11/12

English for Academic and

Professional Purposes
(EAPP)
Q1/Q3
Module 1: Differentiates
Language Used in Academic
Texts from Various
Disciplines

https://essaymin.com
 11/12

English for Academic and

Professional Purposes
(EAPP)
Q1/Q3
Module 1: Differentiates Language
Used in Academic Texts from
Various Disciplines
Jonnabelle P. Daug
Writer

Imelda C. Veradio Ida M. Ocao

Shiela B. Degrano Nancy Mae B. Omandam
Evaluators
 INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the world of Academic Writing! This module is written to

enhance each students‟ ability to write and communicate in various academic
and social contexts.
This aims to equip your abilities to explore the curriculum, to pursue
your interests, and ultimately to make the most of your educational experience.
This includes the following activities/tasks:
 Expected Learning Outcome - This lays out the learning outcome
that you are expected to have accomplished at the end of the
module.
 Pre-test - This determines your prior learning on the particular
lesson you are about to take.
 Discussion of the lesson - This provides you with the important
knowledge, principles and attitude that will help you meet the
expected learning outcome.
 Learning Activities - These provide you with the application of the
knowledge and principles you have gained from the lesson and
enable you to further enhance your skills as you carry out
prescribed tasks.
 Post-test - This evaluates your overall understanding about the
module.
With the different activities provided in this module, may you find this
material engaging and challenging as it develops your critical thinking skills.
 What I Need to Know

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

 Define academic language and discuss its importance
 Differentiate features of academic language used from
various disciplines (CS_EN11/12A-EAPP-Ia-c-2)
 Identify language used in academic texts

What I Know

A. To find out what you already know about the topic to be discussed in this
module, take the Pre-test. Write your answers in your notebook.
Enumerate the different features of academic text.
1. _____________
2. _____________
3. _____________
4. ____________

B. Write True if the statement is correct and False if not. Write your answers in
your notebook.
________ 1. Academic language should be explicit, formal and factual as well as
objective and analytical in nature.
________ 2. Academic language should sound complex and be difficult to write
and understand.
_______3. Academic writing should be clear and concise in order to
communicate its contents in the best way.

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________4. In English, contractions are used in informal settings and are
therefore not appropriate for academic texts.
________5. An academic text makes use of complex jargons to promote a higher
level of comprehension.
________6. Academic text uses words which tones up claims expressing
certainty.
________7. Academic text helps fill existing gaps between information.
________8. It is in academic text that issues are stated to provoke information
discussion.
C. Rewrite the following sentences, replacing the informal abbreviated form
with a more formal equivalent.
1. The radical restructuring of British politics after 1931 doesn‟t lie in the
events of 13-28 August, but in the changing attitudes within the National
Government.
2. This isn't easy to do since most historians persist in speaking of The
National Government as if the same sort of government ruled from 1931 to
1940.
3. The first National Government wasn't intended to be a coalition government
in the normal sense of the term.
4. These aren't at all original or exotic but are based on the ordinary things
that most people tend to eat.

What`s In
You have learned from your previous years about the structures of
academic text. Can you still remember them? Try doing the activity below.
Activity 1:
Using your own understanding, answer the following:
1. What is an academic text? (5pts)
2-6. What are the different examples of academic text? List down at least 5
examples.
7. What is non-academic text? (5pts)

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 What`s New

Read the two paragraphs below. Identify which of the paragraphs is more
formal. Then answer the following questions.
Paragraph 1
Marketing? Yes, well… marketing is, I guess, about someone trying to
…let me see…get people interested you know, in things they… oh yes, want
them to buy.
Paragraph 2
Marketing refers to communicating about a product or service. It has the
purpose of encouraging the recipients of the communication to purchase or use
the product or service.
Questions:
1. Which of the two paragraphs is more formal?

2. What characteristics of the paragraph lead you to give certain conclusion?

3. Is there any considerations to follow in writing a formal text? Why do you

say so?

