TEXT AS A CONNECTED DISCOURSE

Text
 A stretch of language which is perceived as a purposeful connected whole. A text may be spoken or written, produced by one person or
more, and is created by text – internal cohesion and text – external coherence. Some linguists use the term text interchangeably with
discourse (Collins & Hollo, 2000)
 It is not a grammatical unit, but a product of communication or piece of language whose shape is motivated by its semantic purposes and
pragmatic roles

Discourse
 Is defined in linguistics as any stretch of language larger than a sentence, whether spoken or written, and having a logically consistent and
unified structure.
 Is classified under any of the four forms – exposition, description, narration, and argumentation, based on the purpose of language
producer (speaker or writer). He has only one intent or purpose; if his purpose is to tell a story, his speech or writing is narrative, and not
descriptive, argumentative, nor expository.

Forms of Discourse
1) Exposition – a form of discourse that serves to explain or inform; it appeals to the intellect.
Example: a research paper on the cause and effects of global warming; an article on child labor and child abuse
2) Description – a form of discourse that serves to describe or state the qualities or characteristics of something/ someone; it appeals to the
senses
Example: a student’s description of his ideal teacher
3) Narration – a form of discourse that serves to narrate or tell a story; it appeals to the emotions. Example:a narrative
account of a near-death experience
4) Argumentation – a form of discourse that serves to argue (to cite reasons for or against a proposition) or to persuade (to let the
audience change his mind [to convince] and/or take an action [to actuate])
Example: an essay expounding on the retention or cancellation/cessation of the Visiting Forces Agreement
Connected Discourse

 A continuous sequence of sounds forming utterances or conversations in spoken language. Analysis of connected speech shows sound
changes affecting linguistic units traditionally described as phrases, words, lexemes, morphemes, syllables, phonemes, or phones.

Transitional devices are like bridges between parts of your paper. They are cues that help the reader to interpret ideas a paper
develops. Transitional devices are words or phrases that help carry a thought from one sentence to another, from one idea to
another, or from one paragraph to another. And finally, transitional devices link sentences and paragraphs together smoothly so
that there are no abrupt jumps or breaks between ideas.

There are several types of transitional devices, and each category leads readers to make certain connections or assumptions.
Some lead readers forward and imply the building of an idea or thought, while others make readers compare ideas or draw
conclusions from the preceding thoughts.

Here is a list of some common transitional devices that can be used to cue readers in a given way. To Add:
and, again, and then, besides, equally important, finally, further, furthermore, nor, too, next, lastly, what's more, moreover, in
addition, first (second, etc.)

To Compare:
whereas, but, yet, on the other hand, however, nevertheless, on the contrary, by comparison, where, compared to, up against,
balanced against, vis a vis, but, although, conversely, meanwhile, after all, in contrast, although this may be true

To Prove:
because, for, since, for the same reason, obviously, evidently, furthermore, moreover, besides, indeed, in fact, in addition, in
any case, that is

To Show Exception:
yet, still, however, nevertheless, in spite of, despite, of course, once in a while, sometimes To Show Time:
immediately, thereafter, soon, after a few hours, finally, then, later, previously, formerly, first (second, etc.), next, and then

To Repeat:
in brief, as I have said, as I have noted, as has been noted To Emphasize:
definitely, extremely, obviously, in fact, indeed, in any case, absolutely, positively, naturally, surprisingly, always, forever,
perennially, eternally, never, emphatically, unquestionably, without a doubt, certainly, undeniably, without reservation

To Show Sequence:
first, second, third, and so forth. A, B, C, and so forth. next, then, following this, at this time, now, at this point, after, afterward,
subsequently, finally, consequently, previously, before this, simultaneously, concurrently, thus, therefore, hence, next, and
then, soon

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To Give an Example:
for example, for instance, in this case, in another case, on this occasion, in this situation, take the case of, to demonstrate, to
illustrate, as an illustration, to illustrate

To Summarize or Conclude:
in brief, on the whole, summing up, to conclude, in conclusion, as I have shown, as I have said, hence, therefore, accordingly, thus,
as a result, consequently

TECHNIQUES IN ORGANIZING INFORMATION

In selecting and organizing information, a writer can select from the following techniques:

1) Making a brainstorming list

 The easiest to do
 This list contains the possible topics for inclusion in the write-up. A writer list down all the topics he desires to include in
the article. After doing the list, he trims down the number of items by removing those which are unnecessary.

2) Drawing graphic organizers

 May be drawn to help a writer to organize his ideas. The choice of an appropriate graphic organizer depends on the
pattern to be used in developing the paper.

