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Academic & Professional Language Skills

This document provides an overview of key aspects of academic writing and reading. It discusses the importance of academic writing in formal education and its defining characteristics of being clear, concise, structured, and backed by evidence. Academic reading differs from casual reading in that it is done for a specific purpose rather than enjoyment. The document also outlines features of academic textbooks, including chapter and lesson structures with objectives, illustrations, and assessment tools. Key terms are defined, such as the differences between natural sciences and social sciences, as well as academic language and disciplines.

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Kyla Lacasandile
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77 views3 pages

Academic & Professional Language Skills

This document provides an overview of key aspects of academic writing and reading. It discusses the importance of academic writing in formal education and its defining characteristics of being clear, concise, structured, and backed by evidence. Academic reading differs from casual reading in that it is done for a specific purpose rather than enjoyment. The document also outlines features of academic textbooks, including chapter and lesson structures with objectives, illustrations, and assessment tools. Key terms are defined, such as the differences between natural sciences and social sciences, as well as academic language and disciplines.

Uploaded by

Kyla Lacasandile
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

MODULE 1 ACADEMIC WRITING PICTURE – serves as visual representation of the principles

English for Academic & Professional Purposes Academic writing is a core subject in the academe. Academic and applications tackled in the chapter
writing is a particular style used in formal essays and other
ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL assessments for the course. It requires formal language, a B. LESSON OPENER
PURPOSES provide language instruction for academic study logical structure and is supported by evidence/s. Academic LESSON OPENER The title of the lesson – specific and
in tertiary level. LANGUAGE SKILLS addressed include: writing is clear, concise, focused, structured and backed up descriptive to accurately set the parameters of the lesson
listening comprehension, fluency development, oral by evidence. Its purpose is to aid the reader's understanding. SCIENCE PRINCIPLE OR MAIN IDEA -This serves as the
intelligibility, reading, grammar, writing, and vocabulary It has a formal tone and style, but it is not complex and does anchor to the succeeding discussions in the chapter
development. ACADEMIC STUDY SKILLS addressed not require the use of long sentences and complicated PICTURES -To stir the reader’s interest and to show specific
include: test taking and note taking skills, academic vocabulary. Academic writing refers to a style of expression applications of the principle being dealt with.
vocabulary usage, critical reading and writing, comprehending that researchers use to define the intellectual boundaries of CAPTIONS -Provides crucial information on how the lesson
academic lectures, including research papers. their disciplines and their specific areas of expertise. can be applied
ACADEMIC READING
ACADEME Academic reading differs from reading for pleasure. You will C. LESSON PROPER
-Education is two way communication process. Learning and often not read every word, and you are reading for a specific SECTION HEADING -Shows the specific aspect of the lesson
understanding depends on effective listening, reading and purpose rather than enjoyment. This page explains different ILLUSTRATION -Provides visual representation of the
comprehension skills. Passing exams and getting good types of purpose and how the purpose affects how you read, concept being discussed in the body
results for assignments need an effective writing and oral as well as suggesting a general approach to reading BODY OF THE LESSON -Provides a thorough discussion of
communication academic texts. Academic and nonacademic texts are also the concept at hand
PROFESSION typically written for a particular audience. While LABEL -Provides conceptual reference
-Expand your thinking capacity. Another language to think nonacademic texts are intended more for mass, public CAPTION -Used to describe the picture
imagined and argue. The great wealth of knowledge and consumption than scholarly or academic texts, they may be
information is in english. The business language of the world. targeted towards special interests or occupations in society. D. ASSESSMENT TOOLS
Travel and work anywhere in the world. More opportunities for ACADEMIC LANGUAGE GUIDE QUESTIONS -Designed to understand how science
