Basic Parts of a Research Paper

In writing a research paper, take careful note of its parts. The research paper has at least nine essential parts although, of course, there may be additional parts depending on the discretion of your instructor. The basic principle to consider in writing research paper is that you should first consider and familiarize yourself with the “works” of others and then try to compare them with your ideas.

1. Title Page

Oftentimes referred to as the ‘cover page,’ this section is where you indicate the title of your research, your name, institutional information and a few other relevant information prescribed by your instructor.

Ex:

Republic of the Philippines

UNIVERSITY OF RIZAL SYSTEM

Angono Campus

Angono, Rizal

AN ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF

THE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS CREATED

BY THE STUDENTS OF AB ENGLISH

FOR THE SCHOOL

YEAR 2012

by

JUAN C. DELA CRUZ

AB-English I

2. Introduction

Introduce to your reader the “problem” by providing a brief background of your research. Include the basic reasons how and why you came-up with the problem, and the probable solutions that you can offer. In general, the introduction summarizes the purpose of the research paper.

3. Review of Related Literature

This section is where you will be providing all the relevant readings from previous works. Provide brief summaries or descriptions of the works of other authors. Make sure that your research materials are from credible sources such as academic books and peer-reviewed journals. Also, make sure that your reading materials are directly relevant to the topic of your research paper. The literature review typically includes the names of the authors, the titles of their works and the year of the publication of these works.

4. Conceptual Framework

This is a set of coherent ideas or concepts organized in a manner that makes them easy to communicate to others. A framework can help us to explain why we are doing a project in a particular way. It can also help us to understand and use the ideas of others who have done similar things.

We can use a framework like a travel map. We can read a map, because others before us have come up with common symbols to mark streets, lakes, highways, cities, mountains, rivers, etc...The scale on a map tells us how far apart different places are, so we will get an idea how long it might take us to get from one point to the next. A map also shows us that there may be many different paths that can be taken to get to the same place.

A framework can help us decide and explain the route we are taking: why would we use certain methods and not others to get to a certain point. People might have tried a similar path before and have had different experiences using one road versus another. Or, there may be paths that have never been explored. With a conceptual framework, we can explain why we would try this or that path, based on the experiences of others, and on what we ourselves would like to explore or discover.

5. Methodology

This section is where you will be providing the methods that you will be using in your research. Typical methodologies include laboratory experiments, statistical or mathematical calculations/computations, and comparison of existing literature.

5. Analysis of Data

This section is where you will be analyzing the data that you have obtained from the methodological operation that you have chosen. Depending on the type of your research paper, data analysis instruments and operations may vary. Common data analysis methods include but are not limited to SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) which is a form of a qualitative data analysis.

6. Results / Findings / Presentation of Data

This section is where you will be presenting the actual results of the analysis that you have made based on your chosen methodology.

7. Discussion / Implication of Data Analysis

This is where you will be discussing more of the results of your research, its implications on other fields as well as the possible improvements that can be made in order to further develop the concerns of your research. This is also the section where you need to present the importance of your study and how it will be able to contribute to the field.

8. Conclusion

Provide the conclusion to your research paper. While it is important to restate your general thesis in this section, it is also important to include a brief restatement of the other parts of the research paper such as the methodology, data analysis and results.

9. Reference Page / Bibliography

This section is where you list down all the academic materials you have used as sources of information in your research paper. Typical reference formats/styles include but are not limited to APA 5th, Harvard, MLA and Chicago/Turabian.

10. Appendices

This is the last few pages that support your analysis (especially repetitive or lengthy information), validates your conclusions or pursues a related point should be placed in an appendix (plural appendices). Sometimes excerpts from this supporting information (i.e. part of the data set) will be placed in the body of the report but the complete set of information ( i.e. all of the data set) will be included in the appendix. Examples of information that could be included in an appendix include figures/tables/charts/graphs of results, statistics, questionnaires, transcripts of interviews, pictures, lengthy derivations of equations, maps, drawings, letters, specification or data sheets, computer program information.

