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English for Academic and Professional Purposes Quarter 3 – Modules 1 - 4 English for Academic and Professional Purposes Quarter 3 – Module 1 Differentiating Language Used in Academic Texts from Various Disciplines English for Academic and Professional Purposes Alternative De...

English for Academic and Professional Purposes Quarter 3 – Modules 1 - 4 English for Academic and Professional Purposes Quarter 3 – Module 1 Differentiating Language Used in Academic Texts from Various Disciplines English for Academic and Professional Purposes Alternative Delivery Mode Quarter 3 – Module 1: Differentiating Language Used in Academic Texts from Various Disciplines Second Edition, 2021 Republic Act 8293, section 176 states that: No copyright shall subsist in any work of the Government of the Philippines. However, prior approval of the government agency or office wherein the work is created shall be necessary for exploitation of such work for profit. Such agency or office may, among other things, impose as a condition the payment of royalties. Borrowed materials (i.e., songs, stories, poems, pictures, photos, brand names, trademarks, etc.) included in this module are owned by their respective copyright holders. Every effort has been exerted to locate and seek permission to use these materials from their respective copyright owners. The publisher and authors do not represent nor claim ownership over them. Published by the Department of Education-Schools Division of Makati City OIC-Schools Division Superintendent: Carleen S. Sedilla CESE OIC-Assistant Schools Division Superintendent and OIC-Chief, CID: Jay F. Macasieb DEM, CESE Development Team of the Module Writer: Rowena Dimas-Bunagan Editor: Eden F. Samadan Reviewers: Gizelle V. Laud Layout Artist: Rowena Dimas-Bunagan Management Team: Jay F. Macasieb, EdD OIC-Chief Education Supervisor, Curriculum Implementation Division Neil Vincent C. Sandoval Education Program Supervisor, LRMS Gizelle V. Laud Education Program Supervisor, English Printed in the Philippines by the Schools Division Office of Makati City through the support of the City Government of Makati (Local School Board) Department of Education – Schools Division Office of Makati City Office Address: Gov. Noble St., Brgy. Guadalupe Nuevo City of Makati, Metropolitan Manila, Philippines 1212 Telefax: (632) 8882-5861 / 8882-5862 E-mail Address: [email protected]  What I Need to Know This module was designed and written to meet the needs of the grade 12 students with regard to English related skills. It is here to help you master the English for Academic & Professional Purposes which aims to teach the students to communicate effectively in diverse academic and professional situations. Module 1 which is entitled, “Differentiating Language Used in Academic Texts from Various Disciplines”, aims to enhance the students’ skills in reading academic texts which is very vital for grade 12 students of all strands. After going through this module, you are expected to: 1. differentiate language used in academic texts of various disciplines; 2. acquire knowledge of appropriate reading strategies for a better understanding of academic texts; 3. produce a detailed abstract of information gathered from the various academic texts; 4. understand the role of language in communication; 5. determine the meaning of words used in context; 6. analyze sample texts; and 7. illustrate the use of the English language in various disciplines. What I Know Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of paper. 1. This is a well-developed verbal skill with sensitivity to the sounds, meanings and rhythms of words. a. Visual-spatial Intelligence b. Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence c. Verbal-Logical Intelligence d. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence 2. It is when you have the capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence. a. Naturalist Intelligence b. Intrapersonal Intelligence c. Interpersonal Intelligence d. Existential Intelligence 3. This is the capacity to think images and pictures to visualize accurately and abstractly. a. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence b. Naturalist Intelligence c. Visual-Spatial Intelligence d. Intrapersonal Intelligence 4. It is the ability to think conceptually and abstractly or to discern logical and numerical patterns. a. Mathematical-logical Intelligence b. Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence c. Musical Intelligence d. Interpersonal Intelligence 5. This is the ability to produce and appreciate rhythm, pitch and timber. a. Naturalist Intelligence b. Existential Intelligence c. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence d. Musical Intelligence 6. This is the ability to control one’s body movements and to handle objects skillfully. a. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence b. Interpersonal Intelligence  c. Naturalist Intelligence d. Existential Intelligence 7. This intelligence involves the capacity to detect and respond appropriately to the moods, motivations, and desires of others. a. Interpersonal Intelligence b. Intrapersonal Intelligence c. Naturalistic Intelligence d. Existential Intelligence 8. It is the capacity to be self-aware and in tune with your inner feelings, values and beliefs. a. Naturalist Intelligence b. Intrapersonal Intelligence c. Verbal-linguistic Intelligence d. Interpersonal Intelligence 9. This intelligence involves skills in recognizing one’s strengths and weaknesses and even being aware of your inner feelings. a. Naturalist Intelligence b. Intrapersonal Intelligence c. Verbal-linguistic Intelligence d. Interpersonal Intelligence 10. This is having the ability to care, recognize and categorize plants, animals and other objects. a. Interpersonal Intelligence b. Intrapersonal Intelligence c. Naturalistic Intelligence d. Existential Intelligence What’s In And the word began… In this fast-changing world where language is vital for communication and understanding one another, have you ever asked yourself how the words you’re using came to be? Are the words we are using right now really rooted from far way back? If so, who started these first? Curious….. Are we? Then, let’s take a quick look from how language originated. WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE? 5 THEORIES 1. The Bow-Wow Theory - This theory states that language began when our ancestors imitated the natural sounds around them such as moo, meow, splash, cuckoo and bang. 2. The Ding-Dong Theory - This is the theory supported by Plato and Pythagoras which states that speech happened when we respond to the objects in our environment and made harmony with them. 3. The La-La Theory- This emphasizes that language came to life from sounds associated with love, play and songs. 4. The Pooh-Pooh Theory- Pooh-Pooh theory conveys that language began with interjections from spontaneous cries, surprise and other emotions. 5. The Yo-He-Ho Theory - According to this theory, language developed from the grunts, groans and snorts caused by heavy physical labor. What can you say from these theories? Do they appear reliable? What about the English language, do you know how these words came to be? Let’s travel back time tracing the history of the English language. HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE The history of the English language began with the arrival of three Germanic tribes who invaded Britain during the 5th century AD. These tribes, the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes, crossed the North Sea from what today is Denmark and northern Germany. At 2 that time the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language. But most of the Celtic speakers were pushed west and north by the invaders – mainly into what is now Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Angles came from “Englaland” [sic] and their language was called “Englisc” – from which the words “England” and “English” are derived. The invading Germanic tribes spoke similar languages, which in Britain developed into what we now call Old English. Old English did not sound or look like English today. Native English speakers now would have great difficulty understanding Old English. Nevertheless, about half of the most commonly used words in Modern English have Old English roots. The words, strong and water, for example, derive from Old English. Old English was spoken until around 1100.n 1066 when William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy (part of modern France), invaded and conquered England. The new conquerors (called the Normans) brought with them a kind of French, which became the language of the Royal Court, and the ruling and business classes. For a period, there was a kind of linguistic class division, where the lower classes spoke English and the upper classes spoke French. In the 14th century English became dominant in Britain again, but with many French words added. This language is called Middle English. It was the language of the great poet Chaucer (c13401400), but it would still be difficult for native English speakers to understand today. Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden and distinct change in pronunciation (the Great Vowel Shift) started, with vowels being pronounced shorter and shorter. From the 16th century the British had contact with many peoples from around the world. This, and the Renaissance of Classical learning, meant that many new words and phrases entered the language. The invention of printing also meant that there was now a common language in print. Books became cheaper and more people learned to read. Printing also brought standardization to English. Spelling and grammar became fixed, and the dialect of London, where most publishing houses were, became the standard. In 1604 the first English dictionary was published. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was the period of the Early modern English. This is also known as the period of the English Renaissance since people developed a keen interest in the past and a more daring and imaginative view of the future. New ideas multiplied which meant new languages too. Englishmen had grown accustomed to borrowing words from French as a result of the Norman conquest; now they borrowed from Latin and Greek. The greatest writer of the Early modern period is of course Shakespeare, and the best-known book is the King James version of the Bible published in 1611. Since 1700, the history of English is filled with many movements and counter movements mostly on regulating and controlling the English language or to polish, prune and restrict English. A product in the desire to fix and establish the English language was the development of the dictionary. The first dictionary was published in 1603 with 2500 words. In 1775 Samuel Johnson published his dictionary followed by Noah Webster in 1828 until finally the twelve volume Oxford English Dictionary. What’s New Also, in the 18th century the invention of English grammar was very noticeable as English replaced Latin. Hence, the most important development in the modern period has been the tremendous expansion of English-speaking people from a language spoken in a small island to the greatest language of the world. English may not be the most spoken language in the world, but it is the official language of 53 countries and spoken by around 400 million people across the globe. Learning English is important as it enables you to communicate easily with your fellow global citizens. So, let’s start learning English then with this lesson…. 