Distinguishing Features
of Academic Writing
Activity Sheet in English 7
Quarter 4
.
Week 1
MARLON C. ETNGAY
Developer
Department of Education • Cordillera Administrative Region
1
Republic of the Philippines
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Cordillera Administrative
Region Wangal, La
Trinidad, Benguet
Published by
Learning Resource Management and Development System
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2021
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Distinguishing the Features
of Academic Writing
MELC: Distinguish features of academic writing (EN7WC-I-c-4.2)
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
a. differentiate academic writing from non-academic writing;
b. distinguish the features of academic writing; and
c. express appreciation towards the importance of academic writing.
Writing is an important macro-skill. It is a window to one’s thoughts. As students, you are
part of the Academe. Thus, it is necessary for you to understand what constitutes academic
writing.
To start with, let us differentiate Academic and Non-academic Writing. Academic Writing
refers to a piece of writing which focuses on specific academic subject/topic. It is clear,
concise, focused, structured, and backed by evidence. It has a formal tone and style. Its
purpose is to aid the reader’s understanding. Some examples of Academic Texts include
essays, reports, research papers. Here is an essay excerpt.
Post-Pandemic Philippines and the New World Order:
“Why does it matter and what can we do?”
(An Excerpt)
In every epic story of battle, there will be villains and there will be heroes. Some will be
recognized and a few put on a pedestal; most will be relegated to our short-term memory
while some may be totally forgotten. In the world after this coronavirus, as Filipinos and
global citizens doing our part, we can see that global solidarity will win over national
interests and humanity will prevail as the most important asset to health security. Politics
if done right can change the world for the better after a pandemic.
Ronald Law, “ESSAY: Post-Pandemic Philippines and the New World Order: ‘Why Does It Matter
and What Can We Do?",” Health Care Without Harm, June 3, 2020,
https://tinyurl.com/5aa2j89r
On the other hand, non-academic writing refers to a piece of writing which focuses on a
general topic rather than any academic topic. It is intended for a lay audience or the mass
public. Unlike Academic writing, it uses informal, casual and slang language. These types of
articles are mostly personal, impressionistic, emotional, or subjective in nature. Some
examples of non-academic writing include magazine articles, letters, and novels. Below is
example taken from fanfiction.
Dragon Ball Z in Middle School: 7th Grade
(An Fanfiction Excerpt)
Summer after 6th Grade
It was the Junior World Martial Arts Tournament, and the crowd was screaming and
cheering as they saw one of the greatest fights between the most powerful kids-err-teens
in the universe.
"Haa!" 12 year old Super Saiyan Goku and 13 year old Super Saiyan Vegeta yelled as
they punched each other.
It was the finals and Goku and Vegeta were in their most heated battles yet.
They separated in pants and Vegeta smirked, "I hate to admit Kakarot, but you have
gotten surprisingly stronger..."
Meanwhile, the Z Fighters were watching.
Dragonball787, “Dragon Ball Z in Middle School: 7th Grade,” Fanfiction, March 23, 2014,
https://m.fanfiction.net/s/10208166/1/Dragon-Ball-Z-in-Middle-School-7th-Grade.
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There are 4 Key Features of Academic Writing namely: 1. Objectivity; 2. Formality; 3.
Precision; and 4. Explicitness.
Objectivity
Formality
Precision
Explicitness
 The main emphasis should be on information which you want to give and the
arguments you want to make, rather than you. It is objective, rather than
personal. You have to present information in an unbiased way.
 Avoid using First person and Second Person point of view such as I, You, We, Me,
Us. Instead, you can use the third Person point of view like the researcher, the
author, this study.
For Example:
X You can see the result in the table below.
/ The result can be seen in table below.
 Relates to how well you obey standard English Norms.
 Avoid colloquial words and informal expressions like stuff, a lot of, thing, sort of,
gonna, wanna.
For example:
X The researcher got pretty good results.
/ The researcher obtained encouraging results.
 Avoid abbreviated forms or contractions like can’t, doesn’t, and shouldn’t.
 Avoid two-word verbs/ verb phrases
The following are examples and the appropriate words to replace them:
Find out – discover
Help out – assist
Move-in – transfer
 Avoid using sub-headings, numbering and bullet-points in formal essays but use
them in reports
 Avoid asking questions
For example, What can be done to gain confidence in speaking?
Instead, use Declarative Sentence.
To gain confidence, one must practice the art of speaking.
The word precise means to be exact or to be accurate. Academic writing is
precise. Factual information, figures or charts, should be provided, and nothing
written there should leave room to interpretation. Hence, vagueness and
ambiguity in language should be avoided.
For example:
X A lot of students cried.
/ 100 students cried.
X The past
/ In Year 1991
This pertains to coherence, cohesion, and clarity. Academic writing is explicit in
pointing out the organization of the ideas in the text. As an academic writer, it is
your responsibility to make clear to your reader how various texts are related.
These connections can be made explicit using different signaling words.