The information included in the appendix must bear directly relate to the research problem or the report's purpose. Each separate appendix should be lettered (Appendix A, Appendix B, Appendix B1, Appendix B2, Appendix C, etc). The order they are presented in is dictated by the order they are mentioned in the text of the report.

Content

Often, when a student is told to write a theme, his mind seemingly emptied of all ideas; he cannot discover anything worth writing about. Yet there are the thousands of things in the world to write about. The student who remembers that composition is a wholly natural process in which he has often indulged, and who keeps his eyes open and his mind active, will not be a loss for a subject.

Sources of Material. There are three general sources of material for compositions:

What we experience,
what we study,
what we read.

The student has a wide field of experiences as possible sources of writing material. If he has ever been alone in a sailboat when a storm came up, he can put on paper the record of his experience. He can write of a visit to the Coca-Cola plant, his first dance, an excursion he attended, or a class party where he did not enjoy himself. His life is rich in experience if we develop an “experiencing” nature.

Every intelligent student may derive many ideas from his various studies. Chemistry, general science, history, literature – all have wonderful possibilities for composition. The study of Philippine history might suggest a paper on the Death March from Bataan to Capas, Tarlac, from the point of view of a participant or an eye witness. Or the student might describe Manila during the Japanese occupation or give a vivid account of Rizal’s death in Bagumbayan. Botany shows us flowers, not as Shakespeare saw them, but as marvelous contrivances, the explanation of which will give us useful training in saying exactly what we mean. It is difficult, in short, to think of a branch of study which will not give us many things to talk or write about.

The third source of subject matter is our reading: magazine and newspaper, all sorts of books; in short, what we know as literature. The most obvious and natural source of ideas is life immediately around us and the record of that life in books, magazines and newspapers.

Choosing an Appropriate Subject. Your material may come from your own experience or from your reading. In any case, the material should be of a kind that you can handle. Don’t attempt a subject that is beyond your understanding. If writing to prove profitable and enjoyable, you must at all times exercise care in choosing your subject. The choice of subject will depend upon your general background, your interest, your personal experiences, and the time given you to develop your composition.

Your general background of a subject is the first consideration in your choice of a subject for a composition. In the preparation of an oral or written composition, your first concern should be the selection of a topic or subject that you fully understand. The student may be guided by answering the following questions:

1. With which subject am I most familiar?
2. Can I deal with this subject adequately?
3. Can I make this subject clear and interesting to others?

Interest is the second factor to be considered in the choice of a subject. A writer should consider the nature and probable interests of his readers. Interest is the bridge thrown between writer and reader; it determines the success of the composition. If the reader is interested, he will give your work a chance. If you cannot arouse his interest he will not read your work. To interest the reader, you must put spirit, liveliness, and vigor into what you say.

However, arousing the interest of the reader is not the only requirement of a good subject; the interest of the writer should be considered as well. The writer must deeply interested in his subject so that he may develop it forcefully and enthusiastically. Life is full of interest to any normal college student and what is interesting to him can be made interesting to other people, if told sincerely, simply, and with enough details to make the account vivid.

The third factor in the choice of subject matter is personal experience. All of your experiences in the past can be said, without stretching the point too much, to be a training for the writing which you do now. What you write must come from your own experience. Your material must be the product of your own thinking and observing. What aspect of the subject you select will depend on what you think is significant according to your personal experience in relation to your subject.

Your writing is a part of yourself. It should reflect your personality. This is particularly true of subjective or artistic literature. Only specific papers purposely strive to be impersonal and coldly objective. Allow your own way of thinking and doing to give originality and freshness to your work. Even material obtained from reference books will become more vital and stimulating if allowed to pass through the personality of the writer.

The fourth consideration is the choice of subject matter for a composition is the question of how much time you have to develop the composition. College composition are not intended to be exhaustive; hence the necessity of limiting your subject. Write of one thing at a time. Do not select a subject which is too broad or too general such as, “Professors,” “Cars,” “Students.” It is impossible to write a short composition clearly and forcefully about broad subjects. It is possible, however, for you to derive a properly limited subject from each of these. For example, you may have no difficulty in writing successfully on one or more of the following limited subjects: “My First Day in the University,” “My Favorite Professor,” “A Car Accident,” or “A Student Leader.” By selecting a proper limited subject and presenting specific details of it you will be able to interest your readers; however, you will fail to do so if you carelessly choose a large subject and make only a few vague, general statements about it.

