ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND

PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES
3RD QUARTER, 2ND SEMESTER
OCRISMA, JOHN PATRICK C. STEM - 12 - 8

LESSON 1: EFFECTIVE READING STRATEGIES AND Making Inferences - is the ability of

understanding implicit messages conveyed by a writer
TECHNIQUES IN IMPROVING READING SKILL based on the reader’s schema or background knowledge.
• help improve the critical comprehension skill of the
Reading readers as they try to unravel the meaning between,
behind, and beyond words they read.
● is defined as a cognitive process that involves decoding
symbols to arrive at meaning. It is an active process of Drawing conclusion - gives the reader an experience to
constructing meanings of words. explore after reading the text.
● Reading with a purpose helps the reader to direct
information towards a goal and focuses their attention.
- the readers are given the opportunity to utilize
visual clues to figure out something not directly
Reading Process: stated.
1. Pre-reading stage - This allows the reader to activate background
knowledge, preview the text, and develop a purpose for reading.
STRUCTURE OF AN ACADEMIC TEXT:
- During this stage, a reader looks at the title of the selection and list
all the information that comes to mind about the title. Academic Text
• it is written material in an organized way and in a
2. During reading - The reader makes predictions as he/she reads and specific manner.
then confirms or revises the predictions. • It must be clear on all levels of academic text such as
the entirety of the material, each section it presents, every
3. After reading - This allows the reader to retell the story, discuss the paragraph it
elements of a story, answer questions and/or compare it to another provides, and even in each sentence that
text. bears a concept or an idea.

Comprehension IMRAD Model

• is an intentional, active, and interactive process that occurs I - Introduction

before, during and after a person reads a particular piece of
writing. • The text needs to start with something that your reader
• begins before the reader starts the text and is the mental can relate to, and something that shows what field your
process that allows the reader to understand the text. This research will contribute to, and how.
continues even after the reading has been finished. • The introduction should provide everything the reader
needs to know in order to understand your aim. This also
TWO ELEMENTS OF READING COMPREHENSION: helps the reader to understand why the aim is
important.
1. Vocabulary knowledge - The reader must be able to • Please note that the introduction may also be called
understand the vocabulary used by the writer. background.
2. Text comprehension - reader puts together the vocabulary
and different comprehension strategies to develop an M - Methods and Materials
understanding of the text.
• You have to discuss about what you have done in order
SOME SPECIFIC STRATEGIES CAN BE USED TO INCREASE to accomplish your aim and to address the research
COMPREHENSION questions.

Skimming - is the process of speedy reading for general •QUALI/QUANTI/QUESTIONAIRE/INTERVIEW/STASTICAL

meaning. Concentrate on identifying the central or main points. TREATMENT
Scanning - You can scan:
✔ the introduction or preface of a text; R - Results
✔ the first or last paragraphs of chapters;
• it is relevant that you present the results in an objective
Detailed reading and note-taking
way. You do not make any interpretation here since
✔ underlining and highlighting to pick out what seem to interpretation is done in the discussion part.
you the most central or important words and phrases.

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D - Discussion QUESTION STRUCTURE TYPES: Fixed Alternate Question
- This gives choices or alternatives for the respondent to
• This is now the interpretation of the results. This requires choose.
you, as the researcher, your in-depth analysis,
assessment, and explanation of the results obtained from Ex: What academic strand do you want to enroll in?
the study. __________ABM __________HUMSS
__________STEM __________GAS
Aim
- The aim establishes the totality of the text and the Open-ended Question
components in all its parts. This encapsulates what you - This type of questioning provides the respondents to freely
intend to achieve in your study. answer the question.
Ex: What do you like best about the school?
Research questions
LESSON 3: ENHANCING ONE’S RESEARCH SKILLS
- The aim in the academic text is usually general; hence,
the aim can be trimmed down into research questions. RESEARCH

