Foundations of Academic Reading and

Writing Academic Writing Style

Writing is a form of communication that is
What is Academic English? shaped by the following factors:

Much of Academic English is about expressing the ➔ Topic

relationship between ideas. Although the language ➔ Role
may be more complex than in everyday English, ➔ Purpose
good academic writers aim to be as clear, precise ➔ Audience
and simple as possible. They think about what
their readers know already, and aim to guide Topic
them towards less familiar areas and topics. - What is the text about? What details am
imparting to the readers?
Academic writing is a process that starts with
posing a question, problematizing a concept,
Role
evaluating an opinion, and ends in answering the
- Who am I as a writer?
questions posed, clarifying the problem, and arguing
- Do I write as a sibling? A student? A
for a stand.
son/daughter? A customer

Purposes of Academic Writing Purpose

- Why am I writing this in the first place?
➔ To report findings from research endeavors
➔ To discuss a concept to a greater populace Audience
➔ To formulate a solution to a problem - Who is reading this piece?
➔ To evaluate programs and personnel - What knowledge does he/she need to
understand in my writing?
Characteristics of Academic Writing
➔ Planned and focused ACADEMIC WRITING IS THINKING.
➔ Structured
➔ Evidenced
➔ Formal in tone and style
Reading Across Disciplines
READING
- A good reader makes a good writer
- Reading is the key to success in all content
areas!
 Types of Reading Problems ➔ They check their understanding of the text.
- Lack of cognitive abilities ➔ They show a positive attitude toward reading.
- Negative attitudes toward reading
- Don’t know how to read different kinds of
text Aspects of Professional & Academic
Language
3 Main Barriers to Content Area Reading
1. Content-specific vocabulary
2. Prior knowledge about the content area Four Important Features of Language:
subject
3. Understanding of text features and 1. Formality
organization of the text 2. Objectivity
3. Explicitness
Reading Strategies 4. Caution
What should I do while I read (or during reading)?
There is an acronym used to remember the Formality
strategies:
Can be achieved through the following ways:
CRAMP 1. Expanded modal forms over contracted forms
C- larify 2. One-verb form over two-word verbs
R- evisepredictions 3. Expanded terms over their abbreviated
A- sk and answer questions equivalents
M-ental imagery 4. Avoiding colloquial or idioms
P- araphrase
Objectivity
Other Reading Strategies and Techniques for Writing must be impersonal and maintains a certain
level of social distance.
Various Purposes
➔ Making Inferences Objectivity can be achieved by:
➔ Skimming
1. Avoiding the use of personal pronouns
➔ Scanning
2. Avoiding rhetorical questions
➔ Detailed Reading and Note Taking
3. Avoiding emotive language that shows biases
➔ Drawing Conclusions
and lessens objectivity