3 What is text? In Literary theory, a text is any object that can be read whether this object is a work of literature, a street sign, an arrangement of buildings on a city block or styles of clothing. It is a coherent set of signs that transmits some kind of informative message. For Literary criticism, text also refers to the original information content of a particular piece of writing. It is concerned with distinguishing of the original information content from what has been added to or subtracted from that content as it appears in a given textual document. Text as a noun is a book or other written or printed work, regarded in terms of its content rather than its physical form. Text in Linguistics includes the original words of something written, printed or spoken or any coherent stretch of language. In the Information Technology world, text is a human readable sequence of characters and the words they form that can be encoded into computer readable formats. What is Academic Text? Academic text is defined as critical, objective, specialized texts written by experts or professionals in a given field using formal language. It is always linear since it has one central point or theme with all its part contributing to the main line of argument, without digressions or repetitions. Its main purpose is to inform rather than entertain. Also, this is in the standard written form of the language. Features of Academic Texts Complex – language used is longer, it is lexically denser and with a more varied vocabulary. Texts are shorter with more grammatical complexity including more subordinate clauses and passives. Precise – facts are given accurately and sharply. Objective – its main emphasis is on the information to be shared and the arguments to be made rather than the personal interest of the writer. Explicit – It is the responsibility of the writer to make it clear to the reader how all the parts of the texts are connected and related. Accurate – most of the words used have narrow specific meanings. Hedged – making it necessary to make a stance on the arguments and claims you used in your writing. Organized – Each paragraph leads to the development of the other logically. A good way of starting your academic text is by deciding on the genre after which the structure follows. Well-planned – it is well planned; it involves research and evaluation of the specific purpose of your text. What is Academic Language? Academic language is the language needed by students to do the work in schools. It is generally found in textbooks, used in the classrooms or even those printed in the tests and documents. It is composed of discipline and specific vocabulary, grammar including punctuations and applications of rhetorical conventions and devices that are typically used for a content. Well-diverse academic language skills mean better comprehension and speaking skills. Formal language –is used for professional and academic purposes, no colloquialism and contractions involve and no using of personal pronouns, too. It is also less personal as compared to informal. 4  What is It Informal language – is used when communicating, writing or having conversations with family and friends. It is more casual and spontaneous and unlike formal language, informal language is more personal. Directions: Read the following texts: As you go through these texts, identify what kind of academic text is each of the following and determine whether the language used is formal or informal. The Sob Sister’s story The dead girl, beautiful and peaceful in death, her scarlet lips slightly parted as though whispering a caress to her lover, her blue eyes gentle and unquestioning as a baby, lay in the murderer’s arms like a child who has been rocked to sleep. Her golden hair falling in profusion about her shoulder all but concealed the cruel welt of red about her throat. The murderer clutching is still burden to him, like a mother holding an infant, appeared dazed. As the police came in, he rose to meet them, still carrying his precious burden in his arms. The officers had almost to force him to relinquish her. He could not answer questions – could merely clutch the closer to his breast all that remained of the girl he loved better than life, and mutter, “I love her, I love her,” like a man in a dream. A few hours later when I saw him in the sordid surroundings of the 10th Precinct Station House, so different from the cozy cottage which had been the abode of a tragic love, he was still dryeyed, though his face wore a ghastly pallor. But when tried to question him, I became aware of terrific strain under which he suffered, and showed all signs of a man on the verge of hysteria. When I tried to draw from him the motive for the pitiful tragedy, he could only rely, his pale boyish face like a mask. “I killed her, but God didn’t say a word, a word.” At last he managed pitifully to say: “I killed her so that she would be mine alone for always!” And this is the irony of fate! The very greatness of his love made him strangle her. Separated as they were wealth, social position, and all that implies, it was only in death that they could be united. Who are we to pass judgement on such love? Local Girl Found Slain by Rejected Lover Ms. Porphyria Blank, 21, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R.J. Blank, of Barton Park, was found strangled this morning in the cottage owned by John Doe, 25, who was apprehended on the scene of the crime by officers Bailey and Hodge. Doe was found holding the body in his arms, and appeared to be stupor, his only reply to repeated questioning being, “I killed her because I loved her.” According to the members of the Blank family, Doe had paid attention to Miss Blank for the last several months, though it was strenuously denied that his regards for Miss Blank was returned. Miss Blank’s engagement with Mr. Roger Weston was announced last month. Mr. Weston could not be reached for a statement. Mrs. Blank was prostrated by the news of her daughter’s death. The slain girl vanished last evening at approximately eleven o’clock from dinner party given at her parent’s home in honor of the approaching wedding. The family became alarmed when it was discovered that she was not in her room, and instituted a search for her about midnight. The police, who were promptly notified, in the course of their search knocked at Mr. Doe’s cottage, a building some quarter of a mile from the Blank estate, at five in the morning. Receiving no answer, they forced the door and discovered Doe sitting with the dead girl in his lap. She had apparently been strangled. Dr. A. P. Reynolds, Autopsy Surgeon for the country, state that, from the condition of the body, death must have occurred about midnight. 5  Legal Indictment State of ___ Country TWENTY-FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT THE GRAND JURORS of the State of ___ duly impaneled and sworn, in and for __ Country in the name and by the authority of the said State upon their oath, find and present: That one John Doe late of ___Country, on the 23rd of January in the year of our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Twenty-Four, with force and arms, in_Country, aforesaid and with jurisdiction of the Twenty First Judicial District Court of _ for the _Country, did unlawfully, feloniously, with malice aforethought kill and slay one Porphyria Blank by strangulation. Contrary to the form and the Statutes of __, in such cases made and provided and against the peace and dignity of the same. ……………………………………………………… District Attorney for the 21st Judicial District of ___ From the Autopsy Surgeon’s Report Death occurred from the effects of asphyxia, cerebral anemia, and shock. The victim’s hair was used for the constriction ligature. Local marks of the ligature were readily discernible: there were some abrasion and a slight ecchymosis in the skin. But I found no obvious lesion in the blood vessels of the neck. Cyanosis of the head was very slight and there were no pronounced hemorrhages in the galea of the scalp. I should judge that very great compression was effected almost immediately, with comprehension of the arteries as well as of the vein, and that the superior laryngeal nerve was traumatized in the effect of throwing the victim into profound shock… The lungs revealed cyanosis, congestion, over aeration, and sub pleural petechial hemorrhages… What’s More Let’s test your understanding! How then do you distinguish the differences of each academic text? Below is a table that will help you answer this question. Reread the four texts and fill out this table based on your evaluation of the texts. TEXT A TEXT B TEXT C TEXT D What is the text about? (subject/focus) What is the writer’s goal in writing the text? Who is the target reader or audience of the text? What is the point of view of the text? Is it first person, second person or third person? Did the writer write in formal or informal manner? How did the writer choose the words and organize the sentences? Was the language formal, informal, casual? What kind of academic texts are they? What feature of academic text is used in the passage? 6  What I Have Learned This is the Honesty corner: Without looking back to the above-mentioned texts, define, explain in your own understanding the following: A living thing reacts to a stimulus, which is a change in the environment, by producing a response. 