5 Macro Skills  Interrogative sentences

 Exclamatory
1. Listening
 Informal language
2. Speaking
3. Reading  1st POV/ 2nd POV
4. Writing  Uses of contractions
5. Viewing  Unsophisticated adverbs
 Redundancy
Academic Writing  Vague/ unspecific
- Has a specific purpose (inform, persuade,  Lack of references
narrate, etc.) Cohesion – for unity; specific topic
- Uses 3rd person POV
- Formal language/ tone Coherence – flow of ideas; transitions
- Logical and coherent
- The author has wide knowledge about the topic Text types
- Specific purpose
Purpose of Academic Reading:
- Specific audience
 Gather needed info - Specific context
 Learn new ideas
Characteristics of Academic Texts
 Connect existing ideas to new ideas
 Be exposed to other viewpoints 1. Complex – longer words, more varied
vocabulary, more noun phrases, more
Context Clues: subordinations and passives
General Type 2. Formal – no colloquial words or expressions,
abbreviations, two-word verbs, questions
1. Definition/ Explanation 3. Precise – using facts and figures
2. Synonyms/ Restatement 4. Objective – objective rather than personal (no
3. Antonym/ Contrast personal pronouns)
4. Inference/ General Context 5. Explicit – shows relationship in the text makes
5. Punctuations (bold/ italic) clear how various parts are related
6. Accurate – uses accurate vocabulary, subjects
Linguistic Features of Academic Writing have words with narrow meanings
 Definition of a concept 7. Uses hedging – uses cautious language
 Tentativeness/Hedging – ex. it appears to 8. Responsible – provides evidence and
become, it is therefore preferable justification, uses well-written summaries and
 Sophisticated Adverbs – ex. increasingly, paraphrases
important 9. Organized – structure is determined
10. Well-planned – takes place after research and
 Sophisticated Connectors/Transitions – ex.
evaluation follows a specific purpose or plan
however, therefore, as such
 Complex Sentences/Subordination – ex. Summarizing Techniques
because
 Verb Tense/Forms – present Summary
 Full Forms of Words – ex. it is, have not - A short overview of the main points of a text
 Conciseness – direct to the point - Condensed version of text
 Listing/Exemplifying – do not use etc. - Reconstruction of the main points
 References/Citations – there are sources cited
 Academic Vocabulary – words exclusive only Purpose of summarizing
for academic text - Test your comprehension
 Logical Cohesion – have only one topic (unity); - General ideas are important
specific topic - To double-check if you have a good grasp in the
text
Non Academic Language Feature
Sample summarizing techniques for reading:
 Clichés/ common expression
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  Key point summaries Characteristics
 Outlining
- It take a stand
 Organizers/charts
- Unified and expresses one main idea
 5Ws summary - Specific
 Test questions - You are trying to prove something
 Acrostics - Complete declarative sentence
 Paragraph summary - Controlling idea is what the writer is trying to
 Aha! And Huh! prove
How to summarize for writing? Not a thesis statement
 Use your own words - A fact
 Condense the text - In a question/interrogative form
 Provide accurate representations of the text - An announcement of purpose
 Avoid personal opinions
How to write a good thesis statement
*Note: Summaries are much shorter than the original
 Should be clear, have stand
material – not more than 10% - 15% length of the
original text  Be specific
 Be logical by giving points
How do I organize?  Say more than what is already proven fact
 Answer so what
 Introduction – state the main ideas; author,
title, where the text was presented must be seen  Search for concrete subjects and words
 Body – use translational phrasing; present the Paraphrasing Techniques
idea relevant to the point you are making
 Conclusion – state or restate things that are Paraphrasing
most important for your reader to remember; use
- One way to use a text in your own version
in-text citation if appropriate; connect the
- Your own rendition of essential information and
summary to the main point
ideas from someone else
Qualities of a Good Summary: - One legitimate way to borrow from a source
- A more detailed restatement that a summary
1. Comprehensive – complete
2. Concise – shorten Purpose of paraphrasing
3. Coherent – one topic
4. Independent – can stand alone  It is better that quoting information from an
undistinguished passage
Common words  Help you control the temptation to quote to
much
 All things considered, briefly, on the whole, this  Help you grasp the full meaning of the original
means that…, in short, finally text
Common verbs used Ways to paraphrase:
 Assumes, notes, suggests, believes, impresses, 1. Reread the original passage until you understand
points out, expresses its full meaning
 Expound on the idea, explores, informs, provide 2. Set the original aside and write your paraphrase
an example, establishes, emphasizes 3. Jot down a few words below your paraphrase to
Identifying Thesis Statements remind you later how to organize your idea
4. Check your rendition with the original text
Thesis Statement 5. Use quotation marks to identify any unique term
you have borrowed exactly from the source
- Central idea of the whole thesis 6. Record the sources that you can credit it easily if
- Always in declaration sentence you decide it to include to your paper
- Making a stand/position
- An arguable claim

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Techniques in paraphrasing 11. Ignoring the Question – changing the
argument, arguing something else
 Sentence structure and connecting words 12. Ad Misericordiam – appeal to sympathy
 Quoted speech to indirect speech (or vice versa) 13. False Analogy – situations are altogether
 Active voice to passive voice (or vice versa) different
 Synonyms
 Word forms/ parts of speech Fact – something that is verified with evidence
 Numbers/ percentages to different forms Opinion – something that came from one’s own belief
Critical Reading
Critical thinking
- Objective analysis
- Evaluation of an issue in order to form a
judgment
- Ability to think clearly and rationally about what
to do or what to believe
What are the skills needed?
- Understand logical connections between ideas
- Identify, construct, and evaluate arguments
- Detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in
reasoning
- Solve problem systematically
- Understand the relevance of ideas
- Reflect on the justification of one’s belief and
values
Logical Fallacies
Fallacy – a mistaken or illogical idea; an error in reason
Logic – the science of thinking
Types of Fallacies
1. Dicto Simpliciter – an argument based on an
unqualified generalization
2. Hasty Generalization – too few instances to
support a conclusion
3. Post Hoc – conclusion not connected to premise
4. Contradictory Premises – premises contradict
each other
5. Hypothesis Contrary to Fact – starting with a
false hypotheses and drawing conclusions
6. Poisoning the well – tainting an argument
before it has begun
7. Begging the Question – assuming the premise
is true without evidence
8. Slippery Slope – arguing that one event will
lead to another which will lead to another
9. Ad Populum – using popular opinion to appeal
to the crowd
10. Ad Hominem – attacking the person instead of
attacking the argument

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