GRAMMAR

EXERCISE
Annie and her brothers
(is , are) at school.
are
Either my mother or my father
(is , are) coming to the
meeting.
is
The dog or the cats (is , are)
outside.
are
One of my sisters (is , are)
going on a trip to France.
is
Either my shoes or your coat (is
, are) always on the floor.
is
Either answer (is , are)
acceptable.
is
(Is , Are) the news on at five or
six?

is
Eight dollars (is , are) the price
of a movie these days.
is
What is a text?
 TEXT
• a large unit of written language
• Group of relevant ideas, written
together to make a point or make
one central idea.
• An actual connected discourse.
 What is a
discourse?
DISCOURSE
• Utterance, talk, speech,
discussion, conversation
• An extended expression of
thoughts and ideas.
• Can be spoken or written.
PROPERTIES OF
A WELL-
WRITTEN TEXT

CORE 11: READING AND

WRITING
At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

1. identify the properties of a well-written text;

2. write paragraphs that are organized,
coherent, and cohesive; and
3. evaluate a written text based on its properties
(organization, coherence and cohesion,
language use and mechanics).
What does an essay
consist of?

PARAGRAPHS
 A paragraph is a series of sentences that are
organized, coherent, and are all related to a
single topic.
For a paragraph, or for any composition, to be
effective, it must always consider the
Properties of a Well-Written Text. These
properties are Organization, Coherence and
Cohesion, Language Use, and Mechanics.
PROPERTIES
ORGANIZATION
 provides a structural framework that will
guide readers on what to have in a text

 helps the reader to follow the complete

and logical development of thoughts in a
written text.
ORGANIZATION
A. Introduction
 captures attention
 the foundation of your text
 establishes the importance of the topic
 provides background information of the
STRATEGIES IN WRITING YOUR INTRODUCTION:
1. Use a real-life experience and connect that experience
to your subject.
2. Use practical examples and explain their connection
to your subject.
3. Start with a familiar or strong quote and then explain
its meaning.
4. Use facts or statistics and highlight their importance
to your subject.
5. Tell a personal story to illustrate your point.
ORGANIZATION
B. Body
 the longest part of the composition
 consists of sentences that are supporting details
of the main topic (focus on the main idea)
 provides explanations, examples, or any details
that can help you deliver your purpose and
explain the main idea of your text.
STRATEGIES IN WRITING YOUR BODY OF
THE TEXT:

1. Present real-life or practical examples

2. Show statistics
3. Present comparisons
4. Share ideas from the experts or practitioners
BODY OF THE TEXT

A. CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

Details are arranged as they actually

occurred in time
 It seemed like an ordinary day when she got up that morning, but Lynda was
about to embark on the worst day of her life. First, she fell in the bathtub
because her mother forgot to rinse out the bath oil. Then she spilled orange
juice on the outfit she had spent hours putting together for school pictures.
When she changed, she messed up the French braid her mother had put in her
hair, as she walked out the door, she dropped all of her school books and her
math homework flew away. Once she made it to the car she thought everything
would be all right. She was wrong; her father didn’t look before he backed out
of the driveway and ran into the neighbor’s truck. Lynda’s side of the car was
damaged the most, and she ended up with a broken arm. That night, she cried
herself to sleep.
Common transitions used for this order are:

first, last, next, then, the following morning, a few

hours later, still later, by noon.
ORGANIZATION (BODY)
Spatial Order
- Details are arranged through movement in space
systematically from starting point to other features,
or the simple physical position or relationships.
- It is commonly used in the description, but can
also be applied in examples, comparisons and
classifications.
 Our new home was one of several wooden single-story units huddled together
in a horseshoe enclosing a courtyard. Our new apartment was toward the rear
center of the horseshoe, away from the entrance to the courtyard. To reach
the kitchen, one had to pass through a small windowless anteroom made of
loosely arranged planks. Anybody inside could easily look through the chinks
without being observed. Against the wall opposite the entrance to the kitchen
was a large stove, which took up about one-fifth of the room. Right next to the
stove was a bench with a bucket of water resting on it. Past the bench, in the
middle of the wall, was a door leading to the only other room. To the right of
the door stood a cupboard for pots, dishes, and food. Next to the cupboard,
leaning against the wall on the right, was old Helena’s bed. The kitchen was
too small to accommodate another bed. There was just enough room for a table
and chairs, which had to be placed next to the kitchen window. It was a
strategic window, affording a view if the entire courtyard.
Typical transitions for this order are:

top to bottom
left to right
front to back
outside to inside
ORGANIZATION (BODY)

Deductive Order
 arranges details from general to specific.
 it begins with an overall discussion of the
subject the fills in details, facts, examples,
and other supporting details.
 The problem of female smokers in Hong Kong is an
issue for concern, according to our Health Department
Secretary, Dr. Chan Tai-wan, at a press conference
yesterday about smoking in Hong Kong. A survey by the
Hospital Authority reveals that more than 70% of the
smokers in Hong Kong are female. 25% of the interviewees
even admitted that they did not quit smoking when they
were pregnant. The age of these female smokers is worth
mentioning too: 45% of the female smokers are between
15-25 years old.
ORGANIZATION (BODY)

Inductive Order
 arranges details from specific to general
and provides the support first, and then
draws a conclusion from it.
 The curaparroco called the meeting of all the young ladies
to organize a benefit parish fair, with a beauty contest, if
you please, where chest measurements were not even
mentioned. He ran the parish school and set quotas for
contributions to processions and other religious festivals.
No fiesta or get-together was likely to be held without his
presence. The parishioners consulted him on whether they
should learn English, or accept a job in a new American
firm, whether such and such a young man from a barbarian
country outside Ermita would make a good husband. He
seemed to have a finger in every pie.
ORGANIZATION (BODY)

