English for

Academic and
Professional
Purposes

Prepared by:
Ms. Shaira G. Salarda
 Context Clues
– are the words or sentences surrounding the unfamiliar
word that give hints on its meaning.
Ex. Carbohydrates such as pasta, bread , and rice may
contribute to weight gain.
This sentence gives examples of carbohydrates, we can
derive that carbohydrates are food that contain starch.
Synonym or Definition Clues
– the meaning of unfamiliar word is given in the
sentence if a similar is also used to make the
meaning clearer.
– Signal words for synonym clues are or, in other
words, that is, by this we mean, that is to say,
and also known as.
 Synonym or Definition Clues
Example:
Caught in an epiphany, that is, a sudden strong, and
clear realization, I suddenly knew how to solve my
dilemma.

The word epiphany is defined as “a sudden strong, and

clear realization” with the signal word that is as a hint.
Antonym or Contrast Clues

– the meaning of an unfamiliar word is given in the

sentence if an opposite word is used to suggest
the meaning.
– Signal words for antonym clues are but, however,
on the other hand, nevertheless, yet, and in
contrast.
 Antonym or Contrast Clues
Example:
Jogging long distance exacerbates the pain in my feet. However,
soaking my feet in warm water after jogging feels relaxing and
soothing.

The second sentences gives you a clue that word exacerbate must
mean “to aggravate” or “increase the pain” because the signal
however, which signifies the opposite.
Prefixes
– Pre means “before” and I means “to attach”
– means “ to attach before the word”
Negative Words Words That Tell Words That
Location Connote Numbers

unhappy, nonfat , subterranean, monolingual,

incorrect, international, bicycle,
disappeared transatlantic multifaceted,
decagon
 Suffixes
– Usually change a word from one form or part of speech
(e.g., noun, verb, and adjective)
Example:
The word memory is a noun.
Change the word into memorable to make it as an adjective.
Change the word into memorized to make it as a verb.
 Denotation and Connotation

Denotation are referring to the real meaning of a word

Connotation are referring to the implied meaning of the word.
Example:
The denotative meaning of Snake is “cold, scaly reptile”
however, its connotative meaning is “betrayal, evil, or danger”
 Authors Purpose: Persuasive, Informative, or
Three-Way Match Expressive
Title of Printed Text Intended Audience Purpose

1. My First ABC’s a. Babies B, Informative

2. The PH Times (newspaper) b. Toddlers

C, Informative

3. Advance (magazine) c. Stand-by/ street vendors

D, Expressive

4. Deceptive Heart (Fiction) d. Flight passengers

G, Expressive

5. Chew, Baby!, Chew! e. Animal Enthusiasts A, Persuasive

6. Dogs are Better than Cats f. Students

E, Expressive

7. Chemistry 101 g. Teenagers

F, Informative
 Purpose: To PURSUADE!

– The authors main goal is to convince you.

– An author may use a lot of factual information as tools to
persuade the reader, but the main goal is really to persuade
and not just to inform reader.
– There are two main goals in convincing a person.
These are to make you change your mind on something or to
make you do a certain action.
You must be convincing
enough in order to
persuade people to
either change their
minds or make them do
something
 Purpose: To INFORM!

– Informative tests, unlike persuasive texts, aim to give

information only, but not necessarily to convince the
reader to believe or to do something.
– Writing informative texts requires a lot of research.
– The authors must check if the sources of the information
are valid and reliable
– Websites ending in .edu, .org are more reliable especially if
the educational institution (e.g., college, university) or the
organization is reputable.
– Avoid using information on wikis because anyone can edit the
information there and the sources used in their reference list
were not cross-checked.
– They may be good source of knowledge, but you should not
used them as references.
 Always use
legitimate Web
sites references in
your academic
papers.
 Purpose: To EXPRESS!
– These are texts that are sometimes more creative in nature, and
the gial of the author could be to engage the readers emotions
such as joy, anger, and frustrations.
– Expressive texts may have more opinions than facts.
– One less-known form of an expressive text is satire.
– It is form of writing that uses humor to scorn and expose follies of
a person, an organization, or politics in a government.
 The Author’s Intended Audience

Usually a text written for public consumptions, such as

newspapers, has a general audience in mind.
First, ask about the gender for whom the text is written.
Some texts are gender sensitive – the authors main goal is
to reach a specific gender (e.g., females, males,
homosexual)
For example, there are blogs articles written most
especially for women and their empowerment.

On the other hand, there are also online articles for males
encouraging them to “man up” and live responsible lives
especially in the areas of finance, career, family, etc.

And there are also articles written most especially for the
gay community that discuss their rights and issues.
Other aspects of audience classifications can also be by age
level. Some texts are written for young children, some for
teenagers, and some for adults.

In academe textbooks are classified according to grade

level.

There are also some texts that cater to people in a

particular social position or status.
Learn to consider
your audience
profile
 The Author’s tone and Point of view

– The tone is the authors attitude toward the topic or issue.