1. Text Reproduction 2. Academic Text 3. Academic Language 4. Essay 5. Articles 6. Thesis 7. Dissertation 8. Technical Report 9. Informal language 10. Formal Language This time, identify the features of academic text described in the sentences that follow. But wait there’s more…… don’t look back on the previous pages, okay? ________________11. Written texts are shorter and the language has more grammatical complexity, including more subordinate clauses and more passives. ________________12. It is the responsibility of the writer in English to make it clear to the reader how the various parts of the texts are related. ________________13. In any kind of academic text, it is necessary to make decisions about your stance on a particular subject or the strengths of the claims you are making. ________________14. Most subjects have narrow specific meanings. ________________15. Facts and figures are exact and accurate. Living things need energy for metabolism. The primary source of energy for all living things is the sun. What I Can Do Let us put our learning into practice. Directions: Read the article and answer the questions that follow. Always bear in mind the lessons you learned from Module 1. Competition and Cooperation (1) Explanations of the interrelation upon rewards inadequate primarily because between competition and cooperation have definitions of these two concepts based upon evolved over the time. Early research into rewards depict them as opposite. In current competition and cooperation define each understanding, competition is not viewed as of them in terms of the distribution of opposite of cooperation, instead, cooperation rewards related to each. Competition was is viewed as integral component of defined as a situation in which rewards competition. Cooperation is necessary are distributed unequally on the basis of among team members, perhaps in a sporting performance, cooperation on the other event or in a political race, in order to win the hand was defined as a situation in which competition, it is equally important to rewards are distributed equally on the understand that cooperation is of great basis of mutual interactive behavior importance between teams in that same among individuals. By this definition, sporting event or ground rules of the game or requires at least a competitive situation election in order to compete. requires at least on competitor to fail for (3) Interestingly, the word competition is each competitor that wins, while a derived from a Latin verb which means “to cooperative situation offers a reward only seek together.” An understanding of the if all members of the group receive it. derivation of the word competition supports (2) Researchers have found definitions the understanding that cooperation, rather of competition and cooperation based than evoking a characteristic at the opposite 7 extreme of human nature from 5. What point of view is used by the writer? competition, is in reality a necessary factor 6. Why do you think the writer gave the in competition. etymological definition of competition in Comprehension Check: paragraph 3 but not that of cooperation? 1. What genre is used in this academic 7. Define cooperation based on your text? understanding of this academic text. 2. What features of academic text are 8. Define competition based on your visible in Competition and understanding of this academic text. Cooperation? Support your answer. 9. Why do you think the writer compare the (You can write as many as you can) two by using rewards? 3. Is the language used formal or 10. If you were to choose, which is better, informal? Why? competition or cooperation? 4. Who is the target audience or reader of this article? Assessment Multiple Choice. Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of paper. 1. This theory emphasizes that language came to life from sounds associated with love, play and songs. a. The Bow-Wow Theory b. The Pooh-Pooh Theory c. The La-la Theory d. the Ding-Dong Theory 2. The following are the three Germanic tribes who invaded Britain during the 5th century AD except for one. a. Jutes c. Saxons b. Angles d. Celts 3. This is the best known book of the early modern period a. King James Bible c. Shakespeare’s Works b. Oxford English Dictionary d. Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary 4. It is defined as critical, objective, specialized texts written by experts or professionals in a given field using formal language. a. Academic Writing c. Academic Reading b. Academic Text d. Academic Language 5. It is the responsibility of the writer to make it clear to the reader how all the parts of the texts are connected and related. a. Precise c. Explicit b. Accurate d. Hedged 6. Its main emphasis is on the information to be shared and the arguments to be made rather than the personal interest of the writer. a. Objective c. Precise b. Organized d. Well-planned 7. Academic texts that may be completed for a long time and it offers an original contribution to the research area. a. Essay c. Reports b. Thesis d. Articles 8. This is the language needed by students to do the work in schools. It is generally found in textbooks, used in classrooms or even in those printed tests. a. Academic Writing c. Academic Reading b. Academic Text d. Academic Language 9. It is used when communicating, writing or having conversations with family and friends because it is more casual and spontaneous. a. Formal b. Informal c. Textual d. Poetica 10. It is a longer essay involving Library research usually with 3000 to 6000 words a. Articles c. Research Paper b. Journals d. Technical Report 2 8 English for Academic & Professional Purposes Quarter 3 – Module 2 Academic Writing English for Academic and Professional Purposes Alternative Delivery Mode Quarter 3 – Module 2: Academic Writing Second Edition, 2021 Republic Act 8293, section 176 states that: No copyright shall subsist in any work of the Government of the Philippines. However, prior approval of the government agency or office wherein the work is created shall be necessary for exploitation of such work for profit. Such agency or office may, among other things, impose as a condition the payment of royalties. Borrowed materials (i.e., songs, stories, poems, pictures, photos, brand names, trademarks, etc.) included in this module are owned by their respective copyright holders. Every effort has been exerted to locate and seek permission to use these materials from their respective copyright owners. The publisher and authors do not represent nor claim ownership over them. Published by the Department of Education-Schools Division of Makati City OIC-Schools Division Superintendent: Carleen S. Sedilla CESE OIC-Assistant Schools Division Superintendent and OIC-Chief, CID: Jay F. Macasieb DEM, CESE Development Team of the Module Writer: Rowena Dimas-Bunagan Editor: Eden F. Samadan Reviewers: Gizelle V. Laud Layout Artist: Rowena Dimas-Bunagan Management Team: Jay F. Macasieb, EdD OIC-Chief Education Supervisor, Curriculum Implementation Division Neil Vincent C. Sandoval Education Program Supervisor, LRMS Gizelle V. Laud Education Program Supervisor, English Printed in the Philippines by the Schools Division Office of Makati City through the support of the City Government of Makati (Local School Board) Department of Education – Schools Division Office of Makati City Office Address: Gov. Noble St., Brgy. Guadalupe Nuevo City of Makati, Metropolitan Manila, Philippines 1212 Telefax: (632) 8882-5861 / 8882-5862 E-mail Address: [email protected]  What I Need to Know This module was designed and written to meet the needs of the grade 12 students with regard to English related skills. It is here to help you master the English for Academic & Professional Purposes which aims to teach the students to communicate effectively in diverse academic and professional situations. Module 2 which is entitled Academic Writing aims to enhance the students’ skills in writing by putting more emphasis on content, structure, purpose and mechanics rather than just merely putting words into a composition. This is the focus of module 2. Upon knowing what academic text is in the previous module, this module 2 will now glean the students to write critically, structurally and purposively. Good writing, which covers a myriad of goals, objectives and purposes, is also an important skill that translates into any career field. After going through this module, you are expected to: 1. define academic writing and distinguish it from other kinds of writing; 2. identify the structure, purpose, audience, and style of academic writing; 3. analyze sample texts using the standards of academic writing; and 4. write an academic text using the standards of academic writing. What I Know Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of paper. 1. The period when English became dominant in Britain again, but with many French words added. a. 13th century b. 14th century c. 15th century d. 16th century 2. This is also known as the period of the English Renaissance. a. Early Modern English b. Late Modern English c. Modern English d. Middle English 3. The year when King James Bible was published. a. 1511 b. 1632 c. 1775 d. 1611 4. This refers to the original information content of a particular piece of writing. a. Text b. Academic Text c. Academic Writing d. A and B 5. This is when facts are given accurately and sharply. a. Complex b. Precise c. Objective d. Explicit 6. Most of the words used in academic texts have narrow specific meanings. a. Hedged b. Organized c. Accurate d. Well-planned 1  7. It is necessary for the writer to make a stance on the arguments and claims used. a. Well-planned b. Accurate c. Explicit d. Hedged 8. It is an argumentative text, usually short, with 1500 to 6000 words. a. Essay b. Research paper c. Articles d. Dissertation 9. It describes the ideas for an investigation on a certain topic. a. Technical Report b. Research Paper c. Thesis d. Articles 10. Language used when communicating, writing or having conversations with family and friends. It is more casual and spontaneous. a. Formal b. Informal c. Poetical d. Both A and B What’s In Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “In preparing for a battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” This also holds true in writing, without a plan, is like a voyager without his compass, definitely not knowing where to go. Good writing is a skill that must be acquired by every student. It translates into any career field. Now that you are about to finish Senior High School, it is a must that you acquire a good writing skill. However, it is noticeable that students nowadays don’t enjoy writing much. Whenever tasked to do so in school, they are more in compliance rather than examining first what to write and how to do it right. Writing must also follow a certain step if one wishes to hone a competitive skill in writing. The first thing you have to do is to know the kind of academic text you are required to write. Ask yourself what are you being asked to do and how long the paper should be. Then proceed with the Pre-Writing Process. Pre- writing is the first stage of the writing process which pertains to the different techniques that will help you discover ideas before writing the first draft of your paper. In here, you use variety of strategies to find out all the things connected to the topic you are about to write. To write effectively, it is always best to assume that you are writing to be read, therefore you really have to do it right. One of the strategies of pre-writing is Brainstorming. What is brainstorming? Listing down everything that comes to mind as fast as you can in a certain amount of time is brainstorming. We use this for increased awareness and searching for deeper and clearer understanding. Then, after listing down all your ideas, browse through them and pick the one that best appeals to you or the one that you know best. Listing is the other term for brainstorming. The next strategy is “Clustering or Mapping”. How do you do this? Start