What is a Text?

Lecture 2
 Text
• In academic terms, anything that conveys a set of meanings to the person
who examines it.

• A coherent set of signs that transmits some kind of informative message.

“
after you have chosen your words, they must be
weaved together into a fine and delicate fabric”

- Quintilian
”
textum → textile
 Text
• A linguistic structure woven out of words or signs
• The words, phrases, lines, or sentences have not been arranged by chance.

• A text is produced for communicative purposes.

• A text contains meaning that is open to interpretation.

 Clear

Expresses a Features
single
thought as a of a Logical
whole Text

Organized
Genres of Text
Lecture 2.1
Narrative Text
 Narrative Text
• any type of writing that relates a series of events and includes both fiction
(novels, short stories, poems) and nonfiction (memoirs, biographies, news
stories)

• use imaginative language and express emotion, often through the use of
imagery, metaphors, and symbols
 Narrative Text Structure

Beginning End

Middle
 Narrative Text
• Narration is not simply a listing of events in chronological order.

• It usually contains story elements such as: characters, setting, a conflict, and
a resolution.
What makes a narration interesting?
 Exemplification
• Use specific instances or actual cases to convince an audience that a
particular point is true.

• Supporting with examples and illustration

Sometimes fear can be a great motivator. Once when I was in high school, I tried out for
a part in the school play. I was surprised and thrilled when I was given one of the leads.
Never for a moment, however, did I consider how long my part was or how hard I
would have to work to memorize it. All I could think of was how much attention I was
getting from my friends. I even ignored the warnings of the play’s director who told me I
would be in trouble if I did not begin to memorize my lines. The reality of my situation
finally sank in during our first dress rehearsal when I stumbled all over my lines, and the
rest of the cast laughed at me. After that, I spent hours going over my lines. As a result
of that experience, I learned two things: first, that I could do almost anything if I was
frightened enough and second, that I would never try out for another play.

My friend is a kind person full of
love in his heart.
My friend is a kind person full of
love in his heart. One day, he
initiated to take a picture of the
elders having a hard time taking
selfies. He was always one call away
to fix the laptops of his friends
panicking when they encountered
the word reboot, and those who did
not know how to deal with iOS
updates. Last vacation, he woke up
extra early to help his aunties to
carry their groceries. He would
always mix his little sister’s pasta
before he mixes his.
 Reading
Coming to an Awareness of Language
by Malcolm X
 Malcolm X
Born 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska
Malcolm Little, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz
An African-American human rights activist
Supporters: Courageous advocate for the rights of
the blacks, a man who indicted white America in
the toughest terms for its crimes against black
Americans
Detractors: preaching violence and prejudice
Considered one of the greatest and most influential
African Americans in history
 Comprehending the Text
• Describe the process by which the author improved his reading and writing abilities.
• What distinction does Malcolm X imply when, in paragraph 8, he says “I not only
wasn’t articulate, I wasn’t even functional”?
• What is it about Bimbi that makes the narrator wish to “emulate him”?
• What difference does Malcolm X draw between being articulate in the “hustling
world” and being truly literate?
• Malcolm X, at first, wanted to improve his ability to communicate in the letters he
wrote. Does this motivation change later on? Explain.
 Comprehending the Text
• What message does Malcolm X seem to suggest about literacy and
education?
• Explain the process he used to become articulate. What does that process
suggest about Malcolm X’s character?
• The author’s letters contained statements such as “the white man is the
devil.” Do such comments affect his credibility? Why or why not?
• What is the nature of freedom that Malcolm X refers to in the final
sentence? In what sense can language be said to be liberating?
Description
 Description
• An expression of ideas & feelings

• About real or imagined people, events, and ideas

 Description
• To make readers see, hear, feel, taste, or smell what you wrote

• Description is not what you saw, but what readers need to see in order to
imagine the scene, person, object, etc.
 Description
• The success of a description lies in the difference between what a reader can
imagine and what you actually saw and recorded; from that gap arises a spark
of engagement.

• Precise language + sensory expressions = vivid imagery

 Examples
• The sunset filled the entire sky with the deep color of rubies, setting the
clouds ablaze.
• The waves crashed and danced along the shore, moving up and down in a
graceful and gentle rhythm like they were dancing.
• The painting was a field of flowers, with deep and rich blues and yellows
atop vibrant green stems that seemed to beckon you to reach right in and
pick them.
What makes a good description?
 What makes a good description?
• Using descriptive words like adjectives or adverbs

• Especially useful in descriptive texts are figures of speech

 Figures of Speech
• An effective way of conjuring up an image, to suggest an idea, or to stir
emotions.

