Reading and Writing Skills

PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEXT

(Make Your Paragraphs Effective)

When a writer has already gathered enough materials in developing his paragraph, the next step is how to
organize properly. Then in order to acquire the needed pattern of paragraph development; which ideas should be
placed at the beginning, which ideas should be placed in the middle, and which ideas should be used to end the
paragraph. Coherence and cohesion should also be considered to make the agreement of ideas in a logical manner.
Should the writer arrange his ideas in ascending or descending order? ascending, from the least to the most
important ideas and descending, from the most to the least important ideas. The mechanics of writing has to be
properly utilized like capitalization, contractions, gerund and participle, pronouns, abbreviations, anonyms, unit of
measurements, and punctuation marks. And lastly, the writer has to determine the language to use transition words
and phrases.

We value order. Gilovich, as cited in Hale (2016), argued that human beings become uneasy when faced with
chaos and chance. The same is true with reading and writing. No matter how substantial and vital the information
given to us is, we cannot make sense of them unless presented in an organized manner. Hence, coherence is an
essential characteristic of good academic writing.

Knowing the parts of a paragraph and the essay will help you form the framework of your composition, and
knowledge of the aspects that make a well-written text will enable you to ensure the quality of your work. More
importantly, the message you want to communicate will effectively come through.

This unit focuses on the properties of a well-written text—organization, coherence and cohesion, language
use, and mechanics.

A. ORGANIZATION/DEVELOPMENT

A well-written text should have development/organization. Each paragraph should support the central idea
of the paper. Individual sentence should support the main point of the paragraph.

A well-written text is organized. By organized, we mean that ideas presented in the selection flows in a
logical manner. Organization is achieved when ideas are logically and accurately arranged. When we write, we
have to make sure that our readers will understand our thoughts well.

Organization is achieved when ideas are logically and accurately arranged. Knowledge of the parts of a
composition is a great help in adhering to the correct organization of ideas. The sentences within a paragraph
must also be organized logically. Organization here refers to the patterns of development.

When a text has development, the topic sentence in the paragraph should be elaborated on using concrete
evidence, different examples, relevant facts, and specific details. Having specific details help your readers
become interested in your topic, understand your message, and convince them of the validity of your topic
sentence.

A well-organized text has three main parts—the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. You usually
introduce the central idea and preview your main idea in your introduction. Your main ideas are further
elaborated and explained in the body. Below are some ways you can organize the body of your essay or paper.

1. Chronologically
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When you write about procedures or events, you usually organize your main ideas in a chronological manner.
Ideas must be arranged in a sequential order to facilitate better understanding of a certain procedure or event.

An example is when writing about post-EDSA Philippine presidencies. The most logical way to start the article is
by discussing the administration of Corazon Aquino first, followed by the governments of Ramos, Estrada, Arroyo,
Aquino, and Duterte.

2. Topically

You can also organize your thoughts topically. For example, for controversial, argumentative papers such as
“Reasons why death penalty should not be approved,” it is suggested that the writer start with the least
controversial ideas, and end it with the most convincing ones since last items are the ones people recall the best.

3. Spatially

Another way we can arrange our ideas is spatially. We arrange ideas in a spatial manner whenever we discuss
location, position, and directions.

Spatial organization is also used when describing a person or a place. For example, we are writing about the
items on our desk. We may say “On top of my desk is my laptop. Next to it lies my notebook that I used earlier
during class.”

4. Cause and Effect

When we organize our ideas in a cause and effect manner, we explain why something happened or identify the
effects of something. This organizational pattern is used when we are explaining a phenomenon. This pattern is also
used whenever we seek to persuade.

For example, we are writing about the adverse effects of smoking. We may start our papers with our central
proposition that smoking causes serious health problems. Here, we start with the cause—smoking. Now the main
ideas would be the effects such as lung cancer, asthma, osteoporosis, and blindness.

5. Problem and Solution

The problem and solution pattern is similar to the cause and effect. The difference is that cause and effect texts
do not necessarily propose solutions to a problem. Hence, this organizational pattern is most commonly used when
writing an argumentative persuasive text.

Whatever manner we arrange our main ideas in the body of the text, a well-organized piece always has a solid
conclusion. A good conclusion provides closure to the texts we write. When we conclude, we usually ( 1) summarize
the main points discussed in the body, (2) reemphasize the central idea in a memorable way, and in the cases of
argumentative persuasive texts, (3) motivate the reader to change his/her attitude or behavior.

B. FOCUS/UNITY

A well-written text should have focus. An essay should have a single clear central idea. Each paragraph should
have a clear main point or topic sentence.

