English for Acad.

& Professional Purposes

Content
• The words that convey/ gives meaning.
• Open class - The set of words in these classes can change over time, with the
development of language. (Nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)
Function
• The words that convey grammatical meaning
• Close class - Remains relatively constant over time. (Pronoun, Conjunction,
Preposition, Interjection)

PARTS OF SPEECH
1. NOUN - name a person, animal, thing, place or concept.
Types of nouns:
a. Proper noun - Specific (i.e., Adamson University)
b. Common noun – General (i.e., School)
c. Abstract noun- Names something you cannot see, hear, touch, smell, or taste.
(i.e., kindness)
d. Collective noun - singular noun for one group (i.e., crowd)
e. Count noun - Quantified (i.e., eggs)

2. VERB - that name an action, state or occurrence.

Types of Verbs:
Verb
Main verb Auxiliary verb
action verb Primary auxiliary Modal
- regular Be, Have, Do Can, Will,
- irregular May, Should

a. Action verb: Shows action

i. regular - added with d/ed (i.e., walked)
ii. irregular - spelling changes i.e., forgot)
b. Auxiliary verb: Verb that changes or helps another verb.
c. Modal: expresses possibility.
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3. ADJECTIVE - modifies or describes a noun or pronoun (size, shape, age, color,

orgin, purpose, material) (i.e., big)

4. ADVERB - modifies or describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb.

Types of adverbs:
a. Adverb of Manner: How? i.e., quickly
b. Adverb of Frequency: How often? i.e., always
c. Adverb of Time: when? i.e., later

5. PRONOUN - substitute a noun.

Types of pronouns:
a. Demonstrative - used to point to a specific person, place, or thing. (This, these,
that, those)
b. Interrogative - used to ask question. (WH questions)
c. Personal pronoun - specific person or thing (he she, they, them)
d. Reflective pronoun - refers back to the subj. (myself, herself)

6. PREPOSITION - Locates the placement of a noun or pronoun. (i.e., under,

beyond, over)

7. CONJUNCTION - Joins or connects words, phrase or clauses.

Types of conjunctions:
a. Coordinating conjunction - used to link or join two words or phrases that are
equally important and complete in terms of grammar when compared with each
other. Connects independent clauses. (FANBOYS)
b. Subordinating conjunction - introduces a subordinate clause. (i.e., although)
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SENTENCE STRUCTURE
1. Simple
o has a subject & verb
o a single independent clause. i.e., I like dogs.

2. Compound
o has a subject & adverb
o has two or more independent clause
o Use coordinating conjunction
o Use comma or semicolon

3. Complex
o has an independent and dependent clause.
o use subordinating conjunction
o - Use comma or semicolon
o
4. Compound-complex –
o has two independent clause, and one dependent clause.
o Use both Cc & Sc
o uses comma or semicolon
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SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
1. A singular subject takes singular verb: whereas a plural subject takes a plural
verb. (ex. She talks loudly.)

2. If you have 2 or more subjects, use plural verb. (ex. Janelle and Lai are talking
loudly.)

3. A parenthesis (Phrase/ infinites/ fillers) is not part of the subject. (ex. The girl, as
well as the relatives, is happy.)

5. Each, every, no, (= indefinite pronoun) comes before the subject the verb is
singular. (ex. Nobody likes the new guy.)

6. The verb agrees to the nearest subject. (ex. The student or the committee
members write every day.)

If the verb is an action or main verb:

Plural subject = Base form of the verb (NO S/ES/ED)
Singular subject = S/ES/ED of the verb
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READING AND WRITING ACADEMIC TEXTS

Academic Text - is defined as critical, objective, specialized texts written by experts or
professionals in a given field using formal language.
• This means that academic texts are based on facts with a solid basis.
• It varies from different styles and structures of writing depending on the discipline.
Types of Academic Texts:
1. Textbooks
• a standard work for a particular branch of study;
• design to help the learner;
• vary in style, tone, and level depending on their audience.

2. Essay
• A short literary composition on a particular theme or subject, usually in
prose and generally analytic, speculative, or interpretative.
• Vary in length and formality
• Citation of resources
3. Dissertation & Thesis
• A long period of reading, research, and reflection.

Dissertation Thesis
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4. Research Articles
• Reports the result of original research, assesses its contribution to the
body of knowledge in each area
• normally published in a journal
• written mainly for specialist audiences.
Structure:
Intro
RRL
Background of Research & Method
Results & Discussion
Recommendations & Conclusion
Bibliography
5. Case study
• is a report about a person, group, or situation that has been studied;
• most common disciplines such as business, sociology and law;
• understands and provides a possible answer.
Structure:
Context (Focus, when & where?)
Description (Person or place
Account (Was there achange?)
and Headings (what is the perspective of the reader?)
6. Reports
• Written account of something that one has observed, heard, done or
investigated;
• Describe what happened and discuss and evaluate its importance.
Structure:
Context
Introduction
Methodology
Findings/ Main Points
Discussion
Evaluation --- Conclusion
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TYPES OF LANGUAGES OF ACAD TEXT

1. Formal
• Unique characteristics such as direct and respectful.
• It is the opposite of how one would speak or write casually to a friend.

