English for Academic and Professional Purposes (EAPP) Midterm Handout PDF

NOTRE DAME OF DADIANGAS UNIVERSITY Integrated Basic Education Department Senior High School General Santos City English for Academic and Professional Purposes Handout...

NOTRE DAME OF DADIANGAS UNIVERSITY Integrated Basic Education Department Senior High School General Santos City English for Academic and Professional Purposes Handout SY 2022-2023 ACADEMIC TEXT commonly characterized with being formal, studied, researched, objective, exact, direct, and has the ability to influence its readers written with precise organization in order to help its readers to have a basic understanding of what the author’s arguments are Examples: Articles ❑ Published in scholarly journals. ❑ This type of academic text offers results of research and development that can either impact the academic community or provide a relevance to nation building. Conference Papers ❑ These are papers presented in scholastic conferences and may be revised as an article for possible publication in scholarly journals. Reviews ❑ These provide evaluation or reviews of works published in scholarly journals. Theses and Dissertations ❑ These are personal research written by a candidate for a college or university degree. UNDERSTANDING ACADEMIC TEXTS Determining the Writer's Purpose Any piece of writing comes with a purpose, whether it is stated explicitly or not. As a discerning reader, it is your task to be able to identify it. Determining the Writer's Purpose: To inform - Academic Writing seeks to inform, to teach, to add to the reader's knowledge by way of ideas. - Articles that seek to inform are often serious in tone, and unmistakably academic in their intent to impart learning. Determining the Writer's Purpose: To Entertain - Academic Writing that seeks to entertain may take the form of creative nonfiction whose intent - in addition to telling a story - would be to state a narrative in an academic way. - Writing that takes this form uses the conventions of formal writing while writing about a personal experience. Determining the Writer's Purpose: To Persuade - Persuasive writing aims to influence readers to take a particular stance or belief. - This form of writing uses persuasive techniques such as illustration, as well as cause-and- effect to convince readers. 1|Englis h for Academic and Profes s ional Purpos es Determining the Writer's Purpose: To Inspire - To inspire means to uplift, to make someone feel better or be enlightened. - This form of writing aims to reach out to its readers regardless of religious affiliation. - Without being hardcore religious, this form of writing explores themes that resonate with most readers. Determining the Writer's Tone Every piece of writing uses a particular tone. Most often, the tone is explicit. As a reader, you should be able to detect it. The tone of a text reflects the author's attitude or feelings toward the subject matter, and it shapes how the reader interprets the content. Formal - used in academic writing; using sophisticated language and a serious demeanor Casual - used for non-academic topics; using casual language and a friendly, conversational tone Sarcastic - writer is expressing dissatisfaction over certain issues - sometimes used to lighten or heighten the impact of a statement - expressing meaning contrary to the literal interpretation for ironic or critical effect. Determining the Relevance of the Text All texts have something to teach you, but some are more valuable than others. As a reader, you might have your own standards in assessing the importance of a text. Literal Meaning – what is directly stated by the writer – surface meaning of the text Implied Meaning – what is directly stated is not its real meaning – has to be drawn from the layers of meaning hidden in subtle language. READING STRATEGIES BEFORE READING Determine which type of academic text (article, review, thesis, etc.) you are reading. Determine and establish your purpose for reading. Identify the author’s purpose for writing. Predict or infer the main idea or argument of the text based on its title. Identify your attitude towards the author and the text. State what you already know and what you want to learn about the topic. Determine the target audience. Check the publication for relevance. It should have been published at most five years earlier than the current year. Check the reference list while making sure to consider the correctness of the formatting style. Use a concept map or graphic organizer to note your existing ideas and knowledge on the topic. DURING READING Annotate important parts of the text. Annotating a text can help you determine essential ideas or information, main ideas or arguments, and new information or ideas. Here are some ways to annotate a text. write key words or phrases on the margin in bullet form write something on the page margin where important information is found write brief notes on the margin 2|Englis h for Academic and Profes s ional Purpos es  write questions on information that you find confusing write what you already know about the ideas write the limitations of the author’s arguments write notes on the reliability of the text comment on the