TEXT AS CONNECTED DISCOURSE

TEXT – a large unit of written language

- actually a connected discourse

DISCOURSE – an expression of ideas

utterance, talk, speech,
discussion, conversation, etc
- a group of ideas put together to make
a point or one central idea
SAMPLE DISCOURSE :
Alex is no stranger to poverty.
Alex passed the highly competitive college admission test of a
respected university.
Studying hard became Alex’s routine, and despite his being
poor, he made sure to maximize the university’s resources.
Inspired by his friends , Alex worked hard on joining the National
Chemical Engineering Quiz Bowl as representative of his university.
Alex will graduate with the university’s highest academic
achievement.
Alex says that while it sounds cliché, he really wants to give back
to the Philippines.
Almost five years later, Alex has become one of the country’s
premier chemists.
PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEXTS

1. Organization

2. Coherence and cohesion

3. Appropriate language use

4. Proper mechanics
ORGANIZATION – the arrangement of ideas in a text. You can easily follow
good organization when you create an outline of your ideas before you start.
An outline can be useful because it provides a format in which ideas can be
arranged in hierarchy – that is, it distinguishes the general ideas from the
specific or subordinating ideas

COHERENCE AND COHESION – refers to the connection of ideas and

connection between sentences and between paragraphs. You need to use
transitional and cohesive devices in order to assure coherence and cohesion.
For coherence , use phrases that signals that you are adding more information
( e.g in addition, moreover) or referring to the previous statement ( as
mentioned earlier ) or contrasting the previous statement ( however ) and so
on., For cohesion , you must organize old and new information in your text by
using certain vocabulary such as synonyms and antonyms, or repetition of
words from the previous sentence, or using pronouns and conjunctions
APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE USE – acceptable
style of language for a particular
form of text

PROPER MECHANICS- Mechanics refer to the

conventions of writing which includes
capitalization , punctuation, spelling, numerals,
abbreviations, acronyms, and contractions
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 a central idea. For a writer to
achieve unity in the text being written, the following must be
achieved :
a. The ideas must be organized in a particular way and must have
an introduction, a body and a conclusion.
b. The ideas must be properly connected with cohesive or
transitional devices such as conjunctions and signal words.
c. The use of language must be concise and appropriate.
d. The punctuation, spelling, and format must be correct.
Individual ACTIVITY :

Answer the following questions in yellow paper.

1.What are the properties of a well-written text ?

2.How can an outline be useful for organizing ideas ?
3.What is the device that is used for achieving coherence
in a text ?
4.What are the ways in which a writer can provide
cohesion in a text ?
5.What are the characteristics of effective language use ?