DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Region III
DIVISION OF CITY OF SAN FERNANDO
San Fernando East District
Nuestra Señora Del Pilar Integrated School
Brgy. Del Pilar, City of San Fernando, Pampanga

Name of Student: ____________________________________ Parent’s Signature: ____________

Parent/Guardian: _____________________________________

ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

(Grade 12)
Quarter 1 – Week 1

I. OBJECTIVES

A. Content Standard:
The learner acquires knowledge of appropriate reading strategies for a better
understanding of academic texts
B. Performance Standard:
The learner produces a detailed abstract of information gathered from the various
academic texts read
C. Learning Competency/ Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELC)
MELC No. 1 –
Differentiates language used in academic texts from various disciplines
MELC No. 2 –
Uses knowledge of text structure to glean the information he/she needs

 Specific Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the learners should be able to:

1. Differentiate academic texts from nonacademic texts;

2. Identify the features of academic texts;
3. Use critical reading strategy in reading academic texts

II. CONTENT:

Fundamentals of Reading Academic Texts

III. LEARNING RESOURCES

A. References
English for the Globalized Classroom Series English for Academic and
Professional Purposes by Paolo Niño M. Valdez, Ph.D

Communicate Today English for Academic and Professional Purposes for

Senior High School by Jessie Saraza Barrot, Ph.D. and Philippe John
Fresnillo Sipacio

B. Other Learning/Instructional Materials

IV. PROCEDURE

A. Reviewing previous lesson or presenting the new lesson

 Let’s Warm Up

Tick the column that determines how often you practice what the following
statements say. Do this as objectively as possible.

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 Usually Sometimes Seldom Never
1. I can differentiate academic
texts from nonacademic text
2. I establish my purpose when
reading academic texts
3. I use graphic organizers to
see the relationships of the
ideas
4. I read the title first then ask
myself essential question
about the topic
5. I make inferences based on
the title
6. I check the evidence and
arguments presented to prove
the main idea or thesis
statement
7. I annotate a text to identify
essential information,
comment on the author’s
arguments, or relate new
ideas to existing ones
8. I read to answer my own
questions posed before
reading a text
9. I make a summary or
synthesis of what I read
10. I read and re-read the text
until my questions have been
answered or until I understand
its arguments
TOTAL
GRAND TOTAL

Scoring Score Level of Proficiency

Usually – 3 points 28-30 Advanced
Sometimes – 2 points 25-27 Proficient
Seldom – 1 point 23-24 Approaching Proficiency
Never - 0 20 and below Beginning Proficiency

B. Establishing a purpose for the lesson

The texts your read in school are different from the texts you read
during your leisure time. While the text you read for pleasure, such as graphic
novels or magazines, can be likened to the appeal of sweet desserts,
academic texts are more like the heavy main course. More often than not they
need to be chewed and savored for a long time before their meanings can be
fully digested.

C. Presenting examples/ instances of the new lesson

Academic Texts Description

Articles Published in scholarly journals, this type of academic
text offers results of research and development that
can either impact the academic community or provide
relevance to nation-building.
Conference Papers These are papers presented in scholastic
conferences, and may be revised as articles for

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 possible publication in scholarly journals.
Reviews These provide evaluation or reviews of works
published in scholarly journals.
Theses, These are personal researches written by a candidate
Dissertations for a college or university degree.
Based on the example, it can be said that in academic reading, full
concentration and comprehension are required for you to understand the key ideas,
information, themes, or arguments of the text.

D. Discussing new concepts and practicing new skills #1

♦Reading goals

It is important that you know your purpose for reading early on, so you can save
time and improve your comprehension.

Before you read an academic text, ask yourself the following questions.

1. Why am I reading this text?

2. What information or pieces of information do I need?
3. What do I want to learn?
Below are some general purposes for reading an academic text.

 To better understand an existing idea

 To get ideas that can support a particular writing assignment
 To gain more information
 To identify gaps in existing studies
 To connect new ideas to existing ones

♦Structure of Academic Text

Academic texts are typically formal. They have a clearly structured introduction,
body, and conclusion. They also include information from credible sources which
are, in turn, properly cited. They also include a list of references used in
developing the academic paper.

♦Content and Style of Academic Texts

Academic texts include concepts and theories that are related to the specific
discipline they explore. They usually exhibit all the properties of a well written text
i.e., organization, unity, coherence and cohesion, as well as strict adherence to
rules of language use and mechanics.

In general, authors observe the following when writing academic texts.

 They state critical questions and issues.

 They provide facts and evidence from credible sources.
 They use precise and accurate words while 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 down their claims.
Here are some examples of hedging expressions used in academic texts.