by writing a word or phrase at the center of your paper and encircle it. This is your main topic. Then, think of other words or phrases related to that main topic, write them down and connect them to your main topic. These become your subtopics. From there, you can now branch off the subtopics with other supporting ideas. Now you are ready for the third strategy which is the freewriting. This is writing down your thoughts nonstop. Write as quickly as you can to create constant momentum for your thoughts to keep on flowing spontaneously. Finally, the fourth stage of the pre-writing process is Journalistic Questions. Here, you will ask yourself questions that will help you clear out some words or scenarios in your freewriting which are not so clearly written or discussed with. The answers to these questions should then be added before you finally come up with your next draft or final paper. Pre-writing is often scorned and deprecated by most student-writers, but this is the stage that everyone must and always do if and only if we want a commendable academic text. 2  What’s New What is Academic Writing? Often confused and associated with Academic Text, Academic Writing is a particular style of expressions used in formal essays and other assessments to come up with an academic form of writing. It requires formal language, a logical structure and is supported by evidences to define the intellectual boundaries of their specific areas of expertise. There are four main types or purposes of Academic Writing. Each of these types is used to express specific language features and purposes. These are: Descriptive, Analytical, Persuasive and Critical. Now, is it possible to find more than one type of academic writing in one academic text? Yes. Take for example an empirical thesis where descriptive type is used in summarizing details and methods but analytical as well in reporting the data collected. Likewise, you can find persuasive type of writing in the interpretation of findings. This scenario is an example of an academic text where various types of academic writing is used. Let’s analyze thoroughly these four types of writing. Descriptive is the simplest of the four as its purpose is to provide facts and information. You can find this in a summary of an article or a report of the results of an experiment. This can easily be figured out in instructions such as identify, report, record, define or summarize. The second type is Analytical. Most academic writing is also analytical, but don’t be confused with the first type since analytical includes descriptive writing when you re-organize the facts and information you describe in categories, groups, parts, types and relationships. This type is said to be used for instructions such as analyze, compare, contrast, relate and examine. Persuasive is the third type. What is this type of writing? Persuasive has all the features of analytical writing with an addition of your own point of view, but always remember that each claim you make needs to be supported by evidence. Clue for a persuasive writing lies in instructions such as argue, evaluate, discuss and take a position. Finally, the fourth type is Critical Writing which is very common for research and scholarly writing. It has all the features of persuasive writing with the addition of two points of view including your own. The kind of instructions for this type are critique, debate, disagree and evaluate. After you have thought about the purpose, it is now time to focus on the structure of your academic writing. Structure is how the parts or the elements of something complex are put into one great arrangement or composition. Just like any academic text, when doing an academic writing you have to bear in mind these three parts: Introduction, Body, and Conclusion. These are the parts of an academic essay which can be used in different discipline but most academic texts in the sciences adhere to the model called IMRAD which is Introduction, Methods and Materials, Results and Discussion. Academic writing is thinking; you cannot just write anything that comes to mind. We have to abide by the set rules and practices in writing. Remember, a well thought of writing is a text worth reading. What is It This is an excerpt of the Speech of His Excellency, Jose P. Laurel, President of the Republic of the Philippines, delivered over Station PIAM Manila, on February 29, 1944, addressed to the Filipino youth. YOUTH OF MY BELOVED LAND: In this critical period of our history, we need Filipino youth and that the Filipino youth is the heart, the soul and the vigor of the youth now on the march. The question is: Where of our land to help us build our country on is it going? Is it marching with irresistible the most enduring basis of brotherhood and will and determination toward progress and solidarity of all Filipinos. I am, therefore, civilization, peace and order, and the happy to know of the integration of the prosperity and happiness of the Fatherland? 3 If it is, I, as the chosen head of our nation and our people, heartily welcome it and bid it Godspeed. What criteria of an attention-grabbing introduction is evident here? It is trite saying that the future belongs to toast. He expressed the fervent hope that youth, especially to those dynamic, the worthy and commendable examples of aggressive and self-confident young men Juan Luna, and Resurrection, another and women who have foresight. Thus, they famed Filipino painter, will be imitated or have the bounden duty to ensure it. So emulated by the Filipino youth. In the much faith the greatest Filipino patriot and course of a few years that youth had hero, Rizal, had in the youth of the land become to him more than the “fair hope of that while he was still in his teens, he my fatherland”; it had become the “sacred dedicated to it his prize-winning poem hope of my Fatherland.” entitled “To the Filipino Youth,” and he Rizal’s fair and sacred hope is represented called the Filipino youth not without reason by the young men and women of today, by and justification “Fair hope of my you, the Filipino youth on the march, you Fatherland.” who will be either the leaders and masters Several years later, when Rizal was in of your country and your country’s fate Madrid, he thought again of the Filipino tomorrow or the hewers of wood and youth. On the occasion of the signal honor drawers of water for other people more and distinction conferred upon the famous ambitious and far-seeing than you, men Filipino painter Juan Luna when one of his with vision, with courage, and with an paintings was awarded the highest prize in indomitable will to succeed whatever be the the artistic world, Rizal offered a touching obstacles. Based from your learning of academic writing, what key points of a well- crafted main body are present in here? I thank you for this opportunity of strong factor in supporting this government addressing the youth of the land on this and in making this Republic an enduring memorable occasion. I shall be happy to nation but also so that with the help and say a few words to you later in connection cooperation and loyalty of the Filipino with the integration movement of the youth, we may be in a position to transmit Filipino youth not only in the public and as a heritage to future generations a private schools but of all Filipino young country, a people, compact and united in men and women all over the islands so that the bonds of a common affection. I thank the youth of the land may be not only a you. How was the speech concluded? What’s More Read with understanding. Mother Tongue (An Excerpt) Amy Tan (1) I am not a scholar of English or (3) Recently, I was made keenly aware literature. I cannot give you much more of the different Englishes I do use. I was than personal opinions on the English giving a talk to a large group of people, the language and its variations in this country same talk I had already given to half a or others. dozen other groups. The nature of the talk was about my writing, my life, and my (2) I am a writer. And by that definition, book, The Joy Luck Club. The talk was I am someone who has always loved going along well enough, until I language. I am fascinated by language in remembered one major difference that daily life. I spend a great deal of my time made the whole talk sound wrong. My thinking about the power of language -- the mother was in the room. And it was way it can evoke an emotion, a visual perhaps the first time she had heard me image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. give a lengthy speech, using the kind of Language is the tool of my trade. And I use English I have never used with her. I was them all -- all the Englishes I grew up with. 2 saying things like, "The intersection of evidence to support me: the fact that people memory upon imagination" and "There is in department stores, at banks, and at an aspect of my fiction that relates to thus- restaurants did not take her seriously, did and-thus'--a speech filled with carefully not give her good service, pretended not to wrought grammatical phrases, burdened, it understand her, or even acted as if they did suddenly seemed to me, with nominalized not hear her. forms, past perfect tenses, conditional (7) My mother has long realized the phrases, all the forms of standard English limitations of her English as well. When I that I had learned in school and through was fifteen, she used to have me call people books, the forms of English I did not use at on the phone to pretend I was she. In this home with my mother. guise, I was forced to ask for information or (4) Just last week, I was walking down even to complain and yell at people who the street with my mother, and I again had been rude to her. One time it was a call found myself conscious of the English I was to her stockbroker in New York. She had using, the English I do use with her. We cashed out her small portfolio and it just so were talking about the price of new and happened we were going to go to New York used furniture and I heard myself saying the next week, our very first trip outside this: "Not waste money that way." My California. I had to get on the phone and husband was with us as well, and he didn't say in an adolescent voice that was not very notice any switch in my English. And then convincing, "This is Mrs. Tan." I realized why. It's because over the twenty (8) And my mother was standing in the years we've been together I've often used back whispering loudly, "Why he don't send that same kind of English with him, and me check, already two weeks late. So mad sometimes he even uses it with me. It has he lie to me, losing me money. become our language of intimacy, a different sort of English that relates to (9) And then I said in perfect English, family talk, the language I grew up with. "Yes, I'm getting rather concerned. You had agreed to send the check two weeks ago, (5) Lately, I've been giving more thought but it hasn't arrived." to the kind of English my mother speaks. Like others, I have described it to people as (10) Then she began to talk more loudly. 