Studying for a Test Believe it or not, as

important as it is, many students do

not know how to study for a test.
Well, studying for a test is easy. The
first thing that you must do is take out
your notes. Open your notes up to
the section that you are supposed to
review. Read what you wrote in your
notebook. When you are done, close
your notebook and see if you
remember the ideas that you were
studying. Still don’t remember?
Open your notebook, back up and try
again.
Can you consider the text well- written?
Why? Why not?
Cite examples that show that the text
was well-written.
What makes a well-written text? 2
What Makes
a Well-
written Text?
Good Writing
• Often is in the eye of the beholder (or teacher)
• Depends upon the intended audience
• Letter to Mom vs. Letter to the Admin
• Mr. President vs. A friend
• Varies with the mode of writing
in question
• Short story vs. epic poetry
• Persuasive essay vs. Research
report
 Properties
of a Well-Written text
A. Organization
B. Coherence and Cohesion
C. Language use
D. Mechanics
 ORGANIZATION
- This refers to how the information in a passage is organized

We will study six common patterns:

• Chronological
• Cause and Effect
• Compare and Contrast
• Problem and Solution
• Sequence / Process
• Spatial / Descriptive
 ORGANIZATION
- This refers to how the information in a passage is organized

We will study six common patterns:

• Chronological
• Cause and Effect
• Compare and Contrast
• Problem and Solution
• Sequence / Process
• Spatial / Descriptive
 Chronological
Information is organized in order of time.
Chrono = time Logic = order

Example
Jack and Jill ran Jack fell down Jill came
up the hill to fetch and broke his tumbling
a pail of water. crown. after.

ALL stories are told chronologically.

 Cause and Effect
An action and its results are explained.

Cause Effect
Students did not learn They performed
the material. poorly on the test.

•Don’t confuse with chronological.

•Won’t have a beginning, middle, and end.
•Time won’t progress much.
 Compare and Contrast
Tells how two things are similar and different.

Apples & Oranges

Similarity Difference

1. Both are fruits. 1. People don’t eat

orange skins.
2. Both have skin.
2. Oranges have
more juice.
 Problem and Solution
A problem and answer are suggested.

Problem Solution

Property is being Require a license

spray painted. to buy spray paint.

•Don’t confuse with cause and effect.

•It is presented as a PROBLEM.
 Sequence / Process Writing
Information is listed step-by-step.
Explains how to do it or how it happens.

Don’t confuse with 4. Flip omelet.

chronological!
3. Cook on
one side.

2. Add cheese.
Does not occur at a specific time.

1. Crack a
few eggs.
 Spatial / Descriptive Writing
Racial is to race as spatial is to space.

Describes something in order of space.

Describes how something looks.
TIME DOESN’T PASS in these passages.

A television across
Two windows on
from the bed.
the west Wall My bedroom
dle . A c lo
e m i d set b
in t h yt he TV
A bed
 Features of Text Organization
1. Physical Format is an aspect of the organization that
is immediately apparent to the reader. It is seen in how the
text physically appears like headings and subheadings, bullet
points, or font emphasis. It uses transition words and phrases
that signal the reader that additional specific details follow

2. Structure refers to the complete framework of the

text. Parts are the Introduction, Body, Conclusion

3. Signal Words are the cues in the ordering of events

and concept.
 GUIDE QUESTIONS IN THE
ORGANIZATION OF THE PARAGRAPH
These guide questions for an organization can help you to make
sure that you have provided coherent transitions between the
ideas in your writing.
• Does your piece have a clear beginning, middle, and end?
• Does your piece have a strong beginning that hooks the reader?
• Does your piece have a strong ending that fits the focus?
• Are the ideas and actions connected?
• Can your reader follow the piece logically from beginning to
end?
• Is it complete? Does it feel finished?
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 If there is a clear IDEAS
statement of purpose, ARE
position, facts, examples, FORMED ORGANIZ
specific details, AND ATION IS
definitions, explanation, WELL- ACHIEVED
justifications or opposing DEVELOP .
viewpoints ED

And if there is organization, there is

COHERENCE
AND
COHESION
Compare and Contrast the two paragraphs.
 What is coherence?
• It is not something that we find in texts, but something
that exists in people.
• People ‘make sense’ of what they hear and read.

• A text is coherent if it’s possible to construct a

meaningful interpretation of it.

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 COHERENCE
• A text is coherent when it makes sense.
It makes sense when:
- We can understand what the text is about.
- We can translate it.
- We can paraphrase it.
- We can summarize it.
- We can explain the meaning to someone else.
 Coherence is enhanced if...

the reader can

easily discern
what the text is the text is
about organized in a way
that answers the the text is
reader’s questions organized in a way
that is familiar to
the reader
Example of coherent paragraphs:
The following paragraphs represent weak and strong examples of
coherence.
 Coherence
• Example of an incoherent text
He worked hard but earned little money
and died very poor at the age of 35.
Two years later his father took him to
play at concerts in the great cities of
Europe.

Does it make sense?

