Lectures in Reading and Writing Skills

Content 1. Text as Connected Discourse

Objectives
• Identify the nature and purpose of a discourse.
• Differentiate between the types of discourses.
• Identify and differentiate between the types of literary discourses.
• Distinguish between literary and academic discourses.
• Identify the properties of a well- written text.

Learn about It!

“You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the
creation of different words on a page. Writing comes from reading, and reading is
the finest teacher of how to write.” – Annie Proulx

Recognizing Different Types of Text

How does a text differ from a discourse?
Text is derived from the Latin word texere, which means to weave, while
discourse comes from the Latin word discursus, which denotes conversation speech.
Merriam-Webster defines text as a piece of writing or speech or the main body of
a printed or written matter on a page , while a discourse is defined as the use of words
to exchange thoughts and ideas. It is also defined as a long talk or piece of writing
about a subject.
Crystal (1992) defines text as a piece of naturally occurring spoken, written, or
sign discourse identified for purposes of analysis. It is often a language unit with a
definable communicative function, such as a conversation, a poster. He defines a
discourse as a continuous stretch of (specially spoken) language larger than a
sentence, often constituting a coherent unit such as a sermon, argument, joke or
narrative.
Cook (1989) defines text as a stretch of language interpreted formally, without
context. He defines discourse as a stretch of language perceived to be meaningful,
unified and purposive.
Text refers to a large unit of written language - a group of ideas put together to
make a point or one central idea . It has a structure which requires the ideas in the
discourse to be relevant to each other. It is an actually connected discourse.
Definition and Purposes of a Discourse
Discourse
- an extended expression of thoughts or ideas
- utterance, talk, speech, discussion, and conversation
- The ideas in discourse are not connected or do not have a particular structure
A discourse is a formal and often lengthy discussion of a topic, where concepts
and insights are arranged in an organized and logical manner. Also, it refers to the way
how language is used to convey meanings or to propel action or provoke a specific
response. It is often associated with speech, but it may also be written. It usually serves
as a writer’s or a scholar’s analysis of a concept or theory proposed by another writer.
Connected speech, also known as “connected discourse”, is spoken language
that is used in ccontinuous sequence of sounds, just like a normal conversation . As
observed, there is often a significant difference between the way words are pronounced
in isolation and the way they are pronounced in the context of connected speech.
Connected discourse or connected speech in linguistics is a continuous
sequence of sounds forming utterances or conversations in spoken language
(Wikipedia.org). A piece of discourse is more than one sentence coherently combined –
meaning logical and well-organized, easy to understand and work closely and well
together.
In most aspects, written text shares the same nature as that of spoken language.
As connected discourse , written text is formed from spontaneous dsicreteness that
predetermined its connectedness. The engendered text serves as dominant straategy of
a writer- from the point of linguistic structure to the forming of appropriate and relevant
units of ordering and linking of items into greater blocks to be able to put one’s idea
accross.
In our highly literate society, there are lierally hundreds of different types of
written text, much more of a variety than found in spoken texts. Each of the types listed
below represents, or is an example of, a genre of written language. Each has certain
rules or conventions for each manifestation, and we are thus able immediately to
identify a genre and to know what to look for within the text. Brown (1994) presented the
inexhaustive list of written text:
Non-fiction
- Reports
- Editorials
- Essays, articles
- Reference(dictionaries, encyclopedias)
Fiction
- Novel
 - Short stories
- Jokes
- Dramas
- Poetry
Letters
- Personal
- Business
Greeting cards
Diaries, journals
Memos (e.g. interoffice memos)
Messages (phone messages)
Announcements
Newspaper “journaleses”
Academic writing
- Short answer test response
- Reports
- Essays, pepers
- Theses, books
Forms, applications
Questionnaires
Directions
Labels
Signs
Recipes
Bills (and other financial statements)
Maps
Manuals
Menus
Schedules (e.g. transportation information)
Advertisements
- Commercial
- Personal (“want ads”)
Invitations
Directories(e.g. telephone, yellow pages)
Comic strips, cartoons

Below are the purposes of a text /discourse.

1. To inform – A discourse that aims to inform provides a descriptive and
comprehensive discussion on the topic. It points out what one should know about a
topic or subject.
2. To persuade – A discourse that aims to persuade tries to convince the
readers that the proposed claim or solution is better than any other proposal.
3. To entertain – A discourse that aims to amuse provides a source of
entertainment for its readers.
4. To describe
 For example, a novel might describe somewhere or somenoe to you.
5. To instruct
For instance, a car manual might instruct you how to do something to your car.

Analyzing a discourse is usually contextual. The reader tries to consider several

factors that may have influenced the writer to make certain claims. Those factors
explain the author’s biases, philosophy, and educational and professional backgrounds,
among others. Below are three of those factors.
1. Culture – The beliefs, customs, attitudes, language, and other things
that define culture may influence the author’s perspective on several issues. Knowing
about the culture the author belongs to, the reader may understand his or her biases.
2. Social environment – The author’s physical surroundings and social
relationships, as well as the culture of the time may have influenced his or her writing.
For instance, during the early decades of the 20th century, most writers produced works
that were classified as “modern” because of its distinct feature: stream of
consciousness. 3. Experiences – Personal accounts or first-hand
experience of events, though subjective, establish credibility and reliability of information
presented in any discourse.
Literary Discourse
• A literary discourse is generally focused on creative works, including
nonfiction. Also, it includes texts that are used strictly for business communication. The
following are the three types of literary discourse:
1. Poetic – This type of discourse is commonly found in creative
works like poems, novels, short stories, and plays. It focuses on how language is used
to form themes and convey ideologies. Some meanings in creative works are explicit,
while some are implied, especially in poems. Ordinary words, especially those used in a
poem, are made appealing through sound patterns.
Example:
The Road Not Taken (An Excerpt) By Robert Frost
shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
and that has made all the difference.