relationships and Entertainment and enjoy your life Academic language is the language needed by students to do principle works in the real world
ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES the work in schools. It includes, for example,discipline-specific
Discipline is a branch of learning or scholarly instruction. vocabulary, grammar and punctuation, and applications of
-Refers to a form of specific, rigorous scientific training that an rhetorical conventions and devices that are typical for a SOCIAL SCIENCES
individual is exposed to. content area (e.g., essays, lab reports, discussions of a A. UNIT OPENER
NATURAL SCIENCE controversial issue.) PICTURES -Serves as remnants of a culture tackled in the
Natural sciences are concerned with natural phenomena and unit or depicts historical or social events
physical variables. THE LANGUAGE OF NATURAL & SOCIAL SCIENCES UNIT NUMBER & TITLE -Indicated to situate the discussion
=Physical science, Earth science, Life science =The Materials in these fields are written in detached manner- in the unit
SOCIAL SCIENCE no opinion needed. FIRST PARAGRAPH -Provides period in history to be tackled
Social Science deals with behavior of individuals and =Information are presented in a deductive manner – by the unit. Provides scope and limitations. Succeeding topics
communities. principles; evidences tells specific topics
=Anthropology, Archaeology, Economics, Geography,
History, Law, Linguistics, Politics, Psychology and Sociology FEATURES OF A SAMPLE TEXTBOOK B. CHAPTER OPENER
NATURAL SCIENCES PICTURES -Tells of an important historical icon of social
ACADEMIC TEXT it is defined as critical, objective, A. CHAPTER OPENER image in the civilization
specialized texts written by experts or professionals in a given HEADING – comprised of the chapter number and chapter LESSON OBJECTIVES -Skills that students are expected to
field using formal language. Academic texts are objective. title manifest after the lesson
This means that they are based on facts with solid basis. BRIEF EXPLANATION – may be present in order to set LESSON NUMBER AND TITLE -Indicated to inform the
=A critical, objective, specialized texts written by experts or expectations readers the coverage of the lesson
professionals in a given field using formal language.   SIDEBAR – enumerates the specific questions to be 1ST PARAGRAPH – thesis statement
It’s purpose is to provide facts or information.  answered in the section as well as their sequence SUBTITLE – marks the beginning of a discussion
 Learn to identify relevant information or key ideas
C. LESSON PROPER ALPHANUMERIC OUTLINE- an outline that uses letters and  Combine details or examples that support the main
MAPS -Helps you visualize the discussion numbers in the following order.  idea
CITATION -Serves to help you locate where a piece of I. ROMAN NUMERALS  Concentrate on the gist or main idea and key words
information is found A. I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, etc.  presented in the text
CONTINUATION OF THE BODY OF THE LESSON -Represent main ideas to be covered in the paper in the order  Capture key ideas in the text and put them
FOCUS QUESTIONS -Aims to highlight certain aspects of they will be presented  together clearly and concisely
text II. UPPERCASE LETTERS
A. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, etc.
D. LESSON SYNTHESIS -Represent subtopics within each main idea You are NOT summarizing when you…
=These bullet points serve to recapitulate and synthesize the III. ARABIC NUMBERS  Write down everything
important points of the lesson A. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, etc.  Write down ideas from the text word-for-word
=The valuing questions aim to highlight the importance of -Represent details or subdivisions within subtopics  Write down incoherent and irrelevant ideas.
lesson in day-to-day life IV. LOWERCASE LETTERS  Write down ideas which are not stated in the text.
=The gap fill activity aims to refresh the students. A. a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, l, m, etc.  Write down a summary that has the same length or
-Represent details within subdivisions  is longer than the original text.
E. ASSESSMENT
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS -Helps you to come up with a Here are helpful tips in writing a summary:
comprehensive understanding of the lesson BIBLIOGRAPHY is a list of materials that were used or will be 1. Read the text you are about to summarize over and over
DIAGRAM -Enables you to come up with a bird’s eye view of used in the composition of an academic or professional piece. again. It will give you a clearer grasp of what an author
the lesson It is normally found at the end of the text and is arranged wishes to communicate and accomplish through his/her work.
alphabetically. The entries are encoded using the prescribed 2. Identify the main idea of the text that you are planning to