 Coherence
• Another example...
The Austrian composer Mozart was a
musical genius. He has got a swimming
pool. It actually tingles on your skin to tell
you it’s working. Water would then come out
of fountains such as the one shown here.
And that is why dogs still chase rabbits.
Is it coherent?
A TEXT TO BE COHERENT
MUST REFER TO THE SAME TOPIC
COHESION
• A paragraph or section of text is cohesive if the
sentences are well structured, well linked
together and there is no unnecessary
repetition.
• COHESION refers to linguistic features which
link sentences together and are generally easy
to identify.
• Cohesion is the glue that holds a piece of
writing together. In other words, if a paper is
cohesive, it sticks together from sentence to
sentence and from paragraph to paragraph
 COHERENCE AND COHESION
Two Types of Description
COHERENCE: This means that sentences are
arranged in a logical manner, making them
1. Subjective – describing
easily understood by the reader. It is a
an impression of what is observed.
connection of ideas to a central concept of the
Example:
text description of characters,
their appearance, mannerisms and
COHESION: This is the relationship or connection
utterances
of ideas at sentence level.
1. SIGNAL/COHESIVE DEVICES – WORDS THAT GIVE
READERS AN Two IDEA ON HOW THE POINTS
Types of Description OF YOUR
PARAGRAPH ARE PROGRESSING.
A. TIME – first, immediately,
1. Subjective afterward, before,
– describing
at the same time, after, earlier,
an impression of what is observed. simultaneously,
finally, next, in the meantime, later, eventually,
Example: description of characters,
then, meanwhile, now, subsequent, etc.
their appearance, mannerisms and
B. SEQUENCE – moreover, furthermore, next, also,
utterances
finally, last, another, first, second, besides,
additionally, etc.
C. SPACE – above, next to, below,
behind, beside, etc.
D. ILLUSTRATION – for
instance, specifically, for
example, namely. In this case,
to illustrate, etc.
E. COMPARISON – similarly, also,
in the same way, still, likewise, in
comparison to, etc.
28
F. CONTRAST – but, despite, however, even
though, yet, on the other hand, although,
on the contrary, otherwise, conversely, etc.
G. CAUSE AND EFFECT – because, as
a result, consequently, then, so,
since, etc.
H. CONCLUSION – thus,
therefore, in conclusion, in
short, etc.
29
 2. Repetition – this occurs when there are
repetition of main ideas to keep continuity
and highlight important ideas.
- It could be a word, a phrase or a full
sentence or a poetical line repeated to
emphasize its significance in the entire text

30
Examples of Repetition
1. If you think you can do it, you can do it.
2. The boy was a good footballer, because his
father was a footballer, and his grandfather was
a footballer.
3. The judge commanded, stamping his mallet on
the table, “Order in the court, order in the
court.”
4. The motivational speaker said, “Work, work,
work and work are the keys to success.
31
Read the statement, and rewrite it the way you see it most appropriate.

1. In general, I am the sort of person who tends to be shy,

especially in large crowds or with strangers I don’t know
well.
2. In the hustle and bustle of life, people of varied
backgrounds create a change and impact that molds us to
become who we are right now at this moment of time.

32
What are the properties of a well-written text?

Language Use
This refers to the appropriateness
of the word used and the use of
vocabulary that is unbiased.
- How you use the language
affects the tone of the text and
the reader’s interpretation of it.
 Formal language is used in writing academic, business,
and official texts while informal language is used when
writing for oneself or in writing to family, friends, and
colleagues.
Examples:
1. We asked the secretary to call the professor and get her
permission for us to continue our research.
2. We requested the secretary to contact the professor and
obtain her permission for us to continue our research.

34
 TIPS IN LANGUAGE USE
1. Use clear and concise sentences. Use precise vocabulary.
2. Be consistent with pronouns
3. Avoid sexist language.
4. Avoid redundancies, jargon, slang, wordiness, clichés, and highfalutin
language.
*Jargon- “insider” terminology that may be difficult for other readers from
other fields to understand.
*redundancy – repetition or overlapping especially of words
Ex. Repeat again, each and every, Free gift
* Wordiness – using unnecessary words that do not add meaning.
35
TIPS IN LANGUAGE
USE
*Clichés- expressions
which are heavily overused

36
*Highfalutin words - to describe something that they think is being made to sound
complicated or important in order to impress people.

37
WORDS
NOT
WISE

38
AVOID WORDINESS 39
Words and Phrases one must avoid to use in order to
Focus
practice
onappropriate
the 5 senseslanguage use:
Words and Phrases one must avoid to use in order to
Focus
practice
onappropriate
the 5 senseslanguage use:
Words and Phrases one must avoid to use in order to
Focus
practice
onappropriate
the 5 senseslanguage use:
Correct the following sentences:

1. In general, I am the sort of person who tends to be shy,

especially in large crowds or with strangers I don’t know
well.
2. In today’s uncertain economic climate, it is clear that
people, namely, average middle-class working people,
have great difficulty saving much money or putting
anything aside for emergencies.

43
3. My greatest mistake that I made last week was to hurt
my brother’s feelings and then not to have the nerve to
apologize and say how sorry I was.
4. It seems obvious to me, and it should be to everyone
else too, that people can be harmed as much by emotional
abuse as by physical abuse, even if you don’t lay a hand
on them.

44
45
 How should you write your
Language Mechanics
description?

It's the famous saying: show,

These aredon't
set oftell.
conventions on
Go light on how to
spell, abbreviate, punctuate, and
adjectives and adverbs andcapitalize.
It is important to know and observe
look for ways to describe thethese
conventions in writing
actions. to avoid confusion.
 Conventions in Writing
Spelling
It refers to forming of words from letters according to
accepted usage.
Punctuation
It pertains to the act or practice of inserting standardized marks or
signs in the written matter to clarify the meaning and separate
structural units. The use of punctuation guides the reader regarding
how the text should be read.
Capitalization
is the act of writing the first letter of a word in uppercase
while the rest of the letters are in lowercase.