Properties of a

Well-written Text
 Properties of a Well-written Text

￮ Organization
￮ Coherence and Cohesion
￮ Language Use
￮ Mechanics
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1
Organization
Organization
It is also known as arrangement or pattern
of development, which is achieved when ideas
are logically and accurately arranged with focus
on the arrangement of ideas, incidents,
evidence, or details in a definite order in a
paragraph, essay, or speech.
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 Basic Patterns of Development

￮ Narration ￮ Comparison and

￮ Description Contrast
￮ Definition ￮ Cause and Effect
￮ Exemplification ￮ Problem-Solution
￮ Persuasion
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2
Coherence
Coherence
It refers to the overall sense of
unity in a passage, including both the
main point of sentences and the
main point of each paragraph.

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Coherence
A coherent passage focuses the
reader’s attention on the main ideas
and the specific people, things, and
events you are writing about.

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Try understanding this paragraph.
Description of my House
I live in a beautiful house with my family. We
have two bedrooms and a living room. We have a
garden and we have some flowers there. In weekdays,
I arrive home at five o’clock and I have lunch. Then I
do my homework and go to bed. I had a computer
but now it doesn’t work. I have a brother and a sister
and I think I am very lucky to live with them.
Sometimes our relatives visit us. Our flat becomes
very crowded sometimes but I like it.
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Is the paragraph coherent?

How can it be improved to a more

coherent paragraph?

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NO. Because there are ideas
included that do not support the
concept of describing a house.

Those incoherent sentences should

be removed.
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Another example.

For me, the worst thing about

waiting tables is the uniform. All the
waitresses had to wear this ugly brown
striped jumper. The shirts were polyester.
Sometimes someone you know comes
in. Now I have a job in an office.
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Coherent version
For me, the worst thing about waiting
tables was the uniform. At the last place I
worked, all the waitresses had to wear an ugly
brown striped jumper. Underneath it we had
to wear an even uglier polyester shirt.
Sometimes someone I knew would come in
and I'd feel embarrassed by my outfit. Now I
have a job in an office, where I can wear my
own clothes. 13
3
Cohesion
Cohesion
It refers to the connection
of your ideas both at the
sentence level and at the
paragraph level.
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Cohesion
It allows writers to make
multiple references to people,
things, and events without
reintroducing them at each
turn. 16
Let’s compare two paragraphs.

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Paragraph A
Throughout most of my school days, my eyes failed to focus
correctly when reading. I saw different symbols every time I read a
sentence. The printed page was a chaotic kaleidoscope of
constantly changing letters that made no sense. When reading the
last sentence I would see: “A tters made sense,” or “As le ter that
made no ense,” or“Letters mad no sens,” depending on how my
eyes focused on a sentence. My real problems began because it
was assumed that I could now read like everyone else. This was a
big mistake that overlooked the psychological effects created by
my visual disability. I was left doubting my understanding when
reading unfamiliar material while teachers began to give me
increasingly complex material to read.
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Paragraph B
Throughout most of my school days my eyes failed to focus
correctly when reading. Consequently, I saw different symbols every
time I read a sentence. As a result, the printed page was a chaotic
kaleidoscope of constantly changing letters that made no sense. For
example, when reading the last sentence I would see: “A tters made
sense,” or “As le ter that made no ense,” or“Letters mad no sens,”
depending on how my eyes focused on a sentence. After my eye
problem was corrected, my real problems began because it was
assumed that I could now read like everyone else. This was a big
mistake that overlooked the psychological effects created by my
visual disability. Most importantly, I was left doubting my
understanding when reading unfamiliar material while teachers
began to give me increasingly complex material to read.
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Which paragraph is more
cohesive? A or B?
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Paragraph B is more cohesive.

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 Technique to improve paragraph cohesion:

￮ Transition
￮ Use a conjunction or
conjunctive adverb to link
sentences with particular
logical relationships.
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 To specify sequence
￮ again, also, and, and then, besides,
finally, first . . . second . . . third,
furthermore, last, moreover, next,
still, too

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 To specify time
￮ After a few days, after a while, afterward, as
long as, as soon as, at last, at that time,
before, earlier, immediately, in the
meantime, in the past, lately, later,
meanwhile, now, presently, simultaneously,
since, so far, soon, then, there after, until,
when
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 To specify comparison
￮ again, also, in the same way,
likewise, once more, similarly

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 To specify contrast
although, but, despite, even though,
however, in contrast, in spite of, instead,
nevertheless, nonetheless, on the
contrary, on the one hand . . . on the other
hand, regardless, still, though, yet

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 To specify examples
after all, for example, for instance,
indeed, in fact, of course, specifically,
such as, the following example, to
illustrate

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To specify cause and effect
accordingly, as a result, because,
consequently, for this reason, hence,
if . . . then, since, so, then, therefore,
thereupon, thus, to this end

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 To specify place
above, adjacent to, below, beyond,
closer to elsewhere, far, farther on,
here, near, nearby, opposite to, there,
to the left, to the right

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 To specify concession
Although it is true that, granted
that, I admit that, it may appear
that, naturally, of course

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 To specify summary/conclusion
As a result, as has been noted, as I
have said, as mentioned earlier, as
we have seen, in any event, in
conclusion, in other words, in short,
on the whole, therefore, to
summarize 31
Let’s have a quick exercise.

