English for Academic

and Professional
Purposes
English for Academic and Professional
Purposes
• It is a course designed to help students develop the
necessary skills required for academic success.

• The course is intensive in nature and requires a lot of

work on the students’ part.

• Students focus on developing specific academic skills

such as note taking, academic writing and reading, and
individual presentations and group discussions.
What is Academic
Writing?
Defining Academic Writing

 Academic writing is clear, concise, focused, structured and backed

up by evidence.

 It has a formal tone and style, but it is not complex and does not
require the use of long sentences and complicated vocabulary.

 It is a process that starts with posing a question, problematizing a

concept, evaluating an opinion, and ends in answering that
question or questions posed, clarifying the problem, and/or
arguing for a stand.
Academic Writing is
01 02
Planned and focused structured
Is coherent, written in a logical order, and
Answers the question and brings together related points and
demonstrates an understanding of materials
the subject

03
Evidenced
Demonstrates knowledge of the
subject area, supports opinions
and arguments with evidence, and
is referenced accurately
04
Formal in tone and style
Uses appropriate language and
tenses, and is clear, concise and
balanced
 ELEMENTS
OF ACADEMIC
WRITING
01
TONE
• The tone of an academic piece of writing should be
professional and objective.

• You should avoid first or second person because

they are not objective perspectives; third person
forces you to work in facts, which is imperative in
academic writing. 
02
UNITY
• The argument presented should unify the writing
under a singular idea, and that idea acts as the
focus of the essay.

• While outside sources should be used, they should

work to advance the logical argument presented,
and they should be cited using a recognized style
system.
03
CITATIONS
• It is encouraged to use of others’
work to support an original argument,
but you must also give credit where
credit is due.

• APA, MLA, CMS, ACS

 04
ARGUMENTS DEVELOPED BY
EVIDENCE
• Academic writing requires the use of empirical
evidence to support an author’s claims.

• If a claim is not backed up by evidence, it can be

difficult to develop a cohesive argument. 
 05
ARGUMENTS DEVELOPED BY EVIDENCE
•   “To Kill a Mockingbird is a great work of
literature.”

• “To Kill a Mockingbird is a great work of literature

because it pits childhood innocence against
socially-constructed assumptions about race.” 
 06
TRUCTURE OF ARGUMENT
• Academic writing presupposes an exact order for elements in
a paper: an introduction, body, and conclusion.

• The intro being composed of broad and narrowing

statements, along with the thesis statement, and the
conclusion including a restatement of the thesis statement, a
review of evidence, and the all-important “So what?” that
explains the importance of your work.