Module One:
“is an intelligent and well-educated person who
INTRODUCTION TO ACADEMIC WRITING
(CONSIDERATIONS IN ACADEMIC WRITING)
* Writing – an important skill that students need to hone
in order to succeed in their academic endeavors.
* Creative writing – any writing that goes outside the
bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or
technical forms of literature.
 Typically identified by an emphasis on narrative
craft, character development, and the use of
literary tropes or with various traditions of poetry
and poetics.
 Typically fiction or poetry, which displays
imagination or invention (often contrasted with
academic or journalistic writing).
* Academic Writing is an objective, factual, and formal
type of writing.
 It is also a special genre of writing that prescribes
its own set of rules and practices which requires
a formal structure similar to an essay with
beginning, middle and end. Also, academic
writing requires citations. This means that the
writer needs to support his/her opinion by citing
what other author says about the issue. Finally,
academic writing observes correct use of
punctuation and grammar. (Bowker, 2007).
* Odegaard Writing and Research Center presents:
Three concepts associated with academic
writing
1. Academic writing is writing done by scholars for other
scholar.
 Scholar as define by Merriam Dictionary Online,
knows a particular subject very well”.
2. Academic writing is devoted to topics and questions
that are of interest to the academic community.
 You are writing not only for yourself but for your
readers as well.
3. Academic writing should present the reader with an
informed argument.
 In writing any academic paper, you need to
present your argument based in credible pieces
of evidence.
* NOTE: Academic Writing cannot be learned overnight.
It takes some time before one can write a scholarly work.
Swales and Freak (2012), “academic writing is a product of
many considerations”.
Major Considerations in Academic Writing
1. TOPIC
 What is the text all about? What details am I
imparting to the readers?
 Example: Music Recital, Family Problem, Online
Classes, COVID 19, Peer Pressure, etc.
2. ROLE
 Who am I as a writer? What role am I taking in
writing this piece?
 Example: Do I write as a sibling? A student? A
son/ a daughter? A customer? A friend? A
member of the community?
3. AUDIENCE
 Who is reading this piece? Who am I writing this
for? Is there a specific type of knowledge my
readers need to understand the piece?
 Writers must consider the target audience in the
writing any text. The language, style, and
background information to be included in the
text depend largely on audience’s interest and
their knowledge of the topic presented in the
text.
 Example: In an academic setting, your audience is
generally your professor/teacher, your
classmates and sometimes other professors who
 may be assessing your work at the end of the A. Brainstorming – simply listing of ideas based on the
semester. given topic.
 Example: My Memorable Day, Math Quiz Bee!,
Four Types of Audience Nervous to compare, Won at first place, Proud
Friendly Your purpose: parents
reinforcing their beliefs.
B. Webbing/ Concept Mapping – a prewriting
Apathetic Purpose is to first to
techniques in which ideas are grouped together by
convince them that it
identifying key ideas and their supporting points.
matters for them.
Uninformed Your requirement is to C. Tree Diagram – Graphic tool which systematically
educate before you can breaks down and maps out in increasing details, all
begin to propose a components or elements of condition, phenomenon,
course of action. process, or situation at successive levels or stages.
Hostile You purpose is to respect
2. Free Writing – simply writing down your thoughts
them and their
freely, nonstop without editing.
viewpoint.
 In this technique, you just write continuously an
essay on a topic without editing, without paying
4. PURPOSE AND STRATEGIES close attention to style, grammar, coherence,
 Why am I writing this in the first place? Writers and cohesion.
have to know the purpose of their writing
immediately after identifying their target 3. Revising – requires revisiting your draft a writer and as