Business Communications: Email Etiquette

1. Be concise and to the point. Do not make an e-mail longer than it needs to be. Remember that reading an e-mail is harder than reading printed communications and a long e-mail can be very discouraging to read.

2. Answer all questions, and pre-empt further questions. An email reply must answer all questions, and pre-empt further questions – If you do not answer all the questions in the original email, you will receive further e-mails regarding the unanswered questions, which will not only waste your time and your customer’s time but also cause considerable frustration. Moreover, if you are able to pre-empt relevant questions, your customer will be grateful and impressed with your efficient and thoughtful customer service. Imagine for instance that a customer sends you an email asking which credit cards you accept. Instead of just listing the credit card types, you can guess that their next question will be about how they can order, so you also include some order information and a URL to your order page. Customers will definitely appreciate this.

3. Use proper spelling, grammar & punctuation. This is not only important because improper spelling, grammar and punctuation give a bad impression of your company, it is also important for conveying the message properly. E-mails with no full stops or commas are difficult to read and can sometimes even change the meaning of the text. And, if your program has a spell checking option, why not use it?

4. Make it personal. Not only should the e-mail be personally addressed, it should also include personal i.e. customized content. For this reason auto replies are usually not very effective. However, templates can be used effectively in this way, see next tip.

5. Use templates for frequently used responses. Some questions you get over and over again, such as directions to your office or how to subscribe to your newsletter. Save these texts as response templates and paste these into your message when you need them. You can save your templates in a Word document, or use pre-formatted emails. Even better is a tool such as ReplyMate for Outlook (allows you to use 10 templates for free).

6. Answer swiftly. Customers send an e-mail because they wish to receive a quick response. If they did not want a quick response they would send a letter or a fax. Therefore, each e-mail should be replied to within at least 24 hours, and preferably within the same working day. If the email is complicated, just send an email back saying that you have received it and that you will get back to them. This will put the customer's mind at rest and usually customers will then be very patient!

7. Do not attach unnecessary files. By sending large attachments you can annoy customers and even bring down their e-mail system. Wherever possible try to compress attachments and only send attachments when they are productive. Moreover, you need to have a good virus scanner in place since your customers will not be very happy if you send them documents full of viruses!

8. Use proper structure & layout. Since reading from a screen is more difficult than reading from paper, the structure and lay out is very important for e-mail messages. Use short paragraphs and blank lines between each paragraph. When making points, number them or mark each point as separate to keep the overview.

9. Do not overuse the high priority option.We all know the story of the boy who cried wolf. If you overuse the high priority option, it will lose its function when you really need it. Moreover, even if a mail has high priority, your message will come across as slightly aggressive if you flag it as 'high priority'.

10. Do not write in CAPITALS. IF YOU WRITE IN CAPITALS IT SEEMS AS IF YOU ARE SHOUTING. This can be highly annoying and might trigger an unwanted response in the form of a flame mail. Therefore, try not to send any email text in capitals.

11. Don't leave out the message thread. When you reply to an email, you must include the original mail in your reply, in other words click 'Reply', instead of 'New Mail'. Some people say that you must remove the previous message since this has already been sent and is therefore unnecessary. However, I could not agree less. If you receive many emails you obviously cannot remember each individual email. This means that a 'threadless email' will not provide enough information and you will have to spend a frustratingly long time to find out the context of the email in order to deal with it. Leaving the thread might take a fraction longer in download time, but it will save the recipient much more time and frustration in looking for the related emails in their inbox!

12. Add disclaimers to your emails. It is important to add disclaimers to your internal and external mails, since this can help protect your company from liability. Consider the following scenario: an employee accidentally forwards a virus to a customer by email. The customer decides to sue your company for damages. If you add a disclaimer at the bottom of every external mail, saying that the recipient must check each email for viruses and that it cannot be held liable for any transmitted viruses, this will surely be of help to you in court (read more about email disclaimers). Another example: an employee sues the company for allowing a racist email to circulate the office. If your company has an email policy in place and adds an email disclaimer to every mail that states that employees are expressly required not to make defamatory statements, you have a good case of proving that the company did everything it could to prevent offensive emails.