4. What type of text are the above written paragraphs?

What Is It

What is an Academic Text?

Academic text is the process of breaking down ideas and using deductive
reasoning, formal voice and third person point-of-view. It is about what you
think and what evidence has contributed to that thinking.
Academic writing is generally quite formal, objective (impersonal), and
technical. It is formal by avoiding casual or conversational language, such as

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contractions or informal vocabulary. It is impersonal and objective by avoiding
direct reference to people or feelings, and instead emphasizing objects, facts
and ideas. It is technical by using vocabulary specific to the discipline.
There are four main types of academic writing. These are descriptive,
analytical, persuasive, and critical. Each of these types of writing has specific
language features and purposes.
FOUR MAIN TYPES OF ACADEMIC TEXTS
1. Descriptive
The simplest type of academic writing is descriptive. Its purpose is to
provide facts or information. An example would be a summary of an article or a
report of the results of an experiment.
The kind of instructions for a purely descriptive assignment include:
„identify‟, „report‟, „record‟, „summarize‟, and „define‟.
2. Analytical
It‟s rare for a university-level text to be purely descriptive. Most academic
writing is also analytical. Analytical writing includes descriptive writing, but
also requires you to re-organize the facts and information you describe into
categories, groups, parts, types or relationships.
Sometimes, these categories or relationships are already part of the
discipline, while in other cases you will create them specifically for your text. If
you‟re comparing two theories, you might break your comparison into several
parts, for example: how each theory deals with social context, how each theory
deals with language learning, and how each theory can be used in practice.
The kinds of instructions for an analytical assignment include: „analyze‟,
„compare‟, „contrast‟, „relate‟, and „examine‟.
3. Persuasive
In most academic writing, you are required to go at least one step further
than analytical writing, to persuasive writing. Persuasive writing has all the
features of analytical writing (that is, information plus re-organizing the
information), with the addition of your own point of view. Most essays are
persuasive, and there is a persuasive element in at least the discussion and
conclusion of a research article.
Points of view in academic writing can include an argument,
recommendation, interpretation of findings or evaluation of the work of others.
In persuasive writing, each claim you make needs to be supported by some
evidence, for example a reference to research findings or published sources.

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 The kinds of instructions for a persuasive assignment include: „argue‟,
„evaluate‟, „discuss‟, and „take a position‟.

4. Critical
Critical writing is common for research, postgraduate and advanced
undergraduate writing. It has all the features of persuasive writing, with the
added feature of at least one other point of view. While persuasive writing
requires you to have your own point of view on an issue or topic, critical writing
requires you to consider at least two points of view, including your own.
For example, you may explain a researcher‟s interpretation or argument
and then evaluate the merits of the argument, or give your own alternative
interpretation.
Examples of critical writing assignments include a critique of a journal
article, or a literature review that identifies the strengths and weaknesses of
existing research. The kinds of instructions for critical writing include:
„critique‟, „debate‟, „disagree‟, and „evaluate‟.

Academic Language: A Definition

 The language of the discipline that students need to learn and use to
participate and engage meaningful ways in the content area.
 The oral and written language used for academic purposes
 The means by which students develop and express content
understandings

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Features of Academic Language

Academic language has a unique set of rules: it should be explicit, formal

and factual as well as objective and analytical in nature. Students often think
that academic language should sound complex and be difficult to write and
understand but that is not necessarily the case. Instead, academic writing
should be clear and concise in order to communicate its contents in the best
way.

This module serves as an overview of the features of academic language

and the corresponding language skills that are required to understand and use
academic language. These guidelines are intended to help you have a clearer
understanding of the demands of academic writing and develop skills to
improve your academic writing in English.

1. Formal

Formal writing requires considerable effort to construct meaningful

sentences, paragraphs, and arguments that make the text easy to comprehend.
In general this means that conversational English should be avoided and facts
and figures should be presented in a clear manner. Academic texts should be
factual, concise and accurate. Choose words precisely and carefully so that the
reader can accurately understand the concepts within the text.