audience. a reader.
1. To provide information or explain something.  In your first review of your draft as a writer,
 Example: “How to strengthen our immune consider the overall idea, supporting points,
system”, “How to achieve success” or even “How organization of your ideas, as well as a word
plants manufacture their food through usage.
photosynthesis.”
2. To entertain the readers for them to have fun
reading. Module Two:
 Example: After dinner speech, comic strips,
* The Important feature of academic text is that they are
fictional narratives, and others.
organized in a specific way; they have a clear structure.
3. To persuade or convince the readers to take a
This structure makes it easier for your reader to navigate
position.
and grasp the idea of your text and understand the text
 Example: “Government warming: Smoking skills”
better.
* STRATEGY – a scheme or plan that writers use in
5. Organization – refers to the logical sequence of ideas.
presenting a topic, in organizing ideas, and in writing
 There are patterns of organization which writers
introduction and conclusion.
may follow in sequencing ideas or details to be
Basic Stages of Writing able to write may follow in sequencing ideas or
details to be able to write a coherence essay.
1. Prewriting – simply generating ideas or tapping on
 These patterns of organization are called
background knowledge based on the topic to be
rhetorical patterns.
developed into composition.
 Rhetorical patterns commonly used in academic
Different pre writing techniques that you can writing include (1) definition, (2) comparison and
use contrast, (3) Cause and Effect (4) problem-
solution, (5) narration, and (6) exemplification
* Definition – explains not just what something means or
is, but also what something does, what something is used
for, what something looks like, etc.
* Exemplification – provides examples and illustrations in
order to further clarify or explain the concept or subject
matter.
 Presents the general statement and then
provides specific and concrete examples to
expound on the main idea.
 Developed using three examples.
* Comparison and Contrast – organize ideas based on how
events, places, people, things, and concepts are similar to
or different from one another.
a) Separately – involves describing one item first
followed by the second item.
b) Side-by-Side – involves discussing both items
based on each point of comparison.
 Presents the similarities and differences
between.
* Cause and Effect – a reason for an action or condition;
something that brings an effect or result.
 Power to bring about a result.
 To guide you in developing a topic into an essay
using cause and effect pattern, you have to be
clear about the cause or reason for the
occurrence of something (effect).
* Narration – the most basic part of development.
 Describes how, when, and where an event
occurrence actually happened.
 Used to tell a story or focus on a set of related
events.
 Refers to how the writer presents the story.
 Includes the pace by which scenes are given out.
 Having Natural Progression of Time to the events
of the story makes a good writing.
Module Three:
ASPECTS OF PROFESSIONAL AND ACADEMIC
LANGUAGE
(FEATURES OF LANGUAGE)
Four Important Features of Language
1. Formality – dignified stance in your writing as a member
of the academic community.
 This means that since your audience are fellow
members of the academic community, the
language you use requires precision to make it a
“legitimate” piece of academic writing.
* First Level: Formal English – is used in formal writing and
in formal speech.
 Example: State of the Nation Address (SONA),
public speeches, news stories, research papers,
theses, and journal articles are forms of writing
that use formal English.
* Second Level: Informal English – is used in Oral and
written forms of expression in informal school
discussions, conversation with friends, and in writing
friendly letters and informal essays.
* Third Level: Colloquial English – is everyday English that
is used in conversations with friends and family members.
 It is characterized by the use of idiomatic
expressions.