Signal words include however, because, similarly, furthermore, consequently and
many more.
For example:
If you are giving examples, you have to do it clearly. You may use the phrase, for
example.
If you think that one sentence gives reasons for something in another sentence,
make it clear or explicit. You can use the signal word, because.
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Knowing the features of academic writing is a must. Academic writing in English has a
distinctive style. It is formal and uses particular language norms that you need to learn. Academic
style is more than just a writing convention; it can also help you to think more logically and clearly as
you work on an assignment.
To learn more about the features of academic writing, do the following activities.
Make sure to write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.
ACTIVITY 1
FACT or BLUFF
Identify whether the statements should be or should not be done in academic writing. Just
write FACT if yes or BLUFF if not on your paper.
__________1. Ask questions.
__________2. Provide precise facts/ figures.
__________3. Use third person point of view like he, she, and it.
__________4. Use phrasal verbs.
__________5. Use vague or ambiguous language.
__________6. Use colloquialisms and informal expressions.
__________7. Use contractions.
__________8. Present ideas explicitly.
__________9. Use sub-headings and bullet points in formal essays.
__________10.
Organize ideas using signal words.
ACTIVITY 2
ACADEMIC or NON-ACADEMIC
Given the following titles of literary texts, apply what you have learned by categorizing
them. Place the titles in the first column if you think that they are Academic Papers; if not,
place them on the second column.
 An Analysis of the Academic Performance of the Grade 7 Students of Mountain
Province General Comprehensive High School
 The Legend of Mariang Makiling
 Biag ni Lam-ang
 Love Letter
 Life of a Plant: An infographic of the Growing of a Rose
 Ibong Adarna
 Of Studies by Francis Bacon
 Effects of Using Broadcasting in enhancing the Speaking skills of Grade 7 students
 Noli Me Tangere
 Duterte receives Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine
Academic
Non-academic
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ACTIVITY 3
TARGET GOAL
Imagine a world where we are free from this pandemic. Think of what you will be ten (10) years
from now. After which, write a 10-sentence paragraph about your goals in life. What will you be? What
have you achieved? What were the challenges you have encountered? Who helped you achieve your
goals? Why did you say so? Make sure that you observe the features of Academic writing when you will
write your paragraph.
Thus, the rubrics:
Content
Conventions
Excellent
Good
Fair
6
Several creative and original
ideas presented. Thoughtful
thinking process is evident.
4
Some creative and
original ideas presented.
2
Does not have any or very
few creative or original
ideas.
2
There are many spelling
and grammar errors in
the project. The student
has not proofread or
edited their work. The
features of Academic
writing were 50%
observed.
4
There are no spelling and
grammar errors in the project.
The student has taken the
time to proofread and edit their
work with a high level of
success. The features of
Academic writing were 100%
observed.
3
There are a few spelling
and grammar errors in the
project. The student has
taken some time to
proofread or edit their
work with considerable
success. The features of
Academic writing were
75% observed.
https://www.rcampus.com/rubricshowc.cfm?code=Y47596&sp=yes&
KEY TAKEAWAYS
As a form of communication both academic and non-academic writing consist of source,
content, channel, audience and context. they differ in their characteristics and indicators of those
elements in practice. To sum it up,
Academic writing is:
Non-academic writing is:
• objective
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
formal
precise
explicit
clear and concise
focused and structured
evidenced accurately
4
informal and casual
personal
impressionistic
emotional
subjective
ANSWER KEY
Activity 3
(Answers vary)
 An Analysis of the Academic Performance of the Grade
7 Students of Mountain Province General
Comprehensive High School
 Life of Plant: An infographic of the Life of a Rose
 Of Studies by Francis Bacon
 Effects of Using Broadcasting in enhancing the
Speaking skills of Grade 7 students
 Duterte receives Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine




 The Legend of Mariang
Makiling
Biag ni Lam-ang
Love Letter
Ibong Adarna
Noli Me Tangere
Academic
Non-academic
Activity 1
Activity 1
1. Bluff
2. Fact
3. Fact
4. Bluff
5. Bluff
6. Bluff
7. Bluff
8. Fact
9. Bluff
10. Fact
REFERENCES
“English 7: Quarter 4 Module 1,” YouTube video, “LINGUA WRITORAL,” May 10, 2021,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKhTyzBo23g
Ganitano, Tinalyn. “Literary-and-Academic-Writing- Grade 7.” SlideShare. Accessed May 10, 2021.
htts://www.slideshare.net/tinalynganitano/literaryandacademicwriting-grade-7.
Jemma Development Group, Interactive English 7, (Philippines: Jemma, Inc. 2016) 24.
Marquez, Mhel. “Academic Writing.” SlideShare. Accessed May 10, 2021.
https://www.slideshare.net/GodKnowsBest/academic-writing-28225642.
For inquiries or feedbacks, please call or email:
Department of Education- Schools Division of Mountain Province
(Bontoc, Mountain Province)
Email address: marlon.etngay@deped.gov.ph
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