ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC

AND PROFESSIONAL
PURPOSES
3rd Quarter
Week 4

Development and Quality Assurance Team

Developer: Alnies B. Gala

Evaluators: Elaine Grace P. Plaza
Jecel Marie A. Consigna
Learning Area Supervisor: Camela G. Lerio

Illustration Credits:
Title Page: Marieto Cleben V. Lozada
Title Page Graphics: Bryan L. Arreo
Visual Cues: Ivin Mae M. Ambos

Disclaimer: This Learning Activity Sheet (LAS) is based from the Self-Learning Modules, Learner’s Materials, Textbooks and Teaching Guides
released by DepEd Central Office. Furthermore, utilization of duly acknowledged external resources is purely of non-profit, for educational
use and constitutes fair use. All Rights Reserved.
0
Lesson 1- Stating the Thesis Statement

Competency:
o State the thesis statement of an academic text (CS_EN11/12A-
EAPP-Iac-6)

Objectives: At the end of the week, you are expected to have:

o determined the thesis statement of academic texts;
o formulated the thesis statement of an academic text being read;
and
o expressed appreciation on the importance of thesis statement of
an academic text.

Learner’s Tasks

Lesson Overview

In our everyday battle of facing life’s challenges, words have always been used as an
armor to fight our beliefs and principle and protect our feeling and emotions even
during the times of Dr. Jose Rizal. Being able to express our ideas and thoughts in a
logical manner occupies a big impact in our speech whether it is being said or written.

In this lesson, you will not only determine the thesis statement of an academic text but
you will also learn how to write one.

Let’s start by reviewing the basic concepts that this learning activity sheet has offered
for you.

What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement is the claim or stand that you will develop in your paper. It is the
controlling idea and the main topic sentence of an essay. It states the argument in a
piece of persuasive writing, and often gives an indication what the main sections of
the essay will be, and how the argument will unfold. The thesis sentence usually comes
at the end of the introduction.

The thesis statement is the brief articulation of your paper's central argument and
purpose. You might hear it referred to as simply a "thesis." Every scholarly paper should
have a thesis statement, and strong thesis statements are concise, specific, and
arguable. Concise means the thesis is short: perhaps one or two sentences for a
shorter paper. Specific means the thesis deals with a narrow and focused topic,
Disclaimer: This Learning Activity Sheet (LAS) is based from the Self-Learning Modules, Learner’s Materials, Textbooks and Teaching Guides
released by DepEd Central Office. Furthermore, utilization of duly acknowledged external resources is purely of non-profit, for educational
use and constitutes fair use. All Rights Reserved.
1
appropriate to the paper's length. Arguable means that a scholar in your field could
disagree (or perhaps already has!).

Moreover, according to Tagg (2004), a thesis statement is a single declarative

sentence that states what you want your readers to know, believe, or understand after
having read your essay. This means that a thesis statement should be made up of just
one sentence, and not two or more. Jerz (2011) also argues that a thesis statement is
the single, specific claim that one’s essay supports. It is a statement that answers the
question one wants to raise.

A strong thesis statement usually contains an element of uncertainty, risk, or challenge

(Ramage, Bean, and Johnson 2006:34). This means that your thesis should offer a
debatable claim that you can prove or disprove in your essay. The claim should be
debatable enough to let your readers agree or disagree with you. Also, you will have
to gather evidence for you to back up your thesis statement.

It also addresses specific intellectual questions, has clear positions, and uses a
structure that reflects the overall organization of the paper. Read on to learn more
about constructing a strong thesis statement.

Writing a Strong Thesis Statement

A thesis statement should not state two sides of an argument equally.

For example: There are advantages and disadvantages of using nuclear power.

This could be a topic sentence, but it is NOT a thesis statement. It gives two sides
of an argument without giving a clear opinion of support or disagreement. It could
be revised like this:

Revised: Although there are some advantages, using nuclear power has many
disadvantages and should not be a part of our country’s energy plan.

This is a strong thesis statement because it clearly gives the writer’s opinion about
nuclear power.

Locating Explicit and Implicit Thesis Statements

In academic writing, the thesis is often explicit: it is included as a sentence in the text.
It might be near the beginning of the work, but not always–some types of academic
writing reveal the thesis until the conclusion.

Journalism and reporting also rely on explicit thesis statements that appear very early
in the piece–the first paragraph or even the first sentence.

Works of literature, on the other hand, usually do not contain a specific sentence that
sums up the core concept of the writing. However, readers should finish the piece with
a good understanding of what the work is trying to convey. This is what we call

Disclaimer: This Learning Activity Sheet (LAS) is based from the Self-Learning Modules, Learner’s Materials, Textbooks and Teaching Guides
released by DepEd Central Office. Furthermore, utilization of duly acknowledged external resources is purely of non-profit, for educational
use and constitutes fair use. All Rights Reserved.
2
an implicit thesis statement: the primary point of the reading is conveyed indirectly, in
multiple locations throughout the work. (In literature, this is also referred to as
the theme of the work.)

