SCHOOLYEAR: 2020 - 2021 SECOND SEMESTER: MODULE 5

SUBJECT: READING AND WRITING “Purposeful Writing in the Disciplines and

I. INTRODUCTION for Professions”
This module is all about Purposeful Writing in the Disciplines and Purposeful Writing in the Professions. In this
module, there will be five lessons: Lesson 1: Writing book reviews and article critiques Lesson 2: Writing a literature
review Lesson 3: Writing a research report Lesson 4: Writing a project proposal Lesson 5: Writing a position paper.
II. STANDARD
CONTENT STANDARD PERFORMANCE STANDARD LEARNING COMPETENCIES
The leaner understands the The learner produces each type of The learner identifies the unique features of
requirements of composing academic writing and professional and requirements in composing texts that
academic writing and correspondence following the are useful across disciplines
professional correspondence. properties of well-written texts and a. Book Review or Article Critique
process approach to writing b. Literature Review
c. Research Report
d. Project Proposal
e. Position Paper

III. TRANSFER
In the end of the module, students will be able to produces each type of academic writing and professional
correspondence following the properties of well-written texts and process approach to writing

IV. DISCUSSION AND ACTIVITIES

LESSON 1: WRITING A BOOK REVIEW OR ARTICLE CRITIQUE
A book review or article critique is a specialized form of academic writing in which a reviewer evaluates the
contribution to knowledge of scholarly works such as academic books and journal article. A book review or article
critique, which is usually ranges from 250 to 750 words, is not simply a summary. It is a critical assessment, analysis, or
evaluation of a work. However, take care not to equate the word “critique” to cynicism and pessimism. As an advance
form of writing, it involves your skills in critical thinking and recognizing arguments. A book review or article critique is
different in movie review that you see in a newspaper. Although movie reviews involve the analysis of one’s work, they
are written for a general audience and primarily aim to offer a persuasive opinion. An academic book review or article
critique, on the other hand, addresses a more specific audience and usually offers a critical response to a published
scholarly work. Moreover, book review must not be mistaken for book reports. Book reports focus on describing the plot,
characters, or idea of a certain work.
Book and article reviewers do not just share mere opinion; rather, they use both proofs and logical reasoning to
substantiate their opinions. They process ideas and theories, revisit and extend ideas in a specific field of study, and
present analytical responses.

Structure of a Book Review or Article Critique Introduction (around 5% of the paper)

 Title of the book/article
 Writer’s name
 Writer’s thesis statement
Summary (around 10% of the paper)
 Writer’s objective or purpose
 Methods used (if applicable)
 Major findings or claims
Review/Critique (in no particular order) (Around 75% of the paper)
 Appropriateness of methodology to support the arguments
 Theoretical soundness
 Soundness of explanation in relation to other available information and experts
 Sufficiency of explanation
 Other perspectives in explaining the concepts and ideas
 Coherence of ideas
Conclusion (around 10% of the paper)
 Overall impression of the work
 Scholarly value of the reviewed article/book
 Benefits to the intended audience
 Suggestion for future directions

When writing a book review or article critique, make sure to ask the following:
1. What is the topic of the book or article?
2. What is its purpose?
3. Who are its intended readers?
4. Does the writer explicitly state his/her thesis statement?
5. What theoretical assumptions (i.e., a scientific/logical explanation without evidence) are mentioned in the book or
article? Are they explicitly discuss?

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6. What are the contributions of the book or article to the field (e.g., language, psychology) it is situated in?
7. What problems and issues are discussed in the book or article?
8. What kind of information (e.g., observation, survey, statistics, and historical accounts) are presented in the book or
article? How they are used to support the arguments or thesis?
9. Are there other ways of supporting the arguments or thesis aside from the information used in the book or article? Is the
author silent about these alternative ways of explanation?
10. What is your overall reaction to the work?

Guidelines in Writing a Book Review or Article Critique

1. Read the article or book to be reviewed carefully to get its main concept.
2. Reread it to get the arguments being presented.
3. Relate the content of the article or book to what you already know about the topic. This will make you more engaged
with the article or book.
4. Focus on discussing how the book treats the topic and not a topic itself. Start your sentences with phrases such as “this
book presents…’ and “The author argues…”
5. Situate your review. This means that your analysis should be anchored be anchored on the theories presented by the
book or article writer.
6. Examine whether the findings are adequately supported or not.
7. Analyzed the type of analysis the writer use (e.g, quantitative, qualitative, case study) and how its supports the
arguments and claims.
8. Suggest some ways on how the writer can improve his/her reasoning or explanation.
9. Discuss how the same topic is explained from other perspective. Compare the writer’s explanation of the topic to
another expert from the same field of study.
10. Point out other conclusion or interpretations that the writer missed out. Present other ideas that need to be examined.
11. Examine the connections between ideas and how they affect the conclusions and findings.
12. Show your reactions to the writer’s idea and present an explanation. You can either agree or disagree with the ideas, as
long as you can sufficiently support your stand.
13. Suggest some alternative methods and processes of reasoning that would result in a more conclusive interpretation.