• Similes – describing one characteristic by comparing to a similar

characteristic of something else; uses like or as
• Metaphors – more direct comparisons; do not use like or as which makes
them stronger than similes
 Figures of Speech
• Personification – attributing human qualities or abilities to inanimate
objects, animals, or abstract ideas

• Hyperbole – an exaggerated statement for the purpose of emphasis or

heightened effect

“It was a cold grey day in late
November. The weather had changed
overnight, when a backing wind
brought a granite sky and a mizzling
rain with it, and although it was now
only a little after two o'clock in the
afternoon the pallor of a winter
evening seemed to have closed upon
the hills, cloaking them in mist.”
- an excerpt from Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier
“The idiosyncrasy of this town is
smoke. It rolls sullenly in slow folds
from the great chimneys of the iron-
foundries, and settles down in black,
slimy pools on the muddy streets.
Smoke on the wharves, smoke on the
dingy boats, on the yellow river--
clinging in a coating of greasy soot to
the house-front, the two faded
poplars, the faces of the passers-by.”
- an excerpt from Life in the Iron Mills by Rebecca
Harding Davis
 Expository Texts
An expository text gives detailed information and explanation
about a specific topic.
Process
 Process
• Text that explains a process as a series of steps, putting them into a
sequence

• A step-by-step explanation of how something is done.

• Isolate the steps: numbering, bulleting, by paragraphs

 Process
• Process steps are often accompanied by illustrations, as people can usually
read diagrams better than lists or steps.
 Process
• In describing how a process happens or how to perform a series of actions,
always think: can the readers follow?
 How to Identify a Process Essay
• The easiest way is to look for transitional devices.
 Procedural Transitional Devices
About Before In the meantime Prior to Tomorrow
After During Later Second Until
Afterwards Eventually Meanwhile Soon When
As soon as Finally Next Then Yesterday
At First Next week Till
At this point Immediately Presently Today
 Reading
How to Catch River Crabs
 Comprehending the Text
• Is this a process essay? How can you tell?
• What is the process being explained in this text? Do you think the author
was able to explain it clearly?
• Translate the procedure into a graphic or a flowchart.
• Do you think you would be able to perform the procedure based on this
essay?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of this essay?
Cause and Effect
 Cause and effect
• Explains:
• Causes of particular event or situation
• Effects of an event or situation
• Relationship of both
 Cohesive Devices
Cause

As For In view of (the fact) Owing to (the fact)

Because (of the fact) For the reason that Inasmuch as Seeing that

Being that Forasmuch as One (another) cause Since

Due to (the fact In that One (another)

that) reason
 Cohesive Devices
Effect

Accordingly Consequently One (another) effect Thus

As a consequence For this reason So

As a result (of this) Hence So that

Because (of this) In consequence Therefore

Contrary to popular belief, acne is not caused by
eating too much sweets or oily food. It is actually
caused by two things: your hormones and your
genes. The shifting of your hormones during
your puberty and adolescent stage is one cause of
your breakouts. It can also be because of your
genes. Some people have naturally oily face that
can lead to acne.
 Reading
Possible Outcomes of Skipping Classes
at School
 Comprehending the Text
• Is this a cause-and-effect essay? What makes you say so?
• What is the main idea of the text? What is it trying to say?
• How many effects were identified?
• How did the author make their assertions about the effects of skipping
classes more believable?
• Are you convinced that these are indeed the effects of skipping classes?
Comparison and contrast
 Comparison and contrast
• Explains how a subject (item, person, place, idea) are either similar or
different.

• Why compare and/or contrast?

• to understand two subjects better
• to inform about the two subjects
• to evaluate and decide between two choices
 Cohesive Devices
Comparison
Also Equally In the same way Similar to
As In a similar fashion Like Similarly
Both In comparison Likewise To compare
 Cohesive Devices
Contrast
Although Despite Instead Otherwise
And yet Even so However Still
As opposed to Even though Nevertheless The fact remains
But In contrast Nonetheless Unlike
Conversely In spite of On the contrary Whereas
Counter to In the meantime On the other hand Yet
 Reading
Differences Between the Daily Lives of
Teenagers Today and a Century Ago
 Comprehending the Text
• What makes this a compare and contrast essay?
• Is this more of a compare essay or more of a contrast essay? Why?
• What is being compared/contrasted?
• What characteristics were used to show the comparison/contrast?
• Was the text successful in showing how teenagers now are different from teenagers
then? Why or why not?
• What other differences do you think are there between teenagers today and
teenagers a hundred years ago?
Argumentative Text
 Argument
• A text that takes position on a particular issue.

• Convince people that your particular view or opinion on an issue is correct.

 How can you convince your
audience with your argument?
 Facts vs Opinions

Facts Opinions
• Statements that are not subject to • Statements that express personal
interpretation, judgment, or preference or value judgments;
inference. hence, cannot be proven and
• Facts can be verified or checked for verified.
accuracy. • Opinions often express comparison
and subjective description.
 Reading
Is Humanity Alone in the Universe?
Unlikely.
 Comprehending the Text
• What is the main argument of the text?
• How did the author try to convince the readers to agree to their point?
• Were you persuaded? If yes, why? If no, why not?
• What action do you think the author wants people to take?
• How would you improve the text’s argument?