'broken" or "fractured" English. But I wince "What he want, I come to New York tell him when I say that. It has always bothered me front of his boss, you cheating me?" And I that I can think of no way to describe it was trying to calm her down, make her be other than "broken," as if it were damaged quiet, while telling the stockbroker, "I can't and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a tolerate any more excuses. If I don't receive certain wholeness and soundness. I've the check immediately, I am going to have heard other terms used, "limited English," to speak to your manager when I'm in New for example. But they seem just as bad, as York next week." And sure enough, the if everything is limited, including people's following week there we were in front of this perceptions of the limited English speaker. astonished stockbroker, and I was sitting there red-faced and quiet, and my mother, (6) I know this for a fact, because when the real Mrs. Tan, was shouting at his boss I was growing up, my mother's "limited" in her impeccable broken English. English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her How well you understand Module 2. English reflected the quality of what she After reading the article with had to say that is, because she expressed understanding, figure out the detail them imperfectly her thoughts were asked in this table. imperfect. And I had plenty of empirical Questions Your Answers What is the purpose of the writer in writing this text? Cite evidences ? Who is the target audience of the text? What is the point of view used in this text? What is the tone depicted by the writer? What type of academic text is this? What academic language is used? 6  What features of academic text/writing are used? What can you say about the introduction? What about the body? How would you like this text to conclude or end? What I Have Learned Complete the table below by giving definition or explaining the terms that follow. Academic Writing Structure Point of View Tone Audience Pre-writing Brainstorming Mapping Freewriting Journal Questioning Descriptive Analytical Persuasive Critical Connotation What I Can Do RUBRICS FOR GRADING Content including the catchy title 40% Organization (Structure & Purpose) 30% Adherence to the mechanics (words, point of view, tone, language, etc.) 20% Overall quality and impact of the output 10% 7 Directions: Choose one topic from the topics listed below. Then do some research about the topic. Determine the purpose of your academic writing. Make some prewriting before you make the final draft. Remember that the prewriting process draft will also be submitted with your final draft. Points to remember: 1. Catchy title 2. Well-planned content 3. Well-organized structure 4. Well-thought of purpose 5. Carefully checked mechanics and choice of words 6. Be creative. 7. Make this your original work so no copy paste! Topics: 1. Global Pandemic – COVID 19 2. Social Media effect to the youth 3. Addicting internet games 4. Frontliners – New Heroes 5. Bayanihan in the Philippines during this pandemic season Enjoy Writing! Assessment Multiple Choice. Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of paper. 1. This purpose in writing is evident when you evaluate a journal article or a literature review that identifies the strengths and weaknesses of an existing research. a. Descriptive b. Analytical c. Persuasive d. Critical 2. This has all the features of analytical writing with the addition of your own point of view. a. Critical b. Persuasive c. Analytical d. Descriptive 3. It includes descriptive writing, but also requires you to re-organize the facts and information you describe into categories, groups, parts, types and relationships. a. Descriptive b. Analytical c. Persuasive d. Critical 4. The conclusion should contain the following except for one: a. It is a logical windup to what has been previously discussed. b. It contains new information to end the conclusion with a bang. c. It is usually the shortest part of the essay. d. It adds to the overall quality and impact of the essay. 5. All of the following contains everything about writing the main body except for one: a. It contains techniques and methodologies used. 8  b. It has definitions of words and concepts. c. It should not answer major issues and questions raised about the topic. d. Use major theories to answer questions about the topic. 6. It is to write as quickly as possible to create constant momentum with our thoughts so it will keep on flowing. a. Brainstorming b. Mapping c. Clustering d. Freewriting 7. This is thinking words and phrases related to the main topic, writing them down, encircling them and connecting them to the main topic. a. Freewriting b. Clustering c. Questioning d. Listing 8. This is the attitude or feeling the writer wants his writing to reflect towards the purpose, topic, audience and to himself. a. Mood b. Point of View c. Tone d. Academic Writing 9. This is the implied meaning of the word, oftentimes the meaning is based on how the writer used it in his writing. a. Connotation b. Denotation c. Synonym d. Antonym 10. This is the subject or the specific issue that your writing will discuss. a. Tone b. Theme c. Language d. Topic 9 English For Academic & Professional Purposes Quarter 3 – Module 3 Techniques in Summarizing a Variety of Academic Texts English for Academic and Professional Purposes Alternative Delivery Mode Quarter 3 – Module 3: Techniques in Summarizing a Variety of Academic Texts Second Edition, 2021 Republic Act 8293, section 176 states that: No copyright shall subsist in any work of the Government of the Philippines. However, prior approval of the government agency or office wherein the work is created shall be necessary for exploitation of such work for profit. Such agency or office may, among other things, impose as a condition the payment of royalties. Borrowed materials (i.e., songs, stories, poems, pictures, photos, brand names, trademarks, etc.) included in this module are owned by their respective copyright holders. Every effort has been exerted to locate and seek permission to use these materials from their respective copyright owners. The publisher and authors do not represent nor claim ownership over them. Published by the Department of Education-Schools Division of Makati City OIC-Schools Division Superintendent: Carleen S. Sedilla CESE OIC-Assistant Schools Division Superintendent and OIC-Chief, CID: Jay F. Macasieb DEM, CESE Development Team of the Module Writer: Rowena Dimas-Bunagan Editor: Eden F. Samadan Reviewers: Gizelle V. Laud Layout Artist: Rowena Dimas-Bunagan Management Team: Jay F. Macasieb, EdD OIC-Chief Education Supervisor, Curriculum Implementation Division Neil Vincent C. Sandoval Education Program Supervisor, LRMS Gizelle V. Laud Education Program Supervisor, English Printed in the Philippines by the Schools Division Office of Makati City through the support of the City Government of Makati (Local School Board) Department of Education – Schools Division Office of Makati City Office Address: Gov. Noble St., Brgy. Guadalupe Nuevo City of Makati, Metropolitan Manila, Philippines 1212 Telefax: (632) 8882-5861 / 8882-5862 E-mail Address: [email protected]  What I Need to Know This module was designed and written to meet the needs of the grade 12 students with regards to English related skills. It is here to help you master the English for Academic & Professional Purposes which aims to teach the students to communicate and write effectively in diverse academic and professional situations. Module 3 is entitled TECHNIQUES IN SUMMARIZING A VARIETY OF ACADEMIC TEXTS. Alongside in knowing and mastering these techniques is developing critical reading and thinking skills that are vital in improving the comprehension and reasoning of the readers. This is the focus of module 3. Upon knowing what academic writing is in the previous module, this module will now hone students to become active and critical readers and thinkers by evaluating the author’s purpose, style, choice of words, and argumentation. After going through this module you are expected to: - Explain what critical reading is as looking for ways of thinking; - Determine the differences of annotation, questioning, summarizing and paraphrasing; - Use various techniques in summarizing a variety of academic texts; - Define fallacy and identify the kinds of fallacy; - Evaluate whether an argument is logical or not; - Analyze a text by applying the different ways in reading critically; and - Critique a text by pointing out the different logical fallacies. What I Know Before going to the next module, let’s see how well you understand Module 2. Match column A with Column B. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of paper. COLUMN A COLUMN B 1. It is how the parts or the elements of something complex are put into one A. Classification Division great arrangement or composition. B. Complex Structure 2. This is the implied meaning of the word, oftentimes the meaning is based C. Critical on how the writer used it in his writing. D. Persuasive E. Analytical 3. This purpose in writing is evident when you evaluate a journal article or a F. Freewriting literature review that identifies the strength and weaknesses of existing G. Point of view research. H. Tone 4. It is the first stage of the writing process which pertains to the different I. Connotation techniques that will help you discover ideas before writing the first draft of J. Topic your paper. K. Introduction 5. It includes descriptive writing, but also requires you to re-organize the facts L. Conclusion and information you describe into categories, groups, parts, types and M. Academic writing relationships. N. Pre-writing 6. This is the subject or the specific issue that your writing will discuss. O. Structure P. Academic Text 7. This has all the features of analytical writing with the addition of your own Q. Simple point of view. 8. This is a particular style of expressions used in formal essays and other assessments. 9. It is to write as quickly as possible to create constant momentum with our thoughts so it will keep on flowing. 10. It has to tie together the various issues enclosed in the body of the paper and to comment on the meaning of the whole writing. 11. This is thinking words and phrases related to the main topic, writing them down, encircling them and connecting them to the main topic. 12. This is the attitude or feeling the writer wants his writing to reflect towards the purpose, topic, audience and to himself. 13. It is attention-grabbing and can give a glimpse about how the writer is going to support his thesis. 14. This uses complex sentences. Sentences embedded with clauses make a text more difficult to comprehend. 