PROPERTIES OF A

WELL-WRITTEN
TEXT
A.ORGANIZATION
- helps to ensure that the
writer is able to effectively
communicate thru clear and
logical pattern what ideas s/he
wants to impart in his or her
readers.
THREE PREVAILING
PARAGRAPH
PATTERNS
1. Chronological Pattern

- arranges the ideas according

to time, either backward or
forward – ideas which occur
first, or which occur second,
and so on.
2. Spatial or Geographical Order

- arranges information
according to how things fit in a
physical space.
3. Topical or Logical Order

- used when the writer is to

present several ideas that are
interrelated.
B. LANGUAGE USE
Example:

Janine saw her friend Jera who

obviously lost weight at a
department store.
Example:

Janine saw her friend Jera who

obviously lost weight at a
department store. She exclaimed,
“Hello my friend. You look thin!”
C. MECHANICS

BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

1. Agreement: Subject and Verb

a. A verb agrees with its subject in person

and in number.

Examples:

My friend submits his term paper on time.

The spectators are noisy.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

Expressions like many, a, more than one,

the number call for s-form verbs.

Example:

The number of children in need of

counseling increases every year.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

1. Agreement: Subject and Verb

b. Collective nouns are either singular

or plural, depending on the context in
which they appear.

Example:

The first year section 10 accountancy

students submits the report to the
professor.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

1. Agreement: Subject and Verb

c. When the members of the group are

considered as individuals who act
separately, the simple form of the verb
is used.

Example:

The crowd leave one by one.

 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

1. Agreement: Subject and Verb

d. The verb agrees with the subject,

not with the predicate noun.

Example:

The objection to the place is the many

rebels.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

1. Agreement: Subject and Verb

e. Make the verb agree with the

subject, not with the complement.

Example:

Often, the result of the conflicts is

failing relationship.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

1. Agreement: Subject and Verb

• Know what the relative pronouns in

a dependent clause stand for. Make
the verb agree with what is
referred by the relative pronoun.

Examples:
His father is a doctor who treats my
friend.
The mistakes which remain unforgiven
continue to hurt us.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

1. Agreement: Subject and Verb

f. Some nouns are plural in form but

singular in meaning.

Example:

The news is alarming.

 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

1. Agreement: Subject and Verb

g. Some nouns are plural in form and

in meaning.

Example:

The scissors are sharp enough to cut

the bark of the tree.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

1. Agreement: Subject and Verb

h. Some nouns ending in s may take

either an s-form or a simple form.

Examples:

Statistics is a required college subject

for mathematics.
Statistics show that women live longer
than men.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

1. Agreement: Subject and Verb

i. For compound subjects joined by or,

either...or, neither...nor, the verb
agrees with the subject nearer it.

Examples:

Either the employees or the manager

opens the store everyday.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

2. Tense

- the attribute of a verb which shows

the time of the action, condition or
state of being in relation to the time of
speaking or writing.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

2. Tense

a. When a sentence expresses two past

actions, which action prior to the
other, that priority is expressed
through the past perfect tense.

Example:

My friend told me that he had signed

the contract.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

2. Tense

b. Statements that are permanently

true should be expressed in the
present tense even in the reported
speech.

Example:

He said that Laguna is 75 kilometers

from Manila.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

3. Voice of the Verb

- indicates whether the subject is the

doer or the receiver of the action in
the sentence.

2 Types of Voice

a. Active
b. Passive
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

Examples:

Active: The carpenter built the house.

Passive: The house was built by the
carpenter.

Active: Moviegoers watched the action

movie.
Passive: The action movie was watched
by the moviegoers.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

Examples:

Incorrect: Maria sang a song while the

boogie was danced by Jessie.

Correct: Maria sang a song while Jessie

danced the boogie.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

4. Capitalization

a. Capitalize the first word in a

sentence.

Example:

There were 50 participants who

attended the seminar.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

4. Capitalization

b. Capitalize the pronoun “I”.

Example:

Jess and I are leaving for Bohol in

October.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

4. Capitalization

c. Capitalize proper nouns or the

specific names of persons, places,
events, things, organizations.

Example:

The exchange student decided to

enroll in La Consolacion College
Manila.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

4. Capitalization

d. Capitalize the names of God,

deities, religious figures and holy
books.

Example:

Maria has not stopped praying to the

Lord.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

4. Capitalization

Note: Do not capitalize the non-

specific use of the word god.

Example:

The tribes in the early time

worshipped different gods.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

4. Capitalization

e. Capitalize titles preceding names,

but not titles that follow names.

Examples:

Dr. Jesus Mendoza is the best doctor in

town.

Skye was able to interview Mr. Arulag,

mayor of the city.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

4. Capitalization

f. Capitalize directions that are names,

like North, South, East, West when used
as sections of the country, but not as
compass directions.

Examples:

The family moved to the Northwest.

His family is east of the metro.

 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

4. Capitalization

g. Capitalize the days of the week,

months of the year, and holidays but not
the seasons like spring, winter, autumn,
fall.

Example:

Last spring, in the month of March, he

received the highest award given to a
civilian.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

4. Capitalization

h. Capitalize the first word in the

sentence that is a direct quote.

Example:

My father said, “Be humble at all times.”

 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

4. Capitalization

i. Capitalize acronyms and initialisms.

Examples:

The SSS pensioners were expecting their

pensions to be increased by the new
administration.

AWOL stands for absence without leave.

 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

4. Capitalization

j. Capitalize trademarks.

