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English for Academic and Professional Purposes: Reader

English for Academic and Professional Purposes aims to teach students to communicate effectively in diverse academic and professional situations.

English for Academic and Professional Purposes Objective:

  1. Appreciate the role of language in communication
  2. Know the meaning of words used in context, as well as the central ideas contained in each of the selection
  3. Paraphrase or express ideas contained in the original text in their own words
  4. Develop competencies in writing a reaction paper, a review, and a critique
  5. Develop competencies in writing a concept paper and a position paper

Curriculum Information:

Education TypeK to 12
Grade LevelGrade 11, Grade 12
Learning AreaEnglish for Academic and Professional Purposes
Content/TopicReading Academic Texts Writing the Reaction Paper/Review/ Critique Writing Concept Paper Writing the Position Paper Writing the Report Survey/ Field Report Laboratory/ Scientific Technical Report
Intended UsersLearners

English for Academic and Professional Purposes: Reader

DOWNLOAD: English for Academic and Professional Purposes: Reader

The course English for Academic and Professional Purposes aims to teach the students to communicate effectively in diverse academic and professional situations.

The course content covers five major headings: (1) Reading Academic Texts, (2) Writing the Reaction Paper/ Review/ Critique, (3) Writing the Concept Paper, (4) Writing the Position Paper and, (5) Writing the Survey/ Field/ Laboratory/ Scientific/ Technical Report.

This Reader contains selections that will help develop the learner’s competencies in these five areas, each of which corresponds to one chapter in this anthology.

An understanding of how language works will help the students appreciate the role of language in communication. For this reason, Chapter 1 begins with the article “From Hand to Mouth,” explaining how communication developed from manual gestures to oral languages. This is followed by “A Brief History of English” which talks about the development of the English language and explains how and why this language has changed and continues to change. [Note: British and American spellings are both found in the reader. The compilers opted to retain the versions in the original texts.]

The next set of articles would develop the student’s reading skills, to be able to understand these texts well; the students should be able to know the meaning of words as used in context, as well as the central ideas contained in each of the selection. Moreover, the student should be able to paraphrase or express the ideas contained in the original text in their own words, synthesize or render long texts in shorter forms such as long precis, an abstract, or a summary. The teacher will guide the learner in unlocking the structure of texts so as to differentiate between main ideas and subordinate ideas.

“Understanding Calories” gives basic information about calories as a measurement of energy. Readers will find interesting information on a popular product in “Wrigley’s Chewing Gum.” “The Golden Age of Comics” briefly discusses a specific period in the history of comic books. “Competition and Cooperation” briefly explains the interrelation between the two concepts. “On Various Kinds of Thinking” is a classic works on human thought. Five texts -“From the Autopsy Surgeon’s Report” “Legal Indictment,” “Local Girl Found Slain by Rejected Lovers,” “The Sob Sister’s Story,” and “Porphyria’s Lover ” – render the same narrative in different genres or text types. Likewise “Quiapo; the Procession of the Black Nazarene” and “Black Nazarene Procession Awes American Tourist” deal with the same subject which is the feast of the Black Nazarene.

Chapter 2 aims to develop competencies in writing a reaction paper, a review and a critique, specific competencies include: forming opinions based on facts, citing sources and evidence to support claims, using various critical approaches in critiquing text, writing an objective review or critique.

“Art” critiques Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica” as a visual argument. Pervading values leading towards a worldview are critically examined in “Four Values in Filipino Drama and Film.”

Factors such as income, race, education, household type, and geographical location seem to create a gap between those who have access to the Internet and Information Technology and those who don’t as explained in “The Digital Divide.” “Ang Bayan Muna Bago ang Sarili” challenges the Filipino to prioritize the nation’s welfare above everything in order to build a new nation that is far from corruption. “Why JFK’s Inaugural Succeeded” examines possible reasons for electing this American president. It is worth taking a record look at “President John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address (January 20, 1961),” to find out why it has been so often quoted and alluded to. “Dead Water,” takes the form of a poem and uses literary language to comment on an environmental issue. To illustrate varying perspectives in critiquing the same subject, four reviews are presented: “Epic Review Shows How the Revolution Assassinated ‘Heneral Luna,” “Movie Review: Heneral Luna,” “Review: ‘Heneral Luna’ shows Human side of Hero,” and ‘’Heneral Luna: Film Review.”