Completing a book review or article critique means that you can pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of an
article or book and that you can identify different perspectives. This task also equips you with more skills to engage in
discussions with an expert and makes you a part of a community of scholars.

Activity 1:
Directions: Write true if the statement is correct otherwise, write false.
1. A review or a critique involves higher-order thinking skills.
2. A book description is similar to a book review.
3. A book review or article critique uses the organization of ideas.
4. A book review or article critique presents the strengths and weaknesses of a reading material.
5. A book review is exclusive for professionals.
6. More than half of the review should be devoted to the summary.
7. The name of the author and title of the reviewed article is placed at the end of article critique.
8. The purpose of an article critique is to inform and persuade readers.
9. The reviewer’s overall impression of the work should be placed in the introduction.
10. When reviewing a book or article, only one perspective should be used.

LESSON 2: WRITING A LITERATURE REVIEW

What is Literature Review?
A literature review is a type of academic writing that provides an overview of a specific topic. It surveys scholarly
work such as academic books (but not textbooks), computerize databases, conference proceedings, dissertation’s/theses,
empirical studies government reports, historical records, journal article, monographs, and statistical handbooks. As an
advance form of academic writing, a literature review critically analyzes the relationship among the scholarly works and
the current work. It can be written as a stand-alone paper or as part of a research paper explaining a theoretical framework
and related studies. Unlike an annotated bibliography which presents a summary and synthesis (i.e., linking different
sources). Below are the differences among the sources.

Annotated Bibliography Book Review Literature Review

Summarizes the references and Evaluates a book Review Reviews a significant number of
explain how important they are in scholarly work to be identify what is
addressing the research questions known and not known about a topic

Doing a literature review will test your ability to seek literature efficiently and identify useful scholarly work. It
will also test your ability to evaluate studies for their validity and reliability. Hence, writing a literature review involves
research, critical appraisal, and writing. Everything else included, a student may take 40 hours to finish a well- written
literature review.

Functions of a Literature Review

This type of a review has the following roles.

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  Justifies a research questions, method or theoretical and conceptual framework
 Establish the relevant of the topic
 Provide necessary information to better understand a specific topic or study
 Shows reviewers familiarity and mastery of the topic
 Establish a niche of the study
 Resolves conflict among contradictory studies

Structure of a Literature Review

Introduction
 Purpose for writing literature review and the importance of the topic being reviewed
 Scope the review
 Criteria used for selecting the literature
 Organizational pattern of the review
Body
 Historical background
 Relevant theories
 Relationship between and among the studies, and how each study advanced a theory
 Strengths and weaknesses of each paper
 Various viewpoints on the topic
Conclusion
 Restatement of the main argument or thesis
 Main agreements and disagreements in the literature
 If stand-alone paper: conclusions; implications; and direction for future studies
 If part of a thesis or research paper: linking of the literature review to the research questions
 Overall perspective on the topic.

Guidelines in Writing a Literature Review

Writing a literature review is composed of three distinct parts ---literature search, evaluation and analysis of
articles and writing the literature review –all of which are discussed below.

Literature Search
1. Review the documentation style (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago) that you will adopt and be familiar with its format
in relation to writing a literature review.
2. Choose and focus on a topic that you will explain.
3. Determine the kind and number of sources you will be using. Will your literature review be exclusive to articles
or will it include other documents? Will you focus on experimental studies or will you also include theoretical
papers that explain a theory?
4. Survey the available online databases relevant to your topic. These include Proquest, Science Direct, JSTOR, or
Google Scholar. As much as possible, include only the references published by top journals and publishers.
5. Use relevant keywords when searching for scholarly documents or article. For example, if you topic is about
the impact of Facebook-based e-portfolios on the writing skills of ESL learners, your possible keywords are
Facebook, ESL writing, e-portfolio, portfolio assessment, Facebook-based e-portfolio, and social networking site.
6. Always include landmark studies or papers (i.e., studies which had remarkably changed the field) related to
your topic.
7. Always evaluate the sources for coverage and currency. Include only those article directly related to your topic.

Evaluation and Analysis of Articles

Once you have identified and obtained the articles for your review, analyze them before writing the actual
literature review. To do this, you may apply the following steps.
1. Skim the articles and read their abstracts.
2. Group the articles and other documents according to their categories.
3. Take down notes. Focus on the research questions, methodology used, major findings and their explanation,
and conclusion.
4. Summarize the details using a concept map. In this way, you will see the relationship, similarities and
differences among the articles.
5. Write a synthesis of the references you have read before writing the actual literature review.
6. Create an outline. You may look for other literature reviews to serve as models for writing the outline.

Writing the Literature Review

Once all the materials are ready and you have clear outline of the ideas you want to express, you may now start the actual
writing process.
1. State clearly your thesis or main argument and be guided by it accordingly. Below is an example of a thesis statement
for a literature review.
Because of Facebook’s popularity, many educators have explored its educational
use in the tertiary level.
2. If you say that no studies have been conducted on one aspect of your topic, justify it.

