ENGLISH FOR

ACADEMIC AND
PROFESSIONAL
PURPOSES
COURSE MATERIAL NO. 1

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 WHAT WILL
YOU LEARN?

This module has been

designed to help you:

• differentiate the
language used in
academic texts from
various disciplines

• use knowledge of text

structure to effectively
glean the text’s
information

READING ACADEMIC
TEXTS

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Dear Learner, WHAT’S INSIDE
THIS
Welcome to English for Academic and Professional Purposes! MODULE?

This course aims to enhance your communication skills

▪ Academic Texts 4
particularly in writing academic and professional compositions. It
is also designed to develop your abilities to utilize appropriate ▪ Structure of
language in academic writing from various disciplines using Academic Texts 5
correct text structures.
▪ Language of

Among other things, this course will help you do the following: Academic Texts 10

• Write an objective/balanced review or critique of a work

of art, an event or a program
• Analyze the arguments used by the writer/s in
manifestoes
• Present a novel concept or project with accompanying
visuals/graphic aids
• Utilize various and appropriate technology to accurately
present data
• Defends a stand on an issue by presenting reasonable
arguments supported by properly cited factual evidences
• Formulate a socially and academically relevant report
• Uses appropriate critical writing a critique such as
formalism, feminism, etc.
• Writes various kinds of position papers
• Utilize various and right technology to promote and
practice teamwork and unity in a diverse work culture.
• Compare and contrast various kinds of concept papers
• Defends a stand on an issue by presenting reasonable
arguments supported by properly cited factual evidences
• Elucidate on a concept by definition, explication, and
clarification through writing

Overall, this course will allow you to enhance your reading,

writing, and communication skills in English for academic and
professional purposes.

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 FOCUS
Academic Texts QUESTIONS

An academic text is a critical, objective, specialized reading ❖ What are academic texts and its
material that provides information about concepts and examples?
theories that are related to a specific discipline. It is usually
written by experts or professionals in the given field. ❖ What are the structures of
academic texts?
Academic texts are based on facts with solid basis. Therefore,
these are generally formal, objective (impersonal) and
technical. It is formal since it avoids casual or conversational
language, such as contractions or informal vocabulary.
Objective (impersonal) since it avoids direct reference to
people or feelings, and instead emphasizing objects, facts and
ideas. Finally, it is technical since it makes use of vocabularies
specific to the discipline.

The following are considered as academic texts:

Research Paper, Conference Paper, Feasibility Study,
Thesis/Dissertation, Reviews, Essay, Academic
Journals, Reports.

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 Structure of Academic
Texts

One important feature of academic texts is that they are

To be a good academic writer,
organized in a specific way; they have a clear structure. This
you will need to learn the
structure makes it easier for the readers to navigate the text
specific styles and structures for
and understand the material better. The structure of an
your discipline, as well as for
academic text should be clear throughout the text and within
each individual writing task.
each section, paragraph and even sentence.

There are the two common structures of academic texts

depending on the type of assignment: the three-part essay
structure and the IMRaD structure.

The Three-Part Essay Structure

https://top-au.libguides.com/c.php?g=438320&p=3386772

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 1. Introduction
• Its purpose is to clearly tell the reader the topic,
purpose and structure of the paper.
• As a rough guide, an introduction might be between
10 and 20 percent of the length of the whole paper
and has three main parts:
The three-part essay structure
is a basic structure that consists
a. The most general information, such as background
of introduction, body and
and/or definitions.
conclusion. The introduction
b. The core of the introduction, where you show the
and the conclusion should be
overall topic, purpose, your point of view,
shorter than the body of the
hypotheses and/or research questions (depending
text. For shorter essays, one or
on what kind of paper it is).
two paragraphs for each of
c. The most specific information, describing the scope
these sections can be
and structure of your paper.
appropriate. For longer texts or
theses, they may be several
2. Body
pages long.
• It develops the question, “What is the topic about?”
• It may elaborate directly on the topic sentence by
giving definitions, classifications, explanations,
contrasts, examples and evidence.
• This is considered as the heart of the essay because it
expounds the specific ideas for the readers to have a
better understanding of the topic.
•It usually is the largest part of the essay.

3. Conclusion
• The conclusion is closely related to the introduction
and is often described as its ‘mirror image’. This means
that if the introduction begins with general information
and ends with specific information, the conclusion
moves in the opposite direction.
• The conclusion usually begins by briefly summarizing
the main scope or structure of the paper, confirms the
topic that was given in the introduction, ends with a
more general statement about how this topic relates to
its context. This may take the form of an evaluation of
the importance of the topic, implications for future
research or a recommendation about theory or
practice.

