LESSON 1.

FUNDAMENTALS OF ACADEMIC TEXT

1. FORMALITY
 precision in language
o VALIDITY
 Use expanded modal forms over contracted forms.
 Use one verb forms over two word verbs
 Use expanded form of words
 Avoid colloquial/trite/ idiomatic expressions

REMARKS: Validity refers to the correctness; reliability refers to the accuracy.

2. OBJECTIVITY
 impersonal presentation of information in academic text
 Avoid the use of personal pronouns such as YOU, I, and WE.
 Avoid rhetorical questions.

REMARKS: Detach yourself from the reading material to avoid bias when interpreting.

3. CAUTION
 careful presentation of views since academic writing is constructed by theory and
principles
o Use modal verbs, adverbs, verbs
Can/could/be able to
May/might
Shall/should
Must/have to
Will/would

REMARKS: The use of cautious language is called HEDGING.

4. EXPLCITNESS
 appropriate use of cohesive devices to show relationship among ideas
 Transitional Words are words in English that cue our readers to relationships between
sentences, joining sentences together

REMARKS: A transitional device could be a word, phrase, sentence, or even a paragraph.

This is to avoid abrupt change of ideas.

See attachment 1 for list of cohesive devices you could use.

 LESSON 2. CRITICAL READING STRATEGIES

Why do I read?
1. To better understand an existing idea
2. To get ideas that can support a particular writing assignment
3. To gain more information
4. To identify gaps in existing studies
5. To connect new ideas to existing ones

REMARKS: Reading should involve critical thinking. The use of reading strategies could
help you understand texts more.

Before Reading
1. Determine your purpose of reading a text
2. Know the type of text you are reading
3. Make inferences
4. State what you already know about the text or what you want to know through graphic
organizers
5. Check for the credibility of the source
6. Do contextualization

REMARKS: Activating one’s schema is the first step to take to ensure authentic learning
from the text.

While Reading
1. Annotate
2. Determine the purpose of the author
3. Determine the audience of the text
4. Determine the tone or the manner of writing of the author, and diction or his/her choice
of words
5. Highlight the author’s position, attitude or belief about the topic
6. Write your opinion about the ideas presented in the text

REMARKS: Highlighting, underlining key concepts, reacting on arguments you agree or

disagree with are collectively called ANNOTATION.

See attachment 1 for list of cohesive devices you could use.

After Reading
1. Reflect on what you learned
2. React on some parts of the text through writing
3. Discuss some parts with your teacher or classmates
4. Link the main idea of the text to what you already know

REMARKS: K-W-L (Ogle, 1986) is an instructional reading strategy that is used to guide
students through a text. Students begin by brainstorming everything they Know about a
topic. This information is recorded in the K column of a K-W-L chart. Students then
generate a list of questions about what they Want to Know about the topic. These
questions are listed in the W column of the chart. During or after reading, students answer
the questions that are in the W column. This new information that they have Learned is
recorded in the L column of the K-W-L chart. (See http://www.nea.org/tools/k-w-l-know-
want-to-know-learned.html)

References

Barrot, J., & Sipacio, P. (2016). Interpreting and preparing visuals. In ). Communication Today: English for Academic
and Professional Purposes for Senior High School. (pp. 212-228). Quezon City: C&E Publishing.

See attachment 1 for list of cohesive devices you could use.