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3. Direct the readers to other related literature reviews that cover itemc which you do not intend to cover. You may use the
citation format “(see Author, year)” or follow the format prescribed by your chosen documentation style. 4. Never treat a
literature review as a series of annotated bibliography.
5. Use headings and subheadings to classify the parts of your topic. For each topic heading, analyze the differences among
studies and look for gaps. Note that each paragraph should focus on one aspect of the topic.
6. Use effective transitions to make your review easier to read and understand.
7. The body of the literature review can be organized thematically, methodologically or chronologically.
8. Use direct quotations sparingly.
9. Classify important definitions.

Activity 2
Directions: Analyze the following text very carefully. Then, complete the table that follows.
This chapter contain literature and studies on instructional materials design and development. Subsequent to materials design
is the preparation of learning materials. Materials refer to both printed and non-printed objects and items that teachers and learners use
to facilitate language learning (Tomlinson, 1998). Nowadays, materials are becoming more and more sophisticated as they incorporate
authentic language samples and real as that help make a connection between classrooms and real-life activities (Nunan, 1999). They
also incorporate information and communication technology (ICT), role-plays, information –gap activities, songs, tape transcripts,
integrated macro skills, and explicit rubrics.
Materials can either be commercially-produced (e.g., textbooks) or teacher-made. Of the two types, a textbook is considered
to be the more popular one as its shape not only the curriculum but also the instructional programs in all subjects (Apple, 1985).
Textbooks are a major teaching tool that provide structure to teaching and a framework for learning (McGrath, 2002); thus, making
them an integral component of English language teaching-learning situations (Hutchinson & Torres, 1994).Some scholars (Brown,
2009); Tyson-Bernstein, 1998) even argued that textbooks have become a de facto curriculum of public schools inexperienced teacher
and a powerful tool in transmitting information about ELT profession (Brown, 2009). Textbook are packed with details of classroom
life and examples needed by teachers for classroom application and are also developed using framework within which they can
operate (Akbari, 2008). As Akbari (2008) argued, methods are not replaced by post method but by textbook- define practices. These
arguments make it very crucial to develop a materials design model anchored on most recent and established language learning and
teaching principles.
Advocates of textbooks assert the facilitative role of textbooks as these books save time, guide the discussion, give directions
to lessons, promote confidence and security among teachers, and make teaching more organize (Hutchinson & Torres, 1994). They
can also facilitate professional development among teachers if these books present strong approach (Edge & Wharton, 1998) and re-
skill both experienced and inexperienced teachers through its well-designed framework (Hutchinson & Torres, 1994; Richard, 1998).
Additionally, textbook advocates argue that professionally – developed and tested materials reduce workload and allow the teachers to
devote more time in facilitating learning than producing materials (Akbari, 2008; Bell & Gower, 19980. From these contentions,
Hutchinson and Torres (1994) maybe correct in claiming that textbook can be an agent of change in a positive way. Moreover,
textbooks provide teachers greater convenience (Dole & Osborn, 1991). They also serve as a teaching and learning map for both
teachers and learner, provide variety and language samples, give a glimpse of what to learn and what to be tested, reinforce learning
and instructional modifications and adjustments, save time, provide scaffolding linguistically, culturally, and methodologically,
provide a pedagogical structure, and facilitate the monitoring of teaching and learning (McGrath, 2002). These advantages lead
McGrath (2002) to conclude that materials ca be a potent instrument of change and a scaffolding system for curricular changes.
Richards (2001b) also specified some advantages of using textbooks. He argued that textbooks provide a structure and a syllables for a
language program, standardize instruction, and maintain quality, and present information in a visually appealing manners. Further,
provide a wide range of learning resources, provide effective language models and input, and train the teachers through the teacher’s
guide. As to their effectiveness in learning, in a large-scale study of 52 schools in the Philippines, Heynemann, Jamison, and
Montenegro (1984) concluded that students receives instructions via textbooks posted higher achievements scores in science,
mathematics, and Filipino.
Although there is a consensus that global textbooks maybe a helpful teaching instruments for teachers, they are criticized for
their failure to meet specific local needs (McGrath, 2002; Richards, 2001b) and being devoid of social and moral contents, as these
two are highly regulated in textbooks (Dole & Osborn, 1991). Also, they may contain inauthentic language, may be expensive, may
deform content, and may deskill teachers (Richard, 2001b). These concerns about global textbooks have prompted countries to initiate
textbook projects for their respective countries rather than relying on global course books which appear to have underestimated the
learner’s skills (Tomlinson, 1998). Finally, local and global textbooks are driven by market and institutional demands rather than the
principles of SLE and teacher’s beliefs on what facilitate acquisition. In fact, in a survey conducted, 85% of ELT materials were
selected by the administrators, 15% by the teachers, and none were selected by learners (Tomlinson, 1998). These textbooks are
technically well-designed and use uniform format and conventional test type that lure the potential buyers in adapting the books;
unfortunately, these feature have no pedagogical values (Tomlinson, 2008a).
As regards teacher-made material, Howard and Major (2004) argued that they have some advantages over commercially-
produced material. First, teacher-made materials allow the contextualization of teaching and learning as they are aimed at a specific
group of learners. These materials also address the individual needs of the learner, which make them more personalize. Finally,
teacher-made material are more timely as they can be easily updated in local and foreign events. However, the problem that teacher-
made material is that they are less organize compared to course books, particularly those materials prepare by novice teachers.
Preparation time (McGrath, 2002) and quality may also be an issue since teacher-made materials do not usually undergo rigid
evaluation.
Despite the many issues confronting materials, materials design, and materials development, many interventions can be made
to counteract them. As a starting point, Chapelle (2009) pointed out that SLE research and investigation are a good source of insights
for materials development, design, and evaluation. Hence, writers, as applied linguists who mediate practice and theory (McGrath,
2002), need to be familiar with current principles and theories of language teaching, second language learning and acquisition
principles, and apply linguistics so that they can come up with a set of sound instructional principles and framework (Richards,
2005a). However, these does that mean that teachers should be applied linguist; they just need to be confident and possess basic
competence to make sound decisions when selecting and using materials and to develop their own materials when situation dictates
(McGrath, 2002). Finally, to mitigate the perceived adverse effects of using course books, materials and their design or approach must
be targeted to a particular group of students, in a particular type of teaching situation and with the consideration of the teacher’s
specific range of skills, assumptions (Bell & Gower, 1998), and own framework (Breen, Hird, Milton, Oliver, &Thwaite, 2001).