6. Presentation – composition should be free from errors

in spelling, grammar, and mechanics.
 Writers have to remember several rules in
grammar, particularly the rules on subject-verb
agreement, the use of nouns, adverb, adjectives,
prepositions, and conjunctions, as well as the use
of punctuation marks
2. Language and objectivity – this means that the writing
must be impersonal and maintain level of social distance.

* Formality can be achieved by:

4. Caution
 Academic writing care since knowledge is built
from proven theories and concepts.
 Therefore, caution is needed to avoid sweeping
generalizations.

“Government officials are corrupt”

3. Explicitness * Below are some forms that you may use in observing
 Academic writing demands the use of signposts caution in writing:
that allow readers to trace the relationships in
the parts of a study.

* The following phrases may be useful in making explicit

ideas:

Module Four:
READING AND WRITING STRATEGIES FOR
ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL TEXTS
(PLAGIARISM; EFFECTIVE NOTE TAKING)
Sentence Structure
1. A new sentence begins with a capital letter.
2. A sentence ends with punctuation.
3. A sentence contains a subject that is only given once.
4. A sentence contains a verb or a verb phrase.
5. A sentence follows Subject + Verb + Object word order.
6. A sentence must have a complete idea that stands
alone. This is also called an independent clause.
* Structure – aside from language, sentences need to be
constructed in such a way that they show a level of
complexity that reflects the sophistication of an academic
writer.
 Combining ideas effectively, nominalization, and
passivation are some ways to achieve structure fit
for academic writing.
 In combining ideas effectively, you will need to
avoid redundancy and at the same time, make
that sure that ideas are packed effectively
* Consider the following examples:
 The earthquake caused loss of life.
 The earthquake caused massive property
damage.
 The earthquake changed the landscape of the
village.
* Though these sentences are grammatically correct, they
do not possess the sophistication of academic writing.
They can be improved by continuing similar ideas
expressing them laugh a more complex construction.
Hence, they can be written this way:
 The earthquake was a disaster that caused loss of
life, property damage, and permanent changes in
the landscape.
* Nominalization – the verbs are made central as they
denote action.
 Transforming verbs into nouns helps readers
focus on the action and mot on the doer of the
action.
 Example: The Company created software to
manage the transactions successfully.
 Nominalization: The creation of software to
manage transaction was a success.
 Example: The president announced a three- day
holiday this September.
 Nomination: The president’s announcement of a
three-day holiday for September was released.
* Passive Construction – the results of actions are
highlighted.
 The researcher conducted experiments to
validate the hypothesis.
 An engineer built a saltwater lamp to help
communities with no electricity.
* Plagiarism – Is a serious form of academic dishonesty
and is frowned upon in the academe.
 Is defined as the copying verbatim of language
and ideas of other writers and taking credit for
them
 Therefore, academic writers have a great
responsibility to account for the ideas and
language of others.
 Similar to treating someone else’s belongings,
you need to respect the ownership of what is not
yours.
 Great care should be observed in writing a text
that depends on outside sources.
Two Types of Plagiarism
1. Plagiarism of ideas – occurs when credit for a work is
ascribed to oneself untruthfully.
 For instance, if one writes a paper on the theory
of relativity of physics and no mention of Einstein
is given, the writer explicitly or implicitly claims
that this theory is his or hers. Plagiarism of ideas
has been committed.
2. Plagiarism of language – happens when an author uses
the language of another writer and claims it as his/her
own.
 Copied word-for-word from a source
 Cites the author but copies the whole text
verbatim Patchwork plagiarism
* To address this, proper citation should be done.
Citations are done in different way.
* Citation – is the way you tell your readers that certain
material in your work came from another source.
 It also gives your readers the information
necessary to find that source again, including:
 information about the author
 the title of the work
 the name and location of the company that
published your copy of the source
 the date your copy was published
  the page numbers of the material you are
borrowing
Why should I cite sources?
Giving credit to the original author by citing sources is the
only way to use other people's work without plagiarizing.
But there are a number of other reasons to cite sources:
 Citations are extremely helpful to anyone who
