Properties of a Well-

Written Text
Lecture 3
 Properties of a Well-written Text
• For any composition to be effective, it must always consider the five
properties of a well-written text: organization, coherence and cohesion,
unity, language use, and mechanics.
 1. Organization
• also known as arrangement
• is achieved when ideas are logically and accurately arranged with focus on
arrangement of ideas, incidents, evidence, or details in a definite order in a
paragraph or essay.
 Introduction

Organization

Body Conclusion
 Organization
• When ideas are organized well, a text can achieve coherence, cohesion, and
unity
 2. Coherence
• refers to the overall sense of unity in a passage, including both the main
point of sentences and the main point of each paragraph.

• A coherent passage focuses the reader’s attention on the main ideas and the
specific people, things, and events being written about.
 Coherence
• The text’s ideas are connected at the conceptual level.

• Coherence is when the sentences follow on one from the other in an orderly
fashion so that the reader can make sense of the entire text.
 3. Cohesion
• refers to the connection of ideas both at the sentence level and at the
paragraph level
 Coherence and Cohesion
• A text can be one but not the other.
• Examples:
• “Blue is my favorite color. Blue is a calming and relaxing color. In the summer I lie in
the grass and look up at the blue sky.”
• “Blue is my favorite color. For this reason, cars that go fast can cause injury or harm.
Thus, I missed my European holiday.”
 Coherence and Cohesion
• Both coherent and cohesive
• “My favorite color is blue. I like it because it is calming and it relaxes me. I often go
outside in the summer and lie on the grass and look into the clear sky when I am
stressed. For this reason, I'd have to say my favorite color is blue.”
 Coherence and Cohesion
“For me, the worst thing about waiting
tables is the uniform. All the waitresses
had to wear this ugly brown striped
jumper. The shirts were polyester.
Sometimes someone you know comes in.
Now I have a job in an office.”
“For me, the worst thing about waiting
tables was the uniform. At the last place I
worked, all the waitresses had to wear an
ugly brown striped jumper. Underneath it
we had to wear an even uglier polyester
shirt. Sometimes someone I knew would
come in and I'd feel embarrassed by my
outfit. Now I have a job in an office,
where I can wear my own clothes.”
Right now we're at Angkor, which is a collection of temples in the north
of Cambodia, which, about a thousand years ago, was the center of a
huge empire which stretched across most of South-East Asia. The true
significance of the place is that it's probably the world's most amazing
collection of religious monuments. What you see here is a scale of
engineering and aesthetic beauty and a complexity that isn't really seen at
any other collection of monument sites around the world.
Credit cards are convenient, but dangerous. People often get them in
order to make large purchases easily without saving up lots of money in
advance. This is especially helpful for purchases like cars, kitchen
appliances, etc., that you may need to get without delay. However,
this convenience comes at a high price: interest rates. The more money
you put on your credit card, the more the bank or credit union
will charge you for that convenience. If you’re not careful, credit card
debt can quickly break the bank and leave you in very dire economic
circumstances!
 Tips to Improve Cohesion
• Transitions – use of conjunction or conjunctive adverbs
• Sequence – again, also, and, then, besides, finally, first, second, third, furthermore, last,
next, etc.
• Time – after a few days, after a while, afterward, as soon as, as long as, at last, at the
time, before, earlier, immediately, in the meantime, until, lately, presently, simultaneously,
etc.
• Comparison – also, in the same way, likewise, similarly, etc.
• Contrast – although, despite, but, however, in contrast, on the contrary, etc.
 Tips to Improve Cohesion
• Transitions – use of conjunction or conjunctive adverbs
• Examples - after all, for example, for instance, to illustrate, in fact, specifically, such as
• Cause and Effect - as a result, because, consequently, hence, for this reason, if…then, since,
then, therefore, thus
• Place - above, adjacent to, below, beyond, farther, here, near, nearby, opposite to, closer,
elsewhere
• Repetition – repeat a word from a previous sentence
• Synonymy – using synonyms instead of repeating a word
• Pronouns
 4. Unity
• Unity is achieved when a composition is focused on one idea only.

• All supporting ideas are relevant to the main thought.

