© Francis Carlo M.

Abelar

ENGLISH 2 REVIEWER
READING AND WRITING
Reading

 Process of extracting meaning from a written or printed text.

 Involves decoding (recognizing different language symbols) and comprehending them.
 Influenced by reader’s experiences, attitude, schemata, language community and his/her
goals.
Psychology of Reading

 According to Gibson and Levin (1978), reading involves higher level mental processes,
such as discovery of rules and order, and the extraction of structured meaningful
information.
 Levels of Comprehension: Literal, interpretative, applied, evaluative.
 Meta-Cognition (Higher comprehension): self-awareness, careful reading and greater
retention, making assumptions and hypothesis, information reading which gives
attention to SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review).
Physiological Aspects of Reading

 Eyes: see, identify, and recognize the printed word or symbol.

 Optic Nerves: transmit information from the retina to the brain.
 Cerebral Cortex: interprets symbols.
 Eye movement: Fixation (eyes stopping on a word), Inter-fixation (eyes moving from
stopping point to another), return sweeps (eyes swinging back to the end of line), saccades
(quick hop and jump to move ahead on a line), regression (backward movement).
Stages of the Reading Process
1. Pre-reading stage
 Activates or builds  Introduce key vocabulary
background knowledge on words.
the topic.  Make predictions.
 Sets purpose.  Preview text.
2. Reading stage
 Read independently.  Focus on certain sections for
 Apply reading strategies and specific information.
skills.  Do annotation.
 Take notes.
3. Post-reading stage
 Respond to text.
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 Reread if understanding is  Construct project.

unclear.  Read related works or books.
 Evaluate author’s idea and  Evaluate the reading
style. experience.
 Link learned ideas with your
own.
Writing

 A medium of human communication that represents language and emotion with signs
and symbols.
 An art wherein you express your thoughts.

Why do we write?
1. To share thoughts.
2. To express feelings.
Steps in the Writing Process
A. Pre-writing stage: it is where you generate ideas and evaluate the topic, audience,
content. It also includes planning with organization (outline), introduction, body, and
conclusion.
a) Brainstorming
b) Planning
B. Writing stage
c) Drafting: “Getting it down”, Rough draft.
C. Post-writing
d) Editing: Different levels of editing: Content, Language, Mechanics, Style.
e) Revising: Refines content, studies the sequence of thoughts, and considers strong
and weak points.
f) Proofreading: checks the layout/appearance, mechanics, and content.
g) Final Copy
Reminders in the Process

 Start immediately  Ask for help

 Allow time between steps  Have fun

EXPOSITORY: Defines and explains something

Argumentative Essay: aka as a Persuasive Essay, is a piece of writing used to convince readers to
agree to an argument or claim about a particular topic.
 © Francis Carlo M. Abelar

Characteristics of an Argumentative Essay

 Has clear thesis on an issue.

 Uses sound reasoning (makes sense)
 Uses powerful language.
 Presents detailed and relevant evidences and references.
 Presents alternatives and counter arguments.
 Uses clear organization.
 Provides a clear conclusion.
 Uses effective and error-free sentence structures.

Forms of Persuasive Writing

1. Editorial: states the opinion of the editors and publishers of the news organization.
2. Op-ed: aka Opposite-editorial, is an essay that tries to convince readers to agree with the
writer’s view on an issue.
3. Letters to the Editors: letters sent to print and internet publications to express opinions
in response to previously published articles.
4. Reviews: evaluate items and activities, such as books, movies, plays and music from the
writer’s point of view.
5. Advertisements: paid announcements that try to convince people to buy or do
something.
6. Propaganda: uses emotional appeal and often biased, false, or misleading information to
persuade people to think or act in a certain way.
Active Strategies for Reading a Persuasive Essay
1. Analyzing
2. Asking Questions
3. Identifying main ideas and details
Elements of Argumentation
 Argument/Claim: an argument states a claim/proposition and supports it with reasons
and evidence from sources. Arguing your side makes you’re the proponent.
 Counterargument/Counterclaim: an argument that stands in opposition to your
argument/claim, the counterargument is you opponent’s argument which tries to explain
why you are wrong.
 Refutation: simply disproving an opposing argument, refutation is an important skill
because it is how a writer successfully convinces the audience of the validity of his/her
own argument.
 © Francis Carlo M. Abelar

Organizing your Argument

 Title
 Introduction
 Hook  Background  Argument
Information
 Body
 Topic  Factual  Counterclai
Sentence evidence ms and
 Main Points refutation
 Conclusion
 Thesis restatement
 Argument restatement
REACTION PAPER

 It is a response to come sort of prompt. The prompt may be a question, a current event,
or a form of media, including movies or videos clips. It is a popular academic assignment
because it required thoughtful reading, researching, and writing.
 A reaction to something you have read or seen.
 Should be organized.
 Has citations and references.
 Includes opinions that are well-supported by evidence.
 Is a judgement, analysis, or evaluation of the issues about the topic.
It should not…

 Include a lot of “I think”, “I feel”, or “I believe” statements.