Strategic reading is an effective way of

Example:
understanding a text by employing strategies to
You need to conduct the experiment
understand content and structure better, which
The researchers need to conduct the experiment
will result in reading proficiency.
How can these problems be solved?
Four Characteristics of Strategic Readers Certain measures must be discovered to solve the
(Brown & Briggs, 2017) problems.
➔ They set a purpose for reading.
➔ They employ reading strategies appropriate The investigators were very shocked to see the
to a specific text. outcome of the tests
The investigators did not expect the results independent power producers or IPP. In addition
Explicitness MERALCO owns major IPPS operating in the
Academic writing demands the use of signposts that region. The MERALCO issue has led to disputes
allow readers to trace the relationships in the parts of between opposition and administration senators. For
a study. example, those who have been labeled as against the
president considered the issue as the administration's
If you intend to show a change in your line of way of avoiding the NBN-ZTE scandal
argument, make it clear by using however.
Caution
Example:
It is apparent that the government hopes to provide Academic writing requires care since knowledge is
assistance to the poor. However, giving dole-outs to built from proven theories and concepts. Therefore,
the "poorest of the poor" does not work in the long caution is needed to avoid sweeping generalizations
term
Example:
Useful phrases in making ideas explicit: Government officials are corrupt.
1. This is due to the... Some government officials may be corrupt.
2. This resulted in... (Modal verb)
3. Similarly
4. In addition... Corruption is commonly linked to some government
5. For example officials.
(Adverb)
Example:
A number of MERALCO consumers trooped to the A number of government officials tend to be linked
City Hall to claim a PHP 500.00 cash incentive. This with cases of corruption.
is due to the Supreme Court ruling that overcharges (Verb)
must be returned to the end users whose electric for
April-May period was below 100kw/hr In academic writing, caution needs to be observed
in the following parts of your paper:
With the Supreme Court ordering MERALCO to 1. Hypothesis
return overcharges to the end users, government 2. Drawing conclusions or predictions
offices have been tapped to operate as claim centers. 3. Referencing
This resulted in a number of MERALCO consumers
trooping to the City Hall to claim the PHP 500.00 Verbs Indicating Caution:
cash incentive. - Tend
- Suggest
The study showed that eighty percent of the 200 - Appear to be
participants involved in the study were dissatisfied - Think
with the operations of MERALCO. Similarly, the - Believe
data revealed that majority of the participants were - Doubt
not aware of the charges imposed on them by - Indicate
MERALCO.
The findings of the survey suggest that students who
MERALCO has been operating as a business use the social networking in their academic work
conglomerate involving foreign stakeholders and
tend to be more updated on recent developments in
their respective subjects The earthquake was a disaster that caused loss of
life, property damage, and permanent changes in the
Modal Verbs: landscape
- Will
- Would 2. Nominalization
- Must The verbs are made central as they denote action.
- May Transforming verbs into nouns helps readers focus
- Can on the action and not on the doer of the action.
- Might
- Could Example:
The company created software to manage the
The observations of students' use of social transactions successfully.
networking sites may lead to the different behaviors The creation of software to manage transactions was
that manifest in real-life communication a success

Adverbs of Frequency The president announced a three-day holiday this

- Often September
- Sometimes The president’s announcement of a three-day holiday
- Usually for September was released.

The essays that were given marks were usually high. The mall distributed several free items to consumers
in the hope to boost sales.
Distribution of free items for consumers was done in
the hope to boost sales.
Ways to Achieve Structure Fit for Academic
Writing 3. Passivization
The results of actions are highlighted .
It is understood that all results of the action are a
Structure
product of the writer’s work.
Sentences need to be constructed in such a way that
they show a level of complexity that reflects the The researcher conducted experiments to validate the
sophistication of an academic writer. hypothesis.
Experiments were conducted to validate the
Structure hypothesis.
1. Combining Ideas Effectively
2. Nominalization An engineer built a saltwater lamp to help
3. Passivization communities with no electricity
A saltwater lamp was built to help communities with
1. Combining Ideas Effectively no electricity.

Example: Several scientists conducted experiment to examine

The earthquake caused loss of life. the effects of algae on biodiversity.
The earthquake caused massive property damage
The earthquake changed the landscape of the village.
An experiment was conducted to examine the effects Alternative paraphrasing
of algae on biodiversity. - Poses questions about the text, then answers
What do you need to do in order to succeed in using own words
writing?
Apply literal paraphrasing with the underlined
words:
D-discipline-specific
1. Personal profit can serve as an inspiration to
E-evidence-based
business to better serve their customers.
B-balanced
2. Overclocking is a process that is capable of
T-truthful
improving a computer's performance through
overloading electricity
3. Animation an activity where you draw
Paraphrasing & Summarizing several pictures to make it into a movie film,
or a comic magazine.

Plagiarism Use Paraphrasing...

- The act of presenting another's work or ideas
as your own - As another option to quoting
- To rewrite someone else's ideas without
Types of Plagiarism of Language changing the meaning.
- Copied work-for-word from a text - To express someone else's ideas in your own
- Patchwork Plagiarism words.
- To support claims in your writing
Notetaking Strategies
- Direct Quoting Summary or a Precis
- Paraphrasing
- Is a synopsis or digest of the essence an
- Summarizing
entire text. It is a presentation the main points
from a passage.

