FOUR FUNDAMENTAL

PROPERTIES OF A WELL-
WRITTEN TEXT
1. ORGANIZATION

•is achieved when ideas are logically and

accurately arranged
WHAT IS MEANT BY LOGICAL
ARRANGEMENT?

• SEQUENCE OF IDEAS, SEUENCE OF EVENTS

• FROM LEAST IMPORTANT TO MOST IMPORTANT
• ORDER OF PRESENTING THE MAIN POINTS FOR
EASY COMPREHENSION
TEXT WITHOUT
ORGANIZATION
• Thomas Edison was simply the one who
created the first commercially viable
light bulb. It is widely believed that he
invented the light bulb. What made
Edison’s light bulb successful was his
use of carbonized bamboo as the
filament. This made the bulb last longer
and it was cheap enough to be available
for the masses. He only improved on
previous works of inventors who also
worked on the same project (Barrot,
2016, p.106).
TEXT WITH ORGANIZATION
• Although it is widely believed that Thomas
Edison invented the light bulb, in reality he
was simply the one who created the first
commercially viable light bulb. Along with
his team, Edison improved the previous
works of inventors who also worked on the
same project. Compared to previous
versions, what made his light bulb successful
was his use of carbonized bamboo as the
filament. This made the bulb last longer and
it was cheap enough to be available for the
masses (Barrot, 2016, p.106).
2. COHERENCE AND COHESION

•are achieved when ideas are logically, clearly,

and smoothly linked to one another
COHERENCE

• OCCURS WHEN IDEAS ARE CONNECTED AT

THE CONCEPTUAL OR IDEA LEVEL
• can be seen through well-defended arguments and
organized points
COHESION

• the connection of ideas at the sentence level

3 techniques
• through the use of pronouns to refrain from using a specific word repeatedly;
• through the use of transitional devices to connect sentences with linked
ideas;
• and by the one that employs a repetition of keywords to tie up the paragraphs
subtly
REPETITION

• You can fool some of the people all of the time, and
all of the people some of the time, but you cannot
fool all of the people all of the time.
• Amelia Earhart was a legendary woman who • Amelia Earhart was a legendary woman who
made her name in aviation by setting various
records. In 1928, she became famous as the first
woman who flew across the Atlantic Ocean.
However, during this trip she was only a
passenger, with pilot Wilmer Stultz and co-
pilot/mechanic Louis Gordon manning the
controls. In 1932, she finally got to fly on her
own over the Atlantic. She set another record
when she flew from Honolulu Hawaii to
Oakland California in 1935, thus becoming the
first person to fly over both the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans. Between 1930 and 1935, Earhart
set seven women’s speed and distance aviation
through different aircrafts (Barrot, 2016, p.106).
made her name in aviation by setting various
records. In 1928, she became famous as the
first woman who flew across the Atlantic
Ocean. She was only a passenger, with pilot
Wilmer Stultz and copilot/mechanic Louis
Gordon manning the controls. In 1932, she
flew on her own over the Atlantic. She flew
from Honolulu Hawaii to Oakland California.
She became the first person to fly over both the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Between 1930 and
1935, Earhart set seven women’s speed and
distance aviation through different aircrafts.
She disappeared 1937 while attempting to fly
around the world. On board her plane was her
only crew member, Fred Noonan. Extensive
search efforts were not able to find a trace of
both aviators (Barrot, 2016, p.106).
3. LANGUAGE USE

• How would you be able to choose the most effective

language?
• consider the objective of the document, the context in
which it is being written, and who will be reading it
TIME-TESTED PRINCIPLES IN WRITING
1. USE CLEAR AND CONCISE SENTENCES. ON AVERAGE, A SENTENCE
IS 18 WORDS LONG. NOTE THAT THIS DOES NOT REQUIRE EVERY
SENTENCE TO BE COMPOSED OF EXACTLY 18 WORDS.

DON’T
• Image is a very important factor in politics
because once the reputation of a person is
smeared by accusations, the people’s
perception of the person is forever tainted
and it may cause him to lose credibility
and trust even when the truth behind
allegations is not yet verified.
DO
• Image is a very important factor in
politics. Once the reputation of a person is
smeared by accusations, the people’s
perception of the person is forever tainted.
The person may lose his credibility, even
when the allegations are not yet verified.
2. AVOID REDUNDANCIES, WORDINESS,
CLICHÉS, AND “HIGH-FALUTIN’”
LANGUAGE.

DON’T DO
• Although offsprings are taught • Although children are told
not to obtain free gifts from not to take gifts from
strangers, at the present
strangers, many still do.
moment many still do.
AVOID EXCESSIVE USE OF “THERE” AND “IT” STRUCTURES. THESE
SENTENCES CAN BE REVISED BY DROPPING THE “THERE” AND “IT”
PHRASE AND TRANSFORMING THE SENTENCES APPROPRIATELY.

DON’T DO
• There are many people • Many people walk on this
walking on this street during street during Sundays.
Sundays. It is important to Keeping your valuables close
keep your valuables close to to you is important.
you.
USE PRECISE VOCABULARY. BE ACCURATE AND
CONDENSE LENGTHY PHRASES INTO FEWER
WORDS.

DON’T DO
• Shafts that control the brake during • Emergency levers are installed in
urgent situations are built inside MRT train for the safety of the
MRT trains to keep the passengers passengers.
free from harm.
BE CONSISTENT WITH YOUR PRONOUN’S
POINT OF VIEW.

DON’T DO
• We should accept that fate is simply • We should accept that fate is simply
an illusion; you must not leave our an illusion; we must not leave our
decisions to something that does not decisions to something that does not
exist. exist.
AVOID SEXIST LANGUAGE

DON’T DO

•Every employee •Every employee

should submit his should submit his/her
credentials. credentials.
USE THE APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF
FORMALITY.

DON’T DO

• Yes, diskettes are likely • Diskettes may be outdated,

things of the past, but but they are still
they’re still totally cool. fascinating.
MECHANICS

• is described as the technical aspect of writing

• It specifies the established conventions for words that you use- spelling,
punctuation, capitalization, etc.
• In academic and more formal texts, the following should be observed
(Barrot, 2016, p. 109).
• Always use Standard English.
•. 2. Avoid contractions (e.g., shouldn’t, can’t, I’ll) 3. Avoid
exclamation marks unless they are part of a direct quotation.
• 4. Mention the full name of an institution or organization with the
abbreviation in parenthesis, in first mention. Thereafter, use the
abbreviation.
• 5. Numbers from zero to ten should be spelled out while numbers
higher than ten should be written in figures.
• 6. Generally, citations are used in academic and formal texts.
However, they are sparingly used in business texts.
• Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet in 2006 after the General Assembly
of the IAU, as it only met 2 out of the association’s three requirements to
qualify as a Planet (Library of Congress). The dispute started when
Caltech astronomy prof Mike Brown discovered an Asteroid bigger than
Pluto in 2005 (Cain, 2012). The science community went wild! Brown’s
findings sparked a debate on whether this new planet, which he named
eris, should be added to the roster of 9 Planets. The controversy
prompted the International Astronomical Union to meet up and delineate
what a ‘planet’ is. They came up with three requirements to classify a
celestial body as a planet and removed the Planet Status of Pluto based
on the new definition (Barrot, 2016, p.109