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 The IMRaD Structure

“IMRaD” format refers to a

paper that is structured by four
main sections: Introduction,
Methods, Results, and
Discussion. This format is often
used for lab reports as well as
for reporting any planned,
systematic research in the social
sciences, natural sciences, or
engineering and computer
sciences.

https://studentportal.gu.se/english/help-and-guidance/search-read-write/plan-your-writing/types-of-
assignments;jsessionid=1f0njn6s4mwh2fxg5q1ksln90?skipSSOCheck=true&referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.googl
e.com%2F

According to George Mason University, this is how you compose

an academic text in the form of IMRaD:

1. Introduction – Make a case for your research

The introduction explains why this research is important or
necessary or important. Begin by describing the problem or
situation that motivates the research. Move to discussing the
current state of research in the field; then reveal a “gap” or
problem in the field. Finally, explain how the present research
is a solution to that problem or gap. If the study has
hypotheses, they are presented at the end of the
introduction.

2. Methods – What did you do?

The methods section tells readers how you conducted your
study. It includes information about your population, sample,
methods, and equipment. The “gold standard” of the
methods section is that it should enable readers to duplicate
your study. Methods sections typically use subheadings; they
are written in past tense, and they use a lot of passive voice.
This is typically the least read section of an IMRaD report.

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 3. Results – What did you find?
In this section, you present your findings. Typically, the
Results section contains only the findings, not any
explanation of or commentary on the findings (see below).
Results sections are usually written in the past tense. Make
sure all tables and figures are labeled and numbered
separately. Captions go above tables and beneath figures.

4. Discussion – What does it mean?

In this section, you summarize your main findings, comment
on those findings (see below), and connect them to another
research. You also discuss limitations of your study, and use
these limitations as reasons to suggest additional, future
research.

Guide on how to compose an

academic text in the form of
IMRaD:

https://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=-Zud3lIXxdM

Practice makes for proficiency!

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 LEARNING ACTIVITY
1 READDIT

Directions: Read and analyze the Article written by Sharon Housley

in 2012, entitled, “Impact of Technology on Politics” then, extract
the essential statements in the Introduction, Body and Conclusion.
Follow the format below.

STRUCTURE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON POLITICS

Introduction

Body

Conclusion

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 Language of Academic Texts
FOCUS Academic Language is defined as the language of academic
QUESTIONS disciplines, of texts and literature, and of extended, reasoned
discourse. Additionally, researchers have defined academic language
as the language that students must comprehend to access the
❖ What is academic
concepts associated with a particular discipline and be able to use to
language?
demonstrate their understanding of those concepts. Academic
language related to geometry, for example, might include words
❖ What is the difference
such as area, circumference, diameter, and radius; in order to fully
between social and
describe the properties of a circle, you need to know these terms
academic language?
and be able to use them appropriately to demonstrate your
understanding of the different ways to calculate the size of a circle.
❖ What are the languages of
academic texts?
What is difference between academic language and social
language? Social language is the simple, informal language we use
when talking face to face with family members and friends. It allows
us to use contemporary or slang terms like “cool,” “awesome,” or
“dude.” We can also communicate feelings, needs, and wants using
symbolic hand gestures for drink, eat, hot, cold, hurt, or tired. Social
language also includes writing emails, friendly letters, and texts or
retelling stories.

Academic language on the other hand is different from everyday

social language. It is the vocabulary students or adults must learn to
succeed in the classroom or in the workplace. We use academic
language to describe and comprehend complex ideas, process
higher-order thinking, and understand abstract concepts.

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Characteristics of Academic Language
As discussed in the previous lesson, academic texts are formal, objective
(impersonal) and technical. Therefore, the language used in this kind of Academic writers use
text is just the same. cautious, considered language
in an effort to be as exact as
they can in their analysis.
They try to say only what they
mean and what they think can
be justified.

http://bnvhsmodules.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/EAPP-Module-1.pdf

It is formal since it avoids casual or conversational language, such as

contractions or informal vocabulary. Objective (impersonal) since it avoids
direct reference to people or feelings, and instead emphasizing objects,
facts and ideas. And, technical since it makes use of vocabularies specific
to the discipline.

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The following are the characteristics of academic language:

CHARACTERISTICS OF ACADEMIC LANGUAGE

It should not be conversational and casual.