Paraphrasing Examples:
- Is a process in which a writer restates the Abstract book review literary critique
insights found in a reference using his or her "The amphibia, which is the animal class to which
own words. our frogs and toads belong, were the first animals to
crawl from the sea and inhabit the earth."
Kinds of Paraphrasing "The first animals to leave the sea and live on dry
Literal Paraphrasing land were the amphibia."
- Replaces vocabulary terms from the original
text How to Summarize:
1. Start by reading the text and highlighting the
Structural Paraphrasing main points as you read
- Changes the sentence structure as well as the 2. Reread the text and make notes of the main
word class of key words of the original text points, leaving out examples, evidence, etc
 3. Without the text, rewrite your notes in your 7. Write the abstract when the paper is finished
own words. Restate the main idea at the 8. Ask someone to read the abstract
beginning of your summary plus all major 9. Revise/rewrite
points. Include the conclusion or the final
findings of the work How to Write an Abstract
4. Include an in-text citation in the expected
formatting style (APA, MLA, Etc) Outline for Writing an Abstract
I. Introduction
Writing an Abstract A. Establish context
B. Purpose of the study
II. Methodology (Methods used in the study)
Abstract III. Results (Findings of the research)
- The word abstract comes from the Latin IV. Discussion (Discuss the findings of the paper
abstractum, which means a condensed form
of a longer piece of writing.

Types of Abstract Thesis Statement, Topic Sentences, and

Descriptive Abstracts Supporting Details
- To pique the interest of the target audience The thesis statement is one sentence that tells the
main idea of an essay. It tells the argument that you
Informative Abstracts are going to defend. It states a claim and takes a
- To present the main ideas and major findings position. In the essay, you will defend your position
of the study using examples and/or facts to support your
argument.
IMRAD Format
Introduction Key Features: Thesis Statement
- Why is this research important? - Answers the prompt
Methods - States the main idea in a complete sentence,
- How did you conduct your research? not a question
Results - Appears at the end of an introduction
- What are the results from your research? - Gives an opinion or attitude on a topic
Discussion
- What do your research findings mean? Example:
Studies show that teenagers would benefit from a
Keep these Tips in Writing the Abstract later school start. A later school start would give
1. Keep it short/concise but complete students more time to rest, teachers more time to
2. Do not add new information-only those prepare lessons, and parents more time in the
found in the paper morning with their children. High schools should
3. Do not include citations begin later in the morning to allow greater success
4. Include the keywords/variables in the school system.
5. Do not abbreviate, do not use acronyms, and
never use contractions
6. Break up its components using appropriate
connectors
 Why should your essay contain a Thesis young age helps a child to become a more
Statement? intelligent and well- rounded person.
To put your main ideas into one summary sentence
Don’t State the Obvious
To better organize and develop the opinion/argument In this essay, I’m going to talk about why students
of your essay shouldn’t have to wear uniforms.

To provide your reader with a “guide” to your A dress code requiring students to wear uniforms
argument can inhibit student expression, quench creativity,
and deter students from enjoying school.
Key Features
The Main Idea is a Complete Sentence Topic Sentence
- It wil be a single, declarative sentence
The sport of basketball. (This is NOT a sentence) - Convey the main idea of the paragraph
- Be precise - use precise and specific words
The sport of basketball is an engaging sport that be brief- only include important information
everyone should learn to play (Thesis Statement) - Be clear

