Reading and Writing Skills

Governor Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines 2600

Tel. Nos.: (+6374) 442-3316, 442-8220; 444-2786;
442-2564; 442-8219; 442-8256; Fax No.: 442-6268 Grade Level/Section:
Email: email@uc-bcf.edu.ph; Website: www.uc-bcf.edu.ph

MODULE 1 – RW Subject Teacher:

 Reading and Writing Skills
Governor Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines 2600
Tel. Nos.: (+6374) 442-3316, 442-8220; 444-2786;
442-2564; 442-8219; 442-8256; Fax No.: 442-6268 Grade Level/Section:
Email: email@uc-bcf.edu.ph; Website: www.uc-bcf.edu.ph

MODULE 1 – RW Subject Teacher:

TEXT AS CONNECTED DISCOURSE

At the end of this module, the student will be able to:

a. describes the qualities of a written text as a connected discourse;

b. determine the characteristics of a written text as connected discourse; and
c. write a discourse that reflects unity, order, coherence, and emphasis

Discourse is a term used to describe communication in any form, including spoken or

written language. Discourse is viewed as a system of thought, knowledge, or communication
that constructs our experience of the world.

The four traditional modes of discourse are narration, description, exposition, and
argumentation.

1. Narration
The main goal of narrative writing or speaking is usually to tell a story, often in order to
make the audience feel differently about a certain topic. Narratives might take the form of a
play, novel, folk tale, memoir, or myth. This type of communication usually appeals to an
audience’s humanity, often by drawing on common experiences or emotions that are easily
relatable or by depicting circumstances that pique the imagination.

Visiting his parish one afternoon, a clergyman friend of mine, knocked the door of a church
member but received no response. He was annoyed because he could hear footsteps and
knew the mother of the family must be there. The pastor left his calling card, writing on it:
Revelation 2:20: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any man hears my voice, and open
the door, I will come to him.” The next Saturday, as the parishioners filed out of the church after
the service, the woman who had refused to answer the door greeted the pastor and handed
him her card, with Genesis 3:10 written on it: “I heard the voice in the garden, and I was afraid,
because I was naked; and I hid myself.” ─Reader’s Digest (138 words)

2. Description
It is presentation of how something looks like. When people use description, they generally
rely on one or more of the five human senses to describe something so that it becomes instantly
memorable and relatable. It is usually used to help the audience visualize people and places,
but it can also put the audience in a particular mood or create a certain type of atmosphere.
The writer or speaker uses nouns and adjectives to give the readers and listeners a sense of
what something is like materially.

Thyra was a living poster for the virtues and effects of the products she promoted across
her sweet-smelling counter. Her hair was a fiery dark orange. As a it grew out, it would reveal
another color─ graying white─ and she would vigorously apply a preparation from a fancy bottle
at the Beauty Bar to restore its solid color. Her face was white, and her skin was tightly drawn over
her forehead and cheekbones until it shone. She painted her eyelids with an Egyptian blue and
put something over that to make them shine as she turned her glance. Her eyes were pale gray,
 Reading and Writing Skills
Governor Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines 2600
Tel. Nos.: (+6374) 442-3316, 442-8220; 444-2786;
442-2564; 442-8219; 442-8256; Fax No.: 442-6268 Grade Level/Section:
Email: email@uc-bcf.edu.ph; Website: www.uc-bcf.edu.ph

MODULE 1 – RW Subject Teacher:

folded about by a system of tiny wrinkles which you should not see from a distance. Her natural
eyebrows were removed and she penciled in their substitutes high on the polished bone of her
forehead. For her cheeks she chose a thick dusty rouge called Rose Geranium. Her nose was
large, spatulate at the end, with nostrils flaring open to take an extra abundance of life through
the sense of smell. This hint of appetite was emphasized by her mouth, which was small, and
painted smaller, as if to represent a kiss which was keeping for the world at large. Women
understood and hated her on sight. ─ Paul Horgan (211 words)

3. Exposition
The tool known as “exposition” is designed to inform the audience about a particular topic
that can extend into texts like essays, theses, summaries, etc. There are several different
expository tools writers and speakers can use, including definition, analysis, compare and
contrast, problem and solution and cause and effect. There are many strengths and
weaknesses associated with each type of exposition, and each type has a completely different
purpose. For example, giving someone the definition of a word provides one type of
information, whereas comparing and contrasting two differing opinions often paints a really
different picture.

