Discourse

- utterance, talk, speech, discussion, and

conversation

- an extended expression of thoughts or ideas

* The ideas in discourse are not connected or do

not have a particular structure.
 Text
- a large unit of written language
- a group of ideas put together to make a point or
one central idea
- has a structure which requires the ideas in the
discourse to be relevant to each other
- an actually connected discourse
 Properties of a Well-written Text
1. Organization
- refers to the arrangement of ideas in a text

* Creating an outline of ideas before you start

writing can help your work become organized.
 Outline

- provides a format in which ideas can be

arranged in a hierarchy- that is, it distinguishes
the general ideas from the specific or
subordinating ideas
2. Coherence and Cohesion
- refer to the connection of ideas and
connection between sentences and between
paragraphs
* In order for you to assure coherence and
cohesion, you need to use transitional or
cohesive devices.
3. Appropriate Language Use

- refers to the acceptable style of language for a

particular form of text
4. Proper Mechanics
- refers to the conventions of writing which
includes capitalization, punctuation, spelling,
numerals, abbreviations, acronyms and
contractions
 Morphology
- the study of words, how they are formed, and
their relationship to other words in the same
language
- analyzes the structure of words and parts of
words, such as root words, prefixes, and
suffixes
Morpheme
- the smallest grammatical unit in a language

Two Types of Morpheme:

1. Free Morpheme
2. Bound Morpheme
1. Free Morpheme
- can function independently as a word

Examples: house, cat, blood

2. Bound Morpheme
- a word element attached to a root word
(the main part of a word) to give it another
meaning

- cannot function independently as a word

Examples: affixes (prefixes and suffixes)
Affix
- a morpheme that is attached to a root word to
form a new word

1. Prefix
2. Suffix
Prefix
- a morpheme that comes before a root word

Examples:
auto- (automobile)
in- (incorrect)
over- (overcharge)
Suffix
- a morpheme that comes after a root word

Examples:
-ful (forgetful)
-ish (childish)
-ive (active)
Two Varieties of Suffixes

1. Inflectional Suffixes
- modify the grammatical class of words by
signaling a change in number, tense, degrees
of comparison, and so on, but they do not shift
the base form into another word class
Inflectional Morphemes Added to Examples
-s plural Nouns She got two guitars.
-'s possessive Nouns Zeynep's hair is too long.
-er comparative Adjectives Zeynep hair is longer than Derya.
-est superlative Adjectives Zeynep has the longest hair.
-s 3rd person singular Verbs Zeynep plays the guitar.
present tense
-ed past tense Verbs She played the guitar at the party.

-ing progressive Verbs She is playing the guitar at the party.

-en past participle Verbs She has taken the guitar at the party.
 2. Derivational Suffixes
- modify either the part of speech or the actual
meaning of a word
Derivational Morpheme Meaning Examples

-al relating to formal, postal, practical

-less without homeless, hopeless

-ous full of famous, cautious

-hood state, condition, quality brotherhood, neighborhood
 Compound Words
- combination of two different words
Examples:
back + ward = backward (towards the reverse direction)
book + shelf = bookshelf (storage of books)
full + moon = full moon (a moon appearing as a bright circle)
six + pack = six-pack (often in reference to a pack of drinks)
 Context Clues

- are words, phrases, and sentences that

surround an unfamiliar word and help you
recognize the meaning of an unknown word
1. Synonyms - used when the text has words or
phrases that ae similar in meaning to the unknown
word
Example:
The narrator in the poem was euphoric at his son's
victory, for he cried out triumphantly when the boy
came home.
euphoric
- victorious; triumphant; very happy and excited
Other Examples:

a. This situation is a conundrum - a puzzle.

conundrum
- a confusing or a difficult situation
b. Humpty Dumpty took great pleasure in
obfuscating the poem's meaning to Alice. His
explanations about the poem were confusing
and complicated.
obfuscating
- making more difficult to understand;
confusing
c. We are planning a picnic for today. It is
sunny and warm outside. It will be an idyllic
day - just perfect for a picnic.

idyllic
- perfect; very peaceful, happy, and enjoyable
2. Antonyms - words that reveal the opposite meaning
in relation to the unknown word

Example:
Although Mary was willing to play in the snow,
Jack was reluctant because he was so cold.
reluctant
- not willing to do something
a. Marty is gregarious, not like his brother
who is quiet and shy.

gregarious
- sociable; outgoing; extrovert
b. The lanky dog was not fat, even though he
ate a lot.

lanky

- skinny
c. The rich woman gave a paltry sum to the
charity even though she was able to give
much more.
paltry
-very small or too small in amount
3. Examples - are specific details in a text that are
used to clarify the meaning of a word
Example:
Projectiles include those items that are shot forward
such as a cannon shell, bullet, or rocket.
projectiles
- things (such as bullet or rocket) that are shot from
weapon
a. Famous conquistadors include Cortes, who
conquered Aztec Mexico and Pizarro, who
conquered Inca Peru.

conquistadors
- conquerors; ones that take control of
(a country or city) through the use of force
b. A sleuth, such as Sherlock Holmes, can be
very helpful in solving crimes.

sleuth
- detective
- someone who looks for information to solve
crimes
c. Precipitation, such as rain and snow, falls
from the sky.

precipitation
- water that falls to the ground (such as rain
and snow)
4. Definition - is usually signaled by a form of the
verb to be (am, is, are, was, were) or by commas or
dashes
Example:
The prisoner was in a state of wrath—a feeling of
intense anger.
wrath
- extreme anger
a. To shun someone is to have nothing to do
with that person.

shun
- to avoid deliberately
b. He seemed to be ill, but it was merely a
ruse, that is, a clever trick to deceive us.
ruse
- a trick or act that is used to fool someone
- a wily subterfuge
- deception
c. Sedentary individuals, people who are not
very active, often have diminished health.
sedentary
- not doing or involving much physical
activity
5. Explanation - words or phrases that explain the
unfamiliar word's meaning

Example:
An evanescent ring surrounded the moon as it rose.
It was there for a moment, and then it disappeared.
evanescent
- lasting a very short time; brief; momentary
a. Elis is a blithe young girl. She always
greets everyone with a smile.

blithe
- cheerful; happy, lighthearted
b. Katie appeared infallible in math class
because she had never gotten a problem
wrong.
infallible
- unerring;
- unfailing
- not capable of being wrong
c. The tornado annihilated the whole town to
the point that nothing was left standing.

annihilated
- destroyed; eradicated; exterminated;
abolished
 Simile
- is identified by the use of “like,” “as,” “similar to,” and
the like. They compare dissimilar objects that share certain
charactristics
Examples:
1. When he walked into the room, the entire audience
looked up, like flowers turning towards the sun.
2. His headache was as painful as a root canal without the
benefit of laughing gas.
 Metaphor
- directly refers to the object being described as being or
previously being the object it is compared or connected to

Examples:
1. The boom of his voice, all thunder and lightning,
echoed through the entire hall.
2. The dog was a jack-in-the-box, trying to jump up on the
visitors.
 Essential Learning
A text is a connected discourse, which
means that all ideas in the text must be
related in the sense that they would express
only one main idea, or that the text must
have unity by combining all ideas to
emphasize central idea.