Chapter 3 focuses on the writing of concept papers in the discipline. The various ways of defining, explaining, and clarifying concepts in the different fields such as art and business, are presented in this section.

The etymology of a Tagalog word that entered the English dictionary is explained in the short selection “Boondocks.” The origin of the names of the twelve months is shown in “Months of the year.” A similar article explains the origin of the names of the “Days of the week”. An information and delightful account of how catsup came to be is contained in the selection “Ketchup.” “Mercury Pollution” explains how this toxic substance gets to pollute the environment and reaches the food chain. Scientific studies enabled researchers to discover information on the role of “Hormones in the Body.” “Paleolithic Art” summarizes different theories and views about cave paintings. “Words to the Intellectuals” addresses its message to “the artist or intellectual who does not have a revolutionary attitude towards life but who is, however an honest person.” “Why Sinigang?” explains that this dish best represents the Filipino taste and identity. “The Sentiments of Kundiman” goes back to the history of this music form as it provides a comprehensive explanation of this musical genre. The Philippines’ official martial art and sport is discussed in “Our Very Own Arnis.” “Fusion vs Fission” discusses an alternative source of energy as vast as that of the sun, and without the radioactive dangers of nuclear fission. Society’s relationship with things is increasingly becoming more temporary because of a “throw-away mentality” as discussed in “Things: The Throw Away Society.”

Articles on current concerns comprise Chapter 4, the content of which is the position paper. Competencies to be developed include presenting and analyzing arguments, defending a stand through presentation of arguments supported by evidences, and writing various types of reports.

“The Case for Short Words” argues for short words as being more powerful than long ones. Four kinds of double speech are presented and explained in “Doubts about Doublespeak.” While e-mail appears to facilitate communication, it also has its negative aspects as discussed in “The Other Side of E-mail.” The article “Women Talk Too Much” argues that several factors like the social context, the type of talk and confidence of the speakers determine whether it is men or women who talk the most. How young people use the English language in electronic communication is the subject of “r u online?” The answers of BBC online, from readers are given in the article “Is Bad Language Unacceptable on TV?” when they are asked this question. The distinction between good and bad English is oftentimes a matter of “prejudice and conditioning” as explained in the article “Good English and Bad.” “With These Words, I Can Sell You Anything” examines some of the most frequently used words in advertising. “The Great Global Warming Swindle” takes a hard look at AI Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth.” The need for “a cheap, clean source of energy” to change the world is discussed in “More Energy.” “The adverse effect of industrial agriculture is explained in “The Hazards of Industrial Agriculture.” Gandhi’s historic parts are the subject of the article “Mahatma Gandhi’s Hunger Strikes.” The speech “I Have a Dream” is a famous battle cry for freedom, justice, and equality. The article “How to Detect Propaganda” is as relevant today as when it came out nearly eight decades ago.

Writing different types of respects for the various disciplines is the focus of Chapter 5. Reports are a common requirement in academic and professional settings. Students submit laboratory reports containing results of experiments they performed. Various government officer and agencies periodically submit progress and performance reports to access the delivery of services to the people and to plan for their future action. Business establishments and private corporations ask for field reports and survey reports to monitor their level of acceptance among their target clientele. Competencies that must be developed include designing tests, conducting surveys, gathering and disseminating information from surveys, experiments or observations, summarizing findings on written and graphic texts.

“Fast – Food Addiction” explains the reasons for the increasing obesity among Americans. “Nonverbal Behavior: Culture, Gender, and the Media” addresses body – language aspects of communication. A sample survey report is shown in “Philippines 2013 International Religion Freedom Report.” Finally, “Guidelines for a Physics Lab report” presents a sample format for a report on a laboratory experiment.

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Mark Anthony Llego

Mark Anthony Llego, from the Philippines, has significantly influenced the teaching profession by enabling thousands of teachers nationwide to access essential information and exchange ideas. His contributions have enhanced their instructional and supervisory abilities. Moreover, his articles on teaching have reached international audiences and have been featured on highly regarded educational websites in the United States.

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