What is laughter? A bizarre action that is solely a trait of the human race. If you take a
closer look, you will realize that people laugh at unconscious, painful situations concerning
themselves, friends, or world events. We laugh at cartoons full of violence, such as Tom and
Jerry, where the ice beat up the cat. We giggle at jokes that portray the weaker side of people.
We chuckle at the monkeys in the zoo when the big one picks on the little one. We laugh at our
friends or even at strangers when they say something stupid or have minor accidents, such as
dropping a lunch tray in the middle of the cafeteria. All of these associations between pain and
laughter are too numerous to be overlooked, yet they are mysterious. The only unraveling clue
that has shed some light on this strange association is the occurrence of a substance called
endomorphine─ a natural pain killer that is released in small quantities by our brains every time
we laugh. This means that laughter is in reality one of our body’s mechanism for coping with
pain─ perhaps even its most important one. ─ Models for Effective Writing (196 words)

4. Argumentation
It is the process of supporting or ignoring arguer’s views, theories and suggestions.
Argumentative writing or speaking is when the writer or speaker is attempting to convince an
audience that his or her opinion is correct, typically by using logic and appealing to the
audience’s sense of reason. In an argument, the writer or speaker begins with a thesis, which is a
clear, explicit statement of beliefs or opinions. Evidence must then be presented in a clear and
orderly way. If a listener accepts the evidence, he or she should agree with the thesis.

Don’t just use water to rinse your hand, use soap. Sometimes it seems like a bother to use soap
when you wash. But soap really does make you cleaner than plain water does. Water cannot
penetrate grease and dirt by itself. Water without soap merely stands on grease or rolls off. When you
wash your hands with soap and water, the soap helps wash away dirt by lowering the waters’ surface
and force the water to spread out. Then the soap holds the dirt particles in the water so that they can
be rinsed away, leaving your skin clean. ─ Skill Builders

TYPES OF PARAGRAPHS

1. Introductory paragraph
• Makes up about 15% of the whole theme.
• It makes the purpose of the composition clear
• It arouses the interest of the reader
 Reading and Writing Skills
Governor Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines 2600
Tel. Nos.: (+6374) 442-3316, 442-8220; 444-2786;
442-2564; 442-8219; 442-8256; Fax No.: 442-6268 Grade Level/Section:
Email: email@uc-bcf.edu.ph; Website: www.uc-bcf.edu.ph

MODULE 1 – RW Subject Teacher:

2. Supporting paragraph
• The body of the theme
• It contributes to the 75% of the composition
• It is longer than the introductory and closing paragraph put together
• It may define or explain, or provide illustrations, prove an argument, and so on.

3. Transition paragraph
• Special kind of a supporting paragraph
• It’s a change of thought in between
• Customary short
• It serves as a bridge to link any change of thought from preceding paragraph to the
succeeding paragraph

4. Dialogue paragraph
• It is generally found within the narrative form of discourse
• Set off by quotation marks

5. Closing paragraph
• It may be a form of summary, conclusion, quotation, challenge, suggestion, or
rhetorical question that ends a theme.

WRITING EFFECTIVE PARAGRAPH

According to Hamada (n.d), a well-constructed paragraph should be correct, clear,

and effective, embodying the principles of unity, coherence (and order) and emphasis.

Generally, a paragraph is effective if it is characterized as follows:

Unified, when it develops only one topic or one aspect of a topic.