15. It is sorting information into topics and categories. What’s In What is critical reading? Now that we are beset with the world-wide pandemic, Covid 19, and we have no choice but to stay home so we can save lives, reading becomes but a habit for many of us; whether through printed materials of through the net. For sure, many have been victims of false news or believing the widespread of some fake news; this is a manifestation that at times Filipinos tend to believe at once because many are not critical readers. Critical reading involves evaluating and analyzing any information that you read or hear. It is not believing easily any offered text or articles to you, as Francis Bacon said, “Read not to Contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but weigh and consider.” When you read something and you scrutinize claims, seek definitions, judge information, demand proof and question assumptions, you are not just reading critically but thinking critically as well. Therefore, to read critically means you are conveying an active process of discovery that is to think critically. By reading critically, you determine the author’s point of view on something, ask questions, weigh the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments made by the writer, after which, you can decide to agree or disagree with it. You need to become a critical and active reader just so you can arrive at a justifiable interpretation of a text. To non-critical readers, texts provide facts. Readers gain knowledge by memorizing the statements within a text while to the critical reader, any single text provides but one portrayal of the facts or one individual’s point of view on the subject matter. Needless to say, a critical reader understands not only what a text says, but also how the author conveys the message. Critical reading is an active process of discovery. It has goals to follow. To recognize the author’s purpose is the number one goal. It involves inferring a basis for choices of content and language. Second is to understand tone and persuasive elements which involves classifying the nature of language choices. Third is recognizing bias that includes classifying the nature of patterns and choice of content and language. To fulfill the goals, you have to utilize the tools of critical reading – analysis and inference. A critical reader knows what to look for by analyzing the academic text while knowing how to know what to find is inferencing. The first tool – what to look for – involves analyzing those aspects of discussion that controls the meaning of content. The second tool – how to know what to find – caters to the process of inferencing or the interpretation of data from within the text. What’s New MANILA, Philippines — Among 79 participating countries and economies, the Philippines scored the lowest in reading comprehension in the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), according to the results released December 3, 2019. This was the headlines in the Philippine Star of their December 3, 2019 issue. Very alarming indeed. Reading was the main subject assesses among 15-year old students in the 2018 PISA – a worldwide study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. They examine students’ knowledge in reading, mathematics and science. One need not to comprehend thoroughly the content of the news to understand that we have a problem with regards to the reading skill of the Filipino learners. The Department of Education devised means and ways on how to solve this problem and called out to all educators to do their fair share. Teaching students to read isn’t enough, we have to make them active readers just so thinking progress follows too. Here are some techniques to develop Critical reading skills: 1. Keep a reading journal – in here, you can write your feelings and ideas in reaction to what you are reading. This process will hone your understanding of the text and associate them to your personal experiences, which in turn will allow you to connect to the author’s ideas and purpose. 2. Annotating the text – annotation is making notes on your copy of the reading material. You may highlight, underline, box or circle important passages, then write notes, comments, questions and reactions on the margins. This process will appear as if you are having a dialogue with the author and not just passively reading the text. There are no clear and definite guidelines to annotating a text, you can create your own style. Likewise, annotation makes it easy to find important information quickly when you go back and review a text. It helps you familiarize yourself with both content and organization of what you read. Annotating is an integral first step in the writing process apart from making your reading an active process. Here is an example for you. “How Come the Quantum” BY John Archibald Wheeler Greatest mystery in physics is What is the greatest mystery in physics today? Different nature of physicists have different answers. My candidate for greatest quantum Intro of mystery is a question now century old, “How come the topic quantum?” What is this thing, the “quantum”? It’s a bundle of energy, an indivisible unit that can be sliced no more. Max Plank Historical showed us a hundred years ago that light is emitted not in a perspective smooth, steady flow, but in quanta. Then physicists found definition quantum jumps of energy, the quantum of electric charge and more. In the small-scale world, everything is lumpy. uneven 3. Outlining the text – It is locating the thesis statement, claims, evidences and plotting them into an outline. This will help you see the writer’s structures, and the sequencing of the author’s ideas. This way you will be able to better evaluate the quality of writing. Outlining will be thoroughly discussed in Module 4. 4. Summarizing the text – It is getting the gist of the text and writing it down in your own words. Summarizing is a useful skill. This will test how much you have understood the text and will help you evaluate it critically. Generally, a summary should be around one quarter the length of the original piece, so if the original piece is four pages long, your summary should be no more than one page. A good summary has three basic characteristics: conciseness accuracy and objectivity. A summary condenses information unlike paraphrasing. The degree of density can vary while you can summarize a two-hundred paged book in fifty words, you can also summarize a twenty-five-page article in five hundred words. So, a summary has no specific limit and ways of doing it, we will probably write our summaries in our own different ways. Just remember, a summary should not include your opinions about the subject matter or the author’s argumentative strategy. Even if you disagree with the text’s content, you must rely on its factual elements. What about a plot summary, which is what students often do for their short story assignment? This is where the 5 elements of a plot take in; first you comment on the exposition – the start of the story which the author sets the stage for the events to come. Define the inciting incidents or the rising of the action; discuss the climax or the highest point of interest; finally, tie it up by discussing the falling of the action and the resolution. However, do not confuse summarizing with paraphrasing. When you paraphrase, your objective is to rewrite a statement with a different structure and using different words without altering the original meaning and organization of the content. It aims to provide most of the information in a slightly condensed form. Summaries are much shorter than the original passage, while paraphrasing can be shorter, longer or the same length. Paraphrasing is often used to avoid plagiarism. Study this example of a summary. This is the summary of the story – The Necklace by Guy De Maupassant Mathilde Loisel borrows a necklace from her friend Madame Forestier. Mathilde’s husband has secured an invitation to a party hosted by his boss, the Minister of Public Instruction. When Mathilde worries that she doesn’t have anything to wear, her husband agrees to buy her a new dress. Thanks to her new dress and Madame Forestier’s diamond necklace, Mathilde has a wonderful time at the party. All the me think she’s the prettiest woman at the party, and she dances until four in the morning. Upon returning home, Mathilde notices that the diamond necklace is gone. Her husband retraces their steps to no avail. Embarrassed, the couple spend their entire inheritance and take out loans to pay for a replacement necklace. Mathilde and her husband spend the next ten years scrimping and saving to pay off their debt. The menial housework ages Mathilde prematurely to the point where Madame Forestier doesn’t even recognize her. Finally, Mathilde tells her friend about replacing the necklace, only to learn that it was a fake. Now, let’s take a look at some examples of paraphrasing. This is an example of paraphrasing a sentence and a paragraph. Original: Her life spanned years of incredible change for women as they gained more rights than ever before. Paraphrase: She lived through the exciting era of women's liberation. Original passage: In The Sopranos, the mob is besieged as much by inner infidelity as it is by the federal government. Early in the series, the greatest threat to Tony's Family is his own biological family. One of his closest associates turns witness for the FBI, his mother colludes with his uncle to contract a hit on Tony, and his kids click through Web sites that track the federal crackdown in Tony's gangland. Paraphrased passage: In the first season of The Sopranos, Tony Soprano's mobster activities are more threatened by members of his biological family than by agents of the federal government. This familial betrayal is multi-pronged. Tony's closest friend and associate is an FBI informant, his mother and uncle are conspiring to have him killed, and his children are surfing the Web for information about his activities. 