Finals: Communication for Academic Purposes

INTRODUCTION:

Congratulations for finishing the midterm part! This time, you will work on
developing yourself academically. This lesson greatly affects your future in terms of
many aspects. Growing and developing academically is as important as your
professional facets. The skills you will be learning here will be big contributory to your
holistic being.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES: At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

• write and present academic papers using appropriate tone, style, conventions and
reference style;

• apply skills and techniques in analysing and producing academic paper/s;

• convey ideas through oral, audio-visual, and/or web-based presentations for different
target audiences in local and global settings using appropriate registers;

• adopt awareness of audience and context in presenting ideas.

TEACHER’S NOTE:
• Use this module for academic purposes only.
• This module should be answered independently.
• Maximize class schedule to study and accomplish given activities.
• Difficulties about the lesson should be addressed to the teacher properly.
• Follow given schedules and deadlines.
• Strictly observe and follow the Student Academic Integrity Policy.
• Submission of outputs will be through the Learning Management System, messenger, or
e-mail.

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 Lesson 3. Communication for Academic Purposes

ENGAGE. In this part, you will be introduced to the topic’s overview,

objectives, and guide questions. You are expected also to finish the pre-
assessment task. Start now!

❖ INTRODUCTION:
Your communication ability covers your reading and writing skills. Reading and writing comes
together as they are your receptive and productive skills. These two skills are complex, rigid, and crucial
in the academe.
In this chapter, you will learn to analyse texts and use your critical thinking skills to further
enhance your thinking processes in dealing with various academic writing. You will also apply the things
you gained by writing your own academic texts.

❖ STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES: At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
• write and present academic papers using appropriate tone, style, conventions and reference style;
• apply skills and techniques in analysing and producing academic paper/s;
• convey ideas through oral, audio-visual, and/or web-based presentations for different target
audiences in local and global settings using appropriate registers;
• adopt awareness of audience and context in presenting ideas.

❖ GUIDE QUESTIONS: Answer the following questions after this lesson.

• What is an academic paper?
• What skills and techniques are essential in reading and writing academic texts (e.g. research
proposal)?

❖ PRE-ASSESSMENT: Let us check how much you know about this topic. Answer the following by choosing
the correct and best answer. Write your answer on the space provided before each number.

______ 1. It is an essay that presents a writer’s position with input from research studies.
a. Explanation essay b. Research-based Argumentative Essay c. Blog
______ 2. Arrange the steps in writing a documented essay.
I. Doing Research IV. Finding the answers to the research question
II. Preparing to write the paper V. The outline
III. Creating the research question
a. III, IV, I, II and V b. I, III, II, V and IV c. II, I, III, IV and V
______ 3. It is the step where you must present a clear stand on a particular issue.
a. Doing Research
b. Creating the research question
c. Finding the answers to the research question
______ 4. The following are the three types of notes except for one.
a. The outline b. Paraphrases c. Summaries d. Direct quotations
______ 5. What is a thesis statement?
a. The research question
b. The main point
c. The documented essay

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 EXPLORE AND EXPLAIN. In this part, you are expected to study the given
contents then, proceed to answer the given learning activities and process
questions. Work it out!

ACTIVITY 1: KNOWING ABOUT ACADEMIC PAPERS/TEXTS. Study the discussion below. Answer the process
question/s afterwards.

Technical writing Literature/ Creative writing Academic/ Expository writing

Purpose To inform, to instruct, and To entertain and to To present one’s point of view or
to educate readers captivate personal research on a
particular topic
Audience Specific (e.g. workers, Generic Specific (e.g. scholars,
seller, buyer) inspectors)
Language Formal, academic, and Informal, artistic, creative, Formal, academic, and
standard driven and fictional standard driven but more
complex
Writing style Clear and accurate, Clear but reflects the Scholarly writing, clear and
emphasizes utility over thoughts of the writer, accurate,
beauty emphasizes beauty over emphasizes utility over beauty
utility (e.g. MLA and APA style)
Format Format driven, usually Style and format depend Format driven and follows
company specific on the writer standard format (e.g. MLA and
APA format)

Organization Systematic and Arbitrary and may not be Systematic and sequential
sequential systematic
Graphics Used to explain the text, Used to make a book Used to explain the text, as
as required more interesting required

Tone Objective Subjective Objective

Dependency Depends on the Depends on the schedule Depends on the authorities of

development of the of the writer and the certain field
product, information publisher
received from the
source, and the
company
officials/members
Source: www.contentdata.com and www.shiksha.com/masscommunicationandmedia

Academic paper is devoted to topics and questions that are of interest to the academic community. When
you write an academic paper, you must first try to find a topic or a question that is relevant and appropriate.
But how do you know when a topic is relevant and appropriate? First of all, pay attention to what your
professor is saying. She will certainly be giving you a context into which you can place your questions and
observations. Second, understand that your paper should be of interest to other students and scholars.
Remember that academic writing must be more than personal response. You must write something that your
readers will find useful. In other words, you will want to write something that helps your reader to better
understand your topic, or to see it in a new way.

