EAPP NOTES

Academic text – is a reading material that provides information which include concepts and theories
that are related to the specific discipline.
 formal, objective, technical, and specialized text written by experts/professional given filed
using formal language
Examples of Academic Text:
Essay – argumentative text, usually short (1,500-6,000 words)
 introduction – body – conclusion
Research paper – longer essay involving library research (3,000-6,000 words)
 title – abstract – introduction – method – findings, discussion, and conclusion –
recommendations – references – appendix
Dissertation – long essay involving study and research (6,000-2,000 words)
 cover page – acknowledgments – abstract – table of contents – tables – glossary –
introduction – literature review – methodology – results – conclusion and discussion –
reference list – appendix
Thesis – completed over a number of years. Offers an original contribution to the research area.
(20,000 words)
 abstract – introduction – literature review – methods – results – discussion – conclusions
Technical reports – describes process, progress and results of the scientific research
 letter of transmittal – title page – executive summary – table of contents – introduction – body –
conclusion – recommendations – references lists – appendix
Purposes in reading academic text
1. to locate a main idea
2. to scan for information
3. to identify gaps in existing studies
4. to connect new ideas to existing ones
5. to gain more pieces of information
6. to support a particular writing assignment
7. to deeply understand an existing idea
Factors to consider in writing Academic text
1. state critical questions and issues
2. provide facts and evidence from credible sources
3. use precise and accurate words while avoiding jargon
4. take an objective point of view
5. list reference
6. use cautious language
Characteristics of Academic Writing
Complexity – written language is relatively more complex than spoken language
written texts are shorter and have longer, more complex words and phrases
they have more noun-based phrases, more nominalization, and more lexical variation
Formality – academic writing is relatively formal, this means that you should AVOID:
 colloquial words and expressions: stuff, a lot. Thing
 abbreviated forms: can’t, doesn’t, shouldn’t
 two-word verbs: put off, bring up
 subheadings, numbering, and bullet points
 asking questions
Precision – need to be precise when you use information, dates, or figures
Do not use “a lot of people” instead “50 million people”
Objectivity – has fewer words that refer to the writer or the reader
Main emphasis should be on the information that you want to give and the arguments
you want to make. Academic writing tends to use nouns (and adjectives), rather than
verbs (and adverbs) avoid words like I, me, myself
Accuracy – uses vocabulary accurately
Responsibility – you must be responsible for and must be able to provide evidence and justification
for any claims you make.
This is done by paraphrasing, summarizing what you have read, and acknowledging
the source of these information or ideas by a system of citation.
Impersonal – do not refer yourself as the performer of action. Do not use personal nouns.
Academic Language
-refers to the oral, written, auditory, and visual language proficiency required to lean effectively
in schools and academic programs
-language used in classroom lessons, books, tests, and assignments.
-language that students are expected to learn and achieve fluency
Social language
-is the simple, informal language we use when talking face to face with family members and
friends
-allows to use contemporary/slang terms like “cool”, “awesome” can also communicate
feelings, needs, and wants using symbolic hand gestures for drink, eat, hot, cold, hurt, or tired
-includes writing emails, friendly letters, and texts or retelling stories
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Academic reading strategies
What are the purposes of reading?
 to scan for specific information
 to skim to get an overview of the text
 to relate new content to existing knowledge
 to write something
 to critique an argument
 to learn something
 for general comprehension
Reading strategies
1. Make connections
 Text to self (similar events in your life)
 Text to text (books, movies, T.V., etc.)
 Text to life (real world events)
 2. Ask questions
 Asking questions helps keep you focused on the text.
 If your mind wander, you will not understand; then you will be bored
 If you run into problems, things you just do not understand, then you can check yourself
with a question
3. Determine the importance of inferring and predicting
 Think about what a teacher might ask on test
 Think about what the author hints might be important later on
4. Infer and predict
 Good readers are like detectives
 They use clues to determine what happened in a story, this is called inference
 Good readers also make educated guesses about what may happen later in the story
 They use the author’s hints to predict what will most likely occur.
5. Visualize
 Pay close attention to sensory details – what would you see, hear, smell, taste, touch,
feel
 Author’s job is to paint pictures in the reader’s mind
 Reader’s job is to visualize what the author describes
6. Synthesize
 Bring everything together in the end
 What is the meaning of what you are reading?
7. Use fix up strategies
 some examples of fix up strategies:
 Re-read, underline, use a dictionary, read aloud, ask for help
Terms and Definition
Predict – determine what you think will happen in the text.
Visualize – create mental images of the settings, characters, and events in the text.
Question – stop and ask yourself questions to see if the text makes sense.
Connect – think about what you already know about the text. Find ways to relate the text to yourself,
other texts, and the world around you.
Evaluate – think about the text as a whole and form opinions about what you read.
Clarify – stopping when you are confused to reread or look up a word you don’t know.
Questioning – wondering about why a character acted in a certain way is using the comprehension
skill of questioning
Summary
-is a synopsis or digest of the essence of an entire text.
According to Buckley (2004) in her popular writing text Fit to Print, summarizing is the reducing text
to one-third or one-quarter its original size, clearly articulating the author’s meaning, and retaining
main ideas.
According to Diane Hacker (2008), in A Canadian Writer’s Reference, explains that summarizing
involves stating a work’s thesis and main ideas “simply, briefly, and accurately”.
From dictionaries, it is defined as taking a lot of information and creating a condensed version that
covers the main points; and to express the most important facts or idea about something or someone
in a short and clear form.
Various techniques in summarizing a variety of academic texts
1. Read the text you are about to summarize over and over again
2. Identify the main idea of the text you are planning to summarize
3. Put your feet into your readers’ shoes
4. Ensure a smooth flow of ideas
5. Limit your summary to a few sentences
6. Do not forget to proofread your work