Coherent and orderly, when it is composed of logically related sentences.

Emphatic, when there is a proportionate treatment of the idea in its development.

A. Paragraph Unity
• Every sentence contributes to the development of the topic
• Every sentence is related to, and advances the topic
• No sentence necessary to the development of the topic is omitted.

What is a topic sentence?

• A sentence that states what the paragraph is all about.

• It may be found in the beginning, in the middle, or in the end of a paragraph
• It may also be implied

Do’s and Don’ts in Writing the topic sentence:

1. A topic sentence cannot be a fragment; it must be a complete sentence.
Poor: The demand of success.
Better: Success demands patience, guts, and determination.
 Reading and Writing Skills
Governor Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines 2600
Tel. Nos.: (+6374) 442-3316, 442-8220; 444-2786;
442-2564; 442-8219; 442-8256; Fax No.: 442-6268 Grade Level/Section:
Email: email@uc-bcf.edu.ph; Website: www.uc-bcf.edu.ph

MODULE 1 – RW Subject Teacher:

2. A topic sentence must not be in the form of a question.

Poor: Who is a good leader?
Better: A good leader is a man of focus, dedication, and determination.

3. A topic sentence must not contain statements such as “I think”.

Poor: Excellence, in my opinion, is always a choice.
Better: Excellence is always a choice.

4. A topic sentence must not be expressed in a muddled or incoherent language.

Poor: Beauty is something that is cherished by everyone because when you are
beautiful it means that you have a good heart and you believe in yourself that is
why everybody loves you.
Better: Beauty is confidence.

B. Paragraph Coherence

• Sticking together of ideas

• Effective use of explicit connecting links between sentences to take the unit from one
unit of thought to the other
• Four common structural devices if providing links between sentences in a paragraph are
used, namely:
✓ Transitional expressions: connecting devices; shows relationship of the different
elements in a text

Examples:
Spatial Relationship: Here, Under, inside
Chronological Order: Now, First, Then
Logical Relationship of Ideas: Consequently, Nevertheless, But

✓ Pronouns: They keep the keep the reader constantly aware of the subject
✓ Repetition of key words and phrases: It provides another way to link sentences; the
frequent recurrence of important words serves to emphasize major ideas
✓ Parallelism of sentence structure: Use similar structure to express ideas
Example:

There's an old Chinese proverb that goes something like this

If you're planning for a year, grow wheat;
if you're planning for a decade, grow trees;
if you're planning for a lifetime, grow men.
This is the essence of education.

C. Paragraph Order
• Arrangement of ideas in a paragraph:
✓ Chronological Order
✓ Spatial Order
✓ Logical Order
 Reading and Writing Skills
Governor Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines 2600
Tel. Nos.: (+6374) 442-3316, 442-8220; 444-2786;
442-2564; 442-8219; 442-8256; Fax No.: 442-6268 Grade Level/Section:
Email: email@uc-bcf.edu.ph; Website: www.uc-bcf.edu.ph

MODULE 1 – RW Subject Teacher:

D. Paragraph Emphasis
• Giving importance to an idea
✓ Proportion
✓ Position

*** In relation to coherence and Order. Here are some examples of transitional words and
expressions

Transitions and Connectives

Words and phrases that connect and make logical transitions between sentences,
paragraphs, and sections of a paper generally do so in at least eight different ways:

a. To support, add or continue:

Besides First Further Furthermore

Also Second Another Likewise
Too Third Moreover In a like manner
In addition Next Again In the same way
Last Finally Similarly Equally important
b. To compare and contrast:

Also Just as In the same Unlike In spite of

And Likewise Have in common Compared In contrast
All are Although In a like manner Contrasting However
Like Similar(ly) Whether or not Conversely Even though
Both As well as On the other hand Yet Rather than
Besides The same as As opposed to Instead On the
But While Nevertheless Whereas Despite

c. To introduce details or exemplify:

