COMMUNICATION FOR

ACADEMIC PURPOSES
Mr. Ronel D. Gruella, LPT
Instructor
Coverage:
 Academic Paper
When you talk about
academic writing, you start
with:
 Asking yourself a question
 Conceptualize the
problem
 Finding the solution
 Making or arguing your
own stand
As an umbrella term, it may include:
 Academic assignments
o Case Study Analysis
o Financial Analysis
o Reports
o Analysis
 Solution based on evidence
 Present informed argument
 Sort out what you know from
what you feel
 Different from professional writing
Steps in Arriving at An Academic Paper
 Select a topic  Outline your paper
 Formulate a working thesis  Develop your thesis
statement statement
 Prepare preliminary  Revise
questions  Edit
 Find cross sectioned  Check documentation
sources
 Create a timeline
 Design a system to
organise and take notes
Example:

Topic : Relevance of Wearing School Uniform Among

Victory Elijah Christian College Students

Thesis Statement : Wearing school uniform among

Education - Victory Elijah Christian
College students promotes unity and
loyalty towards one another.
Preliminary Questions :
 What do the design and the colour of the school uniform
among Education - VECC students reflect?
 Besides unity and loyalty matters, why is the wearing of
school uniform among Education - VECC students relevant?
 How does the wearing of school uniform among Education -
VECC students promote unity and loyalty among students
themselves?
Reference
 It is a list of all the sources you used in your paper
 It supports your paper
 It should be latest edition

Citation
 It is needed to properly address the author of
selected references
 APA format citation
 Author Citations
One Author
 Dela Cruz, J. A (2OO4)
Two Authors
 Mackey, A.G. and Gass, S.M (2OO5)
Three to Five Authors
 For three, four, or five authors, refer to all authors in the first
citation, then use the first author’s last name followed by the
abbreviation "et al." (not italicized and with a period after
"al") in all subsequent citations:
o First citation : Cortez, A.S., Gold, B.A. and Hammond (1998)
o Subsequent citations : Cortez et al. (1998)
Six or More Authors
 For six or more authors, use the first author's last name
followed by the abbreviation “et al.”
o Mitchell et al. (2O17)

Books
Structure:
 Last name, First initial, Middle initial.
 Last name, First initial. (Date). Title. Location: Publisher.
Example:
Goldin, C. D., and Katz, L. F. (2008). The race between
education and technology. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of
Harvard University Press.
 Websites
Structure:
 Author Last Name, First initial. Middle Initial. (Year, Month
Date Published). Title of webpage. Retrieved from URL
Example:
Austerlitz, S. (2015, March 3). How long can a spinoff like
‘Better Call Saul’ last? Retrieved from
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-long-can-a-
spinoff-like-better-call-saul-last/
 Newspapers
Structure:
 Author's Last name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year, Month Day
Published). Title of article. Title of Newspaper, page range.
Example:
Frost, L. (2006, September 14). First passengers ride monster jet.
The Salt Lake Tribune, p. A2.

Page numbers:
 If the article is only one page long, use ‘p.’ For any articles longer
than one page, use ‘pp.’ If an article appears on non-sequential
pages, separate each page number with a comma.
Example:
pp. D4, D5, D7-D8
 Research Paper
When you talk about academic writing, you start with:
 gathering data
 forming hypothesis
 testing of hypothesis
 forming a new theory
 confirming an existing one
 research paper
Research Paper Structure
 Literature Review
 Methodology
 Findings
 Analysis

Types of Research
 Survey/questionnaire ( quantitative )
 Observation ( qualitative )
 Discourse
Discourse
 It comes from the Latin word “discursus,” which means
"running to and fro.“ the physical act of transferring
information "to and fro," the way a runner might.
 It is a certain unit of language and a particular focus.
(Schiffrin, Discourse Markers)

It can also be defined in three ways: ( All About Linguistics )

