Module 1

• Reading is a receptive skill, where information is received and grasped
• Writing is a productive skill, involving producing language and information
• Reading serves as an input, while writing serves as an output
• Fundamental and contextualized ideas of reading and writing will be discussed in this module
• English for Academic and Professional Purposes requires applying reading and writing principles in academic and professional contexts
• Academic texts exhibit properties like organization, unity, coherence, and cohesion
• Organization:

  • Scenes and/or ideas must be well ordered
  • Presents ideas logically and interestingly to keep the reader's attention
• Unity:

  • Connection of ideas at different levels
  • Achieved when a composition is focused on one idea
• Coherence:

  • The sensibility factor of the text
  • Occurs when ideas are connected at the conceptual level
• Cohesion:

  • Clever use of words to make the message clear and strong
  • Connection of ideas at the sentence level
• Language use:

  • Pertains to word choice
  • Clear indicators of a well-written text include specificity, conciseness, correctness, and appropriateness
• Mechanics:

  • Quality of good written text involving grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling
• Authors observe certain practices when writing academic texts
• They state critical questions and issues
• They provide facts and evidence from credible sources
• They use precise and accurate words, avoiding jargon and colloquial expressions
• They take an objective point of view and avoid being personal and subjective
• They list references
• They use hedging or cautious language to tone their claims
• Jargons are language specific to certain disciplines
• Examples of jargons:

  • Medicalese, Legalese, Computerese, Technicalese, Commercialese, Journalese, Diplomatese, Teacherese
• Academic Writing is a formal style used to present accurate, empirical, and objective information or ideas
• Common Myths in Writing:

  • The "Paint by Numbers" Myth
  • Writers only start writing when they have everything figured out
  • Perfect first drafts
  • The genius fallacy
• Key Considerations:

  • Audience: primary audience in academic writing is scholars or those in the academic field
  • Purpose: to inform and update existing knowledge
• Objectives of academic writing:

  • Informing by updating existing knowledge or imparting new ones
  • Persuading scholars of theoretical claims/scientific assumptions
• Organization in academic writing:

  • Written in regular, predictable patterns of organization
• Style in academic writing:

  • Written in formal style with formal tone and language
  • Discourages contractions, colloquialisms, and slangs
• Flow/Unity in academic writing:

  • Refers to the stream of ideas and thoughts
  • Key to achieving clarity
• Academic Writing Techniques (Style):

  • Keep the average number of words in a sentence relatively short (18 words)
  • Avoid clichés, redundant expressions, wordy expressions, and highfalutin terms
  • Use precise words and a tactful tone
  • Avoid gender-biased words, metaphors, contractions, and rhetorical questions
  • Use third person point of view in most formal cases
• Forms of in-text citations:

  • Paraphrasing: restatement of text in your own words while maintaining the original meaning
  • Direct Quoting: quoting original words and ideas with proper citation
  • Summarizing: presenting the main points of a text in a condensed form
• Paraphrasing tips:

  • Be in your own words
  • Be near or longer than the original passage
  • Convey the original meaning
• Direct Quoting purpose:

  • Quote powerful messages or ideas that lose impact if paraphrased
  • Begin discussions with the author's stand
  • Highlight the author's expertise
• Summarizing tips:

  • Do not write down ideas word for word
  • Only summarize long sections
  • Summarize to avoid direct quotations
• Formats of in-text citations:

  • Idea Heading: summarized/paraphrased/quoted idea before the citation
  • Author Heading: summarized/paraphrased/quoted idea after the citation with the author's name connected by a reporting verb
  • Date Heading: summarized/paraphrased/quoted idea after the date of publication
• Examples of reporting verbs:

  • Show, argue, state, suggest, claim, emphasize, highlight