wants to find out more about your ideas and
where they came from
 Not all sources are good or right -- your own ideas
may often be more accurate or interesting than
those of your sources. Proper citation will keep
you from taking the rap for someone else's bad
ideas
 Citing sources shows the amount of research
you've done
 Citing sources strengthens your work by lending
outside support to your ideas.
Citations
 Starts with the surname of the author, year of
publication in parenthesis.
 Verbs of statement such as argues, posits, and
emphasizes at the start of paragraph or
sentences maybe used
* Author- oriented citation – starts with the surname of
the author, followed by the year of publication in
parentheses.
 Verbs of statements such as argues, posits, and
emphasizes at the start of paragraph or
sentences may be used.
 Example: Pulido (2012) believes that language in
an online environment can be understood if
other modes of online communication are
further analyzed to provide a full account of
interaction in virtual worlds.
* Text- oriented citation – a paragraph or sentences from
a source is followed with the surname of the author of the
work and the year of publication.
 The citation must be closed in parentheses.
 Example: Unless educators realize the
importance of reading and writing across subject
areas, problems in comprehension of subject
matter will be a prominent issue in the teaching
learning process (Estacio, 2010)
Another Way of Citation
* Start the sentence or paragraph by using the phrase
“According to…” followed by the surname of the author
and year of publication enclosed in parenthesis.
 Example: According to Mendoza (1990), by the
end of the century, our fuel reserves will be
reduced to half, and scarcity of energy supplies
will be a big problem
* Aside from texts, movies, images and music should be
cited if used on your paper. MOVIES, IMAGES, AND MUSIC
CITATION
 Author, title of work (image, movie, music) and
year it was produced (if applicable) be included in
the citation.
* Images
a) Luna’s Spoliarium (1884) inspired several artists
in music and creative writing to produce works
related to this powerful painting.
b) In 1884, Luna’s Spoliarium presented the
different aspects of Philippine life.
* Video
a) Spencer’s (2009) “The Matchmaker” shows
different experiences of artists when they
struggle with stardom and deal with the
consequences of fame and fortune.
b) “The Matchmaker” (Spencer, 2009) accurately
captures the trials and tribulations of fame and
fortune of artists making it big in show business.
* Music
a) The Beatles’ song “A Hard Day’s Night” features
John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s genius that
will influence generations of musicians to create
songs that challenge the norm.
b) John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote the song
“A Hard Day’s Night” (1964) which is considered
as one of the Beatle’s greatest hits in their
illustrious career.
Module Five:
READING AND WRITING STRATEGIES FOR
ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL TEXTS
(NOTE-TAKING TECHNIQUES)
* To address plagiarism of language, effective note-taking
techniques should be used.
 As mentioned earlier, citations are used to
attribute ownership of ideas to author.
 Many times, note taking is one of the most
difficult things for a student to do effectively.
 It can be difficult for students to know what to
write down, what important or pertinent
information is, or how to structure their notes.
 By taking the time to understand why we take
notes, how best to do so, and how to use them,
we are able to improve our ability to make them
truly useful.
 Notes taken during reading or lectures can be
one of the strongest tools a student has in their
academic experience.
* Before attempting to take notes, consider the following
questions:
- What is effective note taking?
- How can I take good notes in class or from written texts?
Is it different for each?
- What is the overall goal of my note taking?
- How do I study and what should I include in my notes to
help this process?
- How is the class that I am taking taught and how should
I take notes based on this?
* Why do we take notes?
 To summarize.
 To highlight important information.
 Most importantly, to determine if the
information is accurate and based on fact.
Note-Taking Techniques
* Citations are used to attribute ownership of ideas to
authors while Note-taking techniques allow you to
rephrase original text into your own. There are three
types of note - taking techniques: using direct quotations,
summarizing, and paraphrasing.
I. Direct quotation is a report of the exact words of an
author or speaker and is placed inside quotation marks in
a written work.
 Is employed for statements that are so closely
associated that altering the words may lose its
rhetorical impact.
 Example: “The Filipino is worth dying for” – Ninoy