author’s biases Use a concept map or graphic organizer to note down the ideas being explained React on the arguments presented in the text. Underline important words, phrases, or sentences. Underline or circle meanings or definitions. Mark or highlight relevant/essential parts of the text. Use the headings and transition words to identify relationships in the text. Create a bank of unfamiliar or technical words to be defined later. Underline or highlight important words or parts of the text Use context clues to define unfamiliar or technical words. Synthesize author’s arguments at the end of chapter or section. Determine the main idea of the text Identify the evidence or supporting arguments presented by the author and check their validity and relevance. Identify the findings and note the appropriateness of the research method used. AFTER READING Reflect on what you learned. React on some parts of the text through writing. Discuss some parts with your teacher or classmates. Link the main idea of the text to what you already know. 1) SQ3R Method of Reading The SQ3R method stands for Survey (or Skim), Question, Read, Recite (or Recall), Review. SURVEY Skim the target text Check the headings, tables, diagrams, or figures QUESTION Annotate the headings with your questions Develop questions READ Look for answers to your questions as you read the text RECITE Recount the main points of the text Recall by writing a summary or synthesis REVIEW Go back and re-read the questions you wrote and see if you can answer them Evaluate what you learned. 2) KWL Chart The KWL method guides you in reading and understanding a text. To apply the KWL Method, simply make a table with three columns. In the first column, write what you know about the topic (K); in the second, list down what you want to learn (W); and in the last column, write down what you learned (L). Note: These reading strategies vary from person to person. There are reading strategies that may work for you which others may not find effective and vice-versa. FEATURES OF ACADEMIC TEXT Grammatical Complexity Written language is relatively more complex than spoken language. ✓ has longer words ✓ lexically more dense 3|Englis h for Academic and Profes s ional Purpos es  ✓ has a more varied vocabulary ✓ uses more noun-based phrases than verb-based phrases Formality ✓ Academic writing is relatively formal. In general, this means that in an essay, you should avoid colloquial words and expressions. Precision ✓ In academic writing you need to be precise when you use information, dates or figures. Do not use "a lot of people" when you can say "50 million people". Objectivity ✓ Written language is in general objective rather than personal. ✓ The main emphasis should be on the information that you want to give and the arguments you want to make, rather than you. ✓ For that reason, academic writing tends to use nouns (and adjectives), rather than verbs (and adverbs). Explicitness ✓ Academic writing is explicit about the relationships in the text. ✓ These connections can be made explicit by the use of different signaling words. Responsibility ✓ In academic writing, you must be responsible for, and must be able to provide evidence and justification for, any claims you make. ✓ You are also responsible for demonstrating an understanding of any source texts you use. TYPES OF ACADEMIC WRITING DESCRIPTIVE WRITING most basic of all types of academic writing no paper is purely descriptive explains a topic or issue by clarifying and giving information through description explanation should involve a detailed information in the form of statistics, actual data or scientific findings abstracts, qualitative survey, scientific findings reports ANALYTICAL WRITING rearranging the facts in logical sequence classifying information clearly and logically analyze, compare and contrast, relate, examine, categorize PERSUASIVE WRITING convince readers of an argument whose varied angles have been thoroughly analyzed and would like to defend giving information that has been restructured to accommodate several opinions, including those of the writer and other who have written about the same topic evaluate findings and discuss in the context of theories CRITICAL WRITING requires a writer to evaluate, assess, debate, critique, disagree, and consider reaction papers, reflection papers, review papers, critique identify the main arguments in addition to summarizing important aspects of the topic rely on logical reasoning and empirical evidence or hard data to back up your claim 4|Englis h for Academic and Profes s ional Purpos es SUMMARIZING ✓ short account of the central ideas of a text ✓ an important skill in critical reading ✓ used to determine the essential ideas in a book, article, book chapter, an article or parts of an article ✓ generally done after reading Summary - A shortened version of an original text that includes the thesis and major supporting points. It should also reveal the relationship between the major points and the thesis. - It may be any length, from 25% of the original to one sentence. Summarizing is an important skill because it helps you: ✓ deepen your understanding of the text ✓ learn to identify relevant information or key ideas ✓ combine details or examples that support the main idea/s ✓ concentrate on the gist or main idea presented in the text ✓ capture the key ideas in the text and put them together clearly and concisely Summaries are not a place for… ▪ Opinions ▪ Background knowledge ▪ Personal information Summarizing (using the MIDAS touch) M - Main idea: Identify main idea from TOPIC SENTENCE (if there is one) or use BASIC SIGNAL WORDS I - Identify SUPPORTING DETAILS D - Disregard unimportant information A - Analyze redundant information S - Simplify, categorize, and label important information TYPES OF SUMMARY 1. One sentence summary (we summarize a short text in one or two sentences) 2. Global summary (we summarize the whole content of a text) 3. Selective summary (we summarize only some of the information in a text) TIPS: Make sure: your purpose is clear you have not copied any text (unless you are quoting) you do not misinterpret the original the length of your text is shorter the style of writing is your own you acknowledge other people’s work. OUTLINING ✓ Before you begin writing the first draft of your essay, it is best to make an outline. ✓ An outline is a general plan of what you are going to write. 5|Englis h for Academic and Profes s ional Purpos es Benefits of an Outline An outline will help make your essay more organized. ✓ A careful plan will help your body, paragraphs stay focused on the ideas in your thesis statement. An outline saves time for writers. ✓ Preparing an outline can take time, but when you are finished, you will be able to write the rough draft of your essay more quickly than if you didn’t have an outline. Two Types of an Outline Topic Outline – ideas are stated in phrases or words Sentence Outline – ideas are stated in complete sentences The Process: Making an Outline ✓ In a formal outline, Roman Numerals can be used to represent paragraphs. ✓ Capital letters can be used to represent supporting details for the paragraphs. The Process: Thesis Statement ✓ To begin an outline, you need to start with your thesis statement. ✓ The thesis statement will be your guide throughout the process of writing your essay. ✓ From the thesis statement, you can begin writing the topic sentences for the body paragraphs in the outline. The Process: Topic Sentence ✓ The topic sentence for each body paragraph should support the thesis statement. ✓ The topic sentences need to agree with the main idea or subpoints in the thesis statement; otherwise, the essay could be confusing. The Process: Supporting Details or Sentences Under the topic sentence for each paragraph, list some of the supporting details, examples, or ideas you want to include in each paragraph. Supporting Sentences ✓ Supporting sentences make up the body of a paragraph. ✓ They give details to develop and support the main idea of the paragraph. ✓ Many paragraphs have topic sentences that indicate the main idea. ✓ All of the sentences in a paragraph should support the main idea of that paragraph. ✓ Information that does not support the main idea does not belong in the same paragraph. MAIN IDEA The most important or central thought of a paragraph or larger section of text, which tells the reader what the text is all about. Main ideas are often found at the beginning of the paragraph. Main ideas are also found in the concluding sentences. It can be expressed as a summation of the information in the paragraph. Implied Main Idea The main idea is not always clearly stated. An implied main idea requires you to look at the specific statements in the paragraph and consider what idea they suggest. Implied ideas can be drawn from facts, reasons, or examples that gives hints or suggestions. 6|Englis h for Academic and Profes s ional Purpos es How to locate the Main Idea Find the topic first. You have to know the topic before you can determine the main idea. “What or who is the article about?” or “What is the author teaching me about?” Ask yourself. “What does the author want me to know about the topic?” or “What is the author teaching me about the topic?” Find the common idea to most of the text. Use these clues to help find the main idea: 1. Read the first and last sentences of the paragraph. 2. Pay attention to any idea that is repeated in different ways. 3. Look for a sentence that states the main idea. This is the stated main idea or topic sentence. 4. Look for reversal transitions at the beginning of sentences. Some samples of reversal transitions: But Nevertheless Still Conversely Nonetheless Unfortunately Even so On the contrary When in fact However On the other hand Yet 5. At times the main idea will not be stated directly. (This is called an implied main idea.) ✓ Read all of the specific statements. ✓ Think of a general statement that could sum up the specifics as effectively as any stated topic sentence. ✓ As there will not be a topic sentence, you will have to write one. ✓ The main idea you write must be a complete sentence that contains a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought. 