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 Similarly, other scholars (Bell & Gower, 1998; Lin & Chen, 2007; Li, 2006; McCarthy & Carter, 1995; Nunan, 1988a;
Nunan, 1988b; Tomlinson, 2008b) have suggested some ways in preparing ELT materials. Nunan (1988a) and Bell and Gower (1998)
asserted that for materials to promote learner-centeredness, they need to allow flexibility in the exploitation of materials and reflect the
real world and real people using authentic language, particularly in spoken texts. It is also necessary to foster independent learning and
reflect the socio-cultural aspect/context in which the materials will be used (Li, 2006; Nunan, 1988a). Further, materials should suit
learners with different proficiency levels and learning styles and act as a model for teachers’ development of their own variations.
Nunan’s (1998a) suggestions were supplemented by McCarthy and Carter (1995) as they argue that instructional materials should
include tasks about global understanding, cultural access, noticing, and language discussion if the aim is to make materials reflective
of sociolinguistic concerns. Cultural access tasks aim to help learners understand a text as a whole. Noticing tasks, on the one hand,
allow learners to compare their utterances to that of the native speakers. Finally, language discussion tasks aim at making learners
reflect and analyze why certain linguistic forms are used, whether they are appropriately used, and whether they can and should
produce such utterances in their own contexts. Similarly, Tomlinson (1998) pointed out that for materials to create a more positive
impact, they should feature novelty (atypical tasks, illustrations, and content), variety (diversity of texts, materials, and activities),
attractive presentation (appropriate colors, spacing, and photos), and appealing content (topics, themes, and stories hat interest the
target users). Learners feel more comfortable when content and activities in the materials are not crammed in a page, when
illustrations and texts are culturally matched, when materials are more formative than summative, when the writer’s voice is
conversational rather than impersonal, when materials feature informal discourse (contractions), and when materials are concrete,
inclusive (not signaling any form of superiority over learners), and active more than passive. With regard to promoting language
acquisition, materials need to provide a variety of genres/text types, supplemental activities such as extensive reading and/or listening
and attractive illustrations and design that promote positive experience; promote independent language learning; help learners
personalize and localize their language learning experience; be principled, relevant, and coherent; and use multimedia resources
(Tomlinson, 2008b). As explained by Lin and Chen (2007), the integration of multimedia in the design and development of
instructional materials have provided latent learning opportunities. It is because multimedia enhances cognitive encoding through
exposure to both verbal and visual information. Since materials preparation is an integral component of teaching, Nunan (1988b) has
also detailed some principles that would guide novice teachers to practice effective materials preparation. He contends that materials
need to be linked to the curriculum they serve. Materials also need to include authentic texts and tasks, stimulate interaction, and allow
learners to focus on forms. Further, materials need to encourage learners to develop learning skills and language skills for tasks
beyond classroom contexts.
Source:http://yuwritingcenter.wikispaces.com/file/view/Writing+a+Literature+Review+ -+Exercises.pdf
Purpose of the Review
Writer’s Persona
Intended Reader
Strengths
Weaknesses

LESSON 3: WRITING A RESEARCH REPORT

A research report is an expanded paper that presents interpretations and analyses of a phenomenon based on
experiments and previous information so that the readers can better understand it. It is a laborious work produced through
formal investigation and scientific inquiry.