It is important to remember that academic texts are written with an

academic audience in mind and your writing style needs to conform to the
conventions of the field you are studying.

More on formal language

In order to achieve the appropriate level of formality, you should read

literature within your field. This will also help you learn and use subject-
specific terms. Correct use of terminology and language facilitates your
communication and heightens the credibility of your work.

Academic texts is relatively formal. In general, this means that you

should avoid the following:

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A. Contractions:

In English, contractions are used in informal settings and are therefore

not appropriate for academic texts. Instead of using a contraction you should
write out the words in their entirety. Here are a few examples:

Don’t – do not
Wasn’t – was not
Can’t – cannot (Observe that it is written in one word)
It’s – it is (Observe the difference between “it’s” (contraction of “it is”) and the
possessive “its” (as in “The dog wagged its tail”)

A. Acronyms and Abbreviations:

It is important to use acronyms and abbreviations properly in academic

writing so that your text is as clear as possible for the reader. You should only
use abbreviations when it makes the reading of your text easier. Another rule
of thumb is that the abbreviated term should appear at least three times in the
paper. If you use a term more rarely it might be better to spell it out. Words
that are commonly abbreviated such as “professor” (prof.) and “department”
(dept.) should be spelled out in academic texts. Note however that some
abbreviations may be used in citations and reference lists.

An acronym is a type of abbreviation that is formed by the first letter of

each word in a phrase or organization. UN and WHO are two examples of well-
known acronyms. When you introduce the acronym, you should always write
out the whole name or phrase followed by the acronym in parentheses. Once
you have introduced it, you may use the acronym in the rest of your text. For
example:

The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concern over the spread of
the virus. The WHO has therefore….

Latin abbreviations should not be used in the text itself but may be used
in parentheses or in notes and illustrations.

C. Two-word verbs
Avoid using two-word verbs such as put off, bring up, give up etc.
Instead of using two word verbs, use its equivalent single word verb to make it
formal.

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 Example:
Put off - postpone
Bring up - raise
Give up - surrender
D. Subheadings, numbering and bullet points
E. Asking questions
F. Colloquial words and expressions
In writing academic texts, we should have to avoid using colloquial words
and expressions such as stuff, a lot, thing, etc.

2. Analytical

In academic writing, the complexity of the subject matter is

acknowledged through critical analysis. This can be done through asking
questions and examining and evaluating evidence. Through critical analysis we
are able to add a new perspective to a subject instead of just rewriting what
has already been written.

Treating your topic and your material in an analytical manner should

seep through in your language. Part of being analytical in your writing is to
compare and contrast, evaluate and consider both sides of an issue. It also
means that you explain, give reasons, draw conclusions, make suggestions and
recommendations and support this with evidence.

3. Objective

Academic writing is based on research and not on the writer‟s own

opinion about a given topic. When you write objectively you are concerned
about facts and not influenced by personal feelings or biases. When presenting
an argument to the reader, try to show both sides if you can and avoid making
value judgments.

At the same time you will probably have to do an analysis or a discussion

and in that manner express an attitude. In order to convey attitude without
using for example “I think”, you may use words such as apparently, arguably,
ideally, strangely and unexpectedly. Note that the attitude you are expressing
should not be based on personal preferences but rather on the evidence that
you are presenting.

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To be objective means you consider the following:

A. Personal pronouns
In general, academic texts are impersonal in nature. This means that the
main emphasis should be on evidence and arguments and not based on
personal opinion and feelings. The use of personal pronouns such as “I”, “we”
and “you” should be avoided as much as possible.

Some types of academic writing encourage the use of personal pronouns.

For example, in reflective writing the use of the personal pronoun is accepted.