For example As evidence In this case In any case

In fact In support of As stated in / by
For instance Such as According to
In any event To illustrate As a result

d. To show cause and effect:

Since Thus This results in Brought about

Because of To this end Consequently Made possible
Due to As a result (of) Accordingly As might be expected
Therefore Hence In effect Was responsible
Caused by For this reason Leads to for If … then
 Reading and Writing Skills
Governor Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines 2600
Tel. Nos.: (+6374) 442-3316, 442-8220; 444-2786;
442-2564; 442-8219; 442-8256; Fax No.: 442-6268 Grade Level/Section:
Email: email@uc-bcf.edu.ph; Website: www.uc-bcf.edu.ph

MODULE 1 – RW Subject Teacher:

e. To counter: countering transitions:

Obviously many people believe… But

Evidently others feel… Yet

Clearly, opponents maintain… However

Surely most want… In contrast

Even though some people support… It’s unlikely that

Although citizens argue… I question

Society favors … On the contrary

The (This) idea deserves some merit… Nevertheless

f. To indicate order, sequence, or importance:

First Moreover At the same time Finally Lastly

Second (etc.) Meanwhile Most important Last of all Of greater (est)
Sooner or later Later For one reason Meanwhile importance
In the first place Next To begin with Presently

g. To show chronological order:

After Earlier Later While In the meantime

Finally Next As soon as Then Moments later

Since At first Soon Before At the same time

At last Until Formerly Afterward In the beginning (end)

When During Meanwhile First

h. To conclude:

As noted above Undoubtedly Unquestionably

In other words Obviously Without question

To be sure In any event Without a doubt

In short In any case On the whole

 Reading and Writing Skills
Governor Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines 2600
Tel. Nos.: (+6374) 442-3316, 442-8220; 444-2786;
442-2564; 442-8219; 442-8256; Fax No.: 442-6268 Grade Level/Section:
Email: email@uc-bcf.edu.ph; Website: www.uc-bcf.edu.ph

MODULE 1 – RW Subject Teacher:

ACTIVITY 1. Read and analyze the essay entitled “My Apple Plant Job. Analyze the different parts
of the them,