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General Principles in Academic writing

1. Your papers must have a clear purpose (inform, analyze, synthesize or persuade) and answer your
topic question.
2. Your papers must present your original point of view.
3. Your writing must have a single focus – all paragraphs have to include relevant evidence (facts,
expert opinions, quotations, examples) to support your thesis statement.
4. You must follow a standard organizational pattern. Every academic text must include the following
parts: an introduction, the main body, and a conclusion. Some papers may require an abstract.
5. As an author, you need to provide clear, logical, and simple explanations to your reader.
6. You should refer to a number of scholarly sources. You need to integrate source materials into your
discussion. Take care to include all sources (books, articles from a scientific journal, publications on
online resources) that you cite, introduce, analyze or explain on a reference list in the bibliography
page.
7. To ensure academic integrity, all college essays should be formatted in accordance with the
requirements of one of the specific citation styles – APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago that determine the
rules for in-text citations, paper sections, format, reference list.
8. You need to use your own words. Don’t try to be too formal or you may sound boring to your
readers. Use natural language, common for conversations.

Thesis Statement
A thesis statement determines the main argument of your essay. A good thesis statement expresses the
main idea of your essay, presents your own point of view, and gives an answer to your research question.

Introduction
The introduction gives your argument to your reader and convinces them why they should care about
reading your paper. Your task is to engage your audience. Start your introduction with attention grabber
and provide background information about the significance of your topic, introduce a subject, and give
some definitions of the key terms. End your introduction with a thesis statement.

Body Paragraphs
• Start each body paragraph with a topic sentence; don’t begin a paragraph with a fact. The topic
sentence should present the main idea of the paragraph and express your point of view. In the next
sentences, you should support the topic sentence with additional supporting ideas, specific details,
interesting facts, statistics, clear explanations, relevant examples. All supporting sentences should be
logical. You should make sure they are connected with connection words to help your reader follow
your argument.
• Finish every paragraph with a concluding sentence. It should be your own idea and not a source
citation. The last sentence in a paragraph should review the key points you have discussed in it,
emphasize your main idea or your thesis statement, and prepare your audience to the points that you
are going to discuss in the next paragraph.

Conclusion
The conclusion is your last chance to make an impression and show the significance of your findings. When
writing a conclusion, you need to provide connections to the previous ideas, briefly summarize your findings
or restate the thesis. You shouldn’t include any new information. Finish your essay with a strong concluding
statement that your readers will remember.

Revising
You can use another strategy as well - revise individual paragraphs as you write them. Be ready that you
may need to write more than one draft or revise your paper several times. Read your paper and make
changes to fix it and make impeccable. Eliminate irrelevant ideas and unnecessary information. Add new

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explanations, details, points to ensure additional support for your argument. Rewrite paragraphs and
sentences to present your ideas better. Re-organize paragraphs and sentences to make your paper logical

Editing and proofreading

Editing is making your writing clearer, more precise to ensure that your readers will be able to understand it.
You may ask someone to read your essay and request their feedback. You can read your college paper
aloud yourself to hear the lack of clarity, repetition, wordiness, grammar mistakes and correct them. Use
English dictionaries and grammar books. You should use the following editing strategies to make your essay
as best as it can be:
• Fix sentences with the passive voice
• Improve word choice by replacing long words with shorter ones
• Improve sentence structure and word order – correct run-ons and fragments
• Fix the logic, flow, and connections between ideas
• Rewrite long sentences and make them concise; eliminate unnecessary sentences in paragraphs if
they don’t convey new messages
• Fix repetition and use thesaurus to find synonyms
• When you finish editing, proofread your essay and fix minor errors, careless mistakes, typos. Check
punctuation and spelling. Use the printed copy to notice mistakes you may overlook on a
computer screen. Start proofreading with the last sentence and go backward; in this way, you will
focus on spelling and grammar and not on the content.