13. Read the email before you send it. A lot of people don't bother to read an email before they send it out, as can be seen from the many spelling and grammar mistakes contained in emails. Apart from this, reading your email through the eyes of the recipient will help you send a more effective message and avoid misunderstandings and inappropriate comments.

14. Do not overuse Reply to All. Only use Reply to All if you really need your message to be seen by each person who received the original message.

15. Mailings > use the Bcc: field or do a mail merge. When sending an email mailing, some people place all the email addresses in the To: field. There are two drawbacks to this practice: (1) the recipient knows that you have sent the same message to a large number of recipients, and (2) you are publicizing someone else's email address without their permission. One way to get round this is to place all addresses in the Bcc: field. However, the recipient will only see the address from the To: field in their email, so if this was empty, the To: field will be blank and this might look like spamming. You could include the mailing list email address in the To: field, or even better, if you have Microsoft Outlook and Word you can do a mail merge and create one message for each recipient. A mail merge also allows you to use fields in the message so that you can for instance address each recipient personally. For more information on how to do a Word mail merge, consult the Help in Word.

16. Take care with abbreviations and emoticons. In business emails, try not to use abbreviations such as BTW (by the way) and LOL (laugh out loud). The recipient might not be aware of the meanings of the abbreviations and in business emails these are generally not appropriate. The same goes for emoticons, such as the smiley :-). If you are not sure whether your recipient knows what it means, it is better not to use it.

17. Be careful with formatting. Remember that when you use formatting in your emails, the sender might not be able to view formatting, or might see different fonts than you had intended. When using colors, use a color that is easy to read on the background.

18. Take care with rich text and HTML messages. Be aware that when you send an email in rich text or HTML format, the sender might only be able to receive plain text emails. If this is the case, the recipient will receive your message as a .txt attachment. Most email clients however, including Microsoft Outlook, are able to receive HTML and rich text messages.

19. Do not forward chain letters. Do not forward chain letters. We can safely say that all of them are hoaxes. Just delete the letters as soon as you receive them.

20. Do not request delivery and read receipts. This will almost always annoy your recipient before he or she has even read your message. Besides, it usually does not work anyway since the recipient could have blocked that function, or his/her software might not support it, so what is the use of using it? If you want to know whether an email was received it is better to ask the recipient to let you know if it was received.

21. Do not ask to recall a message. Biggest chances are that your message has already been delivered and read. A recall request would look very silly in that case wouldn't it? It is better just to send an email to say that you have made a mistake. This will look much more honest than trying to recall a message.

22. Do not copy a message or attachment without permission. Do not copy a message or attachment belonging to another user without permission of the originator. If you do not ask permission first, you might be infringing on copyright laws.

23. Do not use email to discuss confidential information. Sending an email is like sending a postcard. If you don't want your email to be displayed on a bulletin board, don't send it. Moreover, never make any libelous, sexist or racially discriminating comments in emails, even if they are meant to be a joke.

24. Use a meaningful subject. Try to use a subject that is meaningful to the recipient as well as yourself. For instance, when you send an email to a company requesting information about a product, it is better to mention the actual name of the product, e.g. 'Product A information' than to just say 'product information' or the company's name in the subject.

25. Use active instead of passive. Try to use the active voice of a verb wherever possible. For instance, 'We will process your order today', sounds better than 'Your order will be processed today'. The first sounds more personal, whereas the latter, especially when used frequently, sounds unnecessarily formal.

26. Avoid using URGENT and IMPORTANT. Even more so than the high-priority option, you must at all times try to avoid these types of words in an email or subject line. Only use this if it is a really, really urgent or important message.

27. Avoid long sentences. Try to keep your sentences to a maximum of 15-20 words. Email is meant to be a quick medium and requires a different kind of writing than letters. Also take care not to send emails that are too long. If a person receives an email that looks like a dissertation, chances are that they will not even attempt to read it!