FORMAL Avoid colloquial
and idiomatic expressions, slang, and
contractions.

X dig in
X cup of tea
X dude
X don’t
Do not refer to yourself as the performer of
IMPERSONAL actions. Do not use personal pronouns.

For example:
“It is commonly said that”… instead of “Many of
my friends
and colleagues say that…”
“Research revealed that…” instead of “I
discovered that”
The facts are presented accurately.
PRECISE The choice of words is appropriate.
The use of technical terms to achieve
precision is applied.

For example:
“85% of the population”, “The results are okay
(satisfactory).”, asphyxiation (medical term)
It is unbiased, based on facts and is not
OBJECTIVE influenced by personal feelings.

For example:
“The essay on… is distressing.” instead of “I do
not like the
essay”

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You can make your writing more formal, objective and technical by
following tips below:

Practice makes for

proficiency!

http://bnvhsmodules.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/EAPP-Module-1.pdf

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 LEARNING ACTIVITY
2 MIND THE LANGUAGE PLS!

Directions: Using the criteria, evaluate the language of the following

sample of academic texts from various disciplines.

A. The researcher found out that the male population has a

higher chance of being hired compared to the females. Eighty
percent of the employers stated that since females are
privileged with maternity leave, they leave their work for
some time resulting to a decline on the overall production of
the company. I think this is very judgmental on the part of the
employers. It goes against the Women Empowerment
Movement. I strongly urged the employers to rethink their
choices because women are great workers.

B. This essay is focused on investigating the photo tactic

responses of three different species of fish that occupy
different areas of an aquarium: danios (Daniorerio), which
group near the surface of the water, black skirt tetra
(Gymnocorymbus ternetzi), which swim in the middle of the
tank, and kuhli loach (Pangio kuhlii), which swim near the
bottom of tank. It is anticipated that they will respond
differently to light according to their niche with the tank.

C. As a student, I want to understand how Multiple Intelligences

Theory affect students’ learning. For example, I learn better
when I listen to music while my circle of friends learns best
when they discuss the lesson together. I believe that all of us
are unique. We have our own ways to excel in school. That’s
why I want to conduct a study on this particular matter.

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 CRITERIA A B C
Does the text use a formal
language? (Yes/No)
Is the language impersonal?
(Yes/No)
Are the choice of words
appropriate for an academic
text? (Yes/No)
Does the text use technical terms?
(If yes, write 1 term
found in the text. /No)
Is the academic text objective?
(Yes/If No, write 2 phrases that
indicate subjectivity.)

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 An academic text is a critical, objective, specialized reading
material that provides information about concepts and theories
that are related to a specific discipline. It is usually written by
experts or professionals in the given field.

The following are considered as academic texts: Research

Paper, Conference Paper, Feasibility Study,
Thesis/Dissertation, Reviews, Essay, Academic Journals,
Reports.

The structure of an academic text is essential in making the text

clear and organized. Examples of structure of an academic text
include: Three-Part Essay Structure and IMRaD Structure.

Academic Language refers to the oral, written, auditory, and

visual language proficiency required to learn effectively in
schools and academic programs.

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 References

Barrot, J. (2016). Communicate Today English for Academic and

Professional Purposes for Senior High School. C&E Publishing,
Inc.

Tabotabo, M.R. (2020). English for Academic and Professional

Purposes QUARTER 1– MODULE 1: Academic Language.
Retrieved from: http://bnvhsmodules.com/wp-
CONTRIBUTORS content/uploads/2020/10/EAPP-Module-1.pdf

MR. JERIKO ARWEL S. ARLEGUI Valdez, P.N. (2016). English for the GLOBALIZED CLASSROOM Series
English for Academic and Professional Purposes. Phoenix
MR. MARK ASHLEY C. BANTA
Publishing House
MS. ERIKA GIN C. CONSTANTINO-
BACUYAG
MS. ERLINDA C. CAGUIOA
MR. RON RILLE A. DELA MERCED
MS. MA. ERICA ANNE S. FLORES
MS. JUSTINE DANIELLE R. GABUNI
MS. RAVEN KAYE MAGBANUA
MS. RENELYN M. CAYETANO
MS. MA. SHIENNA G. MARQUEZ
MS. ERICA JANE D. MARQUEZ
MS. VENICE JASTINE PARAS
MR. KIM RICARDO
MS. MITSE GAY A. TAMSE
MS. KAYE A. VALILA

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