Citation
To avoid plagiarism, you must give credit to other people whose ideas you use in your own work. You have
the right to express your opinions. You have the right to use ideas of people to support your argument and
draw conclusions, but it’s your responsibility to inform your audience which ideas in your essay are not yours
and which are your own. With proper citations, you demonstrate that you understand the significance of
other people’s research, findings, and ideas in developing your own argument. You should include in-text
citations in accordance with the guidelines of the citation style recommended by your instructor. You are
required to include a list of the sources you have cited at the end of your paper. Don’t cite works that are
not in your bibliography.

Source: https://pro-academic-writers.com/blog/academic-paper-writing
Odegaard Writing & Research Center (http://www.depts.washington.edu/owrc) adapted from
www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/student/ac_paper/what.shmtl

Process Question:

1. What is the difference of academic paper from other forms of writing?

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ACTIVITY 2. PRACTICE EXERCISES FOR ACADEMIC WRITING
A. Choose the strongest thesis statement based on the topic idea provided.

1. Based on a topic choice of teacher pay, which thesis would be the strongest?
a. This paper will explore reasons why teachers across the country should be paid higher wages.
b. I think teachers are hard workers.
c. Teachers have the important job of educating our children and should be paid higher wages to
reflect the importance of this task.
d. Teachers make less money than most people think.

2. Based on a topic choice of vegetarian diets, which thesis would be the strongest?
a. A well-balanced, vegetarian diet provides significant health benefits, and Americans could
benefit from becoming vegetarians.
b. Vegetarians live longer lives.
c. This essay is about the reasons why you should consider a healthier, vegetarian diet.
d. It is not right for so many people to eat so much meat.

3. Based on a topic of childhood obesity, which thesis statement would be the strongest?
a. The percentage of children in the United States who are obese increased from seven percent in
1980 to nearly 20 percent in 2008 (CDC, 2012).
b. I know a lot of parents who are really struggling with the issue of childhood obesity.
c. There are many solutions to the problem of childhood obesity.
d. With the number of children with obesity on the rise in the U.S., parents need to be better
educated about the causes of childhood obesity.

4. Based on a topic of minimum wage in the United States, which thesis would be the strongest?
a. This paper will explore many issues related to minimum wage in the United States, such as the way
an increased minimum wage will impact individuals, businesses, and the overall economy.
b. Polls show that most Americans would like to see the minimum wage in the United States raised.
c. The minimum wage in the United States should be raised to a living wage, as doing so will benefit
individuals, businesses, and the overall economy.
d. After much research, I have concluded that the minimum wage in the United States must be
raised.

5. What thesis statement is appropriate for the Philippines’ strategies of battling COVID-19?
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B. Rewrite the given sentences or paragraphs. Use revising, editing, and proofreading.

Revising is a continuous “re-seeing” of your writing that considers larger issues like focus, organization,
and audience. It is not simply moving or deleting a few sentences or checking for typos.
Editing is the process writers use to improve style, transitions, consistency, paragraph unity, and
documentation. It is not simply changing a few words or deleting a sentence: clear writing requires a
commitment of time and attention.
Proofreading is identifying and correcting surface level errors like typos, misspellings, and formatting
errors. Good proofreading is meticulous; it is not just running a spell checker. Don't proofread until
you've revised and edited. There's no point in correcting mistakes that you may delete/change while
revising of editing.

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 Text 1: In order to remain healthy, you must eat good nutritious food. Breakfast is very important
especially if you’re going to school because you can’t pay attention if you are hungry. You should eat
fruits and vegetables with every meal and avoid food that is high in cholesterol and saturated fat. It’s
also important to drink a lot of liquids every day.

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Text 2: A key challenge when teaching effective writing within this university to postgraduate research
students, who need to be able to communicate in two conflicting styles, academic and popular, is
evident in the paper by Conrad (2006). She recognized that having only a complex thesis title can
inhibit communication with those outside the student’s specialized field, because of the problem of
jargon.

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C. Paraphrase the given sentences and paragraphs, then, write the proper in-text citation and reference
list entry based on the given information. Use APA or MLA style.

1. Published Sentence:
Leaders who lack emotional and social competence undoubtedly can become a liability to
organizations, directly leading to employee disengagement, absenteeism, stress-disability
claims, hostile-workplace lawsuits, and increased health care expenses.

Source Information
• Document type: Journal article (Section 10.1)
• Authors: Kenneth Nowack and Paul Zak
• Publication year: 2020
• Article title: Empathy enhancing antidotes for interpersonally toxic leaders
• Journal information: Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, Volume 72,
Issue 2, pages 119–133
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/cpb0000164

Your paraphrased sentence and parenthetical in-text citation:

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Reference list entry:

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2. Published Sentences
Research suggests that people exercise less when demands in their job or studies increase
(Englert & Rummel, 2016; Oaten & Cheng, 2005; Sonnentag & Jelden, 2009). Building upon
these findings, the present study investigated the relationship between university students’
implicit theories about willpower and the amount they exercise during their final examination
period. We hypothesized and found that students with a limited theory about willpower—
those who believed that their self-control resembles a limited resource—exercised
significantly less than students with a nonlimited theory during this stressful period (about 220
min less over the course of 2 weeks).