Aquino
Employing Direct Quotations (Employ Text
Oriented Citation)
1. Using Direct Quotations means to lift text and enclose
them in quotation marks. In addition to the author’s
name, the page numbers are included.
 Example: “Globalization is just a convert term for
colonization.” (Reyes, 1994, p.2)
2. If the text is too long, you may omit certain parts and
replace them with ellipsis (…). If the words omitted are at
the end of the statement, another dot is added, making it
four. (….)
 Example: Smartphones resulted from global
innovations in technology … and therefore,
consumers need to be updated on the latest
trends if they want to maximize opportunities
offered by these gadgets to make daily activities
more convenient.” (De Claro, 2010, p.7)
3. Interpolation may be done to insert notes within the
directly quoted passage to help readers understand the
context of the statement. Interpolation is marked by open
and close brackets.
 Example: “De Quiros, Zabala, Uy, and Lee believe
that the education sector should address the
material conditions of schools to improve
teaching and learning.” (Danao, 2011, p.7)
4. Using too many Direct Quotations does not reveal your
true identity as an author. Specifically, it is important that
you develop your own voice and style of writing in
expressing ideas.
 Therefore, 20% of the total length of the work
may employ direct quotations.
 In an essay of 1000 words, 200 words are only
allotted for direct quotations.
 Example: “Smartphones resulted from global
innovations in technology… and therefore,
consumers need to be updated on the latest
 trends if they want to maximize opportunities
offered by these gadgets to make daily activities
more convenient”.
II. Summary is a short retelling of a longer written passage,
containing the author’s most important ideas.
 Summarizing helps improve both your reading
and writing skills.
 To summarize, you must read a passage closely,
finding the main ideas and supporting ideas.
 Then you must briefly write down those ideas in
a few sentences or a paragraph.
 Is a short restatement of the main idea of a text.
 Ideally, it is a third of the original text of your
paper.
Tips in Developing your Summary
1. Make sure to read the text thoroughly and highlight the
important details in the text. Bear in mind that certain
details have relationships (cause and effect) and these
need to be noted as well.
2. After getting the main idea/s, use your own words in
your summary. Make sure to check if the relationships
between ideas are established.
3. When done with your summary, recheck your output
with the original to see if your output does not stray from
the original text. You may seek your teacher or peer’s
feedback to be sure.
III. Paraphrasing is presenting ideas and information in
your own words and acknowledging where they come
from.
 By using your own words, you demonstrate your
understanding and your ability to convey this
information.
 Is a restatement in your own words of the main
idea and supporting details of a text.
 May match the length of the original work.
 Paraphrasing may be considered more
challenging than summarizing, it allows little
opportunities for misinterpretation on the part of
the reader as you account for both major and
minor points.
Tips in Crafting your Paraphrases
1. Read the text thoroughly, noting both main ideas and
supporting details. If confronted with a long text, you may
outline these ideas to distinguish the major points from
the minor ones.
2. After identifying these, carefully state the major and
minor points in your own words, making sure that the
relationships between and among these ideas are
observed.
3. Finally, when the paraphrase is done, compare your
work with the original to make sure that the original
intentions of the author are not changed.
Ways in Paraphrasing
1. Literal Paraphrasing – this type only replaces vocabulary
terms from the original text.
 Is a word for word substitution.
2. Structural Paraphrasing – this type changes the
sentence structure as well as the word class of key words
of the original text.
 You have to also change the sentence structure.
 Sometimes, students will struggle with
paraphrasing because they have an urge to
simply use the same basic sentence or sentences
and replace the original words with synonyms
3. Alternative Paraphrasing – in this type, the writer first
poses questions about the text such as what the text is
about, how the main idea is supported, and the stand of
the author about the topic.
 Then, the writer answers these questions using
his/her own words after reading the text; making
sure that all ideas are connected.
* Original passage: Students frequently overuse direct
quotations in taking notes, and as a result they overuse
quotations in the final (research) papers, Probably only
about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as
