Scribd
Upload
402 views16 pages

English For Academic and Professional Purposes

The document discusses reading academic texts. It notes that reading is a complex cognitive process that involves constructing meaning from symbols. When reading academic texts, readers are expected to do more than just understand words and ideas - they should also recognize biases, differentiate facts from opinions, evaluate evidence and draw their own conclusions. The language used in academic texts depends on factors like the discipline and genre. Readers of academic texts are expected to engage critically with what they are reading.

Uploaded by

Reizexen Gutierrez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
402 views16 pages

English For Academic and Professional Purposes

The document discusses reading academic texts. It notes that reading is a complex cognitive process that involves constructing meaning from symbols. When reading academic texts, readers are expected to do more than just understand words and ideas - they should also recognize biases, differentiate facts from opinions, evaluate evidence and draw their own conclusions. The language used in academic texts depends on factors like the discipline and genre. Readers of academic texts are expected to engage critically with what they are reading.

Uploaded by

Reizexen Gutierrez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 16

ENGLISH FOR

ACADEMIC AND
PROFESSIONAL
PURPOSES
READING ACADEMIC TEXTS
• Reading is one of the most valuable activities of an individual. It
is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to
construct or derive meaning (Reading Comprehension). It is a
means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing
information and ideas.
• Like all language, it is a complex interaction between the
text and the reader which is shaped by the reader’s prior
knowledge, experiences, attitude, and language
community which is culturally and socially situated.
THE READING PROCESS
• Requires continuous practice, development,
and refinement. In addition, reading requires
creativity and critical analysis. Consumers
of literature make ventures with each piece,
innately deviating from literal words to create
images that make sense to them in the
unfamiliar places the texts describe. Reading
is such a complex process; it cannot be
controlled or restricted to one or two
interpretations.
THERE ARE NO CONCRETE
L AW S I N R E A D I N G …
• But rather allow readers an escape to produce
their own products introspectively. These
promotes deep exploration of texts during
interpretation.
• Readers use a variety of reading strategies
to assist with decoding (to translate symbols
into sounds or visual representations of
speech) and comprehension.
• Readers may use context clues to
identify the meaning of unknown
words.

• Readers integrate the words they


read into their existing framework
of knowledge or schema.
FURTHER, READING AN ACADEMIC TEXT DIFFERS IN
M A N Y WAY S F R O M R E A D I N G C OM IC S . N OV E L S A N D
M A GA Z I N E S . T W O I M P O R TA N T D I F F E R E N C E S A R E :

• 1. WHAT WE READ- content and


style of academic texts

• 2. HOW WE READ- what readers of


academic texts are expected to do.
CONTEXT AND STYLE OF ACADEMIC
TEXTS:
• Academic texts deal with concepts and ideas
related to subjects that are studied at college or
university.
• Authors of academic texts:
1. raise abstract questions and issues
2. present facts and evidence to support their
claims
3. use logic to build their arguments and defend
their positions
4. conform to a clearly defined structure

5. choose their words carefully to


present their arguments as effectively as
possible

6. try to convince us to accept their


positions
W H AT A R E R E A D E R S O F A C A D E M I C
TEXTS EXPECTED TO DO?
• When you read an academic text you are expected
to do much more that simply understand the words
of the text and summarize main ideas.
• Readers at college or university level are also
expected to:
1. recognize the author’s purpose and possible
bias
2. differentiate between facts and author’s
opinions
3. challenge questionable assumptions and
unsupported claims
4. think about possible consequences of
the author’s claims

5. integrate information across multiple


sources

6. identify rival hypotheses, possible


contradictions and competing views

7. evaluate evidence and draw their own


conclusions instead of simply accepting
what the author says.
THE LANGUAGE USED IN ACADEMIC
TEXTS
• According to Baraceros, et al (2009), the control of the language of
academic texts depends on social conventions, discipline-specific rules,
and genre types of writing as shown in the following cases:
• A. The discipline or course- Science, Engineering, Architecture, Literature,
Law, Medicine, Computer, Biology, HRM, Anthropology, Social Science
and so on- that determines the extent of frequency of thew use of technical
terms, abstractions nominalizations and passive structures in the text.
B. The sum total or quantity of
evidence that should be given to
support an argument or opinion.

C. The genre or type of writing


(academic research , entertainment
narrative, technical report, business
correspondence , literary writing
that zero in on various audience
purposes and contents.
• To have an effective and comprehensive academic text, you should
use correct words. Whether in speaking or writing, you generally
choose words that are exact instead if indefinite, vivid instead of
trite, specific instead of general, proper instead of inappropriate.
The following are the reasons why we need to be particular with the
words to be used in our writings and in our speaking:

• 1. Different words can have more than one meaning as in the case
of “table” meaning “furniture” and “table” meaning “chart or
contents”.

• 2. Different words can have same meaning as in the case of “big”


and “”large”.
• 3. The meaning of some words can be analyzed into components as in
the case of “mare” whose components are “female” and “horse”; “doe”,
“female” and “deer“; “hen”, “female” and “chicken”; “father”, “male” and
“parent”.
• 4. Certain combinations of words have meanings which are different
from the combinations of their separate meanings.
•END

You might also like