 Use the pronoun “you”.
 Simply repeat what the author has already said.

Components of a Reaction Paper (E-R-E)

a) Evidence that you have understood what the material said.
b) Your reaction to the writer or creator’s ideas.
c) Your evaluation of the material’s strengths and weaknesses.
Steps in Writing a Reaction Papers
1. Reading and studying the material.
2. Annotate the text as you read.
3. Ask questions as you read.
4. Free write.
5. Decide on your angle and determine your thesis.
 © Francis Carlo M. Abelar

6. Organize your paper.

7. Gather quotations.
8. Structure your paragraph.
Review and Critique Writing

 Review: a piece of writing meant to evaluate or judge something. When you write a
review, your job is to state your opinion or judgement and support it.
 Critique: a piece of writing that briefly summarizes and critically evaluates a work or
concept. The purpose of a critique is to gauge the usefulness or impact of work in a
particular field.
Difference between Review and Critique

Review Critique
Formal evaluation of a work Critical assessment of specific parts of a work
Maybe positive or negative Presents both positive and negative aspects
Tends to be subjective Objective
Lacks technical basis Has technical basis
Written by anyone Written by an expert

Critique Paper

 A genre of academic writing that briefly summarizes and critically evaluates a work or
concept.
 Evaluates works such as:
a) Creative works: novel, exhibits, film, images, poetry.
b) Research: monographs, journal articles, systematic reviews, theories.
c) Media: news reports, feature articles.
 Written by professionals.

Parts of a Critique

 Introduction
 Article and its author
 Your main point (evaluation of the article)
 Body
 Summary of the issues
 Author’s key assumptions
 Your perspective on these assumptions and basis/criteria used.
 Conclusion
 Overall evaluation of the work
 © Francis Carlo M. Abelar

 A summary of the key reasons, identified during the critical evaluation, why this
evaluation was formed.
 Sometimes: recommendations for improvement.

GENRES AND TEXT TYPES

Text Types (Different Types of Writing)

 Factual Texts: inform, instruct, or persuade by giving facts and information. Based on
facts and evidences.
 Persuasive Texts: Factual types of texts that a point of view to influence or persuade a
reader.
 Literary Texts: Entertain or elicit an emotional response by using language to create
mental images.
Genre

 Factual
 Procedure: Process/Series of Steps
 E.g. How to cook Sinigang, How to compute for net salary absed on gross
income and deductions, Steps that one must undergo to manage stress.
 Recount: Recall events in chronological order.
 E.g. My experience in cooking Sinigang for the first time, Yung unang araw
na iniwan nya ako.
 Explanation: Show reasons for the existence of a term or phenomenon. Shows
causes and effects.
 E.g. Why Sinigang is a favorite Filipino dish?, The Importance of knowing
your deductions in your gross income, The unusual causes of stress.
 Expository/Exposition: Give details showing different sides of an issue.
 E.g. The difference between Sinigang and Nilaga, Jollibee vs. Mcdo, Mahal
mo or Mahal ka (aww), Types of stress and differences between and
among them.
 Information Report: Giving basic concepts and sentence definitions.
 © Francis Carlo M. Abelar

CONCEPT PAPER

 A type of text that discusses or clarifies the “whatness” of an idea/term.

 It starts with a definition, either formal or informal, of the term or the concept and
proceeds with an expanded definition and analytic description of the aspects of the
concept.
 In the workplace, it is asked before a full proposal. It contains a proposed idea that may
not be detailed yet, but somehow provides the reader a framework or an overview of
how it can be carried out or implemented.
 When presented, the paper should give a clear picture of what the research, project, or
feasibility study is all about. It clarifies from the very beginning what the purpose is.
 In the Academe, it may come in a form of a research proposal.

Purposes of Writing a Concept Paper

Techniques in Defining

 Formal Definition: the term is first assigned to a class or group to which it belongs and
then distinguished from the other terms in the class.
 Extended Definition: used to define abstract concepts. It allows the writer to broaden the
definition by using analogy, descriptions, examples, characteristics, components,
historical amount, or something else.
PROJECT PROPOSAL

 A request for financial assistance to implement a project.

 A statement of work.
 A detailed description of a series of activities aimed at solving a certain problem.
 Created to ensure that it gets the support it needs when the project is implemented.
 The document should provide a logical presentation of a research idea.
 Follows a format
 Illustrate the significance of the idea.
 Established the activity’s worth to the company/institution.
 Shows the idea’s relationship to past actions.
 Justifies how it supports the company’s causes.
 Articulate the activities for the proposed project.
 Gives in detail how you exactly plan to implement the project.

