Properties of a Well-

Written Text
Ailah Grace B. Octiva
 Properties

Organization Coherence Language Use Language

and Cohesion Mechanics
ORGANIZATION
Organization
◦ The arrangement of ideas in a text

◦ This is achieved when these ideas are logically and

accurately arranged
HOW IS A TEXT
ORGANIZED?
A text is organized based on…
◦ Focus

◦ Development

◦ Unity
FOCUS
 Focus

I was glad when the COVID restrictions ended and the

shopping mall was open. Then, we shopped and bought
lots of new outfits and the most fashionable color this
year is pink. When I got home, I immediately went on
Facebook to show off my clothes haul to my social
media followers.
I was glad when the COVID restrictions ended and the
shopping mall was open. At last, I can go with my
friends and hang out at the food court. I immediately
called them and they agreed to go. Then, we shopped
and bought lots of new outfits and the most fashionable
color this year is pink. When I got home, I immediately
went on Facebook to show off my clothes haul to my
social media followers.
DEVELOPMENT
Development

◦Have a main idea and supporting idea

◦Supporting ideas should elaborate the
topic sentence
UNITY
Unity

◦Oneness of idea

◦All the parts of the text expound one

message
◦Topic Sentence: Beginning of the paragraph
◦Controlling Idea: touch intimate, powerful
communication
◦Supporting Details: sentence 2 to 5
◦Clinching Sentence: last sentence
COHERENCE AND
COHESION
Writing Possibility:
Coherent but not cohesive?
Cohesive but not coherent?
 Cohesion
◦Act of forming a whole unit
◦A subset of coherence
◦Focused on grammatical aspect of writing
◦Degree at which sentences are connected
◦Happens when the sentences are properly connected
with each other
 Coherence
◦Quality of being logical, consistent and able to be
understood
◦Rhetorical aspects of writing which includes
developing and supporting your argument,
creating and integrating reading, organizing and
clarifying ideas.
 Coherence Cohesion

A text will be cohesive if cohesive ties are used. However, it will only
be coherent if the cohesive ties are used properly to create meaning.
Example
‘I had the most beautiful experience when I
went to the zoo. I saw different kinds of
birds but it was my first time to see a
carabao flying.’
Cohesive? Coherent?
You can have cohesion without coherence but
cannot have coherence without cohesion.

Coherence = logical order

Cohesion = Helpful Links (glue)
 Cohesion
◦The grammatical and lexical
relationship between different
elements of a texts which hold
it together.
6 main ways that cohesion is created in a text…
(Halliday and Hasan, 1976)

A. Reference D. Lexical Chains

B. Substitution E. Cohesive Nouns
C. Ellipsis F. Conjunction
A. REFERENCE
Reference Example

I have collected calathea plants and I love it.

Them- plants (plural)

Death Penalty is a serious issue that has not been
resolved for quite a long time. Arguments for and
against it have been discussed fully. Those in favor
of the death penalty
PEOPLE
argue that the only way to stop
crime is to eliminate the criminal. Those opposing it
say that putting a criminal to death denies the chance
to repent and mend his ways. But are criminals
especially the deep-eyed ones, capable of
repentance?
B. Substitution
Uses a word or phrase to replace a word
or phrase used earlier
Death Penalty is a serious issue that has not been resolved
for quite a long time. Arguments for and against it have
been discussed fully. Those in favor of the death penalty
argue that the only way to stop crime is to eliminate the
criminal. Those opposing it say that putting a criminal to
death denies the chance to repent and mend his ways. But
are criminals especially the deep-eyed ones, capable of
repentance?
deep-eyed criminals= deep-eyed ones
C. Ellipses

Omitting words because

it is already understood in
the context.
Example:
I can play basketball and
he can too.
D. Lexical Chain
◦One word is related to another
◦Sequence of related words in writing
Death Penalty is a serious issue that has not been
resolved for quite a long time. Arguments for and
against it have been discussed fully. Those in favor of
the death penalty argue that the only way to stop
crime is to eliminate the criminal. Those opposing it
say that putting a criminal to death denies the chance
to repent and mend his ways. But are criminals
especially the deep-eyed ones, capable of
repentance?
 A kind of lexical
reference

E. Cohesive Can summarize many

Nouns words

Can be used as signal of

what is to come or can
refer back
E. Cohesive Nouns
Example :
◦ ‘Two cars collided on the flyover. However, nobody was hurt
in the accident.’
‘accident’ summarizes the idea of the text
◦ ‘The accident mentioned above, ---’ refers back to the accident
F. Conjunction
◦Use of ‘firstly, next, moreover,
however, but and more...
Death Penalty is a serious issue that has not been
resolved for quite a long time. Arguments for and
against it have been discussed fully. Those in favor of
the death penalty argue that the only way to stop
crime is to eliminate the criminal. Those opposing it
say that putting a criminal to death denies the chance
to repent and mend his ways. But are criminals
especially the deep-eyed ones, capable of
repentance?
 Coherence
◦Comes from making logical connections between
ideas in each part of the text and the context.
◦Should make sense
 How to achieve a Coherent Text?
◦Clarify meaning
◦Indicate a change of topics
◦Headings and subheadings
◦Layout
◦Formatting
 Let’s Compare
I did some shopping, First, I went to the
went home, but before movies, then I did my
that, I went to the VS shopping and after that,
movies. I went home.
VS
IN TERMS OF WRITING
Example:

1. The judge commanded, stamping his mallet on the table, “ Order in

the court, order in the court!
2. The President said, “Work, work, and work” are the keys to success
To Summarize…

Coherence:
 Logical order of ideas
 Formatting/clear communicative stages
 Eliminates ambiguity
 Maintains consistency in lexis and syntax (don’t forget
cohesive devices)
To Summarize…

Coherence VS Cohesion?
◦ Cohesion is where you can see connections
◦ Coherence is where you infer connections
◦ Coherence is a feature of cohesive texts, but texts can be
cohesive without being coherent
LANGUAGE USE