directly quoted matter, Therefore, you should strive to
limit the amount of exact transcribing of source material
while taking notes, Lester, James D. Writing Research
Papers. 2nd ed. (1976): 46-47.
* Paraphrase: in research papers students often
excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a
desirable level, since the problem usually originates
during note taking. It is essential to minimize the material
recorded verbatim (Lester 46-47).
* Summary: students should take just a few notes in direct
quotation from sources to help minimize the amount of
quoted material in a research paper (Lester 46-47).
Module Six:
STRATEGIES FOR ACADEMIC AND
PROFESSIONAL TEXTS
(PLANNING ESSAYS AND PRESENTATIONS)
* Writing is an activity that requires organization.
 Sometime starts with chaotic process, much
preparation is needed.
 As ideas arise there are (3) important components
to consider (the thesis statement, topic Sentence
and the outline).
1. Thesis Statement –is the overall idea or argument of
your work.
 It is a general statement that presents essential
points that leads the reader to the right direction.
 Makes all parts of your work stick together.
 Focuses your ideas into one or two sentences.
 It should present the topic of your paper and also
make a comment about your position in relation
to the topic.
 Should tell your reader what the paper is about
and also help guide your writing and keep your
argument focused.
 A good thesis statements should be focused and
succinct, (compact) and must be framed as
declarative sentence.
 Ideally the statements should have at least three
ideas that will be developed in succeeding
sections of the work.
* NOTE:
 A thesis statement is different from a topic
sentence in two aspects:
 Firsts, the thesis statement is the main idea of an
essay. This means that since an essay has several
paragraphs, the thesis statement coves the main
idea of an essay.
 Second, thesis statement contains at least two
supporting points which are developed in
succeeding paragraphs.
2. Topic sentence – is a sentence that introduces a
paragraph by presenting the one topic that will be the
focus of that paragraph.
 Just like the thesis statement gives the main idea
of the paper at the essay level, the topic sentence
gives the main idea at the paragraph level.
 Should identify the main idea and point of the
paragraph.
 To choose an appropriate topic sentence, read
the paragraph and think about the main idea and
point.
 The supporting details in the paragraph will
develop or explain the topic.
* NOTE:
 A topic sentence serves as the main idea of a
paragraph and usually has one or more
supporting point/s.
* Outline – is a helpful tool for organizing your work.
 Set as a series of input, the outline shows the
logical arrangement of ideas to be included in
your essay.
 In preparing your outline, there are two things to
remember--- outline format and principles. With
regard to format, there are two types: traditional
and standard.
3. Outlining – is the process of organizing ideas based on
a thesis statement or main idea that will be develop into
an essay.
 The ideas organized into a structure or skeleton
format is called an Outside.
 A well- done outline can help the writer his/her
essay effectively.
 Principles in outlining
Parallelism – Entries should observe the same language
structure (e.g., words, phrases, sentences,)
Coordination – Entries should observe levels of
importance. In the example above, note that colleges are
labeled as major ideas because they carry the same level
of significance in Research University.
Subordination – Entries should observe differences of
importance (which should be classified as major or minor
ideas). In the same example, the different units under
colleges are labeled as minor ideas since they differ in
scope from the colleges.
Division – entries should at least be two to be sure that
supporting points of a major idea are adequate.
Module Seven:
PARTS OF AN ESSAY
* Introduction – presents an overview of what the essay
is about.
 It consists the following parts: hook, background
information, quotation connecting phrases,
reasons, and thesis statement.
1. Hook
 There are several hook techniques to get the
readers’ interest.
 These include anecdote, provocative question,
starling statistics, hypothetical statement, and
emotional description.
2. Background Information
 Presents an elaboration of the hook technique
used. If the writer uses a provocative question
like, “What would it like to live in the 22nd
century?”
 The background information essential to provide
possible answer to the question may include an
enumeration of inventions in the 21st century to
be connection to possible future discoveries.
3. Connecting Phrases
 Are cohesive or transitional markers that link one
idea to another.
 These are group of words proceeded by
conjunctions, such as/ however, and, on the