Source Information
• Document type: Journal article (Section 10.1)
• Authors: Katharina Bernecker and Jule Kramer
• Publication year: 2020
• Article title: Implicit theories about willpower are associated with exercise levels during the academic
examination period
• Journal information: Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, Volume 9, Issue 2, pages 216–231
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/spy0000182

Your paraphrased sentence and parenthetical in-text citation:

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Reference list entry:

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3. Published Paragraphs
Food selectivity is the most frequently documented and well-researched feeding problem
associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It most often involves strong preferences for starches
and snack foods, coinciding with a bias against fruits and vegetables. Associated mealtime difficulties
include disruptive mealtime behavior (e.g., tantrums, crying), rigidity surrounding eating (e.g., only
eating in a specific location, requiring certain utensils), and avoidance of certain food items based on
the sensory characteristic (e.g., texture).
Severe food selectivity in ASD most often involves deficits in dietary variety, not volume, and
children with ASD typically consume enough food to meet gross energy needs (Sharp, Berry, et al.,
2013; Sharp et al., 2014). Because children with ASD typically consume an adequate volume of food,

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this may explain why, historically, feeding concerns in ASD have been overlooked in relation to other
areas of clinical concern. The clinical picture, however, for food selectivity in ASD is more complicated
from a nutritional and medical standpoint and requires looking beyond anthropometrics to determine
the overall impact of atypical patterns of intake, including enhanced risk for underlying dietary
insufficiencies and associated poor health outcomes (e.g., obesity).

Source Information
• Document type: Edited book chapter (Section 10.3)
• Chapter authors: T. Lindsey Burrell, William Sharp, Cristina Whitehouse, and Cynthia R. Johnson
• Publication year: 2019
• Chapter title: Parent training for food selectivity in autism spectrum disorder
• Book editors: Cynthia R. Johnson, Eric M. Butter, and Lawrence Scahill
• Book title: Parent training for autism spectrum disorder: Improving the quality of life for children and
their families • Chapter page range: 173–202
• Publisher: American Psychological Association
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0000111-008

Your paraphrased sentence and parenthetical in-text citation:

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Reference list entry:

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For further understanding of the APA Referencing and In-text citations, study
https://www.jcu.edu.sg/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/680063/APA-Referencing-and-In-text-
Citations.pdf.

ACTIVITY 3. WRITING A MAGAZINE ARTICLE. Read the sample academic paper below. Study it and
make it your guide in writing your own academic paper/ expository write-up. Your task is to produce
your academic paper/ expository write-up that is related to your course of at least five paragraphs.
Assume that this academic paper is to be submitted in a magazine company, hence, graphics and
illustrations can be incorporated. Use the rubric below as your guide in writing.

(Introduction)
Assignment essays are developed from set questions that give students a period of time to research a
topic and produce their answer with references to their sources of information. While there are some
disadvantages with using assignment essays as an assessment tool, there are sound educational

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purposes underpinning this practice. This essay examines the reasons why assignment essays are
beneficial for student learning and considers some of the problems with this method of assessment.

(Body paragraph 1)
Assignment essay tasks are set to assist students to develop mastery of their study subject. Firstly,
assignment tasks enhance understandings about subject matter. Yang and Baker (2005) reason that
“to master your learning materials and extend your understandings, you need to write about the
meanings you gain from your research” (p. 1). Secondly, research (Jinx, 2004; Zapper, 2006) clearly
demonstrates that students learn the writing conventions of a subject area while they are researching,
reading and writing in their discipline. This activity helps them to “crack the code” of the discipline
(Bloggs, 2003, p. 44). Thus, students are learning subject matter and how to write in that disciplinary
area by researching and writing assignment essays.

(Body paragraph 2)
Using assignment essays for assessment supports student learning better than the traditional
examination system. It is considered that course-work assignment essays can lessen the extreme stress
experienced by some students over ‘sudden-death’ end of semester examinations:
If we insist that all students write about everything they have learned in their study courses at the same
time and in the same place (e.g. in examinations), we are not giving all of our students equal
opportunities. Some students are not daunted by the exam experience while others suffer ‘exam
nerves’ and perform at the lowest level of their capabilities. (Wonderland University, 2006, p. 4)
Additionally, Jones et al. (2004, pp. 36-37) propose that assignment essays can be used to assess
student learning mid-course and so provide them with helpful feedback before they are subjected to
the exam experience. Exams only provide students with a mark rather than specific feedback on their
progress. Therefore, setting assignment essays for a substantial part of student assessment is a much
fairer approach than one-off examination testing.