Parts of a Research Report

1. Title Page – contain an informative title that describes the content of the paper, the name of author/s, addresses or
affiliations, and date of submission. Examples of an informative title are the following:
a. Effects of Facebook on the Academic Achievement of first Year Students
b. Development and Validation of a Software for Detecting Plagiarism
2. Abstract – contains the summary of the research findings and conclusions. It briefly presents the context of the study,
research questions or objectives, methodology, major findings, conclusions, and sometimes implications. An abstract does
not contain any citation or a great deal of statistical results. Its length ranges from 100 to 250 words.
3. Introduction – explains the current state of the field and identifies research gaps. It is also the part where the research
focus is presented by addressing the identified gaps in the topic. It puts the research topic in context. It is usually three to
five paragraphs long.
4. Literature Review – contains the summary and synthesis of all available sources directly related to the study. In a
research report, the literature review is divided into two sections: related concepts and related studies.
Related concepts present some of the fundamental concepts needed by the readers to better understand the study.
Concepts and theories are defined, explained, and described. Unlike related concepts, related studies are based on
previously conducted studies directly related to the paper. Both the related concepts and studies will help the writer
explain the phenomena that may arise in the study.
This section ends with a paragraph that synthesizes all of the studies presented and puts the study in context.
Hence, the last paragraph may include the topic and specific research problems. The length may range from two to three
pages. Note that some cases, the literature review is integrated in the introduction section.
5. Methodology – describes how the experiments or tests in the research were conducted. It presents the context within
which the study was conducted, the participants, the instruments used, data gathering procedure, and the data analysis. In
discussing the context of the study and the participants, the number and the demographic profiles of the participants are
explained as well as the place where the study was conducted.
The discussion of the instrument used presents the tools in gathering data. These tools may be in the form of a
questionnaire, interview, focus group discussion, survey, and tests, among others. All of the instruments used should be
described in detail, along with the explanation of how they were validated. The data gathering sections presents the details
on how the data were collected while the data analysis section presents how the data were analyzed, either qualitatively
(coding scheme) or quantitatively (statistical tools). The past tense is used in writing the methodology.

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6. Results – factually describes the data gathered and the tables and graphs that summarize the collected data. Along with
the tables and graphs are their respective interpretations. The flow of the results section should follow the flow of the
research questions/problems/objectives. It is expected that for each research problem or objective, corresponding results
are presented.
7. Discussion – provides an explanation of all the results in relation to the previous studies presented in the literature
review. In this section, the research problems or objectives, as well as the major findings, are restated in the first
paragraph. The succeeding paragraphs should explain whether the study supports or rejects the previous findings and
explain the reasons for this. New findings uncovered in the research should also be stated. Similar to the flow of the
results, the discussion part follows the flow of the research problems or objectives.
8. Conclusion – contains the restatement of the major findings, the limitations of the study, the recommendations, and the
implications. Note that in some cases, the conclusion is integrated into the discussion.
9. References – contains the different sources used in the study. These may be academic books, journals, and other online
sources. Its format depends on the school, teacher, or field of study.

Steps in Writing a Research Report

Writing a research report may seem like a daunting task, but if you break down the process into small steps, you
will be able to accomplish it effectively. The stages of writing a research report also follow the basic writing process, with
the few additions to accommodate and address the different parts of the report.
1. Select and narrow down the topic. Use any of your preferred prewriting activities to generate ideas.
2. Conduct a preliminary research by gathering the initial references.
3. Formulate the thesis statement and research questions. A good thesis statement effectively guides and controls the flow
of your paper.
4. Prepare a preliminary outline.
5. Gather additional references. Use the preliminary outline as a guide for this stage.
6. Prepare the pre final outline.
7. Prepare your instruments, such as your questionnaire. Below are some guidelines in preparing a survey instrument.
Preparing a Survey Instrument
A survey instrument is a document that lists planned questions used to measure attitudes, perceptions, and
opinions of the respondents. It contains responses directly related to each specific research questions. It can
either be in the form of an interview guide or a questionnaire.
A survey instrument usually has four parts:
 Personal information section for participants/respondents (this is usually optional since, except for disclosing
the gender and age and other general demographic information, most participants wish to remain anonymous)
 Basic questions that establish the eligibility of the participants/respondents
 Main questions that are directly linked to the research questions.
 Open-ended questions (optional) When preparing a survey instrument, follow these steps:
a. Do a preliminary research. You may visit your library or use online sources for this.
b. Talk to a person who is knowledgeable in preparing survey instruments.
c. Master the guidelines in preparing a questionnaire or interview guide.
d. Clarify your research questions. Be sure that the items indicated in your survey instruments are directly
related to each specific research questions/
e. Write the instrument using the appropriate format. Get model instruments if needed.
f. Edit your instrument and match it with your research questions.
g. Revise when necessary.
h. Pilot your survey instrument to further improve its quality. This means that you have to get some
respondents (colleagues or a small sample of the target respondents) to try to answer the instrument and
give you feedback. Then, revise the instrument accordingly.
8. Implement the instrument and gather the data.
9. Analyze the collected data and interpret it through tables and graphs.
10. Write the methodology and result sections.
11. Write the introduction and literature review.
12. Write the discussion. Be sure to link the literature review to the discussion section.
13. Write the conclusion.
14. Prepare the reference list. Be sure to list all the items citied in the body of your paper. It is useful to keep a separate
word document or physical notebook where you can list your reference as you come across them to make sure you do not
leave anything out when you have to prepare the reference list
15. Edit and format your paper. Observe the proper mechanics.