Body • is the systematic investigation and study of materials,

• The ideas, concepts and results are discussed in the sources, etc. in order to establish facts and reach new
body of the academic text. conclusions.
• It is an endeavor to discover new or collate old facts by the
Conclusion scientific study of a subject or by a course of critical
investigation.
• This is an expression of the fulfillment of your aim and
what you have found in your study. • is what we do when we have a question or a problem we
want to resolve.
PRINCIPLES IN WRITING A SURVEY
SUMMARIZING and PARAPHRASING:
Survey
In reading articles needed for research, a student has to
consider the text in its different forms through three lenses:
• As part of our everyday living, we ask an individual or a
specific group of individuals about their views over a particular
matter, their perspectives over an issue or their preferences on • what does it say,
a particular situation
• how does it say,
PRINCIPLES IN WRITING A GOOD SURVEY DESIGN
• what does it mean to me?
Focus - This is the first principle what a researcher should
consider in writing his questionnaire. Summarizing
- is an important skill for learning. It condenses the source
Connection - The quality of information you will get from your material in just a few lines.
survey depends on how well you connect with your
respondents.
Paraphrasing
Respect - As a researcher, you must show respect for your - is using your own words to express someone else's ideas
respondents’ time. while still preserving the main ideas of the original source. This
is a restatement of the meaning of a text or passage using
other words.
Action - The only reason why you are doing the survey is you
want to take some kind of action or make a relevant decision
after you do the survey. TECHNIQUES IN SUMMARIZING

Engagement - This principle sums up the other four principles. If 1. Selection

you follow the first four principles, the result will be an engaged - It is essential to select major idea, key words and phrases,
respondent and that will mean better response rates and better special terms and interpretations presented in the original
information. resource.

2. Rejection
HOW TO WRITE A GOOD SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE: - lt is a process of removing unnecessary data. As cited
earlier, try to reject repetitions, examples, illustrations,
1. Speak the Language of your Respondents anecdotes,redundant, expressions, tables and statistical data.
2. Keep it Simple3. Consider “Balance, not Bias” in Drafting
your Questions

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2. Substitution ✓Use Times New Roman, 12 points and
- It is a mode of combining several sentences into one should not be bold.
sentence. It is recommended to use sentence substitutions, ✓The number of the page is located at the
and short sentences to replace lengthy sentences. The use of top right corner.
one-word substitutions is an added advantage in the summary ✓Use double space throughout the whole
writing text.
process. ✓There should be in-text citation used.

OUTLINING- Outlining helps you identify the significant details ✓ Avoid using long quotations.
you need to include and to eliminate the irrelevant ones.
PROPER WAYS TO CITE SOURCES:
LESSON 4: THE PRINCIPLES IN WRITING A REACTION,
REVIEW, OR CRITIQUE The following are the citation styles:

- A reaction, review, or critique paper weighs, ✓APA (American Psychological Association)

assesses, and judges both the merits as well as the
weaknesses of a piece, may it be an article, a movie or a book. ✓MLA (Modern Language Association)

- writing a reaction papers require the writers analysis. ✓The Chicago Manual of Style

- anything that uses the readers senses to create images can ✓ASA (American Sociological Association)
also be object for review or critique.
✓ACS (American Chemical Society)
TO DO THE CITIQUE EFFECTIVELY, by Harry Show, as
✓The Vancouver System
cited by Jimenez (2000) in her book, suggested the
following mechanics for review:

1. Know the scope and the purpose of the book.

2. Know the writers style of writing, his stylistic excellence and

faults.

3. Know the theme of the piece of work.

THINGS THAT A WRITE SHOULD ‘AVOID’ doing in making

his reaction paper:

l FIRST, just summarizing the book, the article or

retelling the movie being watched is not writing a
reaction paper.

l YOUR, readers wants to know your opinions about the

material and wants to read your insights about the
piece-not the summary.

l NEXT, a writer should avoid stating arguments or

discussing points with no evidence or examples to
back up the point; otherwise, the discussion is just a
mere assumption or a much opinionated article.

l LASTLY, the writer should also avoid providing so many

examples without making a careful and deliberate
effort in relating these examples to the points to be
discussed and clarified.

APA FORMAT FOR REACTION, REVIEW OR CRITIQUE

PAPER:

✓ The title must be centered.

✓The paragraphs are aligned to the left.
✓Use 1-inch wide in all margins.
✓The first line of each paragraph must be
indented.

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