A Well Written Project Proposal should be…

 CLEAR
 ARTICULATE AND OBJECTIVE
 ACCESSIBLE
 © Francis Carlo M. Abelar

Parts of a Project Proposal

1. Project Title 6. Target beneficiaries/ Audience
2. Rationale 7. Venue
3. Objectives of the Project 8. Project Duration
4. Project Proponents 9. Program Flow
5. Description of the Project 10. Budget Proposal
INFOGRAPHICS (Information + Graphics)

 Representation of information in a graphic format (visual) to make the data or knowledge

easily and clearly understood.
Benefits of Infographics

 Makes sense of complex data

 Data is easily grasped because of its visual appeal
 Conveys a clear picture or message

Graphic Organizers

 A systematic illustration of ideas taken from a text you’ve read.

 A more interesting way of providing an overview of a text.
 Used to summarize information from an academic paper.
 Used to simplify information about your research papers during your oral defense.
 For qualitative research, maybe used to verbalize your conceptual/theoretical
framework.
 They are best accompanied by its description.
Examples of Graphic Organizers

 Sun diagram/Sun graph/ Semantic web: shows minor topics for major topics.
 Venn diagram: illustrates similarities and differences between concepts. You use it if you
want to see contrast and comparisons.
 Ishikawa (Kaoru Ishikawa) diagram: shows causes and events, also called the fishbone or
cause-effect diagram.
 Pyramid, Inverted pyramid: shows hierarchy of concepts
 T – Chart: separates information in two columns usually for comparison.
 Timeline: shows sequence of events, more of chronological arrangement.
 Pie chart
 Flow Chart: shows sequence of events, steps in a process or cause and effect.
 Bar Graph (Bar Chart): presents data with rectangular bars with heights and lengths
proportional to the values they represent.
 © Francis Carlo M. Abelar

Analyzing Infographics
1. Focus of the infographic.
2. Author’s purpose.
3. How the author demonstrated authority or knowledge of the subject matter.
4. How the graphic organizers support understanding or analysis.
5. The improvisation of the infographic itself.
DATA COMMENTARY

 The verbal comment on a visual presentation. It usually appears in the results and
discussion section of a thesis.
Main Purposes of Data Commentary

 Present results
 Interpret the results
 Discuss the significance and implications of the result

Common Mistakes with Data Commentary

 Figure/table is not referred to in text.

 Figure/table is referred to in text but the number is omitted.
 Table/figure is referred to but content and main purpose are not explained in text.
 Key patterns/trends are not summarized/highlighted for reader.
 Commentary does not accurately describe the data.
 Unrealistic statements made in the text about the figure/table:
 claim is too strong and does not reflect the data produced (add hedging)
 claim is too weak to describes the data produced (too much cautious hedging)
 Commentary is not succinct, therefore purpose and main trends are obscured.
Why Use Data Commentary?

 Highlight results
 Compare and evaluate different data sets
 Assess standard theories, common beliefs, or general practices in light of results
 Assess the reliability of data in terms of methods that are produced

Structure of a Data Commentary

1. Give the location elements and summary statements
 Ex: TABLE 5 shows the points of entry of computer viruses for XYZ Company.
 Take note of using the active voice (shows, provides, gives, suggests, as revealed
by the graph)
 © Francis Carlo M. Abelar

2. Highlight Statements and Generalizations

 DO: Spot trends and regularities in the data, separate more important findings
from least important, and make claims of appropriate strength.
 DON’T: simply repeat all details in words, attempt to cover all the information,
and claim more that is more reasonable and defensible.
 Ex: As can be seen, in the majority of cases, the entry point of the virus infections
can be detected, with disks brought from home being by far the leading cause in
the list (43%). However, it is alarming to note that the source of early 30% of
viruses cannot be determined.
3. Discussion of Implications, Problems, Exceptions, and Recommendations
 Ex: While it may be possible to eliminate home-to-workplace infection by
requiring computer users to run antiviral software on diskettes brought from
home, businesses are still vulnerable to data loss, especially from unidentifiable
sources of infection.
Ways to Qualify or Moderate a Claim
1. Probability
 For a stronger claim, you may use “It is certain that….” And you may claim it
strongly if you’re very sure about it and you have the proper data for it.
 For a weaker claim, you may use “It is almost certain that…, It is probable/likely
that…”
2. Generalization
 When qualifying or defending a generalization, use the verb “tend” or qualifying
modifiers.
 Ex:
 Stronger: UST SHS Students are too complacent.
 Soft: UST SHS Students tend to be complacent.
 Weak: A majority of UST SHS Students tend to be complacent.