In the text, the author used the roads as a metaphor for making life decisions. Also,
notice that the last words in the poem rhyme: sigh, I, and by; hence and difference.
2. Expressive –
This type of discourse is commonly found in academic journals, letters, diaries,
and blogs. It is a personal narrative and is typically written in the first person point of
view. In the process, the writer reveals something about his or her identity. In literary
terms, expressive discourses are referred to as creative nonfiction.
Example:
The Diary of a Young Girl (An Excerpt) By Anne Frank Sunday, 21 June 1942 Everyone
at school is waiting to hear what happens next. Who will move up a class, and who will
stay down? We’re all trying to guess! I think my girlfriends and I will be OK, though we’ll
have to wait patiently to find out. Most of my teachers like me, but old Mr Keesing gets
angry with me because I often talk too much! He made me do some extra homework
and write about ‘Someone Who Talks Too Much.’
Based on the passage, the writer is describing what she felt while waiting for the big
announcement in school. She describes what she is like in school—talkative—and how
sociable she is as most of her teachers like her.
3. Transactional – This type of discourse is commonly found in instructional materials,
advertisements, and editorial articles, among others. It is directive in nature as it
provides detailed information on how something is done or achieved. Moreover, it
encourages the reader to do something or to take action.
Example: How to Cook Chicken Tinola Ingredients: 1/2 kg chicken wings 1 red onion,
peeled and sliced 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed 1 small ginger, peeled and
julienned 1 small green papaya, peeled and cut into wedges 1-2 stalks of malunggay
1 teaspoon of salt 1 teaspoon of pepper 3-4 cups of water.
Procedure:
1.Prepare all the ingredients.
2. Heat the pan in a medium flame. Add 2–3
tablespoons of oil. 3. Sauté garlic, onion, and ginger. Add chicken
wings and sauté for 3–4 minutes. 4. Pour 3–4 cups of water. Let it simmer.
5. Add the papaya. Simmer until
the chicken becomes tender. 6.Add the
malunggay leaves.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Serve and enjoy.
The recipe above shows the instructions in cooking chicken tinola. It is a list that shows
the step-by-step detail in cooking the dish.

Academic Discourse
• An academic discourse is expository or argumentative in nature. Sometimes,
it presents an individual’s insights regarding a concept or method in a scholarly way. •
Unlike other discourses, an academic discourse uses formal language and the third
person point of view; it maintains an objective tone. It avoids using figures of
speech and idiomatic expressions, including biased or stereotyped and sexist
language. Its examples include essays, journals, book reviews, synthesis, literature
review, and research, among others.
Example: Media is portrayed as an empowered woman in the Euripides’ play. It is a far
cry from how women were viewed and represented in the Ancient Greece. Women then
were mainly portrayed as in charge of producing children, taking care of them, and
being a mistress of the household. Medea’s character defies and challenges
conformities. Her deeds, though evil in nature, stem from the strength of her mind…
Medea, although elicits pity from the audience during the first part of the play as an
abandoned wife and mother, in the end, is feared and abhorred as she proves to be
aware of how wicked her deeds are and yet would not have it the other way around: “I
understand what evil I am about to do but my wrath is stronger even than my
thoughts…” (Euripides 27).
The text is a review of Euripides’ famous play Medea. The critic, although stating his or
her insights of the play, writes in an objective tone, using the third person point of view.
Moreover, the review does not use a figure of speech or idiomatic expression to
describe, elaborate, or prove a point.
• Structures or formats of academic discourses may vary depending on the approved or
recommended style guide to use. Below is a general format.
1. Introduction – In this part, the writer states the significance of the topic and the
issues that need to be addressed. Also, the writer mentions the objectives of the
discourse and how it may be beneficial or detrimental.
2. Body – In this part, the writer discusses the methods of
gathering information. He or she then presents the findings and interprets them.
Moreover, he or she formulates arguments and supports them with evidence.
3. Conclusion – In this part, the writer reiterates
the claims and asserts his or her stand. He or she may include insights and
recommendations for further studies.

Learning Tasks

Task 1: Read and analyze Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Identify the purpose
of the discourse. Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this
continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all
men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that
nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on
a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a
final resting-place for those who here gave their lives, that that nation might live. It is
altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot
dedicate, we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground. The brave men, living
and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or
detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never
forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the
unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is
rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from
these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave
the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not
have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and
that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the
earth.

Task 2: Identify what kind of discourse is presented in Texts 1 and 2. Justify your
answer by stating the characteristics of each text.
Text 1:Good day! I apologized for the delayed response. The art event will be held on
the 16th of July. To get to the venue, turn left from the mall. You will see a drugstore in
the corner. Turn right after two blocks. You will find a low-rise building beside a bank.
Go inside and inform the receptionist that you are one of the participants. Do not forget
to bring a proof of identification. The venue is located on the third floor.
Text 2: Hi, Mom! Sorry I only checked my email now. It has been crazy lately. I have
been working on several course requirements since last week. How are you and Dad?
Please tell him I said hi and I miss him. Anyway, I got accepted for internship in an
accounting firm. Can you believe it? Finally! My internship starts this October. I will let
you know about the details soon.