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Reading and Writing Skills

Quarter 4 – Module 1:
Writing Academic Texts

Department of Education Filamer Christian University

Reading and Writing Skills Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 4 – Module 1: Writing Academic Texts
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 FILAMER CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
Roxas Avenue, Roxas City, Philippines

Development Team of the Module

Modified by: MRS. LILIBETH S. BROCES

MS. LOVELY J. SERRAN

Layout Artist: MR. L MARIUS P. ALAYON

Evaluators: MINNIE P. CHAN, PhD
Vice President for Academic Affairs
EXEQUIEL A. CALIMUTAN
Quality Assurance Officer
URLA S. DELA
Acting Principal, High School Department
SHIRLEY F. TIPON
Assistant Principal, Senior High School

Members:
ELEONOR B. BECHAYDA, EdD, Focal Person STEM;
LILIBETH S. BROCES, Focal Person ABM, HUMSS, TVL

Copyright 2022 by Filamer Christian University

All rights reserved. No part of this module/ learning material may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by any other information storage and retrieval system
without permission in writing from the Publisher.

Published and Printed in the Philippines by Filamer Christian University

Office Address: Roxas Avenue, Roxas City, Capiz, Philippines 5800

E-mail Address: filamer_christian@yahoo.com

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Most Essential Learning Competencies:
 Identify the unique features of and requirements in composing texts
that are useful across disciplines:
 A. Book Review and Article Critique
 B. Literature Review
 C. Research Report
 D. Project proposal
 E. Position Paper

Learning Objectives:
 Explain how one’s purpose is a crucial consideration in academic
writing.
 Perform writing tasks involved in the different stages of the writing
process.
 Write the different academic texts.

LESSON 1. WRITING A BOOK REVIEW AND ARTICLE CRITIQUE

A Book Review and an Article Critique are probably the best

proof of how well you read and write, considering that you will have to
be able to read critically for understanding before you can evaluate a
text fairly through writing.

In writing a book review or article critique, you will have to

demonstrate your understanding of the text by first summarizing the
content of the article or of the book. Then you will need to interpret the
ideas which you will need to argue about by making assertions and
supporting your assertions. Sometimes, you will need also to state the
relevance of the book to its subject area and include endorsement.

Your main purpose in writing a book review or article critique is to

argue for or against the ideas presented by the author.

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 Considerations in Writing a Book Review or Article Critique

There are some factors to consider in writing a book review or

article critique. These factors include the following: (1) unique features
of the text,(2) purpose and audience, and (3) pattern of development

Unique Features of a Book Review or Article Critique

A review or a critique intends to provide critical evaluation of a

piece of writing. The writer of a book review or an article critique writes
a summary of the content of a book, including pertinent details about
the book or article such as the title and author. You, as the writer,
should also state your general evaluation of the book or article which
will be the main idea or your review or critique. The main idea or the
general evaluation must be supported by specific points that you want
to make about the writing which you could further support by including
sample lines from the book or article.

Purpose and Audience

The main purpose of a book review or an article critique is to

persuade book readers of a particular genre or researchers in a
specific field to either read or not read the book or article. To a certain
extent, the review or critique tells how useful and credible a piece of
writing is.

Pattern of Development

Having said that the purpose of a book review or critique is to

persuade, the pattern of development to use in writing it is the
persuasion pattern. You have already learned that when using the
pattern, you are to first state a general argument as your main idea.
Then you must support that main idea with specific points which need
to be backed up by relevant details such as quotations from the book
or article or notes from other sources.

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Writing the Review or Critique

Prewriting

Organize your ideas and write your thesis statement and the
topic sentence for each paragraph in the body of your persuasive text,

I. Introduction
Lead-in:_____________________________________________
Thesis Statement:______________________________________

II. Body
A.______________________________________________________
1.__________________________________________________
2.__________________________________________________
B.______________________________________________________
1.__________________________________________________
2.__________________________________________________
C.______________________________________________________
1.__________________________________________________

2.__________________________________________________

III. Conclusion
Review of the main points:___________________________________
Memorable statement:______________________________________

Note: Make sure you use appropriate transition words to link your
ideas together and to transition from one idea to the next.

Drafting

Begin writing your book review or article critique.

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_____________________________
(Title)

Beginning the Text:

Write a good lead-in
Write a transition sentence leading to your thesis statement
Write your thesis statement

Adding details to support ideas:

Write your first supporting point
Add specific details
Write you second supporting point
Add specific details
Write your third supporting point
Add specific details

Ending the text:

Write a short summary of your points
Write a memorable statement or repeat a key word from the
introduction

Revising

A. Do necessary revisions on your draft if you answered “no” to any of

the questions in the revision checklist below. Add more or eliminate details,
if necessary.