 Language beyond the level of a sentence
 Language behaviours linked to social practices (application
of language ; deals on social practices)
 Language as a system of thought
Xu Jiajin, “Recent Issues in Discourse Analysis”
 Discourse is a term used in linguistics to refer continuous stretch of
(specially spoken) language larger tan a sentence – but, within this
broad notion, several various applications may be found . . . It is a set
of utterances which constitute any recognisable speech event (e.g.
conversation, joke, sermon, interview, etc.)
Cook, Guy. “Discourse”
 Language in use, for communication is called discourse; and the
search for what gives discourse coherence is discourse analysis.
 Discourse may be composed of one or more well-formed
grammatical sentences – and indeed it often is – but it does not have
to be. (As long as there is communication, we have discourse.)
 Discourse can be anything from a grunt or single expletive, through
short conversations and scribbled notes, right up to Tolstoy novel,
“War and Peace,” or a lengthy legal case. What matters is not its
conformity to rules, but the fact that it communicates and is
recognised by its receivers as coherent.
Malicsi, Jonathan. “The ELP Written Communication Strategies”
 Discourse is a linguistic unit beyond the sentence. This is not
merely a series of sentences, but the cohesion of sentences.
Discourse Analysis
 Tannen, D. (1999). “Discourse Analysis.”
Discourse analysis is (sometimes) defined as the analysis
of language ‘beyond the sentence’ . . . Some discourse
analysis consider the larger discourse context in order to
understand how it affects the meaning of the sentence.
 David, C. (1992). “The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.”
Oxford: Blackwell.
Discourse analysis is the study of how sentences in spoken
and written language form larger meaningful units such as
paragraphs, conversations, interviews, etc.
 ● How the choices of articles, pronouns, and tenses
affect the structures of the discourse
● The relationship between utterances in a discourse
● The moves made by the speakers to introduce a new
topic, change the topic, or insert a higher role
relationship to the other participants.
 Demo, D. A. (2001, September). “Discourse Analysis for
Language Teachers.” ERIC Digest, EDO-FL-01-07.
Discourse analysis is the examination of language use by
members of a speech community. It involves looking at
both language form and language function and includes
the study of both spoken interaction and written texts. It
identifies linguistic features that characterize various
genres as well as social and cultural factors that aid in our
interpretation and understanding of different texts and
types of talk.
 A discourse analysis of written texts might include a study of topic
development and cohesion across the sentences, while an
analysis of spoken language might focus on these aspects plus
turn-taking practices, opening and closing sequences of social
encounters, or narrative structure. (The moment we knew
differences, that’s already discourse. Whenever we investigate
differences according to genre).
 Cook, 1989
Discourse analysis examines how stretches of language,
considered in their full textual, social, and psychological context,
become meaningful and unified for their users.
 McCarthy, 1991
Discourse analysis is concerned with the study of the relationship
between language and the context in which it is used . . .
Discourse analysis is not only concerned with the description and
analysis of spoken interaction . . . discourse analysts are equally
interested in the organisation of written interaction. (Context is
subjective)
 Gee (2011)
Discourse analysis is the analysis of language in use. Better
put, it is the study of language use in the world, not just to
say things, but to do things.
 Baker and Ellece (2011)
Discourse analysis is the study of how sentences in spoken
and written language form larger meaningful units such as
paragraphs, conversations, interviews, etc.
 Jaworski and Coupland, (2006)
Discourse is a language used relative to social, political, and
cultural formations – it is language reflecting social order
but also language shaping social order and individual’s
interaction with society. (Whatever you say, it’s already
interpreted by society)
According to Ostin, words
alone can do the actions.
The moment you say it,
there’s already an act.
Research Paper Structure
A good paragraph has unity, coherence, brevity and
emphasis.
 Narration
It simply tells a story and in the process of telling a story a
description can be a helping device to make the story
more interesting.
 Description
It expresses what the author actually sees, feels, touches,
tastes and smells and other sense of impressions, that
he/she experiences toward a person, thing and other
animate or inanimate objects. The author usually uses
adjectives, participles and other modifiers.
 Exposition
It is a type of discourse intended to give information about
(or an explanation of) an issue, subject, method, or idea.
 Argumentation
It is a type of discourse that centers on a thesis. Used for
proposing a solution or defending a proposal or criticizing
existing practices, systems and approaches.
 The Writing Process
STRATEGY (The Major Steps of the Writing )
 prewriting
 writing stage
 post writing stage
Questions That Will Help Generate Ideas
 What is my purpose for writing?
 For whom am I writing?
 What message do I want to communicate?
 What is the best writing discourse in conveying your
message should you use?
 How do I want to sound my audience or readers?