ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND

PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES
ALFREDO C. MARASIGAN JR., LPT
Part-time Instructor
LSPU-SPCC | S.Y. 2019-2020
 We read texts differently based on its
type, its content, as well as our purpose.
Academic texts
• articles
• researches
• dissertations
• textbooks
• encyclopedias
• case studies
• reports
 Academic
texts

VS.

Non-academic
texts
Academic text
• written by experts on their field
• must go through a peer review process
• language is formal, objective, and technical
• list references and sources
• requires full concentration and comprehension
for understanding
Academic texts require
critical reading strategies
• Identify your purpose in reading

“Some books are to be tasted,

others to be swallowed, and
some few to be chewed and
digested (...)”
—Francis Bacon, The Essays (1597)
Depending on what your purpose is…
• to gain knowledge on a new topic
• to get a brief overview
• to answer a question
• to get ideas to support a writing assignment
• to gather evidence for your argument
• to compare and contrast authors’ viewpoints

…you read texts differently.

Before reading, ask yourself:
1. Why am I reading this text?
2. What information do I need?
3. How will I read the text to get
what I need?
Academic texts require
critical reading strategies
• Identify your purpose in reading
• Establish your existing knowledge on the topic
• Infer or make predictions based on the title
Reading Practice

Multitasking Can Make You

Lose . . . Um . . . Focus
Alina Tugend

• What do you already know about the topic?

• What do you think will be the content of
this text based on the title?
Academic texts require
critical reading strategies
• Identify your purpose in reading
• Establish your existing knowledge on the topic
• Infer or make predictions based on the title
• Use the KWL method to connect new ideas to
existing knowledge
K What I Know

W What I Want to Learn

L What I Learned
Example KWL method on an article focusing on
language and gender

What I Know What I Want to Learn What I Learned

• There is a connection • Are women really • Women are reported to

between language and talkative then men? speak 20,000 words a
gender. • What accounts for the day while men speak an
• Women and men are on difference in the average of 7,000 words.
different levels of frequency of language • Foxp2 protein is one of
talkativeness. use between men and the genes associated
women? with language.
• It was shown that
women have higher
levels of this protein
than men.
Academic texts require
critical reading strategies
• Identify your purpose in reading
• Establish your existing knowledge on the topic
• Infer or make predictions based on the title
• Use the KWL method to connect new ideas to
existing knowledge
• Annotate the text
Example Annotated text
Some ways to annotate a text:
• Mark or highlight essential parts of the text
• Underline or circle key terms or definitions
• Note words/parts you find difficult or confusing
• Use arrow lines to show relationships or
connections
• Note shifts and transitions in the text
• Write brief notes on the margins
• Write out a short summary of a paragraph/a few
paragraphs
• Write your own thoughts and opinions
Example Annotated text
Example Annotated text
Example Annotated text
A well-annotated text will accomplish the following:

1. Clearly identify where important

information are located
2. Express main ideas in a text
3. Trace the development of ideas
throughout a text
4. Keep track of your thoughts and
reactions
Reading Practice

Multitasking Can Make You

Lose . . . Um . . . Focus
Alina Tugend

• Read the article using the KWL method.

• Annotate the text to determine its key
points and supporting evidence.
Academic texts require
critical reading strategies
• Identify your purpose in reading
• Establish your existing knowledge on the topic
• Infer or make predictions based on the title
• Use the KWL method to connect new ideas to
existing knowledge
• Annotate the text
• Use the SQ3R method
 S Survey preview the text

Q Question generate questions about the reading

3R Read look for answers to your questions

Recite recount the main points of the text

Review evaluate what you learned

Introduction

Body

Conclusion
 thesis statement
presents or describes the main point of
an essay
typically found at the last part of the
introduction
Example Thesis statement of sample introduction

Filipinos are frequent moviegoers. Perhaps because of the comic relief that comedy
films promise, or the fairytale ending we all want to have that the rom-coms provide, we
indulge in the cinematography of moving pictures. In the 1984 Guinness Book of World
Records, the Philippines was listed as the nation with the world’s most avid film-going
public, averaging 19 trips to the cinema per year, per person (Yeatter, 2007). In a more
recent statistic, the country has also been known to have the highest level of theatre
admission in South-East Asia, with 63 million moviegoers in 2004 (“Phil. Indie films,” n.d.).
More often than not, movie theatres all over the Metro are filled with people who want to
break out from their usual working routine to catch a two-hour movie with friends. Oddly
enough, however, we as constant consumers of these motion pictures tend to patronize
those that are made particularly international.