There are two main reasons why thesis statements are so important for an essay:

§ First, the writer develops a thesis to create a focus on an essay’s main idea. It is
important for the writer to be able to write the main idea in few sentences to
create a clear idea for the paper. Not only does the thesis guide the reader,
but also the writer. The thesis provides direction to help the writer keep their
paper organized.
§ Second, having a well-crafted thesis statement helps the reader understand
the main idea of the essay. The thesis statement sets the reader up for the rest
of the essay. Usually at the end of the introduction paragraph, the thesis leads
into the body paragraph, which provides evidence and ideas to back up the
thesis. The thesis statement is important because it tells the audience what they
will be reading about.

Guidelines on Writing an Effective Thesis Statement

1. Avoid making overly opinionated stands

While a thesis statement needs to reveal your attitude toward the topic, be
careful not to go to the extremes and write a thesis statement with an
exaggerated claim. This is because you need to prove your thesis first, and avoid
imposing your opinion on the reader, lest you affect their disposition toward you.
Example: The officers of the ROTC are merciless slave drivers who abuse their
fellow students.

2. Avoid making announcements

Sometimes, it is easier to tell your reader what you intend to write about.
However, sometimes it makes a weak thesis statement for it lacks your attitude
or stand in a particular topic.
Example: In this essay, I will talk about the benefits of having a healthy lifestyle.

3. Avoid stating facts alone

If you rely only on facts in your thesis statements, you will not have much room
for discussion, because facts are generally not as debatable as opinions.
Example: Coronavirus is an unseen threat to mankind.

Disclaimer: This Learning Activity Sheet (LAS) is based from the Self-Learning Modules, Learner’s Materials, Textbooks and Teaching Guides
released by DepEd Central Office. Furthermore, utilization of duly acknowledged external resources is purely of non-profit, for educational
use and constitutes fair use. All Rights Reserved.
3
Lesson 2- Outlining Reading Texts in Various Disciplines

Competency:
o Outline reading texts in various disciplines (CS_EN11/12A-EAPP-
Iac-8)

Objectives: At the end of the week, you are expected to have:

o organized main ideas and subordinate ideas to come up with an
outline;
o outlined an academic text being read; and
o expressed appreciation on the importance of outlining a text.

Learner’s Tasks
Lesson Overview

Organizing your thoughts before the actual writing or even after reading a text is
difficult to many. Hence, the significance of writing an outline must be given attention
to solve this problem.

Just like in building a house, the blueprint must be prepared before constructing it. In
sewing a dress, a pattern must be cut first to ensure correct fit and appropriate ease.
Same goes with outlining, it helps you group ideas into main points and see its logical
connections. It will act as your guide to effectively sequence your information and
ensure you touch on all your main points.

In this lesson, you will learn more about outlining a text.

An outline is a summary that gives the essential features of a text. It shows how the
parts of a text are related to one another as parts that are of equal importance, or
sections that are subordinate to a main idea.

Kinds of Outlines

A reading outline is used to get the main ideas of a text that is already written. It helps
you understand the text’s structure more critically because you will have to find the
text’s thesis statement and supporting details. You will better understand how a writer
connects and sequences the information in the reading text.

Meanwhile, a writing outline is a skeletal version of your essay. It is used as a guide to

organize your ideas. It is usually done before you write the first draft of your essay.

Steps in Creating a Reading Outline

1. Read the entire text first. Skim the text afterward. Having an overview of the
reading’s content will help you follow its structure better.
Disclaimer: This Learning Activity Sheet (LAS) is based from the Self-Learning Modules, Learner’s Materials, Textbooks and Teaching Guides
released by DepEd Central Office. Furthermore, utilization of duly acknowledged external resources is purely of non-profit, for educational
use and constitutes fair use. All Rights Reserved.
4
 2. Locate the thesis statement.
3. Look for the key ideas in each paragraph of the essay.
4. Look at the topic sentence and group related ideas together.
5. Arrange the contents according to chronological order, spatial order, and
general to specific order.
6. Go back to the text and make sure you have not missed any important
information.

Rules for Outlining

Ø Subdivide topics by a system of numbers and letters, followed by a period. In a
formal outline, Roman numerals can be used to represent paragraphs. Capital
letters can be used to represent supporting details for the paragraphs.
Ø Each heading and subheading must have at least two parts.
Ø Use either brief phrases or complete sentences. Do not use both in one essay.

Types of Outlines

1. Topic outline—the headings are given in single words or brief phrases.

2. Sentence outline– all headings are expressed in complete sentences.

Note: The use of roman numerals, capital letters, numbers and lowercase
letters will vary depending on the length of the section or paragraph.

Disclaimer: This Learning Activity Sheet (LAS) is based from the Self-Learning Modules, Learner’s Materials, Textbooks and Teaching Guides
released by DepEd Central Office. Furthermore, utilization of duly acknowledged external resources is purely of non-profit, for educational
use and constitutes fair use. All Rights Reserved.
5
Disclaimer: This Learning Activity Sheet (LAS) is based from the Self-Learning Modules, Learner’s Materials, Textbooks and Teaching Guides
released by DepEd Central Office. Furthermore, utilization of duly acknowledged external resources is purely of non-profit, for educational
use and constitutes fair use. All Rights Reserved.
6