Types Examples As used in the sentence

Modal auxiliary verbs May, might, can, could, The measure Might have
would, should negative effects on the
patients health.
Modal lexical verbs To seem, to appear The discussion appears

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 doubting and evaluating (epistemic verbs), to to have a positive
rather than merely believe, to assume, to implications.
describing suggest, to estimate, to
tend, to think, to argue, to
indicate, to propose, to
speculate
Probability adjectives Possible, probable, A number of significant
unlikely changes are possible
Nouns Assumption, claim, There are a number of
possibility, estimate, claims pertaining to the
suggestion possibility of divorce
Adverbs Perhaps, possibly, The proposal is practically
probably, practically, an answer to the
likely, presumably, confusion
virtually, apparently
Indicators of degree, Approximately, roughly, Fever is present in about
quantity, frequency and about, often, occasionally, a third of cases
time generally, usually,
somewhat, somehow, a
lot of
Introductory phrases Believe, to our The committee believes
knowledge, it is our view that the issue needs to be
that, we feel that explored
“if” clauses If true, if anything If anything, the opinion
holds a number of truths.
Compound hedges Double hedges: seems This probably indicates
reasonable, looks that the assigned
probable; it may suggest personnel is misinformed.
that, it seems likely that; it
would indicate that; this
probably indicates
Treble hedges: it would
be seem somewhat
unlikely that, it may
appear somewhat
speculative that

E. Discussing new concepts and practicing new skills #2

♦Critical Reading Strategies

Reading academic texts requires focus and understanding. You have to interact with
the text by questioning its assumptions, responding to its arguments, ad connecting it
to real-life experiences and applications. Critical or reflective reading helps you
identify the key arguments presented by the author and analyze concepts presented
in the text.

To adopt a critical reading approach, practice the strategies to be employed

during each stage of reading.

•Before Reading
-determine which type of academic text (article, review, thesis, etc.) you are
reading
-determine and establish your purpose of reading
-identify the author’s purpose for writing
-predict or infer the main idea or argument of the text based on its title
-identify your attitude towards the author and the text
-state what you already know and what you want to learn about the topic
-determine the target audience
-check the publication date for relevance. It should have been published at
most five years earlier than the current year.

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 -check the reference list while making sure to consider the correctness of the
formatting style
-use a concept map or a graphic organizer to note your existing ideas and
knowledge on the topic
•During Reading
-annotate important parts of the text
•After Reading
-reflect on what you learned
-react on some parts of the text through writing
-discuss some parts with your teacher or classmates
-link the main idea of the text to what you already know

F. Developing mastery

Write B on the space provided if the task is done before reading, D if done during
reading, or A if done after reading.
_______1. Marking the text for possible contradictions
_______2. Writing a reading log
_______3. Predicting the theme of the article
_______4. Summarizing the text
_______5. Getting the main idea of the article
_______6. Preparing a fishbone map
_______7. Getting the meanings of difficult words through context clues
_______8. Predicting the possible ending of the article
_______9. Checking the length of the article
_______10. Checking the table of contents

G. Finding practical applications of concepts and skills in daily living

What is the importance of knowing the right language to use in constructing an

academic text?

H. Making generalizations and abstractions about the lesson

Academic Texts Description

Articles Published in scholarly journals, this type of academic
text offers results of research and development that
can either impact the academic community or provide
relevance to nation-building.
Conference Papers These are papers presented in scholastic
conferences, and may be revised as articles for
possible publication in scholarly journals.
Reviews These provide evaluation or reviews of works
published in scholarly journals.
Theses, These are personal researches written by a candidate
Dissertations for a college or university degree.

I. Evaluating learning
A. Write T if the statement is true and F if false.
____1. Academic reading requires concentration and comprehension.
____2. Academic texts are completely different from non-academic texts in terms of
structure, content, and style.
____3. Authors of academic texts usually present facts to support their main
argument.
____4. Completing academic readings appears to be a challenge in which students
fail.
____5. Critical reading strategies lead the readers to a full understanding of the text.
____6. Essentially, the language of academic texts is precise and accurate.

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 ____7. One has to determine his/her purpose before reading.
____8. Reading strategies differ from one person to another.
____9. Successful readers of academic texts generally integrate valuable information
or ideas from one source to another.
____10. Through writing annotations, readers are guided on important ideas
presented
in the text.

B. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate hedges in the following sample academic
paragraph.

appears believe likely seems likely could

The researchers _____________ that addressing the wide difference in the

emerging culture of the Information Age _____________ help students learn
effectively. According to Prensky (2001), today’s students, who are referred to as
digital natives, are no longer the people the educational system has been designed
to teach. They are now instantaneous, information saturated, wired. It
_____________ that they think and process information differently from their
predecessors, the digital immigrants. The digital world has wired the modern
students differently, thus making them incredibly sophisticated. It is
_____________that the availability of the Internet helped condition them to ask
questions and get answers instantaneously, which is a far cry from the card
catalogue and encyclopedias most digital immigrants grew up with (Gandhi, 2009).
This is the first generation of students who are more proficient with technology than
their teachers are (Moe, 2009). It _____________ that teachers who fumble with
technology will struggle to persuade students that the information they are presenting
is worthwhile (Rudi, 2009). This is a challenge to prepare the students to be more
imaginative, creative, entrepreneurial and have the capacity for “high touch” abilities
such as compassion, personal rapport, social interaction, and caring and helping
others (Ahmes, 2008)

C. Read the text, and then answer the questions below. The questions are in three
sections. Read the instructions for each section carefully before doing the answers

J. Additional activities for application or remediation

What is music?