6. Once you feel sure that you have found the main idea, test it. ✓ Ask yourself if the sentence could act as a summary of the other sentences in the paragraph. THESIS STATEMENT A thesis statement is a one sentence that expresses the main idea of a research paper or essay, such as expository essay or argumentative essay. It makes a claim, directly answering a question. A thesis statement expresses the main idea of your paper. It presents or describes the point of an essay. It is usually presented in the abstract or executive summary. A strong thesis statement is specific. It is written in a declarative sentence. Give direction to the author of a paper. Give readers an idea as to what the paper will be about. “An essay without a thesis statement is like a car without a driver. Difference between Title and Thesis Statement Title should give the reader a hint of the essay’s contents. For example, about the purpose of three witches in the play, Macbeth. Witches or Wishes? Another example: Education and Extracurricular Activities: Ingredients for Success 7|Englis h for Academic and Profes s ional Purpos es Groups of Never-Use Words ✓ Personal pronouns – I, you, we ✓ Uncertainty qualifiers – might, maybe, perhaps ✓ Extremism symptoms – everything, all, none ✓ Vague formulations – some, kind of, somewhat ✓ Obvious exaggerations – life-saving, best of the best Groups of Must-Use Words ✓ Sources of information – studies reveal, research shows ✓ Realistic views – many, significant, most ✓ Characteristics – primarily, frequently, often ✓ Clear explanations – because, thus, for, due to ✓ Relationships – impact, influence, tendency ✓ Active verbs – demonstrate, illustrate, identify Supporting Sentences ✓ Supporting sentences make up the body of a paragraph. ✓ They give details to develop and support the main idea of the paragraph. ✓ Many paragraphs have topic sentences that indicate the main idea. ✓ All the sentences in a paragraph should support the main idea of that paragraph. ✓ Information that does not support the main idea does not belong in the same paragraph. PARAPHRASING What is Paraphrasing? Etymology: Paraphrase is derived from the Latin paraphrasis and the Greek paraphrazein meaning to show or explain. “a restatement of text or passage in another form or words” (1009a) It is using one’s own words in expressing someone else’s spoken or written ideas. When do we paraphrase? ▪ short text with one or two sentences ▪ paragraph with a maximum of five sentences ▪ when you want to avoid or minimize direct quotation ▪ rewrite the author’s words by not changing the message 1. Although paraphrasing techniques are used in summary writing, paraphrasing does not aim to shorten the length of a text, merely to restate the text. 2. A good paraphrase is significantly different from the wording of the original, without altering the meaning at all. 3. Techniques: a) Changing vocabulary: Find synonyms or alternative phrases for some words (a thesaurus would help). However, you do not need to change specialized vocabulary, meaning, there is no need to change key terms or proper nouns. b) Changing word class (change a word from one part of speech to another) c) Changing the structure of the text and using connecting words. This includes: ▪ breaking up long sentences and combining short sentences ▪ identifying the relationships between words and ideas and expressing them in a different way. (Be careful you do not change the meaning.) d) Changing word order: ▪ Identifying the relationships between words and ideas and expressing them in a different way. (Be careful you do not change the meaning.) This also includes: ▪ changing voices from active to passive voice ▪ moving modifiers to different positions 8|Englis h for Academic and Profes s ional Purpos es TIPS: Make sure: you have not copied any text to avoid the risk of the meaning is the same as the original plagiarism. the style of writing is your own your paraphrase is the same length as the original you acknowledge other people’s work through appropriate referencing WRITING A REVIEW PAPER ✓ develops students’ critical and analytical skills ✓ connects one’s thoughts and ideas in various academic sources ✓ widens one’s concepts on reading passages ✓ makes connections with authors and writers REVIEW ❑ a summary of a particular topic being discussed ❑ can be in a form of evaluation of a publication ❑ can be an evaluation of a performance Book Review (Brizee, 2017) ▪ typically evaluate recently written works ▪ offers brief description of the text’s key points ▪ provides short appraisal (strengths and weaknesses of the work ▪ typically range from 500-700 words, but may be longer or shorter ▪ gives readers a sneak peek at what a book look like Book Review Guidelines 1. Title of the book 2. Author of the book 3. Personal quality rating 4. 400-500 words 5. Break up your review into the following subparts: a. Summary b. Social/Historical Content c. Writing Style d. My thoughts 6. Keep an eye on grammar and spelling Movie Review ▪ assessment of a film ▪ a summary to inform readers of its artistic and aesthetic value ▪ include the writer’s analysis of the film by providing a synopsis, the names of the director and actors ▪ a work of art ▪ gauge viewers whether such movie is worth watching or not How to write a Movie Review 1. Start with an interesting opening. 2. Present your own opinions and arguments. 