(Body paragraph 3)
As an assessment tool, assignment essays have some disadvantages for lecturers and students. It has
been found that assignment essays consume a great deal of staff time and money to mark and student
time to prepare (Sankey & Liger, 2005, p. 192). A consequence of these problems is that feedback to
students is frequently delayed, and this is much less useful to students than rapid feedback (p. 294). It
is partly because of these disadvantages of time and expense that other assessments such as multiple-
choice tests and short answer questions have an enduring place in the tertiary learning environment.

(Conclusion)
To conclude, it seems that assignment essays continue to have a prominent role in tertiary education
as an assessment tool. This is mainly because they are very effective in developing knowledge and

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 writing skills for subject areas. Also, assignment essays can be less stressful than examinations as they
allow students to show their understanding of content in less pressured circumstances. On the other
hand, the time consuming nature of writing and marking essays points to some disadvantages that
also need to be considered. The weight of evidence, however, supports the writing of assignment
essays for student assessment because this approach has such positive and proven effects for
improved student learning.

References
Bloggs, J. (2003). Linking teaching, learning and succeeding in higher education. London: Bookworld.
Jinx, J.M. (2004). Student essay writing. Journal of Research in University Education, 9(2), 114-125.
Jones, J., Smith, P.L., Brown, K., Zong J., Thompson, K., & Fung, P.A. (2004). Helpline: Essays and the university
student. Tokyo: Courtyard Printers.
Sankey, J.M., & Liger, T.U. (2003). Learning to write essays [CD-ROM]. Sydney: Wonderland University.
Taylor, G. (1989). The student’s writing guide for the arts and social sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Wonderland University. (2006). Attributes of a university graduate. doi:10.1098/063-112
Yang, S., & Baker, O.E. (2005). Essay writing and the tertiary student. Melbourne: Diamond Press.
Zapper, Y. (2006). Learning essay writing. In F.T. Fax & Y. Phoney (Eds.), Learning Experiences at
University (pp. 55-70). Calcutta: Academic Scholar Press.

Rubric for the output:

Criteria 4 3 2 1
Focus & There is one clear, There is one clear, There is one topic. The topic and main
Details well- focused topic. well- focused topic. Main ideas are ideas are not clear.
Main ideas are Main ideas are clear somewhat clear.
clear and are well but are not well
supported by supported by
detailed and detailed
accurate information.
information.
Organization An overview of the The beginning states The beginning There is no clear
paper is provided. the main topic and states the main beginning, structure,
Information is provides an topic. A conclusion or conclusion.
relevant and overview of the is included.
presented in a paper. A conclusion
logical order. The is included.
conclusion is strong.
Voice The author’s The author’s The author’s The author’s
purpose of writing is purpose of writing is purpose of writing is purpose of writing is
very clear, and somewhat clear, somewhat clear, unclear.
there is strong and there is some and there is
evidence of evidence of evidence of
attention to attention to attention to
audience. The audience. The audience. The
author’s extensive author’s knowledge author’s knowledge
knowledge and/or and/or experience and/or experience
experience with the with the topic is/are with the topic is/are
topic is/are evident. evident. limited.

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Word Choice The author uses The author uses vivid The author uses The writer uses a
vivid words and words and phrases. words that limited vocabulary.
phrases. The choice The choice and communicate Jargon or clichés
and placement of placement of words clearly, but the may be present and
words seems is inaccurate at writing lacks variety. detract from the
accurate, natural, times and/or seems meaning.
and not forced. overdone.
Sentence All sentences are Most sentences are Most sentences are Sentences sound
Structure, well constructed well constructed well constructed, awkward, are
Grammar, and have varied and have varied but they have a distractingly
Mechanics, & structure and structure and similar structure repetitive, or are
Spelling length. The author length. The author and/or length. The difficult to
makes no errors in makes a few errors author makes understand. The
grammar, in grammar, several errors in author makes
mechanics, and/or mechanics, and/or grammar, numerous errors in
spelling. spelling, but they do mechanics, and/or grammar,
not interfere with spelling that mechanics, and/or
understanding. interfere with spelling that
understanding. interfere with
understanding.
Reliability All cited sentences Most cited Few cited Cited sentences
and paragraphs in sentences and sentences and and paragraphs in
the output have paragraphs in the paragraphs in the the output have
used proper in-text output have used output have used used no proper in-
citation and proper in-text proper in-text text citation and
sufficient citation and citation and sufficient
referencing list. sufficient sufficient referencing list.
Paraphrasing is referencing list. referencing list. Paraphrasing is not
applied evidently. Paraphrasing is Paraphrasing is evident.
applied evidently. applied to some
paragraphs.