28. Don't send or forward emails containing libelous, defamatory, offensive, racist or obscene remarks. By sending or even just forwarding one libelous, or offensive remark in an email, you and your company can face court cases resulting in multi-million dollar penalties.

29. Don't forward virus hoaxes and chain letters. If you receive an email message warning you of a new unstoppable virus that will immediately delete everything from your computer, this is most probably a hoax. By forwarding hoaxes you use valuable bandwidth and sometimes virus hoaxes contain viruses themselves, by attaching a so-called file that will stop the dangerous virus. The same goes for chain letters that promise incredible riches or ask your help for a charitable cause. Even if the content seems to be bona fide, the senders are usually not. Since it is impossible to find out whether a chain letter is real or not, the best place for it is the recycle bin.

30. Keep your language gender neutral. In this day and age, avoid using sexist language such as: 'The user should add a signature by configuring his email program'. Apart from using he/she, you can also use the neutral gender: ''The user should add a signature by configuring the email program'.

31. Don't reply to spam. By replying to spam or by unsubscribing, you are confirming that your email address is 'live'. Confirming this will only generate even more spam. Therefore, just hit the delete button or use email software to remove spam automatically.

32. Use cc: field sparingly. Try not to use the cc: field unless the recipient in the cc: field knows why they are receiving a copy of the message. Using the cc: field can be confusing since the recipients might not know who is supposed to act on the message. Also, when responding to a cc: message, should you include the other recipient in the cc: field as well? This will depend on the situation. In general, do not include the person in the cc: field unless you have a particular reason for wanting this person to see your response. Again, make sure that this person will know why they are receiving a copy.

ref: emailreplies.com

Translation and Editing: Activity

Translate the following lines using the 14 translation techniques. Use Filipino as your target language.

This serves as your take-home quiz and should be submitted on the 16th of August 2011.


You were there
In everything I knew
From the moment I began
Always there
In every way I go
Saved me falling
Held my hand

You are shelter from the storm
The shadows fade away
All cares pass away

Hosanna, day by day
Your love lightens up the sky
As it shines across the night
Ave, regina caelorum decora
Virgo gloriosa, ave!
And when the end of day is come
Stay with me through the dark
And bring me home

You are there
Whichever way I go
Keep me safely night and day
Always there
Whenever I'm alone
Hear me calling
Show the way

You are shelter from the storm
The shadows fade away
All cares pass away

Hosanna, day by day
Your love lightens up the sky
As it shines across the night
Ave, regina caelorum decora
Virgo gloriosa, ave!
And when the end of day is come
Stay with me through the dark
And bring me home

Stay with me through the dark
And bring me home

Advance Composition: The Sentence

The Sentence

A sentence is a word or group of words expressing a single and complete thought.

Requirement:

1.       It should express a complete thought

2.       It should express only one thought or form a unit.

Principles of Sentence Structure:

1.       Learn to express yourself in complete sentence.

Use the basic sentence pattern: Subject  - Verb  - Object/Complement

Mark ate apples

    S      V      O      

2.       If two ideas do not belong together separate them.

The boy ran away down Rizal Avenue which was named after our hero, Jose Rizal.

3.       Sentence unity may be destroyed by the inclusion of words, phrases or clause that have no direct bearing on the principal thought of the sentence. A sentence of this type has ‘too much.’          

My uncle, short of temper out of breath, eighty years old at his time, and his hair entirely white, shouted at the stranger.

4.       Overloading with details obscure unity.

We were going to see the game which was to be played at the gymnasium and we walked and chatted and laughed gaily and when we reached the gymnasium, the game had begun and we were disappointed.

5.       Avoid expressing in short, choppy sentences or ideas which can be expressed more precisely in one sentence.

The program was over. I rose to go out. I was very nervous. I had to sit down again. Soon I grew calmer.

Coherence in a Sentence

“Sticking together”

The parts of a sentence must be cut and shaped to fit smoothly at the joints, laid in place to do their appointed tasks, and then fastened or bound with connectives so as to stay together and carry the ideas clearly to the reader.

1.       Place all modifier, whether words, phrases or clause as near as possible to the word modified.

Word modifier: 

I only need ten pesos. 