Revision Checklist:
o Does my thesis statement introduce the purpose of my piece?
o Are the supporting points arranged logically?
o Does each topic sentence in the body of my essay support my thesis
statement?
o Are appropriate transitions used in the text?
o Is the arrangement of the specific details logical?

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B. Proofread your draft if you think that your essay needs no further
revision; that is, if you have conformed to the persuasion pattern’s specific
features and had it peer-edited. Do this by checking for spelling,
punctuation, format, and grammar errors.

LEARNING ACTIVITY

Activity 1:
Choose a novel that you want to read and write a book review about it.
Your book review will include the following parts:
1. Chapter by chapter summary
2. About the Title
3. About the Author
4. General Evaluation of the book
5. Learnings from the book

LESSON 2: WRITING A LITERATURE REVIEW

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LEARNING ACTIVITY

Activity 2:
You are a research assistant. You are to write a research paper on a
particular topic in any area in your chosen field. Write a literature review
summarizing and synthesizing whatever notes you have gathered about
your topic. Your writing will be assessed based on its content, organization,
language use, and mechanics.

LESSON 3: WRITING A RESEARCH REPORT

Your skills in writing a research report will prove to be very useful

since it is not only a common academic requirement but also one of the
common tasks you will have to do when you become a professional. It
involves formulating questions and answering them in a systematic way.
Another important thing you will learn from studying how to write research
reports is the value of acknowledging the sources of the information you
include in your writing in order to avoid being accused of stealing ideas,
which is known as plagiarism.

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Considerations in Writing a Research Report

Unique Features of a Research Report

A research report may also be called scientific report. It is actually a

paper that discusses topics under the sciences area of study. It often uses
the IMRD format wherein the letter I stands for introduction; M, for methods;
R, for results; and D, for discussion. It also includes a title page, an
abstract, and a page for list of information sources. The page for the list of
sources may have different headings depending on the style of citation
used. (e.g. APA, MLA, CMOS, IEEE).

Each part of a research report serves a different purpose and

contains different types of information. The introduction is expected to
contain the background of the topic, the research questions, the
significance or relevance of the research, and the scope and delimitation of
the study. It actually corresponds to the first step in the scientific method
which is the forming of hypothesis. The methods narrate how the research
was conducted. Included in the methods are the following: description of
the materials used, the participants, and the process of data analysis. This
part matches the next step of the scientific method which is the testing of
hypothesis. The outcome of the research is presented in the results section
of the research report, and then interpreted in the discussion part.

The outcome, which is the results part, corresponds to the collection

of data or evidence in the steps of the scientific method. The last part is
similar to the last part of the scientific method wherein the research
analyzes how the data relate to one another and eventually form a
conclusion from the analysis.

A research report also includes preliminary materials such as the title

page, abstract and table of contents. The abstract serves as a synopsis or
summary of the research report. The title page is where the pertinent
details of the report such as the title and researcher’s name are written.

In the introduction, you will have to state your research question or

hypothesis about the subject matter and present a literature review.

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 In the methods section, you will have to do a recount of how your
research transpired, and so you should use the past tense. In the results
section, you will have to show illustrations of the data (i.e., graphs, charts,
diagrams, picture, and other visuals) you gathered in order for your readers
to have a clear impression of the outcome of your research. In the
discussion section, you will have to point out the significant data that
supported your hypothesis or answered your research questions. You
should also discuss implications of your findings and then give your
recommendations.

Purpose and Audience

The general purpose of the research report is to contribute new,

interesting, and objective ideas to a body of knowledge of a specific field.
The specific purpose depends on the research itself. It is discussed in the
introduction what the research aims to accomplish.

A research report may be written as a requirement of a course in

which the audience is a professor or evaluator. It can also be written for
professional advancement in which the audience are wider and who are
more concerned with replicating the study and not just to evaluate it.

Pattern of Development

The pattern of development that you can use varies depending on

which part of the report you are writing. Generally, the pattern of
development used in writing a research report is general to specific.
However, in some parts, such as the methods section, you will have to use
a narration pattern or process pattern, since you are to provide a recount of
how the research was conducted.

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 LESSON 4: WRITING A PROJECT PROPOSAL

A project proposal is basically a problem-solution text that aims to

persuade its reader to grant funding on the project or the accomplishment
of the solution to the problem. It has five basic parts, namely, title page,
project summary, qualification, budget justification, and project narrative. It
includes visuals such as gannt charts for timetable, and tables for budget
justification and avoids confusing terms such as jargons, acronyms, and
abbreviations specific to a field of study.