2. Objective
• Uses research as the basis of language usage; impersonal language is
disregarded.
a. Interpret findings.
b. Evaluate a theory
c. Develop an argument
d. Critique the work of others
3. Technical
• Uses vocabulary in a technical term used in the field of discipline.
• eg. Jargon = Income

TYPES OF WRITING SKILLS

1. Thesis statement
o Serves as your summary of the main argument;
o It controls the flow of the text.
o It is the interpretation, not the subject itself.
o A single sentence

Determining a thesis statement:

1. Am I answering a question?
2. Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose?
3. Is the thesis statement specific enough?
4. Does the thesis pass the "so what?" test?
5. . Does the thesis pass the "how and why" test?
Steps:
1. Choose a subject
2. Pick your argument
3. Express it in one sentence
4. Assert your conclusion
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2. Summarizing
o synthesis of the key ideas from the text;
o Uses your own words to express your idea.
o words should not exceed 250.

Steps:
1. Read the text
2. Find the main idea or subject
3. Identify the needed info
4. Write your summary

Techniques:
1. Somebody Wanted But so then
• Somebody - Who is the text about?
• Wanted - What did the main character want?
• But - What was the problem encountered?
• So - How war the problem solved?
• Then - How did it end?
2. SAAC Method
• State - the name of the article, book, morse
• Assign - the name of the author
• Action - what the author is doing (ex. Tells, explains)
• Complete - complete the sentence or summary with key and important details
3. 5W's and 1H
• Who is the text abt?
• What did he she does?
• When did it happen?
• Why did he/she do it?
• How did he/she do what he/she did?
5. First Then Finally
• First - What happened first?
• Then - What key d took place during the event/action?
• Finally - What were the results of the action?
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3. Outlining
o Visually organize the ideas
o connects easily an idea to another idea specially the thesis statement

Types of an Outlining :

Principles of Outlining:
1. Coordination
• equal significance has comparable numerals or letter designation. eg. A is to B.
• having the same value
• maintains a coherent & consistent document.

2. Subordination
• Shows the level of significance
• uses major & minor heading

3. Division
• It always needs at least 2 parts;
• chunks the idea from one another.

4. Parallelism
• focus on showing a parallel head.
• Noun is to noun
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REACTION, REVIEW, CRITIQUE PAPER

• is a response, or reaction, to some sort of prompt;
• specialized forms of writing which author reviews or evaluates a subject.
Can evaluate the ff.
• Scholarly works
• Work of Art
• Designs
• Graphic Designs
Reaction Paper
• Presents reasonable response to anything seen, read, or experienced.
• can be made by anyone
• focused on personal appreciation
• for expression of personal judgement
Review Paper
• term paper or book review
• objective judgement
• focused on good and bad points
• gives audience an informed judgement about the subject
• can be made by knowledgeable people
Critique Paper
• most academic and most elevated evaluation
• written made by experts of the field
• focused on analyzing and evaluating the components
• made to provide directions for future improvements
Can evaluate the ff.
• Creative works
• Researches
• Media
The Do’s
1. Organize your thoughts
2. Summarize (short, but concise)
3. Analyze or evaluate the subject
4. Explain your reaction
5. Citation and References
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The Don’ts
1. Avoid using “I …”
2. Avoid using YOU
3. Avoid autobiographical
4. Avoid repetition
Structure
• It follows the three-part essay structure.
• The word counts will be 250 – 750 words.

Steps:
1. Read and study the material.
2. Annotate the text you read.
3. Ask questions as you read.
5. Free write.
6. Decide on your angle and determine your thesis statement.
7. Organize your paper.
8. Gather quotations.
9. Structure your paragraph.
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Tips:
1. Follow the structure and know your main idea.
2. Be sure to support your points and opinions with specific examples.
3. Proofread
4. Use quotation, but do not overuse.
5. Express your opinions clearly
6. Opinions with evidences.
7. Use effective writing

LITERARY APPROACHES
1. Formalism
• Attempts to treat each work as its own distinct piece, free from its environment,
era, and even author.
• Centers on the structure and components of a certain work.
• Meaning is extracted from the whole piece through: THE ELEMENTS!

2. Historical
• Biographical Approach
• Connection bet. the content and the historical context
• Effects basis
• Cite the influences

3. Feminism
• the principle and ideology of feminism to critique the language of lit.
• Male - dominant - patriarchal culture
• Image and concepts of women in literature,
• They argue that gender determines everything, or just the opposite.

4. Moral
• Moral judgement - Author's philosophy
• Teach morality and probe philosophical issues,
• Plato dynamics (how to react)

5. Marxism
• Economics based on the social, political and ideological realities
• economics shapes the society:
• Culture and socioeconomics are bond by each other.