My Apple Plant Job

In the course of working my way through college, I have taken jobs I would rather forget. I have
spent nine hours a day lifting heavy automobile and truck batteries off the end of an assembly belt. I
have risked the loss of eyes and fingers as a ward aide in a mental hospital where I helped bathe,
dress, and feed hyper tense, brain-damaged men who would break into violent fits at unexpected
moments. But none of these jobs was as dreadful as my job in an apple plant. The work there was
physically hard; the pay was poor; and, most of all, the working conditions were dismal.
First of all, the job made enormous demands on my strength and energy. For ten hours a nights, I
took cartons that rolled down a metal track and stacked them onto wooden skids in a tractor trailer.
Each carton contained twelve 32-ounce cans or bottles of apple juice, and they were heavy. They got
especially heavy when lifted straight up onto the sixth and seventh rows of each stack. A fresh carton
shot down the track about every fifteen seconds. I once figured out that I was lifting on the average of
twelve tons of apple juice every night. When a truck was almost filled, I or my partner has to drag a
fourteen bulky wooden skids into the empty trailer nearby and then set up added sections of the heavy
track so that we could start routing cartons to the back of the empty van. While one of us did the
setting up, the other performed the stacking work of two men.
I would not have minded the difficulty of the work so much if the pay had not been so poor. I was
paid the minimum wage of that time, $1. 25 an hour, plus the minimum of a nickel extra for working the
night shift. Because of the low salary, I felt compelled to get so much overtime as possible in order to
earn a decent pay check. Everything over eight hours a night was time-and-a-half, so I typically work
twelve hours a night. In addition, on Friday I would sometimes work straight through until Saturday at
noon, a total of eighteen hours. But even though I averaged seventy hours a week at the plant, I still
didn’t take home much more than $100. Some workers help out hope that at Christmas we would
receive a bonus check that would compensate for our low hourly wage. In fact, our holiday reward
would turned out to be a specifically wrapped 1- gallon jug of apple cider that I’m sure the
management regarded as a generous gift.
But even more than the low pay, what upset me about my apple plant job were the working
conditions. I had no shared interest with the man I loaded cartons with, and thus had to work without
job companionship. Our humorless supervisor cared only about his production record for each night,
and tried to keep the assembly line moving at break-neck pace. During work, I was limited to two 10-
minute breaks and an unpaid half-hour for lunch. Most of my time was spent outside on the truck
loading dock in near-zero-degree temperatures. But conditions were most dismal at 4:30 in the morning
when I cleaned the apple vats. The vats were old gasoline truck bodies with small, single porthole
entrance. I had to crawl in head first, while wearing hip-length boots and holding a can of cleanser, a
brush, and a thick hose that gushed cold water. The floor of the vat was rounded and slippery with
apple residue, and the vat was too low for me to stand upright. In a hunched position, in the dim light
that came from the porthole, I had to inch my way to the back of the cylinder and then bend over
and start scrubbing away the apple residue. I was cold, wet, and exhausted, and in my bent-over
position at the rear of that eerie isolation chamber, I feel humiliated and alone. I feel humiliated by the
poverty that forced me to do such degrading work; I felt alone because in the deep silence of the vat,
I was always reminded that I had no person outside with whom I could share my life. The vat was ugly
place to be at 4:30 on a cold, lonely winter morning, and the job was bitter one to have.
(I stayed on the job for five months, hating all the while the difficulty of the work, the poor money,
and the conditions under which I worked). Then the apple season ended, and I have saved enough
money to return to school. While the job left me with harsh memories and a lifelong aversion to apple
juice, it had one positive effect. [It increased my resolve to get some kind of specialized education so
that I would never again have to work at such a degrading job].
 Reading and Writing Skills
Governor Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines 2600
Tel. Nos.: (+6374) 442-3316, 442-8220; 444-2786;
442-2564; 442-8219; 442-8256; Fax No.: 442-6268 Grade Level/Section:
Email: email@uc-bcf.edu.ph; Website: www.uc-bcf.edu.ph

MODULE 1 – RW Subject Teacher:

STRUCTURE OF A THEME
Theme Content
Introductory Paragraph • The opening statement attracts reader’s interest; it provides
• Opening Statement a logical and natural link to the thesis statement
• Thesis Sentence • The thesis statement states the main idea advanced in the
• Plan of paper
Development (Point • The plan of development is a list of points that support the
1, 2, 3) thesis. The points are presented in the order in which they
will be developed in the paper.
First Supporting Paragraph • The topic sentence advances the first supporting point.
• Topic Sentence • The specific evidence in the rest of the paragraph develops
(Point 1) the first point.
• Specific Evidence
Second Supporting • The topic sentence advances the second supporting point.
Paragraph • The specific evidence in the rest of the paragraph develops
• Topic Sentence the second point.
(Point 2)
• Specific Evidence
Third Supporting Paragraph • The topic sentence advances the third supporting point.
• Topic Sentence • The specific evidence in the rest of the paragraph develops
(Point 3) the third point.
• Specific Evidence
Closing Paragraph • A summary is a brief restatement of the thesis and its main
• Summary points
• Conclusion • Conclusions are found thoughts stemming from the subject
of the paper.

Barot, J.S. (2016). Academic reading and writing for senior high school. Quezon City: C&E
Publishing, Inc

Hamada, I.N. (n.d). Your roadmap to successful writing. Philippine Military Academy

Pajares, F. (n.d). Discourse Analysis. National Academic Digital Library of Utopia. Retrieved from
http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/79295/3/Discourse%20Analysis%20han.pdf