PURPOSEFUL WRITING IN DISCIPLINE

PRE-TEST
Read each sentence carefully. Choose your answer by writing the writing the letter of your choice on the
space before each number.

_________ 1. It is an evaluation report of previous studies related to the subject matter of an academic
paper.
A. Book Review C. Article Review
B. Literature Review D. Movie Review
_________ 2. It is a problem-solution text that aims to persuade its reader to grant funding on the
project.
A. Project Proposal C. Project Material
B. Project Cost D. Project Budget
_________ 3. It is a critical assessment, analysis, or evaluation of a work
A. Book Review C. Article Review
B. Literature Review D. Movie Review
_________ 4. It is an expanded paper that presents interpretations and analysis of a phenomenon based
on experiments and previous information
A. Book Report C. Scientific Report
B. Research Report D. Survey Report
_________ 5. It contains a summary and synthesis of all available sources.
A. Book Review C. Article Review
B. Literature Review D. Movie Review
_________ 6. The main purpose of this writing is to persuade book readers of a particular genre or
researchers in a specific field
A. Article Review C. Book Review
B. Literature Review D. Movie Review
_________ 7. It expresses a writer’s position on an issue and the reasons for the writer’s stand.
A. Review Paper C. Position Paper
B. Book Paper D. Term Paper
_________ 8. It has a purpose to persuade or make the readers believe that the writer’s opinion is
probable or should be considered by a decision-making group.
A. Position Paper C. Book Paper
B. Review Paper D. Term Paper
_________ 9. It is a laborious work produced through formal investigation and scientific inquiry.
A. Book Report C. Scientific Report
B. Research Report D. Survey Report
_________ 10. It is highly persuasive and informative document that aims to address a particular
problem or issue.
A. Project Proposal C. Project Material
B. Project Cost D. Project Budget
WRITING A BOOK REVIEW OR ARTICLE CRITIQUE

What is a Book Review or Article Critique?

 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
 usually ranges from 250 to 750 words, is not simply a summary
 critical assessment, analysis, or evaluation of a work
 an advance form of writing - involves your skills in critical thinking and recognizing arguments

How is it different from the rest?

 Movie Review and Critique
o Movie review (newspaper) – analysis of one’s work but written for a general audience
and primarily aim to offer a persuasive opinion
o Critique - addresses a more specific audience and usually offers a critical response to a
published scholarly work
 Book Reports
o Book reports - an objective summary of the main ideas and arguments that
the book's author has presented
o Book review - descriptive and critical/evaluative account of a book; provides
a summary of the content, assesses the value of the book, and recommends it (or not)
to other potential readers

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?
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 and reread the article or book to be reviewed carefully to get its main concept/argument.
2. 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.
3. 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…”
4. Situate your review. This means that your analysis should be anchored be anchored on the
theories presented by the book or article writer.
5. Examine whether the findings are adequately supported or not.
6. Analyzed the type of analysis the writer use (e.g, quantitative, qualitative, case study) and how
its supports the arguments and claims.
7. Suggest some ways on how the writer can improve his/her reasoning or explanation.
8. 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.
9. Point out other conclusion or interpretations that the writer missed out. Present other ideas
that need to be examined.
10. Examine the connections between ideas and how they affect the conclusions and findings.
11. 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.
12. 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
Instructions: Write T if the statement is true and F if 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

ACTIVITY 2
Instructions: Write a book review by following the writing process outlined below. You may assume the
persona of a university professor writing a review for a particular book or article in your chosen field.

A. Read the book or article to be reviewed. Complete the following details.

Article/ Book Title: ___________________________________________________________________
Article/Book Author: ___________________________________________________________________
Topic: ___________________________________________________________________

B. Complete the given information to come up with a writing situation for your book review or article
critique.
General purpose: ___________________________________________________________________
Specific Purpose: ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Target Output: ___________________________________________________________________
Audience: ___________________________________________________________________
Writer’s Persona: ___________________________________________________________________
Tone/Formality: __________________________________________________________________

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED

In writing a review/critique you must:
(1) provide a summary of the contents of the contents of the piece of writing under review;
(2) provide a general evaluation of the text;
(3) discuss each point you want to make about the text; and
(4) conclude by telling the readers if the text is worth reading or not. In addition, you must polish your
writing by considering the properties of a well written text.

WRITING A LITERATURE REVIEW

What is Literature Review?
 type of academic writing that provides an overview of a specific topic
 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
 an advance form of academic writing, a literature review critically analyzes the relationship
among the scholarly works and the current work
 can be written as a stand-alone paper or as part of a research paper explaining a theoretical
framework and related studies

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.
 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

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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 rea 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.
 3. Direct the readers to other related literature reviews that cover item 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
Instructions: Write T if the statement is true and F if false.
_______1. A literature review require 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.

ACTIVITY
Instructions: Write a literature review by following the writing process outlined below. You may assume
the persona of a researcher writing a literature review for a paper to be submitted to a professional
scientific journal.