I need ten pesos only.

Phrase modifier: 

He began to lose his desire to go mountain climbing after an hour.

After an hour, he began to lose his desire to go mountain climbing.

Clause modifier:

When you are a child, do you remember all the toys you received?

Do you remember all the toys you received when you are a child?

Review:

Pronoun

A pronoun is a substitute for a noun. It refers to a person, place, thing, feeling, or quality but does not refer to it by its name. The pronoun in the following sample sentence is bolded.

The critique of Plato's Republic was written from a contemporary point of view. It was an in-depth analysis of Plato's opinions about possible governmental forms.

Antecedent

An antecedent is the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers, understood by the context. The antecedent in the following sample sentence is bolded.

The critique of Plato's Republic was written from a contemporary point of view. It was an in-depth analysis of Plato's opinions about possible governmental forms.

While the pronouns I and you can be replaced by nouns, the context of a sentence does not always require the nouns to make clear to which persons I and you refer. However, the third person pronouns (he, she, it, they) almost always derive their meaning from their antecedents or the words for which they stand.

 Remember that pronouns in the third person communicate nothing unless the reader knows what they mean:

It is the best source available. What source is that?

Agreement

A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in three ways:

1.       Person refers to the quality of being.

2.       Number is the quality that distinguishes between singular (one entity) and plural (numerous entities).

3.       Gender is the quality that distinguishes the entities as masculine or feminine.

2.       The antecedent of pronoun in a sentence should be immediately clear to the reader.

Vague:  I remember that I met many people but I did not enjoy it very much.

Clear:    I remember that I met many people but I did not enjoy the occasion very much.

3.       Ideas which are parallel in meaning should have parallel form:

Faulty:  Arcilla’s stories appeal to me because they are plausible and sound plot.

 Better: Arcilla’s stories appeal to me because they are plausible and well-plotted.

4.       Avoid ‘dangling’ modifier.

Dangling: Arriving there late the train had left.

Clear: We arrive late and found that the train had left.

5.       Avoid ‘squinting’ modifier.

Squinting: After we stopped at a gasoline station, with the help of the attendant, we…

6.       Avoid overloading your sentences with too many details.

Too many details:

                Military training teaches a person to stand up straight and walk with his head up and this will help him in future life because it will become a habit and so many people have the bad habit of walking stooped leading to poor health and poor appearance.

Clear:

                Military training teaches a person to stand erect and walk with his head up. Good posture becomes habitual and leads directly to better health and appearance.                 

Philippine Literature: General View of Literature

The Pre-War Years

The founding of the University of the Philippines in 1908 triggered the development and flowering of Philippine –Literature in English, with the UP College Folio serving as vehicle for the first literary attempts. Along with this, later publications served to encourage such attempts, namely, The Philippine Review, The Philippine Free Press, the Philippine Herald, and still later, the Philippine Magazine. The U.P. Writers Club was organized in 1927 ' The Literacy Apprentice, its literary organ, became the most prestigious college literary publication in the country. It was also at about this time that the Varsitarian of the University of Santo Tomas began to see publication, existing side by side with its literary supplement, The Spectrum.

It was not therefore until the mid-20's that literary activities were stepped up, literary efforts were recognized and encouraged, and notable names in literature began to grace the literary scene.

understandably, the writers of this generation could not help writing under the shadow of their American tutors and inspiration who taught them the craft as well as motivated them. But at the same time they encouraged them to take pride in their own people, their own customs and traditions, applaud their own folk-wisdom with "unprejudiced eyes", they fed them with a surfeit of the sentimentalities" of Cooper, Bryant, Longfellow, Tennyson, Poe, Teasdale, etc. Thus, the early writings in English even up to the later pre-war years and on, borrowed much from the conventions or techniques of Anglo-American authors.

Aside fr0m their American teachers, sources of motivation were courses in Creative Writing, literary contests' as well as more literary magazines and supplements which printed literary pieces, maintaining strict standards which had to be met. To be published during those days was already supreme achievement for the budding writer.