Source: Tagudina, M. (n.d.). Curiouser and curiouser: The making of a better Philippine cinema.
 thesis statement
presents or describes the main point of
an essay
typically found at the last part of the
introduction
sometimes replaced by a purpose
statement in academic texts
Example Purpose statement of sample abstract

There is a challenge posted to higher education. That is to attune its present educational
goals, objectives, and mission-vision to the demands of a globalized world. Consequently,
institutions, especially in the developing countries, have started to reconstruct their global
dynamics of knowledge production through establishing linkages among institutions across
nations. Generally, the common set of internationalization of higher education highlights
the importance of promoting cultural diversity and fostering intercultural understanding,
respect, and tolerance among people (Turner and Robinson, 2007). These reiterations of
what internationalization of higher education should emphasize are actually based on the
profound belief that the cultural heritage of people is universal and humankind shares the
bond of humanity and global citizenship in the process of advancement of knowledge
(Wing, 2010). Exploratory in nature, this paper aims to examine the key concepts on IHE.
Specifically, this paper reviews articles which will shed light on the significant ideas, and
proposes a preliminary framework for IHE in the Philippines.
To locate the thesis statement:

1. Read the title and make inferences

on its purpose
2. If the text has no abstract, read the
first few paragraphs
3. In other cases, check also the
conclusion
Reading Practice Journal article (HUMSS)

Log in if you survived: Collective

coping on social media in the
aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in the
Philippines
Tandoc, E.C. and Takahashi, B. (2016)
Reading Practice Journal article (HUMSS)
Log in if you survived: Collective coping on social media in the
aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines

Questions:
• What is the thesis statement of the abstract?
• Why was this study conducted?
• What salient findings did the authors find in the
study? How did they gather data?
• What conclusions and recommendations did
they make?
Reading Practice Journal article (HUMSS)
Log in if you survived: Collective coping on social media in the
aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines

• Keep in mind your purpose in reading.

• Use whichever critical reading strategy works
best for you.
• Annotate the text for key information.
• Answer the questions using your own words.
Reading Practice Journal article (STEM)

Cultivating climate resilience: a

participatory assessment of organic
and conventional rice systems in the
Philippines
Heckelman, A., Smulker, S., and Wittman, H. (2018)
Reading Practice Journal article (STEM)
Cultivating climate resilience: a participatory assessment of
organic and conventional rice systems in the Philippines

Questions:
• What is the thesis statement of the abstract?
• Why was this study conducted?
• What salient findings did the authors find in the
study? How did they gather data?
• What conclusions and recommendations did
they make?
Reading Practice Journal article (STEM)
Cultivating climate resilience: a participatory assessment of
organic and conventional rice systems in the Philippines

• Keep in mind your purpose in reading.

• Use whichever critical reading strategy works
best for you.
• Annotate the text for key information.
• Answer the questions using your own words.
Reading Practice Journal article (HE)

Awareness of and adherence to the

Food Based Dietary Guidelines among
household meal planners in the
Philippines
Lopez-Madrid, M.M., Acuin, C.C.S., Orense, C.L., Duante, C.A.,
Tan, R.C., and Capanzana, M.V. (2018)
Reading Practice Journal article (HE)
Awareness of and adherence to the Food Based Dietary
Guidelines among household meal planners in the Philippines

Questions:
• What is the thesis statement of the abstract?
• Why was this study conducted?
• What salient findings did the authors find in the
study? How did they gather data?
• What conclusions and recommendations did
they make?
Reading Practice Journal article (HE)
Awareness of and adherence to the Food Based Dietary
Guidelines among household meal planners in the Philippines

• Keep in mind your purpose in reading.

• Use whichever critical reading strategy works
best for you.
• Annotate the text for key information.
• Answer the questions using your own words.
Reading Practice Journal article (IA)

Sustainability of E-Trike as alternative

mode of public transportation system:
The case of Cabanatuan City,
Philippines
Balaria, F.E., Pascual, M.P., Santos, M.D., Ortiz, A.F., Gabriel,
A.G. and Mangahas, T.L.S. (2017)
Reading Practice Journal article (IA)
Sustainability of E-Trike as alternative mode of public
transportation system: The case of Cabanatuan City, Philippines

Questions:
• What is the thesis statement of the abstract?
• Why was this study conducted?
• What salient findings did the authors find in the
study? How did they gather data?
• What conclusions and recommendations did
they make?
Reading Practice Journal article (IA)
Sustainability of E-Trike as alternative mode of public
transportation system: The case of Cabanatuan City, Philippines

• Keep in mind your purpose in reading.

• Use whichever critical reading strategy works
best for you.
• Annotate the text for key information.
• Answer the questions using your own words.