Fill in the blanks with

appropriate transitions.

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1. Employees need to continually
expand their job skills ---- they can
achieve their full personal potential.
so that
in case
otherwise
in addition to
instead of 33
 2. A violation of the law, ---- how slight,
is a crime and therefore punishable.
even though
no matter
however
thereby
further 34
3. Food producers claim that adding
fiber to foods is difficult ---- it changes
the qualities of the food.
in order that
whereas
since
nevertheless
although 35
4. Thousands of beaches are closed every
year ---- heavy rains cause waste from
drainage systems to overflow into the
ocean.
with the aim of
hence
as
on the other hand
as a result of 36
5. It must be kept in mind that there
is no secret of success ---- hard
work.
though
since
no matter
but
as a consequence 37
Coherence VS Cohesion
Coherence– Cohesion–
occurs when
connection
ideas are
connected at of ideas at
the conceptual the sentence
level level
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Let’s have another exercise.
Read the following short
passages and analyze if they
are COHERENT /NOT COHERENT
and COHESIVE / NOT COHESIVE.
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1.
My favorite color is blue. I'm
calm and relaxed. In the
summer I lie on the grass and
lookup.
COHERENT
NOT COHESIVE 40
2.
My favorite color is blue. Blue sports cars go
very fast. Driving in this way is dangerous and
can cause many car crashes. I had a car
accident once and broke my leg. I was very sad
because I had to miss a holiday in Europe
because of the injury.

NOT COHERENT
COHESIVE 41
2.
My favorite color is blue. I like it because it
is calming and it relaxes me. I often go
outside in the summer and lie on the
grass and look into the clear sky when I
am stressed. For this reason, I’d have to
say my favorite color is blue."
COHERENT
COHESIVE 42
Questions?
Other properties will be discussed separately.

Next meeting, each group shall bring at least

two sheets of Manila paper and at least two
pieces of permanent markers.

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4
Language
Use
Language Use
It enables writers to
effectively communicate
ideas without confusing
the reader. 45
Language Use
An effective language is:
Specific, Concise, Familiar,
Correct, and Appropriate
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Levels of Language Use
Informal / Personal
￮

￮ Standard / Academic
￮Business / Technical
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Informal/Personal
-slang, local
expressions, text
messaging
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Informal/Personal
Hey, Bes, Yow, Sup, Pet
(friend), Nigga, OTW,
Gnyt, Dude, BRB, SML,
KUTGW 49
Standard/Academic
- widely accepted words
and phrases found in books,
magazines, and
newspapers 50
Standard/Academic
Note to a professor:
I missed last night’s class and will e-
mail my paper later.
The problem was on garbage
management as it greatly affects the
students who are occupying the JHS Bldg.
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Notice the difference
between the following
pairs of sentences.
Which is informal?
Which is standard?
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￮ That child is distressed.
￮ That kid is freaking out.
￮ He’s an attractive man.

￮ He’s a hottie.

￮ I’m short on funds.

￮ I’m broke.
￮ That’s very unfortunate.

￮ That sucks.
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 ￮ She’s a bitch.
￮ She’s a difficult person.
￮ Hi, how’re you doing?
￮ I’m pleased to meet you.
￮See ya.
￮Good-bye! 54
Business/Technical
- Scientific terms,
jargons, and special
expressions
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Business/Technical
Psychiatrist’s report:
“Dissociative rage order is not
indicated by the ER
assessment.”
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Sample Medical Jargons
￮ Agonal - Term to signify a major, negative change in a
patient's condition
￮ BP - Medical shorthand for blood pressure
￮ FX - Medical jargon meaning bone fracture
￮ JT - A joint
￮ NPO - A patient should not take anything by mouth,
from the Latin phrase nil per os (nothing by mouth)
￮ IM - Intramuscular
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Sample Police Jargons
￮ Suspect - A person whom the police think may have
committed a crime
￮ 10-4 - Radio jargon meaning Okay or I understand
￮ Code Eight - Term that means officer needs help
immediately
￮ Code Eleven - A code that means the individual is at
the scene of the crime
￮ FTP - The failure of an individual to pay a fine
￮ Assumed room temperature - An individual has died
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Sample Military Jargons
￮ TD - Temporary duty
￮ AWOL - Absent without leave
￮ SQDN - A squadron
￮ SAM - Surface-to-Air missile
￮ PCS - A permanent change of station
￮ LES - Leave and earning statement
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Sample Internet Jargons
￮ BTW - By the way
￮ CYA - See you around
￮ FAQ - Frequently asked questions
￮ HTH - Hope this helps
￮ MOTD - Message of the day
￮ YMMV - Your mileage may vary
￮ IIRC - If I remember correctly
￮ IANAL - I am not a lawyer
LOL - Laugh out loud
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￮
Principles in Language Use
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 1
Use clear and concise
sentences, usually of
18 words long.
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Example
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.
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Concise version
Image is an 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 and
trust, even when the allegations are not
yet verified.
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 2
Avoid redundancies,
clichés wordiness, and
highfalutin words.
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Example
Although offsprings are taught not to
obtain free gifts from strangers, at the
present moment many still do.