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ACTIVITY 4. RESEARCH PROPOSAL AS AN ACADEMIC PAPER. Study the discussion below then, answer
the given process question/s.

THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL

The goal of a research proposal is to present and justify a research idea you have and to present the
practical ways in which you think this research should be conducted. The forms and procedures for
such research are defined by the field of study, so guidelines for research proposals are generally more
exacting and less formal than a project proposal. Research proposals contain extensive literature
reviews and must provide persuasive evidence that there is a need for the research study being
proposed. In addition to providing rationale for the proposed research, a proposal describes detailed
methodology for conducting the research consistent with requirements of the professional or
academic field and a statement on anticipated outcomes and/or benefits derived from the study.

Source: Krathwohl, David R. How to Prepare a Dissertation Proposal: Suggestions for Students in
Education and the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2005.

HOW TO APPROACH WRITING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Your professor may assign the task of writing a research proposal for the following reasons:

• Develop your skills in thinking about and designing a comprehensive research study.
• Help learn how to conduct a comprehensive review of the literature to ensure a research
problem has not already been answered [or you may determine the problem has been
answered ineffectively] and, in so doing, become familiar with scholarship related to your topic.
• Improve your general research and writing skills.
• Practice identifying what logical steps must be taken to accomplish one's research goals.
• Nurture a sense of inquisitiveness within yourself and to help see yourself as an active participant
in the process of doing scholarly research.

A proposal should contain all the key elements involved in designing a complete research study, with
sufficient information that allows readers to assess the validity and usefulness of your proposed study.
The only elements missing from a research proposal are the results of the study and your analysis of
those results. Finally, an effective proposal is judged on the quality of your writing. It is, therefore,
important that your writing is coherent, clear, and compelling.

Regardless of the research problem you are investigating and the methodology you choose, all
research proposals must address the following questions:

1. What do you plan to accomplish? Be clear and succinct in defining the research problem and
what it is you are proposing to research.

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 2. Why do you want to do it? In addition to detailing your research design, you also must conduct
a thorough review of the literature and provide convincing evidence that it is a topic worthy
of study. Be sure to answer the "So what? question.
3. How are you going to do it? Be sure that what you propose is doable.

STRUCTURE AND WRITING STYLE OF RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Beginning the Proposal Process

As with writing a traditional research paper, research proposals are generally organized the same way
throughout the social sciences. Most proposals are between ten and fifteen pages in length. However,
before you begin, read the assignment carefully and, if anything seems unclear, ask your professor
whether there are any specific requirements for organizing and writing the proposal.

A good place to begin is to ask yourself a series of questions:

• What do I want to study, and why?

• How is it significant within the subject areas covered in my class?
• What problems will it help solve?
• How does it build upon [and hopefully go beyond] research already conducted on my topic?
• What exactly should I plan to do, and can I get it done in the time available?

In the end, your research proposal should document your knowledge of the topic and highlight
enthusiasm for conducting the study. Approach it with the intention of leaving your readers feeling like-
-"Wow, that's an exciting idea and I can’t wait to see how it turns out!"

In general your proposal should include the following sections:

I. Introduction

In the real world of higher education, a research proposal is most often written by scholars seeking
grant funding for a research project or it's the first step in getting approval to write your doctoral
dissertation. Even if this is just a course assignment, treat your introduction as the initial pitch of an idea.
After reading the introduction, your readers should not only have an understanding of what you want
to do, but they should also be able to sense your passion for the topic and be excited about its possible
outcomes.

Think about your introduction as a narrative written in one to three paragraphs that succinctly answers
the following four questions:

1. What is the central research problem?

2. What is the topic of study related to that problem?
3. What methods should be used to analyze the research problem?
4. Why is this important research, and why should someone reading the proposal care about the
outcomes from the study?

II. Background and Significance

This section can be melded into your introduction or you can create a separate section to help with
the organization and flow of your proposal. This is where you explain the context of your project and

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outline why it's important. Approach writing this section with the thought that you can’t assume your
readers will know as much about the research problem as you do. Note that this section is not an essay
going over everything you have learned about the research problem; instead, you must choose what
is relevant to help explain your goals for the study.