Why is writing the best subject? (This is NOT a

Supporting Details
statement)
Supporting details are reasons, examples, steps, or
.
other kinds of evidence that explain a main idea, or
Writing is a very challenging subject, yet rewarding,
point
because a student can express himself on paper to
convince others. (Thesis Statement)
Examples:
Students face many challenges in their college years,
and one of those challenges is studying adequately
Key Features: Location
for their classes. Students who struggle finding time
In America, freedom of expression is a right that our
and energy to study may feel like there is no solution
forefathers fought for. Lunch is a social time for
to their problem. However, there are several ways
students where they can express themselves with
for college students to improve their study habits.
their friends. It is also a time when students don’t
(thesis statement)
have to talk about school. Finally, allowing students
to express themselves in lunch allows for less
Studying in a quiet environment helps students
off-topic discussion during classes. Silent lunch is a
improve their study habits(topic sentence 1) For
violation of students’ first amendment rights and is
example, studying in a quiet place like a library
not an acceptable solution to the loud noise in the
allows students to get away from distracting
cafeteria.
noisesAlso, students are able to think better when
they can hear their own thoughtsStudents will do
Key Features: States an Opinion or Attitude
better in their classes if they find a silent place to do
their homework
I learned to play many musical instruments
when I was young. Paying attention in class helps students improve
their study habits. (topic sentence 2) When
Learning to play many musical instruments at a students are alert in the classroom, they will
remember the class lectures better than those who Writing a Reaction, Critique, and Review
did not listen attentively. Also, students who take
Paper
good notes in class will not have missing
information when they are studying for tests and
quizzes. Successful students find that good studying How to Write a Reaction Paper?
starts in the classroom
A reaction or response paper requires the writer to
analyze a text, then develop commentary related to
Managing their time well helps students improve
it.
their study habits. (topic sentence 3) Students who
It is a popular academic assignment because it
set a time aside each day for study will give them
requires thoughtful reading, research, and writing.
enough time to get their homework done. Students
who choose to party every night rather than work on
assignments will not have a chance to meet
Tips on How to Write a Reaction Paper
deadlines. Furthermore, students who use a planner
to schedule their homework time will have a better 1. Prewriting and Actively Reading
idea of what they need to do to succeed - Understand the purpose of a reaction paper

2. Figure out what the assignment is asking.

Reading a Critical Evaluation Paper
A critical evaluation paper asks the writer to make an 3. Read the text you are assigned.
argument about a particular book, essay, movie, etc. - A reaction paper synthesizes the texts, which
means you take the information you read and
Tips for Critical Analysis: bring it together so you can analyze and
evaluate.
1. Tone: formal and academic
2. Own opinion
3. Focus on the subject 4. Annotate the text as you read.
4. Good structure - Annotating in the margins of the text allows
5. Sufficient evidence you to easily locate quotations, plot lines,
character development, or reactions to the
Critical Analysis text.
To perform critical analysis, you need to follow these
two simple steps: 5. Question as you read.
- This is where your evaluation of the material
1. Critical Reading and your reaction begins.
Read carefully and thoroughly identifying the
author's thesis 6. Freewrite.
- Freewriting is a great way to start getting
2. Critical Writing your ideas on paper and getting past that
initial writer's block.
Help the world understand the subject to the fullest
extent.
7. Decide on your angle.
- Think about why the author has written the
article or story. Why did he structure things
 in this particular way? How does this relate Review Articles
to the outside world? - Review article—an article summarizing the
literature on a topic
8. Determine your thesis. - Popularity of review articles with
- Take all your points, opinions, and a. Graduate students
observations, and combine them into one b. Practitioners
claim that you will prove. Your thesis will be c. People changing research areas
one statement that explains what you will - High citation rates of some review articles
analyze, criticize, or try to prove about the and review journals
text. It will force your reaction paper to
remain focused.

9. Organize your paper.

- Your paper should follow basic essay format.
It needs an introduction, body paragraphs,
and a conclusion. Each body paragraph
should directly support your thesis.

10. Gather quotations.

- You must back up your claims with evidence
from the text.

11. Structure your paragraphs.

- Your paragraphs should always start with a
topic sentence. Then you have to decide how
to structure your paragraph. You can start
with what the author says and follow that
with your reaction. Or you can start with the
author and then follow with how your
reaction contrasts.

Critique
Is a French word that means “a critical assessment:
(positive, negative, or a mixture of both). Critiques
may have various structures, but the simplest is a
short summary followed by an evaluation. A critique
differs from an abstract in that it includes the writer’s
opinions, while the abstract does not.

Review Papers
Are critical and comprehensive reviews that provide
new insights or interpretation of a subject through
thorough and systematic evaluation of available
evidence.