method

This section of the research report should explain the methods that you will deploy and
the data that you wish to gather. There are several ways to gather data. In the sciences, you
use experiments to test the hypothesis. This is one way of obtaining data, by experimentation.
In other fields, such as the social sciences and business, researchers use survey
questionnaires and interview to obtain the necessary information.
If you have completed the data gathering stage, you will have to write the methodology
of the research report. You will state the following items:
• The respondents of your research
• The data gathering procedure
• How you will analyze the data

3) Results and Discussion

The results contain a graphic representation of the data you have processed during your
research. You will provide the results of the data analysis, but you are not yet to discuss the
implication of it.
You may use a table if you want to summarize your data analysis. On the other hand,
you may use figures such as charts if you want your readers to see trends in your data set.
The discussion presents an answer to the research questions that you have created in
the introduction. You will relate the data analysis to the questions. Also, you must discuss
studies that support or contradict your findings. Inferences should be made as well with the
information that you have uncovered.
In the conclusion, you must cite inferences that you made that answered the research
questions. This can be done in bullet form or prose form. Consequently, the recommendation
provides possible tasks to those who will benefit from the research report.

4. Project Proposal
Before writing a project proposal, you are required to have key knowledge of the
following:
• intended project to achieve; and
• writing any proposed project needed to be achieved.

The Structure and Features of a Project Proposal

A project proposal is usually composed of the following parts, but it does not necessarily
mean all parts must be included in your project proposal. A cover letter can also be attached to
the project proposal.

Project Description
Project Description contains necessary information such as project title, type of project,
project proponents, number of beneficiaries, location of beneficiaries, date of implementation,
area of project implementation, budget requirement, and budget requested.

Example:

TERMS OF REFERENCE
PROJECT TITLE: Hakbang sa Pagkatuto Project: Free Summer Class for Preschooler
TYPE OF PROJECT: Education-Training
NUMBER OF BENEFICIARIES: Fifty Students
LOCATION OF BENEFICIARIES: Brgy. Rizal, Makati City
PROJECT DURATION: April 9 – June 4, 2016
AREA OF PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION: Amarilllo St. Brgy. Rizal, Makati City
BUDGET REQUIREMENT: Php 15,000
BUDGET REQUESTED: None

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Explanation:
It is a quick reference to what the proposal is about. It includes detailed information about
the project.

5. Position Paper
Before writing a book review or an article critique, you are required to do the following:
• identify the issue to be discussed. The issue must be interesting, valid, and specific.
The issue must also have two identifiable positions or sides – either in favor or
against the claim or position statement;
• research both positions and collate the arguments, scholarly articles, and in-depth
studies from academic books and journals; and
• after performing thorough research on a certain issue and its arguments, you need
to choose the position or side you want to support. Remember that this type of
paper requires you to take only one side of an argument – either in favor or against
the issue.

The Structure and Features of a Position Paper

The sandwich graphic organizer below is used to understand how easy it is to write a
position paper.

A sandwich is made up of a top loaf, its content, and a bottom loaf. A top loaf, as compared
to writing a position paper, contains the background and the writer's stand on the issue. The
content, like ham, cheese, or lettuce of a sandwich, is compared to the arguments and evidence
presented. Lastly, the bottom loaf serves as a concluding paragraph which includes the
recommended solution of the writer to the issue presented.

The Introduction

Write the specific issue, together with its importance and effect on society. End the
introductory paragraph with your position statement or your stand on the issue. Keep in mind
that you could take only one side of the argument.

Example

The implementation of the K-12 programs this year has a tremendous effect on the
Philippines’ education system. The implementation by the Department of Education complies with
the Republic Act 10533 Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2012 mandating the ten-year to an
additional two years, making it twelve years of education for all. This paper will solely focus on
its claim that an additional two years is necessary to improve the quality of education in the
country.

Explanation

The purpose of writing the introduction is to give the reader an overview of the issue and
to arouse their interest to read your paper. In this example, the writer states a brief background
on the position statement or claims that will be the focus of this position paper.

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The Content

The content may have several paragraphs. It may begin with short background
information or a discussion of arguments on both sides of the issue. In each paragraph, write an
explanation or observation to clarify the portion of the position statement, followed by the
supporting evidence. Evidence that can be used is primary source quotation, interviews with field
experts, a recommendation from scholarly articles and position papers, historical dates or events,
and statistical data.

Example

The quality of education reflects on the achievement scores of the Filipino students. To
note, the Philippines ranked twenty-third (23rd) out of twenty-five (25) countries that participated
in the international test - the "Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study" (TIMMS).
The mathematics and science tests were taken by grade four students in 2003. DepEd itself
pointed out that the decline in quality of education is partly attributed to the ten-year basic
education cycle.

Explanation

The writer presents that the basis of the position statement is the scores of the Filipino
students. The examination performance shows a low quality of education, and it must be
improved immediately. Notice that the data was taken from TIMMS and must be cited in a
footnote.

The End Statement

In the last part of writing the paper, summarize and reinforce the concepts and facts
presented without repeating the introduction and its content. It is also optional to include the
procedure used to deal with the issue and your suggested possible solution or recommendation.

Example

The paper still stands on the claim that additional school years are needed by our
educational system. Based on the evidence presented including the low test-scores in
mathematics and sciences by grade four Filipino students, it shows that the additional two years
will aid the student in gaining mastery of school subjects. Since our country has one of the highest
labor workforces in the world, focusing on both enhancing knowledge and skills is applicable to
strengthen our workforce.
For that reason, the paper suggests that DepEd and the government should focus on
teacher training and development, for the law and its implementation will not fully succeed
without these teachers that are fully equipped and highly skilled.

Explanation

In this end statement, the writer summarizes and reinforces the evidence. The
recommendation is also provided at the end of the paper.

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ACTIVITY!
Direction: Think of the barangay where you are presently residing. Select the top three problems which
you think should be resolved.

Problems in the Barangay Description

Conceptualize a solution related to the number one problem listed. Then, in a short bond paper,
make a Project Proposal outline.

RUBRICS
Description Points
Has appropriate quality of well-organized
25 points
points to support the topic.
Has a clear and specific detail. 15 points
Grammar, spelling, and punctuation marks
10 points
are correct.
Total 50

PREPARED BY: CHECKED BY:

MISS HEMMA B. CARBONEL MISS JERSON JANE O. ABRIL

Subject Teacher Subject Coordinator

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