To that end, while there are no hard and fast rules, you should attempt to deal with some or all of the
following:

• State the research problem and give a more detailed explanation about the purpose of the
study than what you stated in the introduction.
• Present the rationale of your proposed study and clearly indicate why it is worth doing. Answer
the "So what? question [i.e., why should anyone care].
• Describe the major issues or problems to be addressed by your research.
• Explain how you plan to go about conducting your research. Clearly identify the key sources
you intend to use and explain how they will contribute to the analysis of your topic.
• Set the boundaries of your proposed research in order to provide a clear focus.
• Provide definitions of key concepts or terms, if necessary.

III. Literature Review

Connected to the background and significance of your study is a more deliberate review and synthesis
of prior studies related to the research problem under investigation. The purpose here is to place your
project within the larger whole of what is currently being explored, while demonstrating to your readers
that your work is original and innovative. Think about what questions other researchers have asked,
what methods they've used, and what is your understanding of their findings. Assess what you believe
is still missing, and state how previous research has failed to examine the issue that your study addresses.

Since a literature review is information dense, it is crucial that this section is intelligently structured to
enable a reader to grasp the key arguments underpinning your study in relation to that of other
researchers. A good strategy is to break the literature into "conceptual categories" [themes] rather
than systematically describing materials one at a time.

To help frame your proposal's literature review, here are the "five C’s" of writing a literature review:

1. Cite: keep the primary focus on the literature pertinent to your research problem.
2. Compare the various arguments, theories, methodologies, and findings expressed in the
literature: what do the authors agree on? Who applies similar approaches to analyzing the
research problem?
3. Contrast the various arguments, themes, methodologies, approaches and controversies
expressed in the literature: what are the major areas of disagreement, controversy, or debate?
4. Critique the literature: Which arguments are more persuasive, and why? Which approaches,
findings, methodologies seem most reliable, valid, or appropriate, and why? Pay attention to
the verbs you use to describe what an author says/does [e.g., asserts, demonstrates, etc.].
5. Connect the literature to your own area of research and investigation: how does your own work
draw upon, depart from, or synthesize what has been said in the literature?

IV. Research Design and Methods

This section must be well-written and logically organized because you are not actually doing the
research. As a consequence, the reader will never have a study outcome from which to evaluate
whether your methodological choices were the correct ones. The objective here is to ensure that the
reader is convinced that your overall research design and methods of analysis will correctly address

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the research problem. Your design and methods should be absolutely and unmistakably tied to the
specific aims of your study.

Describe the overall research design by building upon and drawing examples from your review of the
literature. Be specific about the methodological approaches you plan to undertake to collect
information, about the techniques you will use to analyze it, and about tests of external validity to which
you commit yourself [i.e., the trustworthiness by which you can generalize from your study to other
people, places or times].

When describing the methods you will use, be sure to cover these issues:

• Specify the research operations you will undertake and the way you will interpret the results of
these operations in relation to your research problem. Don't just describe what you intend to
achieve from applying the methods you choose, but state how you will spend your time while
doing it.
• Keep in mind that a methodology is not just a list of research tasks; it is an argument as to why
these tasks add up to the best way to investigate the research problem. This is an important
point because the mere listing of tasks to perform does not demonstrate that they add up to
the best feasible approach.
• Be sure to anticipate and acknowledge any potential barriers and pitfalls in carrying out your
research design and explain how you plan to get around them.

V. Preliminary Suppositions and Implications

Just because you don't have to actually conduct the study and analyze the results, it doesn't mean
that you can skip talking about the process and potential implications. The purpose of this section is to
argue how and in what ways you believe your research will refine, revise, or extend existing knowledge
in the subject area under investigation. Depending on the aims and objectives of your study, describe
how the anticipated results of your study will impact future scholarly research, theory, practice, forms
of interventions, or policy. Note that such discussions may have either substantive [a potential new
policy], theoretical [a potential new understanding], or methodological [a potential new way of
analyzing]significance.

When thinking about the potential implications of your study, ask the following questions:

• What might the results mean in regards to the theoretical framework that frames the study?
• What suggestions for subsequent research could arise from the potential outcomes of the
study?
• What will the results mean to practitioners in the "real world"?
• Will the results influence programs, methods, and/or forms of intervention?
• How might the results contribute to the solution of social, economic, or other types of problems?
• Will the results influence policy decisions?
• What will be improved or changed as a result of the proposed research?
• How will the results of the study be implemented, and what innovations will come about?

VI. Conclusion

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The conclusion reiterates the importance or significance of your proposal and provides a brief recap
of the entire study. This section should be only one or two paragraphs long, emphasizing why your
research study is unique, why it advances knowledge, and why the research problem is worth
investigating.