Organization is Coherence is the Cohesion is the Unity is oneness of
about the connection of ideas connection of ideas ideas all pertaining
arrangement of: in the concept level: in the sentence level: to the theme or the
Ideas topic sentence.
Incident Is the first topic related Did it use pronouns
Details to the next? properly? Is the text saying one
Evidence thing and one thing
Order Is this sentence connected Did it use transitions? only?
to the topic of the
Is the text arranged into paragraph? Did it do repetition of Is the main idea
an introduction, a body, the subject matter? apparent in every part
and a conclusion? Is what this sentence of the text?
talking about connected
to the previous sentence?
To the next sentence?
 5. Language Use
• One of the clearest indicators of a well written text.

• An effective language is: Specific, Concise, Familiar, Correct, and

Appropriate
 Levels of Language Use
1. Informal/Personal – slang, local expressions, text messaging, meme
language
Hey Bes Hahaha Can I haz a cheeseburger?
Sup LOL Pre Doggo/cato
OTW Dude Mumsht
BRB Yo AuQ nHa
 Levels of Language Use
2. Standard/Academic – widely accepted words and phrases found in books,
magazines, and newspapers
• General rule – if it’s the Oxford English Dictionary, it can be considered as academic.

3. Business/Technical – scientific terms, jargon, special expression

“Results of the ANOVA regression technique, expressed in the sigmoid
curve, yielded data that fails to disprove the null hypothesis.”
 Principles in Language Use
• Use clear and concise sentences (usually 18 words long).

“Image is a very important factor in politics because once the reputation of a

person is smeared by accusations, the people’s perception of the person is
forever tainted and it may cause him to lose credibility and trust even when the
truth behind the allegations is not yet verified.”
 Principles of Language Use
• Avoid redundancies, clichés, and highfalutin words.

“Although offspring are taught to not obtain favors from strangers at no cost,
at the present moment numerous individuals still commit this act.”
 Principles of Language Use
• Use precise vocabulary. Be accurate.

“Shafts that control the brake during urgent situations are built inside MRT
trains to keep the passengers free from harm.”

“We are endeavoring to construct a society where everyone feels like they
belong.”
 Principles of Language Use
• Be consistent on pronoun POV.

“They might start out by joking, but calling someone a name with the intent of
hurting you is not okay. Be sure your child understands calling someone a
name; even if you feel the person deserves it, is not okay and is a form of
bullying.”
 Principles of Language Use
• Observe the appropriate level of formality.

• “Yes, diskettes are, like, a thing of the past, but they’re, like, still cool today.”
 Principles of Language Use
• Avoid sexist language.

“The teacher is the person who organizes the class. He is the one who controls
timekeeping and the sequence of events.”

“Each student makes up his own schedule.”

 6. Mechanics
• Focuses on the technicalities of the structure.
• Determines errors in subject-verb agreement, prepositions, tenses, grammar,
spelling, capitalization, abbreviations, the use of numbers and punctuation
marks
 Mechanics
• Colon (:) – after independent clauses to introduce elements
• “The coach demanded three things from his players: loyalty, devotion, and teamwork.”
• Parentheses () – to set off nonessential details and explanations, to enclose
letters and numbers used when listing items, first-time use acronym
• Brackets [] – to set off clarifications inserted in quotations
• Hyphen (-) – to separate or join words
 Mechanics
• Dash (—) – to show sudden break of thought; to set off an introduction to
a series; to set off an exemplification or expounding of a statement
• Semicolon (;) – to join independent clauses when and, or, yet, but, or so are not
present
• “Some people write with a word processor; others write with a pen or pencil.”
• “However they choose to write, people are allowed to make their own decisions; as a
result, many people swear by their writing methods.”
 Mechanics
• Semicolon (;) – also used to separate items in a series that contains commas
• “The governor will meet with Rey Simon, the mayor of Concepcion; Bert Vesca, the
vice mayor; and Peter Cayabyab.”
• Ellipsis (…) – to indicate that words have been deleted from quoted material
 Freewriting
Write an essay about any of the following topics:
• Should the jeepneys be phased out for modernization? Why or why not?
• What is your favorite artwork/song?
• Are humanities courses irrelevant in the STEM strand?
• What is the best online game?
• Which part of your childhood do you wish to relive?