ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

 IMPORTANCE OF ACADEMIC WRITING.

 CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD ACADEMIC TEXT

I. OBJECTIVE:
1. determines the structure of a specific academic text
2. explains the specific ideas contained in various academic texts

II. TOPIC/LESSON
• Importance of academic writing.
• Characteristics of good academic text.

III. LESSON PROPER

1. Introduction
As a required core subject in senior high school, it means that the skill of writing is a necessity
to be able to communicate using the appropriate language needed in formal communication.

Since the goal of academic writing is to communicate, it is very important to apply the
appropriate language, learn the rules and practice the skills of writing for academic and professional
purposes.

2. Motivating Questions
 What will happen if most of the words used in an essay are violent words?
Does the reader will continue reading it?
 Why is it that when writers/authors write, they seem to catch our attention? Can we do
the same when we write?

3. Concepts
It is important because it is a measure of one’s professionalism as it seeks to simplify complex
messages providing common understanding with the target audience. It is important because it is
fundamental in achieving higher education. It serves as the window of one’s thoughts. It aids in one’s
understanding of the intended message or text.
The purpose of academic writing, as with most other kinds of writing, is to communicate. For
you, as a student, your writing is the marker's only window to your thoughts. Therefore, it is important
that you learn how best to write in a way which will convince the marker that you understand what you
are talking about.

A clearly written assignment lets the thought show through. A muddy one obscures the
thinking, and gives the impression the thought-processes are muddy too. Use quotations and
paraphrase sparingly because the marker cannot tell from other people's words what you are
thinking. Get into the habit of using your own words.
Like physical exercise, it may be hard work at first but you will get better and better at it until
you have a good strong intellectual physique. To take the short cut of relying on other peoples' words
bypasses thought processes and will make the material very hard to remember as it has not been
assimilated into your own mind - it is not your possession. You are not primarily a collector of
information, a recorder of the wisdom of others - that would be very boring. You are an active learner
and a unique interpreter of the information which comes your way.
The act of writing often clarifies your thoughts and writing in your own words is an act of
creation. Originality in psychology is normally thought of as designing new empirical studies or
devising new theories.
However, whenever you describe something in your own words you are displaying small-scale
originality and critical evaluation. Even if you are describing someone else's work, you are interpreting
it and selecting combinations of words which most closely convey its meaning to you. In addition, you
may well evaluate, criticize, compare, analyze, predict, summarize, synthesize and apply- all these
skills involve thought on your part, and the conclusions you draw should be uniquely yours (even if
coincidentally shared by others).

-----Learning how to write strong essays is important not just for getting good grades or
getting into a good college so you can get a good job or whatever. It is important because, at
its most fundamental level, it is about taking your own thoughts and then arranging them so
they are logical and make sense, first to yourself, and then to your readers.

This happens because you are pulling these thoughts from your mind and crystalizing them on
paper or a screen. They are in a place where not only do you have to see them for what they are, but
so can other people. If your ideas are convincing and powerful, these thoughts can become the
thoughts of others. This is the crux of communication.
In other words, good thoughts equal good writing. If your thoughts are unclear or not solid or
lack structure, they will be poor writing and others will not understand nor agree.

Most writers start at a place where their writing isn’t particularly good, but by practicing writing
skills, they learn how to become better writers, which means they become better thinkers. Practicing
writing is like sharpening your thinking process – the more you do it and the better you become at it,
the more others will listen to you.

The other important thing about academic writing is, of course, students do in fact need it for
college! It is a highly practical and foundational educational skill, and if anyone is going to be a
competent student, they need to be at least a decent writer and communicator.

SKILLS YOU CAN DEVELOP IN ACADEMIC WRITING.

Academic writing is useful, but what skills specifically does it instill in students? They are:

Strong communication
 Students who can write a convincing and structured essay can speak in a clear and
structured way, and with confidence. Not only will these individuals write well, but they will speak
and think using these same strategies.
Critical thinking and reasoning skills
The ability to move from one idea to the next and to understand the connection seems
straightforward, but it is surprising how few people ever actually train this capacity. Learning to write,
however, teaches students how to reason. In other words, writing teaches students “structured
thinking”.
Furthermore, writing teaches students how to analyze, or what experts call “critical thinking”.
Students learn to ask, “does what I am saying make sense?” and “is what I am reading true?”. They
learn to consider evidence, appreciate detail and nuance, and ultimately develop the capacity for
making up their own minds about things. We think this is the entire purpose of education.

Understanding an audience
When you write an essay, you need to understand who it is meant to be read by, what they
need or want to hear, and how to present that information in the most convincing or approachable
manner. By practicing writing, students learn how to consider their audience and how to best reach
them.

Language skills
Academic writing is a synthesis of all other language skills. You need strong grammar. You
need an academic vocabulary. You need to be able to listen to and comprehend instructions, and you
need to be able to speak up to ask questions and assert your opinions. And most importantly, you
need to have read an awful lot.
If developing advanced English skills is what you are after, there is no better way than learning
academic writing.

Research skills, because you learn a lot

Finally, writing teaches students how to do research. The fact is, students don’t know the
answer to most of the questions they are asked to answer in writing assignments. This means they
need to go find out. The fancy name for “going to find out” is “research”.
By doing research, students come to understand their writing topics on a deeper level than
most people ever consider. Whether they are writing about a scientific, cultural, or literary topic, by
doing the research they learn not only what they need to get a good grade, but they also come to
understand that there is a tremendous amount to learn about pretty much every topic.

CHARACTERISTICS OR FEATURES OF A TEXT. FECOS

F -formal or informal. A text used for academic and professional purposes make use of a formal rather
than informal language
E- explicit or implicit. A text used for academic and professional purposes make use of explicit or
observable, clear and precise facts or objects rather than implicit, unclear, unspecified facts.
C- complex or simple. A text used for academic and professional purposes is simplified to be able to
reach or connect its target audience or readers.
O- bjective or subjective – A text for academic and professional purposes uses behavioral objectives
that could be seen and touch by the senses. Text with subjective or unclear purposes could be used in
other purposes rather than for the purpose of producing an academic text.
S- specific or holistic - An academic text could be written using either of the two approaches, parts to
whole approach (specific) or whole to parts approach (holistic).
MODULE 1 ACTIVITY SHEETS

ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

ACTIVITY 1.
Explain this figure in a form of an essay consisting 100 words or more. State the problem, and
solution following the guidelines or features of academic text, give your own catchy title. (35 points)

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Activity 2.
Identification.
1. A text used for academic and professional purposes is simplified to be
able to reach or connect.
2. A text for academic and professional purposes uses behavioral
objectives
3. A text used for academic and professional purposes make use of clear and
precise facts.
4. A text used for academic and professional purposes make use of a formal
rather than informal language.
5. An academic text could be written using either of the two approaches,
parts to whole approach or whole to parts approach.

Activity 3. Explanation. 2 or 3 sentences only (5 points each)

1. Why is learning academic writing important?

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2. Talking about essay, what is more convincing to use, formal or informal

language? Why?

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