You should be aware that the use of personal pronouns may be different
between academic fields and that some disciplines do not accept it at all. Make
sure to check what is recommended, either by asking your instructor or by
reading other academic texts within your subject.

B. Active and passive voice

One way of avoiding the use of personal pronouns is to use the passive
voice.

Example:

I used a variety of techniques to analyze my material. (Here the “I” is the

subject performing the action).

A variety of techniques were used to analyze the material. (This sentence

is impersonal and the action is performed upon the subject, “A variety of
techniques”, by an unnamed agent. The choice of “the” instead of “my” also
serves to make the sentence more objective).

Use of the passive voice can be somewhat heavy and sometimes

imprecise. Nowadays, many writers avoid an excessive use of the passive voice.
A way of writing objectively and still use the active voice is to use your material,
your text or your research as the active agent.

Examples:

As this thesis will show….

The research reveals that….

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4. Explicit

Academic writing is explicit in several ways. First and foremost, it means

that there is a clear presentation of ideas in the paper. The text should have a
well-organized structure and be easy for the reader to follow. One way to
accomplish clarity and structure in your text is through the use of signposts.
Signposts are words and phrases that you can use in your text in order to
guide the reader along.

Signposting can be divided into two different categories: major

signposting and linking words and phrases.

A. Major signposting is used to signal key aspects of the work, such as the
purpose of an academic paper and its structure. Some examples of major
signposting:

The aim of this study is to …

This chapter reviews/deals with …
In conclusion …

B. Linking words and phrases create coherence and give the reader directions
by marking transitions between sentences and paragraphs. Some examples of
linking words and phrases:

However, …
Firstly, ... . Secondly, ...
For example …
… because …

Being explicit in your writing also means that you are not vague but
rather very specific in the presentation of ideas, numbers and years. Being
specific helps add precision to your writing.

Common pitfalls for non-native writers – and how to avoid them

If English is not your first language you may encounter certain

difficulties when writing academically. This section deals with some of the most
common pitfalls. If you learn what your problems are it becomes easier to avoid
them and thereby become a better writer.

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Words that are easily confused

Some words may look very similar but have very different meanings. For
example you might write “manger” instead of “manager”. Note that this kind of
mistake is not discovered by the spellchecking function of your word processor.
In order to avoid these types of mistakes it is recommended that you consult a
dictionary.

5. Punctuation

It is important to be aware that writing correct English is not just about

using the right words but also includes sentence structure and punctuation.
The use of punctuation differs between languages; an example is the upside-
down question mark at the beginning of interrogative sentences in Spanish.
But there are also smaller differences such as the use of commas and the way
quotation marks look.

You may use punctuation and with that, sentence length, to create
variation in your writing. If all your sentences are very short or very long the
reading becomes somewhat tedious.

Example:

The research has led to many results. One result is described here.

These two short sentences could be combined into:

The research has led to many results, one of which is described here.

However, be careful so that you do not create run-on sentences. These

occur when two independent clauses are joined without proper punctuation or
connecting word.

Example:

The research has led to many results one result is described here.

Sentence fragments

A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence and therefore it cannot

stand on its own. A complete sentence has a subject and a verb and consists of
one thought.

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These are examples of sentence fragments:

So he went to see the doctor. (Why did he go to see the doctor?)

Such as fruit and vegetables. (What are fruit and vegetables examples of?)

In 1918. (What happened in 1918?)

Shattered glass all over the floor. (This is a fragment because there is no main
verb)

Sentence fragments may be fixed by incorporating them into the

sentence that holds the main clause, changing the punctuation or by extending
the fragment into a full sentence.

Peter had a sore throat so he went to see the doctor.

Children should eat healthy food, such as fruit and vegetables.

World War I ended in 1918.

Glass was shattered all over the floor

Exercises 1
Now try making these more academic. Focus on the words that are
underlined and change these words into more formal words.
1. This test isn‟t good enough.
2. The result were a lot better than I originally thought.
3. The methodological problem is a tough nut to crack.
4. We want to sort out how old geezers get along with teenagers.
5. I have a hunch that bosses are to blame for the company‟s trouble.

