English In Academics and Professional Purposes | 1st Semester,

Quarter 1

Module 1 Text as…

- A noun (content instead physical form)
Communication - In Linguistics (the original words of
- Derived from the latin word “communis” something written, printed or spoken)
that means “common” - In IT World (human readable sequence
- Exchange of facts; ideas or emotions that can be encoded in computer
- Expression of thoughts and feelings readable format)

Origin of Language (Theories) Academic Text

- Bow Wow Theory (through natural - Defined as critical and objective text
sounds such as animal sounds, e.g. - Written by professionals
meow, moo, cuckoo, splash and bang.) - Formal Language
- Ding Dong Theory (Plato and - To inform rather than to entertain
Pythagoras supported this theory— - Claims, arguments, topics
responds to natural sound)
- La La Theory (associated with love, Features of Academic Writing
plays and songs) - Complex (language used are usually
- Pooh-pooh Theory (involuntary longer, and more varied vocabulary)
vocalizations, e.g. cries, surprised and - Precise (facts are given accurately and
other emotions) sharply)
- Yoo-He-Ho Theory (from the sounds of - Objective (emphasis is on the
manual labor— e.g. grunts, groans and information to be shared)
snorts. - Explicit (responsibility of the writer to
make it clear; how the parts are
connected/related)
History of English
- Accurate (uses vocabulary accurately)
- Beowulf, German
- Hedged (necessary to make a decision
- English and French
about your stance; the strength of the
- Proto-Germanic (500 bce)
claims you are making.)
- Proto-Indo European
- Organized (It flows easily from one
- German Tribes (Angles, Jutes and
section to the next in a logical fashion.)
Saxon)
- Well-Planned (paper is done according
- In 14th Century, French started
to specific purpose and plan.)
dominating the English Language
Literary Theory - any object that can be read
Academic Writing - usually found in
whether this object is a work of literature (e.g.
textbooks. Needed by students to do work in
street signs)
school.
Literary Criticism - this is the original
information, it is concerned with distinguishing
of the information/content,
Formal Language - No colloquialism and no 2) Begging the Question (assume the
using personal pronouns. Usually used for truth of the conclusion, instead of
professional and academic purposes. supporting it.)
3) Cause and Effect (falsely assumes that
Informal Language - Having communication one event causes another.)
with family/friends. It is casual talk. 4) Post HOC (assumption that because
one event preceded another event, they
Module 2 must be causally related.)
5) Either or (claims there are only two
Pre-writing - first stage of writing process. possible options or sides in an argument
Pertains to different techniques— when there are actually more.)
brainstorming, clustering, journalistic 6) Evasion (avoids addressing the issue
questions. directly)
7) False Analogy (compares two things
Academic Writing that are not similar to make a point.)
- Formal Language 8) Oversimplification (simplifying a
- Logical Structure complex issue to the point it become
- Supported by Evidences non-sense)
9) Rationalization (giving incorrect
4 main types/purpose of Academic Writing reasons to justify actions)
- Descriptive (to provide facts and 10) Red Herring (gives argument unrelated
informations) to distract the reader)
- Analytical (to analyze, compare, 11) Slippery Slope (one small wrong step
contrast, relate and examine facts and would lead to tragic results)
informations) 12) Two wrongs make a right (defending
- Persuasive (to argue, evaluate, something wrong by citing same
discuss, and take a position) incident)
- Critical (to critique, debate, disagree, 13) Hasty Generalization (conclusion is
and evaluate) drawn about all or many instances of a
phenomenon on the basis of one or a
Module 3 few instances of that phenomenon.)
Critical Reading - deeper engagement with 14) Strawman (someone distorts or
the text. exaggerates another person's
argument)
Techniques for Critical Writing 15) Equivocation (a word is used more
1) Keep a reading journal than one meaning)
2) Annotate 16) Non-sequitur (sequence of reasoning
3) Outline that misses a key part)
4) Summarize
5) Evaluate

Fallacy (Error in Reasoning)

1) Ad Hominem (unfairly attacking a
person)
Module 4 2) Body - contains the central argument
Thesis Statement (background info, evidences and
- Should be debatable discussions)
- Contains uncertainty, risk and challenge 3) Conclusion - restates the key points;
- Claim that you will develop in the paper suggests recommendations.

Making an Outline Guidelines in Writing a Position paper

1) Explore
Outline 2) Brainstorm
- General plan/blueprint of your paper 3) Create assertions
4) Credible Resources
Four Components of an effective outline 5) Gather evidences
1) Parallelism - topics are connected by 6) Refine Argument
structure 7) Prepare Opposition
2) Division - follows structures and parts 8) Write
(uses roman numerals and capital
letters) Modes of Reasoning
3) Coordination - all parts are connected - Inductive (specific to general)
and significant - Deductive (general to specific)
4) Subordination - headings (general)
Subheading (specific) Module 6

Two types of Outline Reaction Paper - readers evaluate a work of a

1) Topic outline (summarizes topic and writer or artist. Consists around 250-750
subtopic) words.
2) Sentence Outline (complete sentence - Not a summary but a critical
for each topic and subtopic) assessment

Outlining Format Module 7

I. Roman Numeral
A. Capital Letter Literature Process
I. Arabic Numbers 1) Select a topic
a. Small letters 2) Search literature
3) Develop arguments
Module 5 4) Survey literature
5) Critique
Argumentation - the process of reasoning to 6) Write
present your viewpoint in order to persuade
others. Structure
1) Introduction (5% of the paper)
Elements of a Position Paper - Presents the book/article’s title,
1) Introduction - identifies the issue in the author and thesis statement
paper and the author’s stand. 2) Summary (10% of the paper)
 - Includes objective, methods,
major findings, claims, ideas and 3) Expanded Definition
message. - Explains beyond its dictionary
meaning
3) Review/Critique (75% of the paper)
- Includes methodology, theoretical
soundness, coherence of the
study, and sufficiency &
soundness

4) Conclusion (10% of the paper)

- Overall insights, impressions

Module 8

Concept Paper - overview of a paper that the

reader wants to read

Uses of Concept Paper

1) Serves as foundation of full proposal
2) Helps to determine if a project is
feasible or not.
3) To pique the interest of potential funding
agencies
4) Obtain informal feedback on the ideas
prior to preparing a full proposal.

Definition - method of identifying a term

I. Concept Paper
A. Definition
a. Formal
b. Informal
B. Clarification
C. Exemplification

Techniques Used in Writing a Definition

1) Formal Definition
- Gives class and characteristics
- Term = Class + Characteristics
2) Informal Definition
- Uses known words to explain an
unknown term.