3. Give your own analysis of the film. 4. End your review with a convincing statement. 9|Englis h for Academic and Profes s ional Purpos es 7 Tips for Writing a Film Review 1. View the film more than once. 2. Express your opinion of the film, but support your criticism. 3. Adjust the style of your review for readership. 4. Avoid spoilers. 5. Judge the story. 6. Rate the actors. 7. Evaluate the technical element Format of a Review Paper I. Title II. Abstract – approximately 200-300 words – should contain a short summary of the rationale of the topic being reviewed III. Introduction –stating or introducing the importance of the topic being reviewed IV. Body – discuss thoroughly each point of the topic you are reviewing – stress points by providing figures, tables, or data to support your claims V. Conclusion – restate briefly the rationale and purpose VI. Literature Cited – List down the sources you have cited in your review by using a standardized referencing system. Reaction Paper It is an expression of your own ideas and thoughts about a particular topic read from a book, article, or any written sources. ✓ Summaries ✓ Quotations ✓ Paraphrases A great way to develop comprehension and analytical skills. Fleming (2017) – writing a response paper differs from the formal view primarily because it is written in the first person. 1. Read and Respond. 2. Write the first paragraph. – introductory sentence, title of the object and the name of the author 3. State your opinion. – what you feel and believe 4. State sample statements to address any type of work, from a piece of art or a fil to a book. – I felt that…, In my opinion…, The reader can conclude that…, The author seems to…, I did not get the connection between… 5. Back up your reviews with concrete evidences and examples. Formats of a Reaction Paper The APA (American Psychological Association) is a writing style and format for academic documents such as scholarly journal, articles and books. 10 | E n g l i s h f o r A c a d e m i c a n d P r o f e s s i o n a l P u r p o s e s The MLA or the Modern Language Association is a writing style used in English, Foreign language, literature, and related fields of discipline in the humanities. Critique Paper It is an analysis and evaluation of a person’s work. may be in a form of a critical essay evaluating a central issue and highlighting both the strengths and weaknesses of a certain work. Critical Approaches in Writing a Critique There are various ways of standpoints by which you can analyze and critique a certain material. You can critique a material based on its technical aspects, its approach to gender, your Fraction as the audience, or through its portrayal of class struggle and social structure. 1. Formalism claims that literary works contain intrinsic properties and treats each work as a distinct work of art. In short, it posits that the key to understanding a text is through the text itself; the historical context, the author, or any other external contexts that are not necessary in interpreting the meaning. 2. Feminist Criticism or feminism focuses on how literature presents women as subjects of socio- political, psychological, and economic oppression. Reveals how aspects of our culture are patriarchal, i.e., how our culture views men as superior and women as inferior. 3. Reader response criticism is concerned with the reviewer's reaction as an audience of a work. This approach claims that the reader's role cannot be separated from the understanding of the work; a text does not have meaning until the reader reads it and interprets it. Readers are therefore not passive and distant but are active consumers of the material presented to them. 4. Marxist criticism is concerned with differences between economic classes and implications of a capitalist system, such as the continuing conflicts between the working class and the elite. Hence, it attempts to reveal that the ultimate source of people's experience is the socioeconomic system. Writing a Concept Paper ▪ It is an introduction to a full paper like a thesis, full-blown research, project proposal and the like. ▪ This is developed from the writer’s ideas and from the sources cited about the topics that you want to express in your paper ▪ It should be written concisely. Spickard (2005) ✓ typically ranges from 2-5 double-spaced pages (500-1250 words) ✓ provides a clear summary of the project Elements of a Concept Paper Regoniel (2012) 1. A Rationale ✓ The reasons for undertaking the thesis proposal is explained. o What prompted you to prepare the concept paper? o Why is the issue of such importance? o What should you be able to produce out of your intended study? 2. A Conceptual Paper ✓ The guide in working the ideas. ✓ Mind mapping exercise can be used. 3. Your Hypothesis 11 | E n g l i s h f o r A c a d e m i c a n d P r o f e s s i o n a l P u r p o s e s  ✓ The expected output in the course of conducting the study. ✓ This arises from the conceptual framework. ✓ After identifying the specific variables in the phenomenon, ask yourself the following: o How are the variables related? o Does one variable affect another? o Alternatively, are they related at all? 12 | E n g l i s h f o r A c a d e m i c a n d P r o f e s s i o n a l P u r p o s e s