What`s More

Below is an example of an academic text. Observe how the language is

used in the text. Then try to analyze the next two paragraphs.

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 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can generate a positive reputation
for a company leading to possibly more sales and growth. According to Jones et
al (2019), a corporation that invests in the environmental and ethical
approaches of CSR will demonstrate to the public and the media that they are
a responsible company. Watson (2018) provides evidence that this improves
consumer sales as customers tend to support ethical green business practice
thus improving profitability and encouraging growth. For example, a yoghurt
company called Yeo Valley has been investing in making its products organic,
creating fully recyclable packaging and reducing its CO2 output. As a result,
profits, have doubled within the last two years providing the company with a
range of opportunities to expand (Peterson, 2019). Overall, the evidence seems
to suggest that investing in CSR can improve brand image and productivity.
Exercises 2
Now let us try to evaluate again this paragraph. Rewrite this paragraph
to make it more formal, considering the features discussed.
Marketing? Yes, well… marketing is, I guess, it is uhm…it is about
someone trying to …let me see…get people interested you know, in things
they… oh yes, want them to buy,.I guess..
How about the next paragraph? Try revising it by making it more objective.
We don't really know what language proficiency is but many people have
talked about it for a long time. Some researchers have tried to find ways for us
to make teaching and testing more communicative because that is how
language works. I think that language is something we use for communicating,
not an object for us to study and we remember that when we teach and test it.

What I Have Learned

I learned that :
 Academic language has a unique set of rules: it should be explicit, formal
and factual as well as objective and analytical in nature.
 Formal writing requires considerable effort to construct meaningful
sentences, paragraphs, and arguments that make the text easy to
comprehend. Correct use of terminology and language facilitates your
communication and heightens the credibility of your work. Academic texts
is relatively formal. In general, this means that you should avoid the

14
 following: contractions, acronyms and abbreviations, two-word verbs,
Subheadings, numbering and bullet points, asking questions, colloquial
words and expressions.
 Analytical where the complexity of the subject matter is acknowledged
through critical analysis.
 Objective where your writing is based on research and not on the writer‟s
own opinion about a given topic. To be objective means you consider the
following: Avoiding Personal pronouns, and the use of passive voice in a
sentence.
 Explicit which means that there is a clear presentation of ideas in the
paper.One way to accomplish clarity and structure in your text is through
the use of signposts.Signposts are words and phrases that you can use in
your text in order to guide the reader along. Signposting can be divided into
two different categories: major signposting and linking words and
phrases.
 Punctuation. Use of punctuation differs between languages; an example
is the upside-down question mark at the beginning of interrogative
sentences in Spanish.

What I Can Do
Activity 1

Examine the following texts and identify any significant features.

Compare and contrast these paragraphs. What kind of text does the extract
come from and how does the language differ between the texts?

1. This paper examines interaction in written text through the interplay

between the notions of text averral and attribution (Sinclair, 1988). Text
averral is evidenced in the unmarked parts of the text, where the utterances
are assumed to be attributed to the author. Attribution, the counterpart of
text averral, is the marked case where the sources of authority are clearly
signalled.
It is hoped that this study will and to our knowledge about the
characteristics of different types of text, and illuminate the way for students
who find themselves lost amidst the echoes of the multiple voices they hear
within the same text.

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 Text averral and attribution are basic notions for the organization of
interaction in written text. The assumption is made that the author of a
non-fictional artefact (Sinclair, 1986) avers every statement in his or her text
so long as he/she does not attribute these statements to another source-
whether that source is other or self. Averral is manifested in various ways in
the text- negatively, through absence of attribution, and positively, through
commenting, evaluating or metastructuring of the discourse. Attribution, on
the other hand, is signalled in the text by a number of devices of which
reporting is an obvious one.

