READING READING AND WRITING SKILLS

UNIQUE FEATURES OF AND

REQUIREMENTS IN
COMPOSING TEXTS THAT
ARE USEFUL ACROSS
DISCIPLINE
Submitted by :
•Gatus, Elizabeth O.
•Prado, Eduardo jr. A.
 READING READING AND WRITING SKILLS

UNIQUE FEATURES OF
Book Review or
AND REQUIREMENTS
Article Critique
IN COMPOSING
Literature
TEXTS THAT ARE
Review
USEFUL ACROSS
Research Report
DISCIPLINE
Project
Proposals
Position Paper
0
1
Book Review or
Article Critique
WHAT IS BOOK REVIEW?

A book review or article review is a critical analysis of the

material that describes, summarizes, and critiques the ideas
presented. The purpose of a book or article review
assignment is to broaden your knowledge base and
understanding of a topic.
FEATURES
While book reviews vary in tone, subject, and style, they share some
common features. These include:

A review gives the reader a concise summary of the content. This includes a description
of the research topic and scope of analysis as well as an overview of the book's overall
perspective, argument, and purpose.
A review offers a critical assessment of the content in relation to other studies on the
same topic. This involves documenting your reactions to the work under review--what
strikes you as noteworthy or important, whether or not the arguments made by the
author(s) were effective or persuasive, and how the work enhanced your understanding of
the research problem under investigation.
In addition to analyzing a book's strengths and weaknesses, a scholarly review often
recommends whether or not readers would value the work for its authenticity and
overall quality. This measure of quality includes both the author's ideas and
arguments and covers practical issues, such as, readability and language,
organization and layout, indexing, and, if needed, the use of non-textual elements.
When writing a book review or article
critique, make sure to ask the
following:
What is the topic of the book or
article? What is its purpose?
Who are its intended readers?
Does the writer explicitly state
his/her thesis statement?
What theoretical assumptions (i.e., a scientific/logical explanation without evidence)
are mentioned in the book or article? Are they explicitly discuss?
What are the contributions of the book or article to the field (e.g., language,
psychology) it is situated in?
What problems and issues are discussed in the book or article?
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?
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
REQUIREMENTS

Read the article or book to be reviewed carefully to get its main

concept. Reread it to get the arguments being presented.
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.
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…”
Situate your review. This means that your analysis should be anchored
on the theories presented by the book or article writer.
Examine whether the findings are adequately supported or not.
Analyzed the type of analysis the writer use (e.g., quantitative,
qualitative, case study) and how its supports the arguments and
claims.
 REQUIREMENTS
Suggest some ways on how the writer can improve his/her reasoning or
explanation. 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.
Point out other conclusion or interpretations that the writer missed out. Present other
ideas that need to be examined.
Examine the connections between ideas and how they affect the conclusions and
findings. 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.
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.
02
Literature Review
WHAT IS LITERATURE REVIEW?
A literature review is a type of academic writing that provides an overview
of a specific topic. It 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.

As an advance form of academic writing, a literature review critically analyzes

the relationship among the scholarly works and the current work. It can be
written as a stand-alone paper or as part of a research paper explaining a
theoretical framework and related studies. Unlike an annotated bibliography
which presents a summary and synthesis (i.e., linking different sources).
Below are the differences among the sources.

Annotated Literatu
Bibliograp Book re
hy Revie Review
Summarizes the w Reviews a significant
references and explain
number of scholarly
how important they are Evaluates a book work to be identify
in addressing the Review
what is known and not
research questions
known about a topic
 FEATURES
This type of a review has the following
roles.