Someone reading this section should come away with an understanding of:

• Why the study was done,

• The specific purpose of the study and the research questions it attempted to answer,
• The research design and methods used,
• The potential implications emerging from your proposed study of the research problem, and
• A sense of how your study fits within the broader scholarship about the research problem.

VII. Citations

As with any scholarly research paper, you must cite the sources you used in composing your proposal.
In a standard research proposal, this section can take two forms, so speak with your professor about
which one is preferred.

1. References -- lists only the literature that you actually used or cited in your proposal.
2. Bibliography -- lists everything you used or cited in your proposal with additional citations of
any key sources relevant to understanding the research problem.

In either case, this section should testify to the fact that you did enough preparatory work to make
sure the project will complement and not duplicate the efforts of other researchers. Start a new page
and use the heading "References" or "Bibliography" at the top of the page. Cited works should always
use a standard format that follows the writing style advised by the discipline of your course [i.e.,
education=APA; history=Chicago, etc]. This section normally does not count towards the total length
of your proposal.

Sources:
Develop a Research Proposal: Writing the Proposal. Office of Library Information Services. Baltimore
County Public Schools; Krathwohl, David R. How to Prepare a Dissertation Proposal: Suggestions for
Students in Education and the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University
Press, 2005; Procter, Margaret.
The Academic Proposal. The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto;
Punch, Keith and Wayne McGowan.
Developing and Writing a Research Proposal. In From Postgraduate to Social Scientist: A Guide to Key
Skills. Nigel Gilbert, ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2006), 59-81; Sanford, Keith.
Information for Students: Writing a Research Proposal. Baylor University; Wong, Paul T. P.
How to Write a Research Proposal. International Network on Personal Meaning. Trinity Western
University;
Writing Academic Proposals: Conferences, Articles, and Books. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue
University;
Writing a Research Proposal. University Library. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
https://library.sacredheart.edu/c.php?g=29803&p=185956

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SAMPLE RESEARCH PROPOSAL: Study the attached research proposal found on your Schoology. Use it
as a basis of your output.

Title Page
Table of Contents
I. Problem and Its Setting
a. Introduction
b. Background and Significance
c. Statement of the Problem
d. Scope and Limitation
e. Definition of terms
II. Literature Review
a. Local and foreign literature
b. Local and foreign studies
III. Research Methodology
a. Research design
b. Respondents of the Study
c. Data Gathering Instrument
d. Data Gathering Procedures
e. Data Analysis
Appendix
Bibliography

Process Questions:

1. What is a research proposal?

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2. What are the techniques that should be applied in writing a research proposal?
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3. What is its contribution in your academic development and growth?
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ACTIVITY 5. WRITING RESEARCH PROPOSAL. Create your own research proposal that is related to your
field of study. Present your research proposal using audio-visual or web-based presentations (video,
PowerPoint presentation, website, or blog). Follow the format given below and be guided by the rubric.
You may use the space here for your outline and draft.

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ELABORATE. In this part, you will wrap up your understanding of the

lesson. Do your best!

Now let us check your understanding of the lesson by answering the guide questions below. Write your
answer on the space provided below.

1. What is an academic paper?

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2. What skills and techniques are essential in reading and writing academic texts (e.g. research
proposal)?
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EVALUATE. In this part, you will be assessed based on your learning of

the lesson. Break a leg!

POST ASSESSMENT: A unit quiz will be posted in the Schoology or Google Classroom by the teacher.

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As my student, your ideas matter. Please write your feelings and suggestions about the lesson below.

In this lesson, I feel…

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In the upcoming lessons, I suggest that…

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You have reached the end of the course. Congratulations!

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REFERENCES:

Cortez, A.M., et. al. (2020) The Perceived Effect of Rice Ratification Law Among Farmers of San Manuel,
Isabela. OLPC-SMI.

Krathwohl, David R. How to Prepare a Dissertation Proposal: Suggestions for Students in Education and the
Social and Behavioral Sciences. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2005.

Pro-academic Writers. How to Write Good Academic Papers: Easy Guide for Beginners. https://pro-
academic-writers.com/blog/academic-paper-writing

Purposive Communication, Integrated Learning Resource Material Version 1.0, 2019. St. Paul University,
Philippines.

Sacred Heart University. Organizing Academic Research Papers: Writing a Research Proposal.
https://library.sacredheart.edu/c.php?g=29803&p=185956

https://www.jcu.edu.sg/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/680063/APA-Referencing-and-In-text-Citations.pdf.

www.contentdata.com

www.shiksha.com/masscommunicationandmedia

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