It was not however until the establishment of the commonwealth in 1935 that the writers began to be more concerned with the creation of a "national literature." Prior to this, literary attempts were merely personal outpourings, most of the time about love, newly felt, lost or unrequited, or about the common sorrows and joys of life. At first, this concept of national literature was understood in terms of "local color" through the use of localisms and rustic landscapes, customs, traditions. Later, some few years before the war, the writer's view of nationalism intensified into a growing rejection of American influences which were mostly based on old romantic conventions, and an increasing emphasis on realism and social consciousness. This led to the famous literary conflict between Salvador P. Lopez on one hand and poet Jose Garcia villa on the other, between two opposing and rather extreme ideas on literature.

S.P. Lopez, prophet of socially committed literature, influenced as he was by the social protest movement sweeping the USA at about this time in the wake of the great economic collapse and the depression wrote:

“The real artist has a deep compassion for the suffering of the oppressed and anger of the oppressors. The highest form of art is that which springs from the wells of man’s deepest urges and longings…his love of his own kind and his longing to be free…of all the ends to which he (the artist) may dedicate his talents, none is more worthy than the improvement of the condition of man and the defense of freedom.”

-Literature Society, 1939

S.P. Lopez explained his side, “The 30’s comprised a period of intense political, social and intellectual activity in our country, mainly because of his independence movement which spawned problems…we who are just beginning to master English, were exposed to the literature of the social protest, which had become very powerful abroad.”

Jose Gracia Villa, on the other hand, believed in “art for art’s sake”; that in art, craft comes before meaning, that poetry should never be useful and propagandistic, that it must only arouse pleasure in the beautiful, must lead to contemplation, not action.

One significant benefit derived from such controversy was the attempt to strike a healthy balance between social commitment and artistic excellence. But since on cannot truly serve two masters the writer must set his priorities. One disadvantage of this conflict was it led to fanatic disciples for either camp, and bred social propagandists on one hand and effete, irrelevant artist on the other, the respective tags depending on which side of the fence one situated himself. The times however were more receptive to S.P. Lopez literary platform and Villa was considered anachronism, far beyond his time.

Generally, however, part of the literary ferment that appeared before World War II as it affected Philippine shores was enlivened by this dynamic tension in the history of our literary evolution, and the brush with Western culture and politics. The post-war years continued this lively conflict, but basically, the literary scenario began to change.

ref: Philippine Contemporary Literature in English, Ophelia A. Dimalanta, et.al.

Philippine Literature: The More Recent Years ( Early 70's to the Present)

The immediate postwar years were years of conformism and no one, much less the students, was expected to raise a voice against the United States. It was not until the 60's that the students began to feel restive and to be aware of the graft, corruption, and influence peddling that became rampant in the government. It was not until the late sixties and early seventies that mass rallies, strikes and demonstrations began to be staged. The students, jolted out of their cautious and complacent world by the Vietnam war, the Back Poser riots, and the violent upsurge of student activism all over the world were flushed out of insulated classrooms, swamped by Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse Tung thoughts, and inspired by the new legend surrounding Amado Guerrero and Jose Maria  Sison. The 70's was the rises of the "student power" and the demonstrations called "the parliament of the streets" basically were anti-establishments and anti-imperialism - these often led to eruptions of violence and destruction of life and property. The country, supposedly under the threat of subversion and Communist take-over (the perfect reason for taking control of the country), was put under Martial Law by then President Ferdinand Marcos in September 21, 1972. The years that followed led to traumatic experiences especially where the writers (journalistic and literary) were concerned. There was a general clampdown on media. Only the political propaganda, machination of the Marcos government was in operation, in the light of this political situation, some writers were forced to redefine their values and see the word "commitment" or "engagement" in a new slant.


After about fourteen years of political enslavement and oppression where almost all basic human rights were suppressed under dictatorship, the political scenario underwent a sudden change. instrumental in the change was a phenomenal four-day revolution on February 21 -25, 1986 by what has been called "people power." It was generally a bloodless revolution, fought with songs, flowers, friendship, exhortations of unity, and an espousal of a common cause, and the climax of Corazon Aquino's miracle.


ref: Philippine Contemporary Literature in English, Ophelia A. Dimalanta, et.al.