Complete the given information to come up with the writing situation for your literature review.
General Purpose: ___________________________________________________________________
Scientific Purpose: ___________________________________________________________________
Target Output: ___________________________________________________________________
Audience: __________________________________________________________________
Writer’s Persona: ___________________________________________________________________
Tone/Formality: ___________________________________________________________________

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED

A literature review is a synthesis of whatever professionals or researchers in the field are saying about a
particular topic in the area. It can be written separately from a research paper. It must updated, and it
must supply new interpretations of the issue or subject matter based on the information presented.

WRITING A RESEARCH REPORT

What is a Research Report?

 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
 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.
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).
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.
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
Instructions: Write T if the statement is true and F if false.
_____1. The research report follows a format similar to that of an academic essay.
_____2. The abstract should be written prior to writing a conclusion.
_____3. An informative title is preferred when writing a research report.
_____4. The conclusion contains the details of the finding obtained from the study.
_____5. Gathering references can be done recursively.
_____6. It is better to have as many direct quotations as possible.
_____7. Majority of the paper content should be devoted to literature review.
_____8. Survey instruments should be aligned to research questions.
_____9. Tables and graphs for the gathered data are presented under the introduction section.
_____10. The discussion section presents the procedure undertaken to compete the study.
_____11. The introduction contains the purpose of the study and the current state of the field of the
study.
_____12. The literature review contains the explanation of relevant concepts and related studies.
_____13. The methodology contains the description of participants and instruments.
_____14. Title and thesis statement are written differently.
_____15. Two different documentation styles can be used in one research report.

ACTIVITY
Instructions: 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: ______________________________________________________________
WHAT I HAVE LEARNED
In writing a research report, you must (1) choose a topic that is interesting and relevant to your
audience; (2) use the accepted format; (3) accomplish the purpose of each part of the report; (4)
acknowledge the sources of the information you used in your report; and (5) be consistent with the
citation style that you use. You must also keep in mind the properties of a well-written text to make your
writing appear more academic.

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.

Parts of a Project Proposal

1. Cover letter
a. Introduces the proposals to the reader
b. 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
c. Includes the highlights of the proposal and directs the readers to this highlights
2. Title Page
a. Includes the project title that is concise and informative
b. 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
a. Includes the objectives, implementing organization, major project activities and total
project cost
b. 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
c. Uses a paragraph format
4. Context of the Proposal
a. Describes the socio-economic, cultural, and political background in which the proposal is
situated.
b. Presents data collected from other sources that are relevant to the planning stage
5. Project Justification
a. Provides a rationale for the project
b. Includes the problem statement that specifies the problem addressed by the project
 c. Points out why the problem is an issue that requires immediate attention
d. Specifies the target group’s needs that arise from the adverse effect of the described
problem
e. Presents the approach or strategy that will be used to address the problem
f. 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
a. List the people involved in the project, their corresponding roles, and their summary of
qualifications
7. Project implementation
a. 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
b. Describes the activities and resource allocation in detail, as well as the person in charge
of executing the activities
c. Indicates the time and place of activities
8. Budget
a. Presents the expected income and expenses over a specified time period
b. Itemizes the budget
9. Monitoring and Evaluation
a. Specifies when and how the team will monitor the progress of the project
b. Specifies the method for monitoring and evaluation
c. Specifies the personnel in charge of monitoring and evaluation
10. Reporting Scheme
a. Specifies the schedule for reporting the finances and progress of the project
11. Conclusion
a. Briefly describes the project, the problem it addresses, and its benefits to all
stakeholders through a summary
b. Directs the readers back to the good features of the project
c. Urges the readers to contact the proponent to work out the details of the project
proposals
12. References
a. 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
9. Use sections words to make your proposal more dynamic.

ACTIVITY
Instructions: Write T if the statement is true and F if false.
_______1. A project proposal is mainly informational.
_______2. A Gantt chart is one way to present the schedule of activities.
_______3. A one-word title is more preferred to a descriptive title.
_______4. A project proposal is usually one page only.
_______5. It is ideal to include only the total budget needed.
_______6. Only one team leader should write the project proposal.
_______7. Opinions add credibility to the proposal.
_______8. The project proposal needs to address the specific problem.
_______9. The qualification of personnel is crucial to the approval of project proposal.
_______10. There is only one format for a project proposal.

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED

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 visual such as
Gantt charts, for timetable, and tables for budget justification and avoids confusing terms such as
jargons, acronyms, and abbreviations specific to a field of study.
WRITING A POSITION PAPER

What is 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
 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
Instructions: Write T if the statement is true and F if false.
_________ 1. A good position paper considers all possible views on the issue at hand.
_________ 2. An issue is a crucial component of a position paper.
_________ 3. An issue is debatable if it cannot be answered by yes or no.
_________ 4. Audience analysis will help you write a more persuasive position paper.
_________ 5. One way to establish your credibility as a writer is to boast about your credentials.
_________ 6. Opinions are better than facts in supporting arguments.
_________ 7. Statistics can be used as evidence to support an arguments.
_________ 8. The main goal of a position paper is to inform readers.
_________ 9. The strongest type of appeal in a position paper is logical appeal.
_________ 10. Your position should be restated in the concluding paragraph.

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED

In writing a position paper, you should (1) describe the issue and your position; (2) present both sides of
the issue; (3) refute counterclaims; and (4) use some figurative language and analogies to explain a
point. You should keep in mind the properties of a well-written text to make your writing easy to read.