OUTLINE - is crucial in essay writing because it will establish format in a particular discipline. summarize. Present this as the first sentence of your
the “shape” that an essay will take. The outline should be a American Psychological Association (APA) natural and social summary to provide your readers with a clearer view of what
reflection of an essay’s thesis statement, and in turn, will sciences the academic text is all about.
guide the writer as to what details are supposed to be Modern Language Association (MLA) humanities 3. Put your feet into your readers’ shoes. Do not assume that
included in an essay. are used in determining the structure of your readers have already read the text you are summarizing.
an academic paper. ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY For this reason, all of the points that may be deemed
An annotated bibliography, on the other hand, may be written unfamiliar by the readers should be explained in your
REMEMBER: either on a set of cards, a table, or simply typed out in a word summary.
1. Title processor. 4. Ensure a smooth flow of ideas. Use appropriate transition
2. Thesis Statement devices (ex. Moreover, furthermore, therefore, as a result,
3. Content MODULE 3 etc.) for your readers to easily notice the relationship of one
Introduction - subtopics SUMMARIZING idea to another. Always make sure that you preset your
Body - subtopics A summary or a précis is a synopsis or digest of the essence sentences in a cohesive manner.
Conclusion -- subtopics of an entire text. Summarizing is an important skill in critical 5. Limit your summary to a few sentences. Remember that
reading. It is used to determine the important or essential your main priority in giving a summary is to enable your
THESIS STATEMENT ideas and insights in a book, article, and book chapter or even readers to understand the text you are dealing with the way
The foundation of the entire work and informs the reader in parts of a selection. These ideas being pertained to include you do.
exactly what you wish to achieve. the gist or main idea, useful information, or key word or 6. DO NOT FORGET TO PROOFREAD YOUR WORK!
phrases that will help you meet your reading purpose.
TWO TYPES OF OUTLINE Summarizing is generally done after reading. However, it can PARAPHRASING
TOPIC OUTLINE, which only makes used of key words and be done as well while reading a text. Paraphrasing is a process in which a writer restates the
phrases, insights found in a reference using his/her own words. Such a
SENTENCE OUTLINE, which makes use of complete Summarizing helps you… process may sound simple, but writing an effective
sentences.  Deepen your understanding of the text
paraphrase entails the accurate restatement of ideas found in 1. Does the review have a clear general impression that it
a reference to suit your purpose. communicates to its readers?
Remember, your primary goal in paraphrasing is to 2. Do the details presented in the body adequately support
capture the essence of your selected passage regardless of the main idea of the review?
the words you used in order to use it to build up your main 3. Is the presentation of the criticisms presentable to the
argument. general audience, or do they sound too spiteful? Does it
border on being offensive or libelous?
Here are the step- by-step process in paraphrasing: 4. Did the author maintain an objective stance towards the
1. Repeatedly read the passage until you have completely restaurant being reviewed?
understood what it says. It will give you an accurate
understanding of the text at hand and prevent yourself from Editing
misquoting the passage. Despite the improvements in the second draft, the piece
2. Do not look at the passage while writing your paraphrase, is still not yet ready for publication. Before making your work
for it might influence your choice of words. If it does, the available for public consumption, go over it and correct
paraphrase may bear a lot of resemblance with the original whatever errors in grammar or mechanics you may find. This
passage, and this constitutes plagiarism. is termed as the editing stage of writing process. After
a. WORD-FOR-WORD (VERBATIM) PLAGIARISM: performing this step, the article is now ready for publication
b. WORD ORDER PLAGIARISM In the case of the sample restaurant review, the
c. IDEA PLAGIARISM reviewer’s work has to be improved in its
3. After paraphrasing, re-read the passage. Check if you were word choice and grammar. Her ideas can be better
able to accurately capture its meaning. communicated if the words used convey more
4. Check for errors in grammar or mechanics. concrete meaning and if tiny grammar glitches are avoided.
5. Always cite your source. This includes citation in APA, MLA
or Turabian formats Publishing
After correcting the grammar errors in the second draft, the
reviewer’s paper is now ready for publication.
MODULE 4
Writing Reviews