5. Questioning or evaluating the text – Questioning the text involves asking specific questions on points that you are skeptical about. These may be topics that do not go along with your personal views. That’s why it is best to take notes of things that you found impressive while reading. The most challenging part in critical reading is to question or evaluate the text. This is also the part where the other techniques – keeping a journal, annotating, outlining, summarizing- will be helpful as you question the author’s purpose and intentions, as well as his assumptions in the claims he made. To evaluate a text, you must also check if the arguments are supported by evidences and if these evidences are valid and from credible sources. Usually, evaluating texts is a mostly subjective task, which relies on a person’s personal experiences, biases, and personal feelings about the text. Oftentimes, evaluations discuss how the writer likes or dislikes something. Unlike summaries, which attempt to be unbiased, an evaluation allows the writer to inform the audience about good or bad qualities of a text or other medium being evaluated. These five techniques in reading critically are not isolated process that are independent of each other; they are overlapping processes that you can use simultaneously as you engage in a dialogue with the writer of the text your reading. Likewise, an active reader must not just be equipped in using these techniques, but also, a critical reader must be able to evaluate an academic text to spot the flaws in reasoning and argumentation of the author. This is where a knowledge of logical fallacies will be an advantage for a critical reader. What is It Now that you already know the importance of critical reading, and that you already knew the techniques on how you can become a critical reader and thinker, let us now try to put these thoughts into practice. Read with understanding the story that follows. Carefully evaluate the text by: 1. making an annotation and write down important points 2. forming questions and clear views of the author which you do not conform with; 3. writing a short summary 4. evaluating the author’s purpose and structure. Max Shulman: Love is a Fallacy Cool was I and logical. Keen, calculating, perspicacious, acute and astute—I was all of these. My brain was as powerful as a dynamo, precise as a chemist’s scales, as penetrating as a scalpel. And—think of it!—I only eighteen. It is not often that one so young has such a giant intellect. Take, for example, Petey Bellows, my roommate at the university. Same age, same background, but dumb as an ox. A nice enough fellow, you understand, but nothing upstairs. Emotional type. Unstable. Impressionable. Worst of all, a faddist. Fads, I submit, are the very negation of reason. To be swept up in every new craze that comes along, to surrender oneself to idiocy just because everybody else is doing it—this, to me, is the acme of mindlessness. Not, however, to Petey.  One afternoon I found Petey lying on his bed with an expression of such distress on his face that I immediately diagnosed appendicitis. “Don’t move,” I said, “Don’t take a laxative. I’ll get a doctor.” “Raccoon,” he mumbled thickly. “Raccoon?” I said, pausing in my flight. “I want a raccoon coat,” he wailed. I perceived that his trouble was not physical, but mental. “Why do you want a raccoon coat?” “I should have known it,” he cried, pounding his temples. “I should have known they’d come back when the Charleston came back. Like a fool I spent all my money for textbooks, and now I can’t get a raccoon coat.” “Can you mean,” I said incredulously, “that people are actually wearing raccoon coats again?” “All the Big Men on Campus are wearing them. Where’ve you been?” “In the library,” I said, naming a place not frequented by Big Men on Campus. He leaped from the bed and paced the room. “I’ve got to have a raccoon coat,” he said passionately. “I’ve got to!” “Petey, why? Look at it rationally. Raccoon coats are unsanitary. They shed. They smell bad. They weigh too much. They’re unsightly. They—” “You don’t understand,” he interrupted impatiently. “It’s the thing to do. Don’t you want to be in the swim?” “No,” I said truthfully. “Well, I do,” he declared. “I’d give anything for a raccoon coat. Anything!” My brain, that precision instrument, slipped into high gear. “Anything?” I asked, looking at him narrowly. “Anything,” he affirmed in ringing tones. I stroked my chin thoughtfully. It so happened that I knew where to get my hands on a raccoon coat. My father had had one in his undergraduate days; it lay now in a trunk in the attic back home. It also happened that Petey had something I wanted. He didn’t have it exactly, but at least he had first rights on it. I refer to his girl, Polly Espy. I had long coveted Polly Espy. Let me emphasize that my desire for this young woman was not emotional in nature. She was, to be sure, a girl who excited the emotions, but I was not one to let my heart rule my head. I wanted Polly for a shrewdly calculated, entirely cerebral reason. I was a freshman in law school. In a few years I would be out in practice. I was well aware of the importance of the right kind of wife in furthering a lawyer’s career. The successful lawyers I had observed were, almost without exception, married to beautiful, gracious, intelligent women. With one omission, Polly fitted these specifications perfectly. Beautiful she was. She was not yet of pin-up proportions, but I felt that time would supply the lack. She already had the makings. Gracious she was. By gracious I mean full of graces. She had an erectness of carriage, an ease of bearing, a poise that clearly indicated the best of breeding. At table her manners were exquisite. I had seen her at the Kozy Kampus Korner eating the specialty of the house—a sandwich that contained scraps of pot roast, gravy, chopped nuts, and a dipper of sauerkraut— without even getting her fingers moist. Intelligent she was not. In fact, she veered in the opposite direction. But I believed that under my guidance she would smarten up. At any rate, it was worth a try. It is, after all, easier to make a beautiful dumb girl smart than to make an ugly smart girl beautiful. “Petey,” I said, “are you in love with Polly Espy?” “I think she’s a keen kid,” he replied, “but I don’t know if you’d call it love. Why?” “Do you,” I asked, “have any kind of formal arrangement with her? I mean are you going steady or anything like that?” “No. We see each other quite a bit, but we both have other dates. Why?” “Is there,” I asked, “any other man for whom she has a particular fondness?” “Not that I know of. Why?” I nodded with satisfaction. “In other words, if you were out of the picture, the field would be open. Is that right?” “I guess so. What are you getting at?” “Nothing , nothing,” I said innocently, and took my suitcase out the closet. “Where are you going?” asked Petey. “Home for weekend.” I threw a few things into the bag. “Listen,” he said, clutching my arm eagerly, “while you’re home, you couldn’t get some money from your old man, could you, and lend it to me so I can buy a raccoon coat?” “I may do better than that,” I said with a mysterious wink and closed my bag and left. “Look,” I said to Petey when I got back Monday morning. I threw open the suitcase and revealed the huge, hairy, gamy object that my father had worn in his Stutz Bearcat in 1925. “Holy Toledo!” said Petey reverently. He plunged his hands into the raccoon coat and then his face. “Holy Toledo!” he repeated fifteen or twenty times. “Would you like it?” I asked. “Oh yes!” he cried, clutching the greasy pelt to him. Then a canny look came into his eyes. “What do you want for it?” “Your girl.” I said, mincing no words. “Polly?” he said in a horrified whisper. “You want Polly?” “That’s right.” He flung the coat from him. “Never,” he said stoutly. I shrugged. “Okay. If you don’t want to be in the swim, I guess it’s your business.” I sat down in a chair and pretended to read a book, but out of the corner of my eye I kept watching Petey. He was a torn man. First he looked at the coat with the expression of a waif at a bakery window. Then he turned away and set his jaw resolutely. Then he looked back at the coat, with even more longing in his face. Then he turned away, but with not so much resolution this time. Back and forth his head swiveled, desire waxing, resolution waning. Finally he didn’t turn away at all; he just stood and stared with mad lust at the coat. “It isn’t as though I was in love with Polly,” he said thickly. “Or going steady or anything like that.” “That’s right,” I murmured. “What’s Polly to me, or me to Polly?” “Not a thing,” said I. “It’s just been a casual kick—just a few laughs, that’s all.” “Try on the coat,” said I. He complied. The coat bunched high over his ears and dropped all the way down to his shoe tops. He looked like a mound of dead raccoons. “Fits fine,” he said happily. I rose from my chair. “Is it a deal?” I asked, extending my hand. He swallowed. “It’s a deal,” he said and shook my hand. I had my first date with Polly the following evening. This was in the nature of a survey; I wanted to find out just how much work I had to do to get her mind up to the standard I required. I took her first to dinner. “Gee, that was a delish dinner,” she said as we left the restaurant. Then I took her to a movie. “Gee, that was a marvy movie,” she said as we left the theatre. And then I took her home. “Gee, I had a sensaysh time,” she said as she bade me good night. I went back to my room with a heavy heart. I had gravely underestimated the size of my task. This girl’s lack of information was terrifying. Nor would it be enough merely to supply her with information. First she had to be taught to think. This loomed as a project of no small dimensions, and at first I was tempted to give her back to Petey. But then I got to thinking about her abundant physical charms and about the way she entered a room and the way she handled a knife and fork, and I decided to make an effort. I went about it, as in all things, systematically. I gave her a course in logic. It happened that I, as a law student, was taking a course in logic myself, so I had all the facts at my fingertips. “Poll’,” I said to her when I picked her up on our next date, “tonight we are going over to the Knoll and talk.” “Oo, terrif,” she replied. One thing I will say for this girl: you would go far to find another so agreeable. We went to the Knoll, the campus trysting place, and we sat down under an old oak, and she looked at me expectantly. “What are we going to talk about?” she asked. “Logic.” She thought this over for a minute and decided she liked it. “Magnif,” she said. “Logic,” I said, clearing my throat, “is the science of thinking. Before we can think correctly, we must first learn to recognize the common fallacies of logic. These we will take up tonight.” “Wow-dow!” she cried, clapping her hands delightedly. I winced, but went bravely on. “First let us examine the fallacy called Dicto Simpliciter.” “By all means,” she urged, batting her lashes eagerly. “Dicto Simpliciter means an argument based on an unqualified generalization. For example: Exercise is good. Therefore everybody should exercise.” “I agree,” said Polly earnestly. “I mean exercise is wonderful. I mean it builds the body and everything.” “Polly,” I said gently, “the argument is a fallacy. Exercise is good is an unqualified generalization. For instance, if you have heart disease, exercise is bad, not good. Many people are ordered by their doctors not to exercise. You must qualify the generalization. You must say exercise is usually good, or exercise is good for most people. Otherwise you have committed a Dicto Simpliciter. Do you see?” “No,” she confessed. “But this is marvy. Do more! Do more!” “It will be better if you stop tugging at my sleeve,” I told her, and when she desisted, I continued. “Next we take up a fallacy called Hasty Generalization. Listen carefully: You can’t speak French. Petey Bellows can’t speak French. I must therefore conclude that nobody at the University of Minnesota can speak French.” “Really?” said Polly, amazed. “Nobody?” I hid my exasperation. “Polly, it’s