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Paraphrasing
-is restating text giving the meaning in another form.
Steps to paraphrase
1. Repeatedly read the passage to be paraphrased until you have completely understood
what it says
2. Do not look at the passage while you are writing your paraphrase
3. After writing your paraphrase, read the original passage once again to check if you were
able to accurately capture its meaning. By doing this, you will avoid misquoting your
source.
4. Check whether your paraphrase has errors in grammar or mechanics
5. Always cite your source
Remember
 A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source.
 A paraphrase includes both the main idea and minor details from the text
 If rewording is too similar to the original, it is plagiarism
Thesis statement
-is a statement that summarizes your topic declares your position on it.
-is a road map for the paper; it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper
-it focuses your ideas into one or two sentences.
-should present the topic of your paper and also make a comment about your position in
relation to the topic
-should tell your reader what the paper is about and also help guide your writing and keep your
argument focused.
Elements of a Thesis statement
1. Topic – general subject of text or essay
2. Argument/Claim – should express your opinion, if it is a research/explanatory paper, this
should explain the purpose of your paper
3. Evidence – the support for your argument/claim
Four Questions to ask when formulating thesis statement
1. Where is your thesis statement?
-give your reader a sense of direction
2. Is your thesis statement specific?
-thesis statement should be as clear and specific as possible
3. Is your thesis statement too general?
Thesis should be limited to what can be accomplished in the specified number of pages
-shape your topic, get straight to the “meat” of it
-being specific in your paper than writing about general things that do not say so much
4. Is your thesis statement clear?
-it needs to be as clear as possible, will make sure that your reader understands exactly
what you mean
Outline
-is a design to follow when writing a structure, a discourse, or an article
-it arranges a material in a logical way into main ideas, supporting ideas, and supporting
details
-main topics are indicated by Roman Numeral
-subtopics are noted by letters
-supporting details are indicated by Arabic numerals
-sentence outline is written in full sentence
-topic outline is in words or phrases
Guidelines in writing an outline
1. Place the title at the center above the outline
2. Every level of the outline must have at least two items (I and II, A and B, 1 and 2)
3. Put a period after each numeral and letter
4. Indent each new level of the outline
5. All items of one kind (roman numerals, capital letters, Arabic numerals) should line up
with each other
6. Capitalized the first letter of each items
7. The terms Introduction, Body, Conclusion do not have to be included in the outline.
They are not topics; they are merely organizational units in the writer’s mind.
Balanced/Objective review or criticism
-is a system of interpreting, judging, and
assessing a person, thing, or any work of art
not influenced by feelings or opinions in
considering and presenting facts.
-is a systematic way of considering the
truthfulness of a piece of work.

To have balanced/objective review of any

piece of work the following are considered:
Example of Judgement:

Architecture critique

How to critique different art forms

Painting critique

Photography critique

Sculpture critique