Climatic Order
arranges details according to
importance that is from least to most
important or from most important to
least important.
 Consider the potential effect of just a small increase in
the earth’s atmospheric temperature. A rise of only a
few degrees could melt the polar ice caps. Rainfall
patterns would change. Some deserts might bloom, but
lands now fertile might turn to deserts, and many hot
climates could become uninhabitable. If the sea level
rose only a few feet, dozens of coastal cities would be
destroyed, and life as we know it would be changed
utterly. Transitions from this order are:

more important, most difficult, still harder, by far the most impressive
, even more discouraging, worse yet.
ORGANIZATION
C. CONCLUSION
 it closes the issue being discussed, ends the paragraph,
and aims to convince the reader that all the most
important arguments about the topic have been
tackled
 it summarizes the connections between details or
information covered in the body part of the paragraph
and the topic sentence.
 (1) The human body is a wonderful piece of work that nature has
created. (2) It is not beautiful like the body of a butterfly or peacock but it
is shaped practically. (3) It can do many types of work which other
animals cannot. (4) It is not strong like the body of a tiger. (5) But in place
of physical strength it has a big and sharp brain. (6) By using this brain
the human physique has been able to overcome many of its limitations. (7)
By sitting in an aeroplane it flies faster than a kite, by riding a motorcycle
it travels faster than a leopard, and by firing a machine gun it fights much
better than a tiger. (8) In spite of all this, the human body suffers from
many diseases because it has a weakness for habits such as smoking,
drinking and overeating. (9) When it is healthy the body can give great
pleasure but when it is sick it can cause great pain. (10) The wise man
would always keep his body fit because a healthy mind can work only in
a healthy body.
In closing a paragraph:
1. Use a connector (finally, consequently, in
conclusion, etc.)
2. Link to the topic sentence (restate the
topic sentence or use a synonym)
3. Expand the thought by giving the readers
something to ponder on after reading your
paper.
COHERENCE
 It means sticking or holding together and pertains to the
sentences that solely support the main idea of the
paragraph.
 In a coherent paragraph, the ideas are logically arranged.
The ideas and sentences are in an order that make sense to
the readers. If the ideas are arranged, the readers can easily
follow the progression of ideas. They can quickly
understand the main idea and follow the writer’s thinking.
COHERENCE
PARAGRAPH 1
The industry has many advantages.
It can draw on a great deal of
research. It can also export products
to key trading partners. It has
significant growth potential in the
medium to long term. Workers
within this industry need training. It
is important to keep staff up-to-date
with software used in this industry.
PARAGRAPH 2
The industry has many advantages.
It can draw on a great deal of
research, particularly in terms of
strategies used for entering new
markets. While there is significant
growth potential in the medium to
long term, it is clear that workers
within this sector need training.
Therefore, it is important to keep
staff up-to-date with software used
in this industry.
COHERENCE
PARAGRAPH 1
The industry has many advantages.
It can draw on a great deal of
research. It can also export products
to key trading partners. It has
significant growth potential in the
medium to long term. Workers
within this industry need training. It
is important to keep staff up-to-date
with software used in this industry.
PARAGRAPH 2
The industry has many advantages.
It can draw on a great deal of
research, particularly in terms of
strategies used for entering new
markets. While there is significant
growth potential in the medium to
long term, it is clear that workers
within this sector need training.
Therefore, it is important to keep
staff up-to-date with software used
in this industry.
COHESION
 It expresses the continuity that exists between
one part of the text and another. It occurs
where the interpretation of some element in
the discourse is dependent on that of another.
 If the sentences flow smoothly which means
that one sentence leads easily into the next
sentence.
 COHESIVE DEVICES
Repetition – to focus on the main idea by repeating a
key word or phrase. This is to keep you as a writer as
well as your readers on track on the idea being
discussed.
The problem with contemporary art is that it is not easily
understood by most people.
Contemporary art is deliberately abstract, and that means it
leaves the viewer wondering what she is looking at.
 COHESIVE DEVICES
Synonyms – to use words with the same meaning in the
sentence. This can keep you as a writer and also your
readers mindful of the connections between sentences.
The use of synonym provides some variety in your
word choices.
Myths narrate sacred histories and explain sacred origins.
These traditional narratives are, in short, a set of beliefs that
are a very real force in the lives of the people who tell them.
 COHESIVE DEVICES
Pronouns – to replace the nouns with words like he,
she, it, they, we, us, him or them. Each pronoun should
clearly refer back to a specific noun mentioned earlier
in the text.
When scientific experiments do not work out as expected, they
are often considered failures until some other scientist tries
them again. Those that work out better the second time
around are the ones that promise the most rewards.
 COHESIVE DEVICES
Transitions – word or phrase that links the sentence of a
paragraph together. This guides the readers with the
movement of an idea from one sentence to the next sentence
or the relationships among ideas.
I like autumn, and yet autumn is a sad time of the year, too. The leaves
turn bright shades of red and the weather is mild, but I can’t help
thinking ahead to the winter and the ice storms that will surely blow
through here. In addition, that will be the season of chapped faces,
too many layers of clothes to put on, and days when I’ll have to
shovel heaps of snow from my car’s windshield.
 An octopus is an air-filled curtain
with seven heads and three spike-
filled fingers, which poke in frills
and furls at ribbon-strewed buttons.

Cohesion differs from coherence in

that a text can be internally cohesive
but be incoherent.
Speaker 1: “Chocolate Biscuits!”
Speaker 2: “Me! Me!”
Speaker 3: “Uh uh. Lent.”
 A well-written text is both
coherent & cohesive at the same
time.