Justifies a research questions, method or theoretical and

conceptual framework
Establishes the relevant of the topic
Provides necessary information to better understand a specific
topic or study
Shows reviewers familiarity and mastery of the
topic Establishes a niche of the study
Resolves conflict among contradictory studies
 REQUIREMENTS
Writing a literature review is composed of three distinct parts --literature
search, evaluation and analysis of articles and writing the literature review

Literature Search
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.
Choose and focus on a topic that you will explain.
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?
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.
 REQUIREMENTS
Writing a literature review is composed of three distinct parts --literature
search, evaluation and analysis of articles and writing the literature review

Literature Search
Use relevant keywords when searching for scholarly documents or article.
For example, if your 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.
Always include landmark studies or papers (i.e., studies which had
remarkably changed the field) related to your topic.
Always evaluate the sources for coverage and currency. Include only
those article directly related to your topic.
 REQUIREMENTS
Writing a literature review is composed of three distinct parts --literature
search, evaluation and analysis of articles and writing the literature review

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 read 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.
 REQUIREMENTS
Writing a literature review is composed of three distinct parts --literature
search, evaluation and analysis of articles and writing the literature review

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.
State clearly your thesis or main argument and be guided by it
accordingly. If you say that no studies have been conducted on one
aspect of your topic, justify it.
Direct the readers to other related literature reviews that cover items 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.
Never treat a literature review as a series of annotated bibliography.
 REQUIREMENTS
Writing a literature review is composed of three distinct parts --literature
search, evaluation and analysis of articles and writing the literature review

Writing the Literature Review

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.
Use effective transitions to make your review easier to read and
understand. The body of the literature review can be organized
thematically, methodologically or chronologically.
Use direct quotations
sparingly. Classify important
definitions.
03
Research Report
WHAT IS RESEARCH REPORT?

A research report is 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. It is a
laborious work produced through formal
investigation and scientific inquiry.
FEATURES
So how do you recognize a research report when you see one? Here are
some of the basic features that define a research report.

It is a detailed presentation of research processes

and findings, and it usually includes tables and
graphs.
It is written in a formal language.
A research report is usually written in the third
person.
It is informative and based on first-hand verifiable
information. It is formally structured with headings,
sections, and bullet points.
It always includes recommendations for future actions.
 REQUIREMENTS
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.
 04
Project Proposal
WHAT IS RESEARCH
REPORT?

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.
 FEATURES
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.
 REQUIREMENTS
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
 REQUIREMENTS
in Preparing for a 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.
 REQUIREMENTS
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.
05

Position Paper
WHAT IS 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.
 Presenting the issue: Unless an issue is current, hotly debated, and well-
known to many readers, writers need to identify the issue as well as
explain it to readers. To present the issue, writers may provide several
kinds of information; for example, they might place it in a historical or
cultural context, cite specific examples to make the issue less abstract,
show their personal interest, or establish or redefine the terms of the
debate.
Asserting a clear, unequivocal position: Writers of position papers take
sides. Their primary purpose is to assert a position of their own and to
influence the readers’ thinking. This assertion is the main point of the
essay, its thesis. It tells the reader the writer’s position on an issue.
Usually it comes early in the essay, and frequently it forecasts the
stages of the argument as well, identifying the main reasons that will be
developed in the course of the essay.

FEATURES
Arguing directly for the position: Writers must provide reasons for their positions. They do this
with facts, statistics, examples and anecdotes, quotes from experts, and analogies. Facts are
statements that can be proven objectively to be true. Although statistics may be mistaken for
facts, they often are only interpretations or correlations of numerical data. Examples and
anecdotes, in contrast, tend not to make truth claims or pretend to apply to everyone. Instead
they present particular stories and vivid images that work by appealing to readers’ emotions.
Analogies are comparisons that encourage readers to assume that what is true about one thing is
also true about something to which it is compared.
Counter-arguing objections and opposing positions: Writers of position papers try to anticipate
likely objections and questions readers might raise as well as opposing positions. Writers
may then concede or refute this counterargument. If the counterargument is thoughtful and
reasonable, the writer will concede. If however the criticism is flawed or weak, a writer will
refute it by poking holes in the logic and support of the counterargument.
Establishing credibility: Readers judge the credibility of a position paper by the way it presents the
issue, argues for the position, and counter-argues objections and opposing positions. Readers
expect writers to advocate forcefully for their positions, but at the same time they expect writers
to avoid misrepresenting other points of view, attacking opponents personally, or manipulating
readers’ emotions. A writer establishes credibility by creating a bond of trust with readers; this
is accomplished by demonstrating shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and ideals.

FEATURES
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.

REQUIREMENTS
in Writing a Position Paper
READING READING AND WRITING SKILLS

END