Example:

Those students prefer Apple than

Samsung.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

4. Capitalization

k. Capitalize the first word of the

greeting or closing of the letter.

Example:

Dear Sir, Respectfully yours

 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

5. Punctuation

a. Comma (,)
USES EXAMPLES
To separate three or more I love mangoes, grapes,
items bananas and apples.
To separate adjectives that The tall, slim figure came
modify the same noun nearer and nearer.
To separate the city and Quezon City, Metro Manila
state
Between the day and the November 2, 1965
year on a date
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

5. Punctuation

a. Comma (,)
USES EXAMPLES
After the salutation in a Dear Janine,
friendly letter
After the complimentary Respectfully yours,
close
To set off the name of the Gino, can you get me a glass
person you are speaking to of water please?
Before a conjunction that I tried to call you last
joins the independent Saturday, but you were
clauses in a compound already out of your office.
sentence
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

5. Punctuation
a. Comma (,)
USES EXAMPLES
After the dependent clause Because it rained hard, the
at the beginning of a streets were flooded.
complex sentence
To set off an appositive My professor, Mr. Vargas, is
the best English professor
there is.
At the end of a direct She asked, “Are you flying to
quotation that is a statement Japan on Sunday?”
when it comes at the
beginning of a sentence
With words that interrupt a She, of course, said yes to
sentence’s basic idea the offer presented to her by
her boss
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

5. Punctuation

b. Period (.)

- is used at the end of a declarative

and an imperative sentence that do not
require an exclamation point.

Examples:

Jan’s boyfriend is the most romantic

person she has ever met.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

5. Punctuation

b. Period (.)

Examples:

Lend me a hand.

She garnered an average grade of 89.75

in all her subjects.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

5. Punctuation

c. Dash ( )
USES EXAMPLES
Use after an introductory list Butter, flour, milk and eggs
-- these are what I
need to bake a cake.
Use to separate elements in The front door -- and no
a sentence other doors -- may be used
by fetchers.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

5. Punctuation

d. Ellipsis (...)

- is used to replace words that have

been left out.

Example:

It was raining hard that afternoon

when...and her knight and shining armor
came to her rescue and. ...
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

5. Punctuation

e. Apostrophe (‘)

• To take the place of missing letters

in contractions

Example:

He’s planning to open a new business

at the ground floor of the building.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

5. Punctuation

e. Apostrophe (‘)

• To form the plural of letters and

numerals

Example:

The student got straight A’s in the final

examination.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

5. Punctuation

f. Colon ( : )

• Use it after a greeting in a business

letter

Example:

Dear Sir:
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

5. Punctuation

f. Colon ( : )

• Use it to introduce a list.

Example:

Here are the things we need for the

camping: water, flashlight, first aid kit,
and snacks.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

5. Punctuation

f. Colon ( : )

• Use it between numbers in time.

Example:

The time is 9:45 in the evening.

 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

5. Punctuation

f. Colon ( : )

• To introduce an important
quotation in a report, essay or news
story.

Example:

When interviewed, the manager

stated: “Our company’s goal is to
satisfy our customer’s needs.”
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

5. Punctuation

g. Hyphen ( - )

• It is used in two-part numbers

between twenty-one to ninety-nine.

Example:

There were thirty-six students in the

English club.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

5. Punctuation

g. Hyphen ( - )

• It is used in spelled out fractions.

Example:

One-fourth of the sales goes to charity.

 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

5. Punctuation

h. Semi-colon ( ; )
USES EXAMPLES
Replaces a period if the Call me tomorrow; your
writer wishes to narrow answer might be ready
the gap between two then.
closely linked sentences.
Use a semi-colon before Bring any two items;
words like namely, however, sleeping bags
however, therefore, that and tents are in short
is, i.e., for example, e.g., supply.
for instance, etc.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

5. Punctuation

h. Semi-colon ( ; )

USES
Use it to separate units of
a series when one or more
of the units contain
commas.
EXAMPLES
The participants come
from PUP, Pasig; FEU,
Makati; PSBA, Manila and
UP, Diliman.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

5. Punctuation

i. Quotation Marks ( “ )

- are used to set off a direct quotation.

Example:

“I hope you can drop by our display

room,” said the manager.”
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

6. Writing Numbers

a. When a number begins a sentence,

spell it out.

Example:

Fifty boxes of mangoes were bought by

the restaurant manager.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

6. Writing Numbers

b. Spell out numbers less than 10.

Example:

Fifty boxes of mangoes were bought by

the restaurant manager.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

6. Writing Numbers

c. Use figures for 10 and above.

Example:

Mr. Vargas bought 12 roses for his

girlfriend.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

6. Writing Numbers

d. Use figures and cardinal for dates.

Example:

The meeting has been rescheduled for

August 23.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

6. Writing Numbers

e. When numbers apply to the same

thing, render them the same way.

Example:

The customer ordered 6 boxes of

condensed milk, 12 boxes of sardines,
and 8 kilos of flour.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

6. Writing Numbers

f. Use figures when numbers need to

stand out, even if less than 10.

Example:

I have been working as an executive

secretary for 9 years now.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

6. Writing Numbers

g. Spell fractions when used to begin a

sentence.

Example:

One-fourth of the cake was eaten.

 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

6. Writing Numbers

h. Centuries and decades should be

spelled out.

Example:

The couple love to listen to the music of

the seventies.
 BASIC RULES TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

6. Writing Numbers

i. Use the percentage symbol (%) for

discounts and interests.

Example:

The item was sold at a 15% discount.