Drafting Stage
Your main goal when you are writing your first draft is to
simply put your ideas on paper and having your work in essay
form. Once your ideas are already on appear, it would be
easier to go through them and make the necessary changes.
Do not be too conscious of your grammar and organization
yet. Such mindset might only impede your thought processes
thus preventing you from writing all the important points you
wish to include in your paper.

Revision Stage
The comments and revisions you are going to make in
preparing for the second draft should ideally deal with
improving the content of your piece and organization of your
idea. Below are some guidelines on what to watch out during
the revision stage.

Common questions

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Effective listening, reading, and comprehension skills are critical for academic success as they enable students to absorb information accurately, participate in discussions, and demonstrate understanding through writing and exams. In professional communication, these skills facilitate clearer understanding, efficient information exchange, and better decision-making. Mastery in these language skills results in improved academic performance by ensuring accurate interpretation of lectures and texts and professional success by enabling articulate and precise communication in diverse settings .

In academic writing, an outline plays a critical role in organizing ideas logically and coherently before the writing process begins. It serves as a blueprint that guides the writer in structuring the paper, ensuring all arguments align with the thesis statement and maintaining a logical flow of ideas. A well-constructed outline prevents irrelevant digressions, ensuring the author's arguments are clear and focused. Outlines enhance the overall quality of a written piece by enabling the writer to systematically present information, making complex ideas accessible and understandable to readers .

Academic writing is distinguished by its formal structure, clear and concise language, logical flow, and reliance on evidence. Its purpose is to facilitate the reader's understanding by using a formal tone and style, without being overly complex. The writing is focused and supported by evidence from credible sources, and it aims to define the intellectual boundaries of the disciplines and topics it addresses. Unlike other forms of writing which may include personal opinions and less formal language, academic writing maintains a neutral tone and is structured to present information logically and systematically .

Guide questions and visual elements in textbooks support understanding and application by prompting critical thinking and engagement with the material. Guide questions encourage students to reflect on and synthesize information, facilitating deeper comprehension. Visual elements such as pictures and diagrams provide concrete examples of abstract principles, helping students visualize and apply ideas in real-world contexts. This multimodal approach ensures that students actively interact with content and apply learning to practical situations, which reinforces understanding .

A natural sciences textbook chapter typically includes a chapter opener heading with the chapter number and title, a brief explanation to set expectations, sidebar questions to guide reading, and pictures to visually represent principles. The lesson proper includes a section heading with specific aspects, illustrations for visual representation, and a thorough body discussion. A label provides conceptual references. These components facilitate learning by structuring information in an accessible way, enhancing understanding through visuals and guided questions to apply principles in real-world contexts .

Paraphrasing contributes to academic integrity by allowing writers to capture and present the essence of a text in their own words while maintaining the original meaning. This demonstrates understanding and prevents plagiarism, as long as the source is correctly cited. Common pitfalls include failing to capture the original passage's meaning accurately, which can misrepresent the source, or making paraphrases too similar to the original text, which may lead to word-for-word or structural plagiarism. Ensuring proper citation and rephrasing information correctly are vital to maintaining academic integrity .

Academic language is a specialized form of language required by students to perform academically in school settings. It includes discipline-specific vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, and the application of rhetorical conventions typical for the content area, like essays and lab reports. This language is essential for academic writing, which is characterized by a formal tone, structured and logical presentation backed by evidence, aiding in readers’ understanding. In contrast, non-academic language tends to be less formal, not structured by the academic conventions, and aimed at general public consumption, often allowing for personal opinions and simpler language .

Evaluating arguments and evidence is significant in academic reading as it allows the reader to critically assess the validity, relevance, and reliability of the information presented. This process involves questioning the arguments' logical consistency, checking the robustness of evidence, and verifying sources. Critical evaluation helps in forming informed opinions, prevents the acceptance of flawed reasoning, and enhances comprehension by distinguishing between fact and opinion, ultimately leading to a deeper and more accurate understanding of the text .

Understanding the structure of academic texts is crucial for developing effective study skills. Recognizing elements such as thesis statements, outlines, and key arguments allows students to identify main ideas and supporting details efficiently, which enhances test-taking skills by focusing on crucial information. Additionally, structured note-taking becomes more effective as students can organize information using outlines and academic text frameworks, making it easier to recall and understand complex concepts during exams or assignments .

Maps and timelines in social sciences textbooks enhance the learning experience by providing spatial and chronological contexts for historical and social events. Maps allow students to visualize geographical relationships and locate events within physical spaces. Timelines help in understanding sequences of events, showing cause-and-effect relationships, and highlighting parallel developments. These visual aids make abstractions tangible, aid memory retention, and support the synthesis of complex information into a cohesive understanding of the subject matter .

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