Guidelines in Writing a Research

Report Now that you are aware of the steps in writing a research report, follow the writing guidelines below to
ensure that your report is well-written.
1. Fifty to seventy-five percent of the paper should be devoted to results and discussion.
2. Be sure to cite all your sources whether they are paraphrased or directly quoted.
3. As with the previous types of written works, use direct quotations sparingly; paraphrase as much as possible.
4. Strictly follow the required documentation style.
5. Topics should be relevant, interesting, current, and manageable in terms of resources, skills needed, and time. They
should not be too sensitive and too controversial.

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6. Research questions should directly address the given topic or thesis statement.
Example:
Title: Effect of Facebook on the Academic Performance of Senior High School Students
Thesis statement: Facebook has an effect on the academic performance of senior high school students
Research questions:
(1) Does exposure to Facebook affect students’ performance during examination?
(2) Does exposure to Facebook affect students’ attention span during class activities?
(3) Does exposure to Facebook affect students’ participation in curricular activities?

Activity 3
Directions: Write a research report by following the writing process outlined below. You may assume the persona of a
scientist or researcher writing a research report about a current social or economic issue for a government agency.
Topic:
General Purpose:
Specific Purpose:
Target Output:
Audience:
Writer’s Persona:
Tone/Formality:

LESSON 4: WRITING A PROJECT PROPOSAL

A project proposal is a highly persuasive and informative documents that aims to address a particular problem or
issue. It is a bid or offer to initiate a project for an individual or a group. It usually ranges from 1,000 to 2,500 words
depending on the complexity of the project being proposed.
A good project proposal specifies the following:
 Goals and objectives that the project wants to accomplish;
 Project plan that details how the set goals and objectives will be accomplished;
 Financial, human (e.g., experts, consultants), and technical (e.g., equipment and facilities) resources useful in
implementing the project; and
 Budget that specifies how much money is needed and for what purpose it will be spent.

Types of Project Proposal

There are four types of project proposals which vary depending on the context of the problem and the receiver and
sender of proposals.
1. Solicited internal
 It is used when the target reader is within the organization.
 It responds to a specific request within the organization.
 The problem has been identified within the organization and the decision to solve it has been made.
2. Unsolicited internal
 It is used when the target reader is within the organization.
 It is a self-initiated proposal that no one asked for.
 The target reader has not yet identified that a problem exists within the organization; hence, no decision has
been made to solve the problem.
3. Solicited external
 It is used when the target reader is not within the organization.
 It responds to a specific request from someone who is not within the company.
 The problem has been identified and the decision to solve it has been made.
4. Unsolicited external
 It is used when the target reader is not within the organization.
 It is self-initiated proposals that no one ask for.
 The target reader has not yet identified that a problem exists; hence, no decision has been made to solve the
problem.

Parts of a Project Proposal

1. Cover letter
 Introduces the proposals to the reader
 States the project proposal title, date the proposal was requested (if solicited), general purpose and scope of the
proposal, and acknowledgement of people who have contributed to the completion of the proposals
 Includes the highlights of the proposal and directs the readers to this highlights
2. Title Page
 Includes the project title that is concise and informative
 Includes the lead organization, place and date of project, client’s or donor’s name, proponent’s name and the
department or organization he/she represents, and date of submissions
3. Abstract of Executive Summary
 Includes the objectives, implementing organization, major project activities and total project cost

GRADE 11 | 7
  Usually composed of 200 to250 words and highlights only the major points; some abstract may be longer
depending on the culture of the funding agency
 Uses a paragraph format
4. Context of the Proposal
 Describes the socio-economic, cultural, and political background in which the proposal is situated.
 Presents data collected from other sources that are relevant to the planning stage
5. Project Justification
 Provides a rationale for the project
 Includes the problem statement that specifies the problem addressed by the project
 Points out why the problem is an issue that requires immediate attention
 Specifies the target group’s needs that arise from the adverse effect of the described problem
 Presents the approach or strategy that will be used to address the problem
 Describes the capability of the implementing organization or group by stating its track record
Note: When writing this section, justify why your organization or group is the best group to implement the project.
6. Personnel Involved
 List the people involved in the project, their corresponding roles, and their summary of qualifications
7. Project implementation
 Is divided into an activity plan which specifies the schedule of activities and a resource plan which specifies the
items needed to implement the project
 Describes the activities and resource allocation in detail, as well as the person in charge of executing the
activities
 Indicates the time and place of activities
8. Budget
 Presents the expected income and expenses over a specified time period
 Itemizes the budget
9. Monitoring and Evaluation
 Specifies when and how the team will monitor the progress of the project
 Specifies the method for monitoring and evaluation
 Specifies the personnel in charge of monitoring and evaluation
10. Reporting Scheme
 Specifies the schedule for reporting the finances and progress of the project
11. Conclusion
 Briefly describes the project, the problem it addresses, and its benefits to all stakeholders through a summary
 Directs the readers back to the good features of the project
 Urges the readers to contact the proponent to work out the details of the project proposals
12. References
 Lists all the references used in drafting the project proposal using the format required the funding agency