A well-written text should have unity. Each paragraph in an essay should be related to the main idea. Each
paragraph should stick to its main point.
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Unity means “oneness” that is – all of the sentences in the paragraph are related to the topic sentence. The
whole paragraph should begin and end with one focus only. Every paragraph and essay must develop only one idea
to make it clear and understandable to the readers. This single idea is reflected in a topic sentence in a paragraph
and a thesis statement in an essay. Each of the details should have a clear and consistent connection to the topic
sentence. It

connotes interconnected details, information, and examples that revolve around the main idea. Any information
that deviates from the topic is called a digression.

C. COHERENCE AND COHESION

Coherence is the quality of being logical, clearly organized, not rumbling, or confusing.
Cohesion is the connection or linking ideas in a test making it unified and coherent.

A well-written text should have coherence. An essay or paper should be organized logically, flow smoothly, and
“stick” together. In other words, everything in the writing should make sense to a reader.

Good expository writing moves from one idea to the next in a way that makes sense. If your writing flows
smoothly in this way, readers do not have to go back and reread to figure out what you mean. One of the best ways
to make your writing flow is to use connecting words and phrases.

Coherence and cohesion are related since a lack of cohesion will often lead to a lack of clarity. In other words, if
sentences are not linked together effectively, the text may be difficult to understand.

A well-written paragraph is coherent; that is, the ideas in the paragraph are arranged in a logical order and are
clearly related to each other. Coherence enables the reader to follow the writer’s train of thought with ease. Ideas
may be arranged in four ways: (1) order of importance, (2) order in space (spatial order), (3) chronological order
(time order), and (4) logical order (may either be deductive and inductive order).

Even though all the sentences of a paragraph bear upon a single point, unless they are knit together and flow
into one another so that their relation to that single point is clear, they will not be coherent. A coherent paragraph
leads the reader easily from sentence to sentence (Legget, Mead, & Charvat, 1970, p. 196).

It is paramount to use cohesive devices. According to Pell (n.d), they give the reader signal about how the
clauses, sentences, and paragraphs are related.

Coherence means that the sentences are arranged in a logical manner, making them easily understood by the
reader. Coherence is achieved when ideas flow smoothly within and between paragraphs. Your paragraph can
become more coherent through the use of logical order and signal devices, or words that gives readers an idea of
how the points in your paragraph are progressing. The following are examples of signal devices:

Transitions (these are words and phrases that connect one idea to another)

Transitional devices are like bridges between parts of your paper. They are cues that help the reader to interpret
ideas a paper develops. Transitional devices are words or phrases that help carry a thought from one sentence to
another, from one idea to another, or from one paragraph to another. And finally, transitional devices link sentences
and paragraphs together smoothly so that there are no abrupt jumps or breaks between ideas.

Here is a list of some common transitional devices that can be used to cue readers in a given way.

a. Time (first, immediately, afterward, before, at the same time, after, earlier, simultaneously,
finally, next, in the meantime, later, eventually, then, soon, meanwhile, now, subsequently, etc.)
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b. Sequence and Addition (moreover, furthermore, next, also, finally, last, another, first, second,
third, 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, too, etc.)
f. Contrast (but, despite, however, even though, yet, on the other hand, although, on the contrary,
otherwise, conversely, whereas, etc.)
g. Cause and Effect (because, as a result, consequently, then, so, since, etc.)
h. Persuasion/Emphasis (in fact, indeed, obviously, evidently, besides, undeniably, apparently, etc.)
i. Conclusion (thus, therefore, in brief, by large, all things considered, in conclusion, in short, all in
all, etc.)

D. LANGUAGE USE and MECHANICS

No matter how good our ideas are, if we cannot articulate them well, our text cannot be considered well-
written. Hence, language use is also of primary importance. Effective language is the vehicle of a good idea. The way
language is used is one of the clearest indicators of a well-written text. It enables the writer to effectively
communicate ideas without confusing the reader. Good word choices (diction) and well-crafted sentences can make
one’s writing effective.

Legget et. al (1970) articulated four major characteristics of good language use: exactness, directness,
appropriateness, and spelling.

MECHANICS

A well-written text should have correctness. A paper should be written in generally correct standard English,
with complete sentences, and be relatively error-free.

The writer should know grammatical rules because sentences must be measured by the standards of writing.

According to Sun Technical Publications, the mechanics of writing “specify the established conventions for
words that you use in your documentations.”

The technical aspect of writing, also known as mechanics, should not be overlooked when writing.

When we talk about mechanics, we refer to the conventions we follow when it comes to capitalization,
contractions, numbers and numerals, punctuation marks, gerunds, abbreviation, and participles among many
others. We must understand that there are so many considerations to think about and follow when writing
academically and professionally.

In academic and more formal texts, the following should be observed:

1. Always use Standard English.

2. Avoid contractions (e.g., shouldn’t)
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.
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