other hand, conversely, and the use of summary
word which is a combination of this/these
summary word like: this concern, this issue, these
problems, and the like.
4. Reason – Refers to the rationale or the writer’s defense
for his/her thesis statement.
Hook Techniques Used in Writing Introduction
1. Anecdote- is a brief story relevant to the topic of an
essay.
2. Provocative Question- is a question to begin an essay
which aims to startle or make the readers think to grab
their attention.
3. Quotation- Is a statement made by popular personality
such as a senator, a well-known historian, or a scientist
relevant to the topic.
4. Startling Statement/Fact- Is a statement of fact that
stirs the mind of the readers.
5. Hypothetical Situation- Is an imaginary condition that
the writer uses to grab his/her reader’s attention to the
topic of his/ her essay.
6. Emotional Description- Pictures a scenario that evokes
strong emotions like pity, anger, sadness, and other
feeling in the readers.
7. Startling Statistics- Presents intriguing facts and
information in terms of quantity like numbers,
percentage, and the like.
* Body
 The second part of an essay is the body.
 The body presents an elaborate discussion of the
topic.
 It discusses in detail the main points in the thesis
statement.
 Take, for instance, the topic child labor. Its thesis
statement, “Child labor deprives children of play,
good education, and bright future,”
 The three main effects of child labor include
depriving children of play, good education, and
bright future.
  Each main point capsulated in one topic sentence
is discussed in one paragraph.
 Generally, every paragraph in an essay should
have a topic sentence that represents the main
point.
* Conclusion
 The third and the last part an essay is the
conclusion.
 The conclusion presents the summary of the
essay’s amin points and its implications.
 The conclusion may comprise the following:
summary and closing techniques, which may be a
recommendation (a call for action), a prediction
of the future (a vision of what is to come),
broader implications (effects), and other
techniques that are also used in the introduction,
such as a provocative question, a startling or
intriguing statement, an anecdote, or a
compelling short story, a quotation, or a
hypothetical statement.
Module Eight:
* Writing the concept paper
 It is a method of explanation in which the points
are organized from a general abstract idea to
specific and concrete examples.
DEVELOPING CONCEPTS
 Definitions are essential in schoolwork as they
serve as a frame of reference for discussions.
 Concepts in your respective subjects are
understood because terms are used in a specific
concept or process.
DEFINITION
 Central in developing concept papers is writing
definitions.
 Definitions are used to provide the meaning of a
particular word or term.
 Definitions maybe formal, or informal or
extended.
FORMAL DEFINITION
 Include the term, class and distinguishing
features.
 Term – is the word to be defined
 Class – is the group where the term belongs 
Distinguishing features – are the qualities that
make the term unique
 Distinguishing features – are the qualities that
make the term unique
In order to clearly define your concept
1. In formal definitions, avoid using the same term to be
defined (“A cell phone is a phone…”)
2. In writing definitions, observe the concept of mutual
exclusivity. Make sure that the features of the term do
not overlap with other similar concepts of the same class
(“A skateboard is a mode of transport that has four
wheels.”)
INFORMAL DEFINITION
 Informal definitions, on the other hand, do not
conclude distinguishing features
EXTENDED DEFINITION
 Are essay length texts that use different
rhetorical patterns to show the meaning of a
particular term or concept.
 Usually, extended definition essays or concept
papers do not just define but describe, compare
and contrast, show cause-and-effect
relationships to provide the reader a holistic
definition of a term.
CONCEPT
 Concepts may be explained through different
modes and patterns.
 Aside from definition, other ways such as
explication and explanation can be used to
elucidate on a concept.
 A concept can be developed through explanation
by providing examples or situations.
Features of the concept paper
1. The introduction covers the background for the
concept and the thesis statement.
2. The paragraphs of the body explain, explicate or define
the concepts.
3. Each paragraph uses at least two supporting details to
clarify the concept.
4. The conclusion presents the summary of the concept
paper and restate the thesis.

5. Adequate transitions make sure that paragraphs and

ideas in the sentences are connected and organized.

6. The language used in the piece can be easily

understood by the intended audience of the work.

7. The essay is free of grammatical errors and all sources

were listed in the reference list.