Types of Graphic Organizers According to Usage (Menoy, 2007)

a) Pie/Circle/ Sector graph – to present proportions and percentages – it may be solid (consisting of sectors bound together
and differentiated by color, shading, etc.) or exploded (consisting of sectors shown separately);
b) Column/ Bar graph – to compare quantities – it may be vertical (consisting of standing columns) or horizontal (consisting
of lying columns);
c) Line graph – to show progress or development – it may be a single line (consisting of only one line) or multiple line
( consisting of many lines differentiated by color, form, or thickness);
d) Surface graph – to show proportions and quantities – it may be single-surface ( consisting of only one layer or stratum) or
multiple-surface (consisting of several layers or strata; also called strata, belt, or band chart);
e) Map Chart – to show geographical data and how things are put together – it may be a geographical map, a road map, a
political map, or another kind;
f) Figure graph – to present quantities in the form of figures;
g) Photograph – to show how a thing looks like;
h) Organizational chart – to present the lines of responsibility and accountability in an organization;
i) Table – to present a large body of numerical and other data – it may be formal (consisting of titles or headings,
subheadings, legends, etc.; usually in grid form)or informal (lacking some items found in a formal table);
j) Schematic diagram - to show how a thing works or is organized;
k) Flow chart – to show chronology of events in a narrative or stages in a process – it may be strip charts (having strips of
paper to cover the items presented) or a non-strip chart (having no strips of paper);
l) Tree chart/ Tree diagram – to present a classification or analysis; and
m) Drawing/ Illustration – to show details not available in a photograph, e.g. , parts of a machine.

3) Outlining
 The writer lists down all ideas relevant to the topic, sorts them all into major and minor ones, and creates an outline out
of them.
 It serves as a skeletal framework for a composition.
 It helps present ideas in an orderly fashion. There are two systems of outlining.
1. Alphanumeric (number-letter system) which makes use of Roman and Hindu-Arabic numbers as well as uppercase and
lowercase letters.
Example:

2. Decimal system that makes use of symbols that look like decimal numbers. Example:

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Outlines are classified into topic, sentence, and paragraph outlines.
1. Topic outlines- have words and phrases as entries
2. Sentence outlines – have sentences
3. Paragraph outlines – have topic sentences containing the main ideas of the paragraphs in the composition.

PARAGRAPH – is a group of related sentences that develop a single topic or idea. It is composed of the topic sentence that
contains the main or central idea to be developed, the details that support or develop it, and the clinching sentence that
concludes or closes the paragraph.

Qualities of Effective Paragraph

1. ORGANIZATION
• Words and ideas in a sentence, paragraph, or composition are organized in a certain manner called order.
• Four types of order:
• Chronological
• Geographical
• Logical
• Enumerative

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 2. COHERENCE AND COHESION

Cohesion – is “the type of organization in the text that is created by the presence (or absence) in each sentence of distinctive, recognizable
linguistic items which relate it to the preceding and following sentences. It is the text- internal organization of a text: the links and bonds
established on the surface level of a text by the use of pronouns, coordinators and subordinators, and lexical patterning, which all combine to
give it a sense of correctness (Collins & Hollo, 2000).”

Example:
John proposed to marry Marsha because he loved her so much; consequently, she accepted his proposal and the two kissed and hugged each
other.

*The use of the personal pronouns “he” and “his” to refer to John
*The use of personal pronouns “her” and “she” to refer to Marsha
*The use of reciprocal pronoun “each other” to refer to John and Marsha
*The use of subordinator “because” to connect the abstract ideas “marriage proposal” and “love”
*The use of the coordinator “consequently” to connect two independent clauses
*The use of the coordinator “and” to join two independent clauses and two verbs (kissed, hugged)
*The use of the numeral “two” to refer to John and Marsha
*The lexical patterning by using words “proposed” and “proposal”

Coherence – If a text, spoken or written, appears to ‘hang together’ rather than being a random collection of sentences, it is said to have
coherence. Such a text would make sense because it would appear logical and consistent in its development and structure; ands would not
contradict any of our presuppositions and knowledge about our world.

3. LANGUAGE USED
Generally, language use is associated with register, “a term many modern linguists use to describe what is also known as “style”, that is, the
variations in language which reflect such factors of ‘use’ a whether the language
used is spoken or written, formal or informal, everyday or belonging to a particular occupation. Registers may be identified and defined in
terms of three dimensions: field (broadly speaking, the subject matter of the text), tenor (the social roles filled by the people taking part and
the personal relationships between them) and mode (the channel or medium of communication that is, primarily spoken) (Collins & Hollo,
2000).
Field is the dimension of Register which is associated with occupational varieties, also known as jargons. e.g. Medicalese (osteoporosis,
leukemia), Legalese (criminologist, habeas corpus), Journalese (editorializing, payola), Mercantelese (expenditure, revenue), Computerese
(gigabyte, database, mouse), etc.

Tenor is the dimension of register which is associated with the participants and their relationship in the communication situation.
• Formal
• Informal
Mode is the dimension of register which is associated with the medium or channel of communication

• Spoken Mode
• Written Mode
4. MECHANICS – involves spelling, spacing, the use of punctuation marks, the use of numbers as words and figures, indention or
indentation, capitalization, and abbreviation.

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