Learning Activity Sheets (LAS)

ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND

PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES
Quarter 3 - Week 1

DIFFERENTIATING LANGUAGE USED IN ACADEMIC

TEXTS FROM VARIOUS DISCIPLINES

REGION VI -WESTERN VISAYAS

 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION VI – WESTERN VISAYAS
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF ESCALANTE CITY

Learning Activity Sheets (LAS) Number 1

Name of Learner: ____________________________________________________

Grade and Section: _________________________ Date: __________________

ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES 11 ACTIVITY

SHEET
DIFFERENTIATING LANGUAGE USED IN ACADEMIC TEXTS FROM VARIOUS
DISCIPLINES

I. Differentiates language used in academic texts from various

disciplines.

II. Background information for learners

What is an Academic Language?

Academic language represents the language demands of school (academics).

Academic language includes language used in textbooks, in classrooms, on tests, and
in each discipline. It is different in vocabulary and structure from the everyday spoken
English of social interactions. Each type of communication (both academic and social)
has its purpose, and neither is superior to the other.

Academic writing is generally quite formal, objective (impersonal) and technical

as illustrated in the diagram below.

Objective
- avoid personal or
direct reference to
people or feelings
Formal Technical
- avoid casual or - use vocabulary
conversational such specific to the
as contractions and discipline
informal vocabulary

Academic
Language

1|EAPP – Week 1
 It is formal by avoiding casual or conversational language, such as
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.
Furthermore, you can make your writing more formal, objective, and
technical by following examples below.

Formal Objective Technical

Choose formal instead of informal Move information around in the You need to develop a large
vocabulary. For sentence to emphasize things and vocabulary for the concepts
example, ‘somewhat’ is more ideas, instead of people and feelings. specific to the discipline or
formal than ‘a bit’, ‘insufficient’ is For example, instead of writing ‘I specialization you are writing for.
more formal than ‘not enough’. believe the model is valid, based on To do this, take note of
these findings’, write ‘These findings terminology used by your lecturer
indicate that the model is valid’. and tutor, as well as in your
readings.

Avoid contractions. For example, Avoid evaluative words that are based Be careful about the meaning of
use ‘did not’ rather than ‘didn’t’. on non-technical judgments and technical terms. Often the same
feelings. For example, use ‘valid’ or ‘did word has a different meaning in
not demonstrate’ instead of another discipline. For example,
‘amazing’ or ‘disappointment’. ‘discourse’ is a technical term used
in multiple disciplines with different
meanings.

Avoid emotional language. For Avoid intense or emotional evaluative Use the key categories and
example, instead of strong words language. For example, instead of relationships in your discipline, that
such as ‘wonderful’ or ‘terrible’, writing ‘Parents who smoke are is, the way information and ideas
use more moderate words such obviously abusing their children’, are organized into groups.
as ‘helpful’ or ‘problematic’. write ‘Secondhand smoke has For example, in the discipline of
some harmful effects on children’s Law, law is separated into two
health’. types: common law and statute
law.

Instead of using absolute Show caution about your views or allow Knowing these distinctions will
positives and negatives, such as room for others to disagree. help you structure your writing and
‘proof’ or ‘wrong’, use more For example, instead of writing make it more technical and
cautious evaluations, such as ‘I think secondhand smoke causes analytical.
‘strong evidence’ or ‘less cancer’, write ‘There is evidence to
convincing’. support the possibility that secondhand
smoke increases the risk of cancer’.

Find authoritative sources, such as

authors, researchers and theorists in
books or articles, who support your
point of view, and refer to them in
your writing. For example, instead of
writing
‘Language is, in my view, clearly
something social’, write ‘As Halliday
(1973) argues, language is
intrinsically social’.

2|EAPP – Week 1
 III. Accompanying DepEd Textbooks and Educational Sites
• Abellanosa,N.M., & Achacoso,E.L. (2020) English for Academic and
Professional Purposes Alternative Delivery Mode Quarter 1 – Module
1:Reading and Writing Academic Texts

IV. Activity Proper

Activity 1. Directions: What do you think is the correct answer in the
following instances? Write your answer in your notebook.
1. Instead of the informal ‘I have read’, use (I think, The essay has)
2. The phrase ‘turn out to be’ is informal. Instead, use: (become, end up)
3. Instead of ‘paid for’, use (given, funded)
4. ‘Job’ is a little too informal. Instead write (role, gig)
5. Instead of ‘funny’ use (laughable, ironic)
6. Instead of ‘picked out’, use (selected, taken)
7. Rather than ‘stand for’ write (be, represent)
8. The term ‘music fans’ is informal. Instead, use (audience, goers)
9. As a substitute for ‘killing’, use (assassination, political murder)
10. Instead of ‘given off’, use (created, done)