Guidelines in Preparing for a Project Proposal

1. Decide what the problem is and prepare a rough idea on how this problem can be addressed.
2. Develop or select a framework that will help you organize your ideas systematically.
3. Identify the organization that will probably fund your project. These can be government agencies, non-governmental
organizations, private companies, and foundations, and international funding agencies.
4. Build your project proposal team and appoint a project leader who is responsible for coordinating activities and
communicating with the funding agency.
5. Identify the organization that will probably fund your project. These can be government agencies, non-governmental
organizations, private companies and foundations, and international funding agencies.
6. Hold and initial meeting with your team to discuss the plans in preparing the project proposal.
7. Allot sufficient time for planning.
8. Involve all the team members by assigning specific responsibilities to them.
9. Be realistic with your project proposal. Make sure that your objectives and activities are within the given time and
resources.
10. Contact the funding agency if some items and requirements are not clear to you.
11. Always put yourself in the shoes of the receiver of the project proposal.

Guidelines in Writing a Project Proposal

1. The title page must be unnumbered but it is considered page I; the back page of the title page is unnumbered as well;
but it is considered page ii. The abstract, which follows after the title page, is considered page 1 and must already be
numbered.
2. Do not use abbreviations on the title page.
3. Attach the curriculum vitae of the personnel who are part of them.
4. In the project implementation section, use a Gantt chart for presenting the timeframe.
5. Write the abstract after you have completed the report.
6. Study the successful proposals that are similar to yours.
7. Be factual but use technical terms sparingly.
8. Choose a reader-friendly format

GRADE 11 | 8
9. Use sections words to make your proposal more dynamic.

Here is a sample project proposal you can refer to:

I. Project Title:
“Bote Queen”

II. Project Proponents:

This project is headed only by the Supreme Student Government.

III. Project rationale:

In line with vision-mission of the school, this project will help Promote cleanliness and awareness of the students
about the 3Rs; Reduce, Recycle.

IV. Project objectives:

 To expose students in different environmental activities
 To raise fund and support the Supreme Student Government (SSG) projects
 To promote the awareness of the students

V. Project description:
This project will be accomplished through the help of our officers, faculty and staff, and the support of the
students. Each sections will have a representative queen and they are required to bring bottles for the first and last
counting. From their bottles and other recyclable materials, they will make a presentable costume to be showcased by
their representative and the pageant will begin.

VI. Project Duration:

 Each section will start collecting bottles on march 1,2019 (Friday)
 The first counting will be on March 5,2019 (Tuesday)
 The last counting will be on March 11,2019 (Tuesday)
 The pageant will begin on March 15, 2019 (Friday)

VII. Target Beneficiaries:

The five section will start collecting bottles will receive an incentive from the Supreme Student Government
(SSG) on their Christmas Party. The collected money will be used for the LPCA battle that is proposed to be held in
October.

VIII. Propose Budget:

The only expenses will be prize (trophy, sash, certificates) for the winning sections and also the reigned Bote
Queen. The budget for this is estimated at Php 500-Php1500.

IX. Monitoring and Evaluation:

This project will be overall managed by the Supreme Student Government (SSG) and each adviser of the sections
will assist their students for the activities.
Source: http://www.slideshare.com

Activity 4
Directions: Write a project proposal. Set the context for writing; assume the person of a student leader who would want to
initiate a project for your school. Complete the given information to come up with a writing situation for your projects
proposal.
Problem to be addressed:
General Purpose:
Specific Purpose:
Target Output:
Audience:
Writer’s Persona:
Tone/Formality:

LESSON 5: WRITING A POSITION PAPER

A position paper is a type of academic writing that presents one’s stand or viewpoint on a particular issue. The
main objective of writing a position paper is to take part in a larger debate by stating your arguments and proposed course
of action.
Parts of a Position Paper
1. Introduction
 Uses a lead that grabs the attention of readers.
 Defines the issue and provide a thorough background.
 Provides a general statement of your position through a thesis statement.
2. Body

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  State your main arguments and provide sufficient evidence (e.g., statistics, interviews with experts, and
testimonies) for each arguments.
 Provides counterarguments against possible weaknesses of your arguments.
3. Conclusion
 Restates your position and main arguments.
 Suggests a course of action.
 Explains why your position is better than any other position.
 Ends with a powerful closing statement (e.g., a quotation, a challenge, or a question).