Although children are told not to take

gifts from strangers, many still do.
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Samples of Redundant Expressions
￮ Absolutely certain ￮ End result
￮ Added bonus ￮ Few in number
￮ Advance notice ￮ Final outcome
￮ Basic ￮ Foreign imports
fundamentals/esse￮ Therapeutic
ntials treatment
￮ Difficult dilemma 67
Samples of clichés
￮ And they all lived happily ever after
￮ Only time will tell
￮ Just a matter of time
￮ As old as the hills
￮ A diamond in the rough
￮ Laughter is the best medicine
￮ What goes around comes back around
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Samples of highfalutin words
￮ HARAGEOUSNESS – which means cruelty
￮ HEBDOMAD - is a week. If something
occurs hebdomadally, then it occurs once every seven
days.
￮ HORRIPILATION – which means goose-bumps.
￮ HORRISONANT - used to describe anything that sounds
awful.
￮ HORODIX - a formal 17th century word for clock.
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 3
Avoid excessive use
of “there” and “it”.
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￮ There’s a book on the table.
￮ A book is on the table.
￮ There’s a coffee shop next to the station.

￮ A coffee shop is next to the station.

￮ It seems as though we might need some more money.

￮ We might need some more money.
￮ It was John who cleaned the flat.

￮ John cleaned the flat.

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 4
Use precise
vocabulary. Be
accurate.
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Example
Shafts that control the brake during
urgent situations are built inside MRT
trains to keep the passengers free from
harm.
Emergency levers are installed in every
MRT train for the safety of the
passengers.
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Example
There is a requirement that all students
have an evaluation of their transcripts
for placement purposes or to meet a
prerequisite.
The college requires that the admissions
office evaluate all student transcripts for
placement and prerequisites.
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 5
Be consistent on
pronoun POV.
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Example
We should simply accept that fate is
simply an illusion; you must not leave our
decisions to something that does not
exist.
We should simply accept the fate is
simply an illusion; we must not leave our
decisions to something that does not
exist. 76
 6
Avoid sexist
language.
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Example
The teacher is the person who organizes
the class. He is the one who controls
timekeeping and the sequence of events.

The teacher is the person who organizes

the class. He/she is the one who controls
timekeeping and the sequence of events.
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Example
Each student makes up his
own schedule.

Each student makes up

his/her own schedule.
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Example
When a student writes a
paper, she must proofread
carefully.
When a student writes a
paper, they must proofread
carefully. 80
 7
Observe
appropriate level
of formality. 81
Example
Yes, diskettes are like thing of
the past, but they’re still cool
today.
Diskette may be outdated, but
they are still fascinating.
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Questions?
Last set of the properties of a well-written text
will be discussed separately.

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Let’s have a
group work.
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Group Work
On the next slide, you will find five informal sentences.
The challenge is to rephrase it to standard/academic
level of language use.

Then on the next slide, you will find another five

sentences written in standard level of language use.
Rephrase them into informal statements.

Write your answers on the Manila paper. 85

Rephrase these into standard/academic
level of language use.
1. Man, I’m starving! I’m gonna get something to eat and
then call you back.
2. We gotta get this done before we can go anywhere.
3. When you write papers for class, you have to
remember to use a more formal style than when you talk
to your friends.
4. Lemme know if you need a hand with that.
5. You’re wrong! I paid twenty-five bucks for that!
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Rephrase these into informal statements.
1. I would prefer that you turn down the volume on your
television.
2. According to an eye witness, the event occurred at
approximately 3:00 in the afternoon.
3. The project is to be completed by the end of the week.
4. Would you be available to attend the gathering
tomorrow?
5. Students are required to report to their classrooms
immediately upon entering the building.
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THE END

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