2.
PO Box 1452
Almeira
Spain

14th April 2003

Dear John,
How are you? Everything here‟s fine. I‟m very happy at the moment
because my football team won last week. I went to the match with my
brother Fernando, and we both enjoyed it very much. The score was 6-1.
Well, that‟s a little bit of recent news from Almeira. Now, here‟s the most
important thing in this letter:
What are you doing in September? I‟m on holiday then, and I‟d like to
invite you to come to Almeira for a month. The weather is usually very good
in September (it‟s not too hot!). We could go swimming and I could show you
something of Spain.
I hope you can come. My family and I think it‟s a great idea, and we all
want to meet you.
That‟s all for now.
Best wishes to you and your family.

Missing you,
Almeira

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Activity 2
Rewrite the following text using an objective style of writing.
I want to argue that all children in Australia have the right to be
educated in their mother tongue. I expect that many children in the past spent
months or years in school but did not understand the lessons. I am convinced
that many migrant children are failing in our education system because we do
not have bilingual education programmes. If we look at the U.N. report on
language and education, we can discover that children who become literate in
their own language have the greatest chance of educational success. People
have been discussing the latest figures on university entrance recently and you
can tell
that migrant children do less well than “Anglo” children at present. I suspect
that this is because they have difficulty with English and I would claim that the
government has done too little to help these children. Surely the best way to
achieve this in Australia is for the State governments to set up bilingual
education programmes for all migrant children. I would suggest that this is the
number one important issue for multicultural Australia.

Assessment
Activity 1
Rewrite the following sentences by replacing the informal abbreviated
form with a more formal equivalent.
1. The students of today‟s generation aren‟t afraid of failing.
2. This isn‟t the result the group was expecting.
3. The editor couldn‟t access the file you sent.
4. These acts aren‟t example of being a good student.

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Activity 2
Replace the underlined informal two-word verb with a more formal
equivalent suited to the following sentences. Choose from the pool of words
below the single verb form suited to the two-word verb in each item.
Eliminate save return absorb produce

1. Dieters often feel that they should totally get rid of high-fat and high-sugar
foods.
2. The court thinks that it is just and equitable to give back the property.
3. The English liked coal fires even though they do not always give off much
heat.
4. My high-school friend enrolled for three years with the army so he could put
away enough money to go to university and study law.
Activity 3
Compare the two sentences. Identify which sentence observes objectivity.
Put a check mark (√) on the blanks before the sentence. Write your answer on
your notebook.
_________ In my opinion, this is a very interesting study.
_________ This is a very interesting study.
_________ It is easy to forget how different life was 50 years ago.
_________ You can easily forget how difficult life was 50 years ago.

Activity 4
Read and answer the following questions. Explain your answer briefly.
(2pts each)
1. When can we say that the language used in academic text is formal?
2. Differentiate the features of academic language.
3. Explain objectivity in writing academic text.

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References:

“Academic Writing Enhance Communication. ” Digital Image. Accessed July 01,

2020. https://essaymin.com/blog/academic-writing-enhance-
communication-skills/
Linnaues University. ”Features of Academic Writing”.
https://lnu.se/en/library/Writing-and-referencing/academic-language
Pabillar, A.(n.d.). ”Nature of Academic Texts”.
https://www.slideshare.net/AngelicaPabillar/nature-of-academic-
texts?from_m_apps=ios
The University of Sydney.” Academic Writing”. Last updated October 03,
2019. Retrieved from
https://www.sydney.edu.au/students/writing/types-of-academic-
writing.html
University of Technology Sydney.(n.d.).”Formal and Informal Language”.
https://www.uts.edu.au/sites/default/files/HELPS%20Formal%20and%2
0Informal%20Language.pdf
“Writing exercises for language feature in academic text”.
http://www.uefap.com/writing/exercises/feature/styleex3.htm

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