Activity 2. Sentence Construction

Directions: Rewrite the given sentences below to make the writing formal, objective
or technical.
1. Some citizens nowadays don’t follow the health protocols of the city.
2. I think not wearing mask on public areas will increase your chances of getting
infected by the virus.
3. I used variety of techniques to prove his ideas wrong.
4. The veterinarian used thread to hold the body tissues together after the
surgery of my dog.
5. There is not enough evidence to prove the blind suspect.

Activity 3. Multiple Choice

Directions: Choose the word or statement that best answers the given question or
situation. Write the letter of the correct answer on your paper.

1. What is the best statement for these sentences?

As long as you know your tutor, you don't need to use a formal style of writing.
It's good to be friendly.
A. Some tutors like you to be formal but some don't mind as long
as you do the work.
B. You only need to be formal in exams, not regular coursework.
C. It is good to be friendly, but always remember to use formal
English when you write assignments.
D. Formal English is too old-fashioned these days.

3|EAPP – Week 1
 2. Which best describes contraction?
A. Improper and superfluous structure
B. Transition of one idea to another
C. When something is too narrow
D. A shortened form of a word

3. Which of the following sentences is correct?

A. However, the main reasons are time, money and cost.
B. However the main reasons, are time, money, and, cost.
C. However, the main reasons are time money and cost.
D. However, the main reasons, are time money, and cost.

4. Which among the given statements below is correct?

A. They were effected badly by the incident.
B. The incident effected them badly.
C. They were affected badly by the incident.
D. The affects of the incident were bad.

5. Choose the one with the correct sentence construction.

A. It's bowl's empty.
B. Its bowl's empty.
C. Its' bowls' empty.
D. It's bowls empty.

6. What is your judgment on the statements below?

'Information on the internet is 'free'. Anyone can use it without having to
reference it.'
A. True
B. False
C. It depends on how important the assignment is.
D. You only need to reference authors' work on the internet

7. What is an academic language?

A. It is a set of vocabulary terms used in schools
B. It comes as second nature to native speakers, but is difficult for
ELLs to acquire
C. It is the linguistic register that students are expected to use in
school subjects
D. All of the above

8. When do you use formal language?

A. In an academic essay
B. When you talk to a friend
C. When you write a text message
D. In sending emails

9. What does it mean to write academically?

4|EAPP – Week 1
 A. To write in order to pass final exams
B. To write paper for scholars
C. To write using proper English language
D. To avoid copy pasting from the Internet

10. The term, "VERY OFTEN" may be improved using a more appropriate
academic word which is:
A. Frequently
B. Rarely
C. Seriously
D. Stubbornly

V. Reflection

To be a good academic writer, I need to learn the specific styles and

structures for my own discipline, as well as for each individual writing task.
Some ways to do this are to:
• Ask for more information from your lecturer or teacher,

• Study the writing style of the academic articles in the most

prestigious journals in your discipline,

• Look at the successful writing by other students in your subject

area,

• Different disciplines often have quite different expectations about

how objective or subjective my writing can be. For example, in
some fields it is fine to use first person, such as 'my view is that...',
while in other fields this is not acceptable. I should look at the
convention used in published articles in my discipline area.

VI. Answer Key

5|EAPP – Week 1
 6|EAPP – Week 1
Subject Head, SHS-Language
MARJOE N. BERING
Reviewed by:
Escalante National High School
GIFT A. RIVERA
Prepared by:
Activity 1.
1. The essay has
2. Become
3. Funded
4. Role
5. Ironic
6. Selected
7. Represent
8. Audience
9. Assassination
10. Created
Activity 2. You can have similar answers to these:
1. Some citizens nowadays do not follow the health protocols of the
city.
2. There is a scientific evidence that not wearing mask on public
areas will increase your chances of getting infected by the virus.
3. A variety of techniques were used to prove his ideas less
convincing.
4. The veterinarian used sutures to hold the body tissues together
after the surgery of my dog.
5. There is insufficient evidence to prove the visually impaired
suspect.
Activity 3.
1. C
2. D
3. A
4. C
5. B
6. FALSE
7. D
8. A
9. B
10. A