a fallacy. The generalization is reached too hastily. There are too few instances to support such a conclusion.” “Know any more fallacies?” she asked breathlessly. “This is more fun than dancing even.” I fought off a wave of despair. I was getting nowhere with this girl, absolutely nowhere. Still, I am nothing if not persistent. I continued. “Next comes Post Hoc. Listen to this: Let’s not take Bill on our picnic. Every time we take him out with us, it rains.” “I know somebody just like that,” she exclaimed. “A girl back home—Eula Becker, her name is. It never fails. Every single time we take her on a picnic—” “Polly,” I said sharply, “it’s a fallacy. Eula Becker doesn’t cause the rain. She has no connection with the rain. You are guilty of Post Hoc if you blame Eula Becker.” “I’ll never do it again,” she promised contritely. “Are you mad at me?” I sighed. “No, Polly, I’m not mad.” “Then tell me some more fallacies.” “All right. Let’s try Contradictory Premises.” “Yes, let’s,” she chirped, blinking her eyes happily. I frowned, but plunged ahead. “Here’s an example of Contradictory Premises: If God can do anything, can He make a stone so heavy that He won’t be able to lift it?” “Of course,” she replied promptly. “But if He can do anything, He can lift the stone,” I pointed out. “Yeah,” she said thoughtfully. “Well, then I guess He can’t make the stone.” “But He can do anything,” I reminded her. She scratched her pretty, empty head. “I’m all confused,” she admitted. “Of course you are. Because when the premises of an argument contradict each other, there can be no argument. If there is an irresistible force, there can be no immovable object. If there is an immovable object, there can be no irresistible force. Get it?” “Tell me more of this keen stuff,” she said eagerly. I consulted my watch. “I think we’d better call it a night. I’ll take you home now, and you go over all the things you’ve learned. We’ll have another session tomorrow night.” I deposited her at the girls’ dormitory, where she assured me that she had had a perfectly terrif evening, and I went glumly home to my room. Petey lay snoring in his bed, the raccoon coat huddled like a great hairy beast at his feet. For a moment I considered waking him and telling him that he could have his girl back. It seemed clear that my project was doomed to failure. The girl simply had a logic-proof head. But then I reconsidered. I had wasted one evening; I might as well waste another. Who knew? Maybe somewhere in the extinct crater of her mind a few members still smoldered. Maybe somehow I could fan them into flame. Admittedly it was not a prospect fraught with hope, but I decided to give it one more try. Seated under the oak the next evening I said, “Our first fallacy tonight is called Ad Misericordiam.” She quivered with delight. “Listen closely,” I said. “A man applies for a job. When the boss asks him what his qualifications are, he replies that he has a wife and six children at home, the wife is a helpless cripple, the children have nothing to eat, no clothes to wear, no shoes on their feet, there are no beds in the house, no coal in the cellar, and winter is coming.” A tear rolled down each of Polly’s pink cheeks. “Oh, this is awful, awful,” she sobbed. “Yes, it’s awful,” I agreed, “but it’s no argument. The man never answered the boss’s question about his qualifications. Instead he appealed to the boss’s sympathy. He committed the fallacy of Ad Misericordiam. Do you understand?” “Have you got a handkerchief?” she blubbered. I handed her a handkerchief and tried to keep from screaming while she wiped her eyes. “Next,” I said in a carefully controlled tone, “we will discuss False Analogy. Here is an example: Students should be allowed to look at their textbooks during examinations. After all, surgeons have X-rays to guide them during an operation, lawyers have briefs to guide them during a trial, carpenters have blueprints to guide them when they are building a house. Why, then, shouldn’t students be allowed to look at their textbooks during an examination?” “There now,” she said enthusiastically, “is the most marvy idea I’ve heard in years.” “Polly,” I said testily, “the argument is all wrong. Doctors, lawyers, and carpenters aren’t taking a test to see how much they have learned, but students are. The situations are altogether different, and you can’t make an analogy between them.” “I still think it’s a good idea,” said Polly. “Nuts,” I muttered. Doggedly I pressed on. “Next we’ll try Hypothesis Contrary to Fact.” “Sounds yummy,” was Polly’s reaction. “Listen: If Madame Curie had not happened to leave a photographic plate in a drawer with a chunk of pitchblende, the world today would not know about radium.” “True, true,” said Polly, nodding her head “Did you see the movie? Oh, it just knocked me out. That Walter Pidgeon is so dreamy. I mean he fractures me.” “If you can forget Mr. Pidgeon for a moment,” I said coldly, “I would like to point out that statement is a fallacy. Maybe Madame Curie would have discovered radium at some later date. Maybe somebody else would have discovered it. Maybe any number of things would have happened. You can’t start with a hypothesis that is not true and then draw any supportable conclusions from it.” “They ought to put Walter Pidgeon in more pictures,” said Polly, “I hardly ever see him any more.” One more chance, I decided. But just one more. There is a limit to what flesh and blood can bear. “The next fallacy is called Poisoning the Well.” “How cute!” she gurgled. “Two men are having a debate. The first one gets up and says, ‘My opponent is a notorious liar. You can’t believe a word that he is going to say.’ … Now, Polly, think. Think hard. What’s wrong?” I watched her closely as she knit her creamy brow in concentration. Suddenly a glimmer of intelligence—the first I had seen—came into her eyes. “It’s not fair,” she said with indignation. “It’s not a bit fair. What chance has the second man got if the first man calls him a liar before he even begins talking?”  “Right!” I cried exultantly. “One hundred per cent right. It’s not fair. The first man has poisoned the well before anybody could drink from it. He has hamstrung his opponent before he could even start … Polly, I’m proud of you.” “Pshaws,” she murmured, blushing with pleasure. “You see, my dear, these things aren’t so hard. All you have to do is concentrate. Think— examine—evaluate. Come now, let’s review everything we have learned.” “Fire away,” she said with an airy wave of her hand. Heartened by the knowledge that Polly was not altogether a cretin, I began a long, patient review of all I had told her. Over and over and over again I cited instances, pointed out flaws, kept hammering away without letup. It was like digging a tunnel. At first, everything was work, sweat, and darkness. I had no idea when I would reach the light, or even if I would. But I persisted. I pounded and clawed and scraped, and finally I was rewarded. I saw a chink of light. And then the chink got bigger and the sun came pouring in and all was bright. Five grueling nights with this took, but it was worth it. I had made a logician out of Polly; I had taught her to think. My job was done. She was worthy of me, at last. She was a fit wife for me, a proper hostess for my many mansions, a suitable mother for my well-heeled children. It must not be thought that I was without love for this girl. Quite the contrary. Just as Pygmalion loved the perfect woman he had fashioned, so I loved mine. I decided to acquaint her with my feelings at our very next meeting. The time had come to change our relationship from academic to romantic. “Polly,” I said when next we sat beneath our oak, “tonight we will not discuss fallacies.” “Aw, gee,” she said, disappointed. “My dear,” I said, favoring her with a smile, “we have now spent five evenings together. We have gotten along splendidly. It is clear that we are well matched.” “Hasty Generalization,” said Polly brightly. “I beg your pardon,” said I. “Hasty Generalization,” she repeated. “How can you say that we are well matched on the basis of only five dates?” I chuckled with amusement. The dear child had learned her lessons well. “My dear,” I said, patting her hand in a tolerant manner, “five dates is plenty. After all, you don’t have to eat a whole cake to know that it’s good.” “False Analogy,” said Polly promptly. “I’m not a cake. I’m a girl.” I chuckled with somewhat less amusement. The dear child had learned her lessons perhaps too well. I decided to change tactics. Obviously the best approach was a simple, strong, direct declaration of love. I paused for a moment while my massive brain chose the proper word. Then I began: “Polly, I love you. You are the whole world to me, the moon and the stars and the constellations of outer space. Please, my darling, say that you will go steady with me, for if you will not, life will be meaningless. I will languish. I will refuse my meals. I will wander the face of the earth, a shambling, hollow-eyed hulk.” There, I thought, folding my arms, that ought to do it. “Ad Misericordiam,” said Polly. I ground my teeth. I was not Pygmalion; I was Frankenstein, and my monster had me by the throat. Frantically I fought back the tide of panic surging through me; at all costs I had to keep cool. “Well, Polly,” I said, forcing a smile, “you certainly have learned your fallacies.” “You’re darn right,” she said with a vigorous nod. “And who taught them to you, Polly?” “You did.” “That’s right. So you do owe me something, don’t you, my dear? If I hadn’t come along you never would have learned about fallacies.” “Hypothesis Contrary to Fact,” she said instantly. I dashed perspiration from my brow. “Polly,” I croaked, “you mustn’t take all these things so literally. I mean this is just classroom stuff. You know that the things you learn in school don’t have anything to do with life.” “Dicto Simpliciter,” she said, wagging her finger at me playfully. That did it. I leaped to my feet, bellowing like a bull. “Will you or will you not go steady with me?” “I will not,” she replied. “Why not?” I demanded. “Because this afternoon I promised Petey Bellows that I would go steady with him.” I reeled back, overcome with the infamy of it. After he promised, after he made a deal, after he shook my hand! “The rat!” I shrieked, kicking up great chunks of turf. “You can’t go with him, Polly. He’s a liar. He’s a cheat. He’s a rat.” “Poisoning the Well ,” said Polly, “and stop shouting. I think shouting must be a fallacy too.” With an immense effort of will, I modulated my voice. “All right,” I said. “You’re a logician. Let’s look at this thing logically. How could you choose Petey Bellows over me? Look at me—a brilliant student, a tremendous intellectual, a man with an assured future. Look at Petey—a knothead, a jitterbug, a guy who’ll never know where his next meal is coming from. Can you give me one logical reason why you should go steady with Petey Bellows?” “I certainly can,” declared Polly. “He’s got a raccoon coat.”