– Do not misinterpret the tone (such as sarcasm), or you will
also misinterpret the message.
– The reader can tell whether the author has a positive,
negative, or neutral point of view at a certain things or
issue based on the tone of the authors choice of words.
 Tone in writing can
also affect your
audience. Be careful
on how you deliver
your message even
in writing.
Delighted Asked
Refused Rejoiced
Remarked
Agreed Yelled
Declined Wondered
Tell valued Retorted
Agonized relayed
Read the paragraph below. Then answer the questions that
follow:
Engineer Eladio was awed at the project proposal Remy
presented. He agreed to look at the budget and make
necessary cost-cutting measures to accommodate the new
process that has been suggested. Rod, the budget secretary,
however, refused to make adjustments on the original
figures. He insisted that the proposed project will not give
the company a good return in the long run.
Answer the following questions:
1. What words convey a positive tone? Underline them
2. What words relay a negative tone? Encircle them
3. What words are neutral? Place a star on them

You should be able to find at least three positive words,

three negative words, and two neutral words in the
paragraph.
Your choice of words
reflects your tone in
writing.
 Personal Experience
–One’s personal experiences can greatly affect
one’s point of view.
–Do you think your own experiences can affect
your writing?
 Cultural Exposures
–Your culture and knowledge on different cultures
can be reflected in your writing.
–In what ways can culture be reflected in
academic texts?
 An OPINION is
`
subjective. It is based
A FACT is objective. It is
not influenced by
on or influenced by
personal feelings or
personal beliefs or
judgements.
feelings.

An OPINION is not the

opposite of a fact. The
opposite of fact is incorrect
information.
 It is important that
you know how to
distinguish fact from
opinion in your daily
life.
Mark each with F if its fact, O if it is an
opinion, I if it is an incorrect information.
1.Benedict is a fashion model.
2.Benedict is a great, handsome fashion model.
3.Peter is in the tourism business.
4.Peter is very successful in the tourism business.
5.Lea is a singer.
Mark each with F if its fact, O if it is an
opinion, I if it is an incorrect information.
6. Lea is a wonderful singer.
7. The Mall of Asia in the Philippines is huge.
8. The Mall of Asia in the Philippines is located at the heart of
Makati City.
9. There are no restaurants in the Mall of Asia in the
Philippines.
10. There are restaurants in the Mall of Asia in the Philippines.
– If you marked numbers 1, 3, 5, 10 as factual
statements, then you are correct. These sentences do
not used words of judgement or opinions but plainly
state facts.
– Numbers 2, 4, 6, 7 are statements that contain
opinions because of the adjectives used such as the
word great, handsome, successful, and wonderful.
– Numbers 8 and 9 contain incorrect information.
An opinion contains
words of judgement
that reflect one’s
personal feelings.
It is important to
respect each
other’s opinion.
 Sound Reasoning
–It is used every day.
–We make decisions and judgements based on
sound reasoning, even in the most
insignificant thing we do for the day.
 Deductive reasoning
General statement to specific one.
For example, your prior knowledge tells you that
Muslims do not eat pork. If your boss is a Muslim. You
will not take him/her to a restaurants that offers lechon
because you know that eating pork is not allowed in his
faith.
 Deductive reasoning
You can present the statements in the following way:

Muslims do not eat pork.

My boss is a Muslim.
Therefore, he does not eat pork.
 Inductive reasoning
From specific to general.
For instance, because you are sick with influenza, you just stayed
home and didn’t go to school. You texted your classmate and asked
him to tell your teacher you are sick with the flu. Your classmate text
back and told you that he also has the flu. You logged in to your social
media account. You saw most people are complaining of getting sick
with the flu. From these instances, you concluded that there’s an
outbreak of the flu.
 Inductive reasoning
Your logical reasoning can be arranged like this:

I am sick with influenza.

My classmate is also sick with influenza.
Most of my friends in social media are complaining of getting sick with
influenza.
There is an influenza outbreak.
Fallacies in Reasoning
A fallacy in reasoning makes an argument false o unreliable. Here are few most
common fallacies in reasoning:

1. Bandwagon – this is a reasoning based on popularity rather than on scientific

evidence or facts. This gives one feeling of “you are the only one not doing (or
using) it, so why not join now?”
2. Hasty generalization – this is reaching a conclusion without enough pieces
of evidence or further studies, you should not use an isolated experience to
make general statement or judgement on something or someone. For example,
if you see a Chinese being disrespectful to an older person, you should not say,
“Chinese people are disrespectful to the elderly.”
Fallacies in Reasoning
3. Red Herring – this is a term that originated form the legend that criminals in
England during the 17th century would use a red herring (a fish) to confuse the
bloodhounds on the trail that pursue them. The bloodhounds would then veer
away in the opposite directions, which is away from the criminal was. A red
herring is an argument that distracts the opponent away form the real issue and
leads them to an irrelevant issue.