You may have the impression that a project proposal is only done in
the professional field, considering that a proposal seems to imply that
something like a product is being offered. Actually, a proposal is more of a
presentation of innovative ideas and plans. When you propose a project,
your main purpose is to request for financial support to carry out your plans
to complete that particular project. Project proposals are also referred to as
grant proposals.

In your life as a student, you may feel the need to do a more intensive
research which would need funding. In this case, you will need to write a
project proposal for the purpose of asking for a grant. When you do so, you
will have to be able to produce a very appealing document which is
comprehensive and easy to read.

Considerations in Writing a Project Proposal

Unique Features

In writing a project proposal, you will have to emphasize and discuss

briefly that there is a need to conduct research to investigate a problem
and that you have the right solution to the problem. This part is called
project summary. After highlighting a problem, you will have to provide a
description of the solution you are proposing, which is the project narrative.
You may also add graphics that illustrate the actual process or the
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necessary equipment or the timetable for completing the project. Lastly,
you will have to provide a profile or qualifications of your company or your
team to guarantee your capability of accomplishing whatever task you
have described in your proposal. Considering that a project proposal asks
for funding, one of its unique features is the part where the budget for
accomplishing the project is specified. This is called budget justification.
Although the title page is not a unique feature of a project proposal, you
must not forget to include the title of your project proposal, your name, and
other pertinent details.

Purpose and Audience

As you have learned earlier, a project proposal is written to request

for funding for a project. The institutions that are willing to grant funding are
mostly government agencies. Since project proposals come from different
fields of study, the funding institutions may endorse a particular proposal to
a person who is knowledgeable in the field. However, even though the
person reviewing your proposal has high technical knowledge, you should
still have to consider limiting the highly technical terms you use in order to
ensure the clarity of your writing. Keep in mind that your audience is very
crucial in making your writing clear and effective. You must know how
much background information you should include and how to express it
without either insulting the reader or risking the clarity of the text. It
becomes a big problem when a reader of your proposal does not
understand your jargon, especially when that reader has the right to
approve or reject your proposal.

LEARNING ACTIVITY

Activity 3:
You and your group mates own a small business. Look for a prospective
client, and then write a project proposal for that person or company. Your
project proposal will be assessed based on clarity and conciseness of
content, language used, and mechanics.

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 LESSON 5: WRITING A POSITION PAPER
A position paper is a kind of persuasive text which clearly states an
opinion about a subject matter and attempt to convince people to believe in
a similar way about the topic under discussion. By being a type of
persuasive text, a position paper has the same purpose, which is to
persuade or make the readers believe that the writer’s opinion is probable
or should be considered by a decision-making group.

Considerations in Writing a Position Paper

Unique Features of a Position Paper

A position paper expresses a writer’s position on an issue and the

reasons for the writer’s stand. In doing so, the writer must present valid
arguments and counterclaims. The writer must also strongly refute the,
counterclaims by adding supporting evidence. In explaining some points,
you may use figurative language such as simile, metaphor, and analogy.

Purpose and Audience

This type of writing attempts to persuade the readers to accept the

writer’s point of view and convince them to take a particular course of
action suggested in the paper. The specific purpose and audience of a
position paper differs depending on the context. In the academe, the
purpose of this kind of writing is to demonstrate to the professor or teacher
the writer’s higher-order thinking through the way he or she argues and
supports his or her argument. However, in other domains such as politics
and law, a position paper could function as an introduction of a policy being
proposed or a proposal of policy among government officials and lawyers.

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Pattern of Development

The writer of a position paper sets to accomplish the purpose of

persuading the audience by comparing and contrasting the arguments and
the counterclaims. In this way, the writer gives the impression of objectivity
by presenting the points from both sides of a controversial issue.

LEARNING ACTIVITY

Activity4:
Read the sample position paper at http://bit.ly/1Lky3JC. Then answer the
following questions:

1. What is the issue being discussed in the paper?

___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

2. What is the writer’s position?

___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

3. How did the writer support his position?

___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

4. Does the writer accomplish his purpose?

___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

5. Which argument best supports the writer’s position?

___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

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Activity 5:

You are a student of a big University. You want to oppose a certain

rule and regulation in your University. Write a position paper addressed to
the University President why you are opposing that certain rule and
regulation. (Specify the rule and regulation that you are opposing). Your
position paper will be assessed based on its content, organization,
language used, and mechanics.

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