A. Music has probably existed for as long as man has been human, and it certainly predates
civilization by tens of millenia. Yet even today there is no clear definition of exactly what
music is. For example, birdsong is certainly melodic, but it is not tuneful, and it is not created
with the intention of being musical (in fact it is sometimes meant to sound threatening) -
therefore does it count as music?

B. On the other hand, some modern composers have been challenging the idea that music
should be arranged in a pleasant manner with the notes falling in an orderly succession.
Others, famously the avant guarde composer John Cage have even used silence and called
the result music. As a result there is no one definition of music. Perhaps it should be said
that music, like beauty, is what the person who sees or hears it believes it to be.

C. Music is divided in many ways. Music itself is split into notes, clefts, quavers, and semi-
demi quavers. Ancient and medieval musicologists believed that these notes could be
arranged 'horizontally' into melody (making notes that match on the same scale) and
'vertically' (going up and down the scales to create harmony). Another very basic
measurement of music is the 'pulse'. This is present in almost all forms of music, and is
particularly strong in modern popular music. The pulse is the regular beat which runs
through a tune. When you tap your foot or clap your hands in time to a song, you are

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 beating out the pulse of that song.

D. Another way of dividing music is by genre. Even a child who does not know that (for
example) rock and roll and classical music are different genres will be instantly aware that
these are very different sounds; though he will not be aware that one is a percussion-led
melody while the other emphasizes harmony over rhythm and timbre. Each genre of music
has numerous sub-divisions. Classical music is divided by type - for example symphonies,
concertos and operas, and by sub-genre, for example baroque and Gregorian chant. Just to
make it more fun, modern musicians have also been experimenting with crossover music,
so that we get Beatles tunes played by classical orchestras, and groups like Queen using
operatic themes in songs such as 'Bohemian rhapsody'.

E. Almost all music is a collaboration between the composer, and the performer, while song
requires a lyricist to write the words as well. Sometimes old tunes are adapted for new lyrics
- for example the song 'Happy Birthday' is based on a tune originally called 'Have a nice
Day'. At other times a performer might produce a song in a manner which the original
composer would not recognize. (A famous example is the punk rock band the Sex Pistols
performing the British national anthem 'God save the Queen'.)

F. This is because the composer and lyricist have to leave the performer some freedom to
perform in the way that suits him or her best. While many classical compositions have notes
stressing how a piece should be performed (for example a piece played 'con brio' should be
light and lively) in the end, what the listener hears is the work of the performer. Jazz music
has fully accepted this, and jazz performers are not only expected to put their own
interpretation on a piece, but are expected to play even the same piece with some variation
every time.

G. Many studies of music do not take into account where the music is to be played and who
the audience will be. This is a major mistake, as the audience is very much a part of the
musical experience. Any jazz fan will tell you that jazz is best experienced in small smoky
bars some time after midnight, while a classical fan will spend time and money making sure
that the music on his stereo comes as close as possible to the sound in a large concert hall.
Some music, such as dance music, is designed to be interactive, while other music is
designed to remain in the background, smoothing out harsh sounds and creating a mood.
This is often the case with cinema music - this powerfully changes the mood of the
audience, yet remains so much in the background that many cinemagoers are unaware that
the music is actually playing.

H. Music is very much a part of human existence, and we are fortunate today in having
music of whatever kind we choose instantly available at the touch of a button. Yet spare a
thought for those who still cannot take advantage of this bounty. This includes not only the
deaf, but those people who are somehow unable to understand or recognize music when
they hear it. A famous example is United President Ulysses Grant, who famously said 'I can
recognise two tunes. One is 'Yankee doodle' and the other one isn't.'

Choose and encircle the letter of the sentence, which is closest to the meaning in the text.

1. A. Modern composers do not always want their music to sound pleasant

B. Some modern composers do not want their music to be enjoyable
C. A modern musical composition should not be orderly

2. A. Crossover music is when classical orchestras play modern tunes

B. Crossover music moves between musical genres
C. Crossover music is a modern musical genre

3. A. Performers, lyricists and composers each have a separate function

B. Performers of a song will need to become lyricists
C. Composers instruct musicians to play their work 'con brio'

Match these groups of words with one of the words in the box opposite.

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 ______4. Rock and roll, classical music, jazz A. Collaborators
______5. Composer, lyricist, performer B. John Cage
______6. Symphony, concerto, opera C. Classical
______7. Cinemagoer, jazz fan, dancer D. Baroque
E. Audience
F. genres

 The paragraphs are numbered A-H. Write the letter of the paragraph which contains the
following information (You can choose a paragraph more than once).

8.   People can tell genres of music apart even without musical training.
9.   Where you hear music can be as important as the skill of the performer.
10.   Music has been a part of human existence for many thousands of years.
11.   A piece of music might have more than one set of words to go with it.
12.   Some people cannot tell the difference between classical music and birdsong.

Prepared by:

NIÑA CAMILLE A. DAVID

Teacher II

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