Choosing an Issue
1. The issue should be debatable. You cannot take any position if the topic is not debatable.
2. The issue should be current and relevant.
3. The issue should be written in a question form and answerable by yes or no.
4. The issue should be specific and manageable.
Guidelines in Writing a Position Paper
1. Begin the writing process with an in-depth research about the issue at hand.
2. Be aware of the various positions about the issue and explain and analyze them objectively.
3. Reflect on your position and identify its weaknesses.
4. Establish your credibility by citing reliable sources.
5. Present a unique way of approaching the issue.
6. Limit your position paper to two pages.
7. Analyze your target readers and align your arguments to their beliefs, needs, interest, and motivations.
8. Summarize the other side’s counterarguments and refute them with evidence.
9. Define unfamiliar terms at first mention.
10. Use an active voice as much possible. This will make your tone dynamic and firm.
11. Arrange your evidence logically using an inductive or deductive approach.
12. Check your paper for fallacies and revise accordingly.
13. Use ethical, logical, and emotional appeals. Ethical appeals relate to your credibility and competence as writer, logical
appeal refers to the rational approach in developing and argument; emotional appeals pertain to feelings evoked during
arguments. Make sure to check your appeals to ensure that they are not fallacious.

Activity 5
Directions: Analyze the following text very carefully. Then, complete the table that follows.
He is married to a former student, currently a father of two, and a proud defender of the right of faculty members
to have romantic relationships with students. He strongly believes that a teacher-student relationship should be allowed
just for the simple reason that having that kind of relationships doesn’t mean that there will automatically be an effect on
the student’s learning or the teacher’s job. But is this statement true to all? I mean, can every professor in the world resist
the temptation of changing a partner’s grades for a benefit? Well, I say no. Nobody in this world is perfect, and we all
know that we are very much vulnerable to temptations. So I strongly believe that a romantic relationship between a
teacher and a student should not be allowed in any educational institution.
Dating your professor can lead to several problems. Number one, an equal relationship is very hard to maintain
when one party has much power that the other. Of course, when you’re dating your professor, you must clearly know that
he holds your grades. But on the bright side, if you’re not enrolled in any of your partner’s class, you are somehow, safe.
But don’t be too confident. Why you ask? Because there is a big tendency that your partner (who is a professor) is friends
with a professor who includes you a part of his/her class.
Number two, if your relationship with your professor is known to people around you (whether a student or a
teacher), and you have excellent grades, they might think that your grades were influenced by your partner. They would
probably think that your partner helped in giving you that high grade. As a result, your grades may be questioned for their
validity and they could have a very hard time taking you seriously as a student.
Number three, a relationship with your professor leaves you unsure whether your grades reflect your true
academic performance or just a little something that your partner gave you for a gift. Thus, it may lead to self-doubt. You
will be very much uncertain of what your potential is, therefore, leading to a tendency that you will not be able to do your
best in class activities.
And lastly, if a relationship between a teacher and a student ends badly, and there are hard feelings on both sides,
there will be a big tendency that both parties will use his/her own position to do several things. First, obviously, he can
sabotage your grade. Second thing is he can say things to other instructors that will make them perceive you negatively.
And lastly, if in a situation wherein your ex is the only one available for a certain course you must take, it will become
very awkward and uncomfortable for the both of you, thus, making it hard to focus on your studies. He can also make sure
that you will never pass his course.
On the other hand, there are a lot of things that we can do as a student, and that involves sexual harassment or at
least the appearance of having a case of sexual harassment. By dating a student, a faculty member is very much vulnerable
to charges regarding harassment. A professor can lose his/her career when charged with this. Professors dating a student
can come under suspicion as well.
To conclude, having a relationship between a teacher and a student will not bear any positive results, thus, it will
only lead to many troubles for both parties. It will only result in an unbalanced relationship, bias stereotypes, uncertainty
of one’s potentials, and at the end, the use of positions against each other. Think about it, are you really willing to face the
consequences of this said relationship? Or are you smart enough to restrain from it?

GRADE 11 | 10
 By: S. Madrid (A Student Essay)
Purpose of the Document:
Writer’s Persona:
Intended reader:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Revisions Needed:

V. NEW IDEAS
What have you learned from the discussion? I learned that _________________________.

VI. EVALUATION
Directions: Write true if the statement is correct, otherwise write false.
1. A literature review requires skills in summarizing but not in synthesizing information.
2. A literature review is an example of academic writing.
3. A literature review is limited only to articles.
4. A literature review requires skills in selecting sources.
5. A literature review shows a research gap.
6. Direct quotation should be used as frequently as possible.
7. Writing a literature review involves higher-order thinking skills.
8. The main purpose of making a literature review is to analyze literary texts such as short stories and novels.
9. The quality of review is dependent on the quality of the reviewed articles.
10. The scope of the review should be indicated in the introduction.
11. The research report follows a format similar to that of an academic essay.
12. The abstract should be written prior to writing a conclusion.
13. An informative title is preferred when writing a research report.
14. The conclusion contains the details of the finding obtained from the study.
15. Gathering references can be done recursively.
16. It is better to have as many direct quotations as possible.
17. Majority of the paper content should be devoted to literature review.
18. Survey instruments should be aligned to research questions.
19. Tables and graphs for the gathered data are presented under the introduction section.
20. The discussion section presents the procedure undertaken to compete the study.
21. The introduction contains the purpose of the study and the current state of the field of the study.
22. The literature review contains the explanation of relevant concepts and related studies.
23. The methodology contains the description of participants and instruments.
24. Title and thesis statement are written differently.
25. Two different documentation styles can be used in one research report.

GRADE 11 | 11