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MODULE 15,16, and 20

PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEXT: COHERENCE AND COHESION

PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEXT

● Organization
● Coherence and Cohesion
● Appropriate Language Use
● Mechanics in Writing

COHERENCE AND COHESION

Well-Written Text is..
● the writer's knowledge of the fundamental properties of grammar
● built around effective paragraphing, on coherence and on established
conventions
● the properties that show the interplay of both the physical aspects of
organization and deeper textual aspects
● constitutes proper paragraphing and logical order of presentation of ideas

PARAGRAPH – is a series of sentences that are organized, coherent,and are all related
to a single topic. for a single paragraph,or for any composition,to be effective,it
must always consider the Properties of a Well-Written Text.These properties are:
Organization, Coherence and Cohesion, Appropriate Language Use, and Mechanics of
Writing.

3 ways of organizing details:

1. CHRONOLOGICAL – the details are arranged in the order in which they happened.
this is an orderly arrangement of ideas which is according to what came first.
this may be from past to present, earliest to latest, and so on. this type of
order is often used in narratives, process description and historical accounts.
2. SPATIAL – the sentences of a paragraph are arranged according to geographical
location, such as nearest to farthest, inside to outside, left to right, and
other orders relating to space.
3. EMPHATIC – is when information found in a paragraph is arranged to emphasize
certain points depending on the writer's purpose. the coherence of the paragraph
is established in one or two ways: (a) from least to most important, or (b) from
the most to least important.

COHERENCE AND COHESION – refers to the connection of ideas and connection between
sentence and paragraphs
ORGANIZATION – constitutes proper paragraphing and logical order of presentation of
ideas.
COHESION – refers to connectivity in a text.
COHERENCE – refers to how easy it is to understand the writing.
Note: A text is cohesive if its elements are linked together. A text is coherent if it
makes sense

cohesion is a formal feature of texts (it gives them their texture), while coherence
is "in the eye of the beholder"-that is to say, it is the extent to which the reader
(or listener) is able to infer the writer's (or speaker's) communicative intentions.

Thus, cohesion is objectively verifiable, while coherence is more subjective. A text

may be coherent to you, but incoherent to me

Cohesion with NO Coherence

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"My favorite color is blue. Blue sports car goes very fast. Driving in this way is
dangerous and can cause many cart 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."

As you can see there is plenty of cohesion here. The sentences connect clearly
together but if you read the paragraph it really makes no sense - he starts talking
about blue and he finishes talking about a holiday in Europe. There is coherence in
this sentence.

Coherence with NO Cohesion

" My favorite color is blue. I'm calm and relaxed. In the summer I lie on the grass
and look up."

This is more difficult to understand but basically, this lack of cohesion means a lack
of sufficient connectors to join the ideas together. If you try hard you can
understand what the person is saying: a short answer, an explanation an example;
however, the sentences don't fit together.

PROPER/APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE USE

PROPER LANGUAGE USE – allows you to capture the message that you want to convey to
your readers. It is all about choosing the right words that accurately capture your
ideas.
Here are some Language Use Tips in writing to be effective
1. Use clear and concise sentences.
2. Avoid redundancies, wordiness, clichés and high fault language
3. Avoid excessive use of "there" and "it" structures
4. Use precise vocabulary.
5. Be consistent with your pronoun's point of view
6. Avoid sexist language
7. Use an appropriate level of formality.
LANGUAGE USE – is one of the clearest indicators of a well-text. it enables writers to
effectively communicate ideas without confusing the reader. An effective language is:
Specific, Concise, Familiar, Correct, and Appropriate Levels ofin Language Use

IMPORTANCE OF WRITING TEXT

writing helps us with communication and thinking skills. writing expresses who we are
as people. writing makes our thinking and learning visible and permanent. writing
fosters our ability to explain and refine our ideas to others and ourselves.
Elements of Appropriate Language Use

1. Misused Word – It is important to be certain of the definition of a word before

using it; this often happens with words that sound or look alike.

● Example

I won't except the use of your Visa accept in cases of emergency

She went to the store, and than she went to the bank
Examples: Misused Words
a. Those teams are not as competitive as our group of athletes
b. They're heading over to their house, which is over there
c. It's a beautiful neighborhood Every street has its own unique look
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2. Words with Unwanted Connotations – some writers end up using language that is
unintentionally confusing, comical, or even offensive to readers

● Example: "This sweater was so cheap!"

The sentence could be rephrased to This sweater was so "affordable!" or "inexpensive"

All three words mean that the sweater didnt cost much, but cheap as a word we
typically use to imply that something is posely made or of low quality

● Examples: Words with Unwanted Connotation

a. "Don't be so pushy!"

"Pushy" certainly carries a negative connotation, indicating someone who is

both annoying and uning too much force."Determined" comes a much more positive meaning

b. Sarah is thrifty shopper; she knows how to save money

"Thrifty" refers to ene who knows how to skillfully save money, wh

is generally an admirable quality "Cheap" or 'stingy" would refer to someone who

pinches their pennies a little too much.

Negative Neutral Positive

Arrogant Self-assured Confident

Strange Different Unique

Stench Scent Aroma

Naive Inexperienced Fresh

Obsessed Highly interested Infatuated

3. Technical or Highfalutin Words – some genres require the use of such words, writer
should still be careful about using them since they make readers work harder to
understand texts.

● Example: I don't want to listen to your malarkey anymore!

malarkey - meaningless talk; nonsense: speech designed to mislead

● Examples: Highfalutin Words

a. The speaker was completely discombobulated by the hecklers

b. I nd myself of many superfluous belongings and habits that bothered me
e it compasseth the heavens and in them the earth, like green rainbow or one vast
sphere of viridity, and from this viridity the Divine Influences are showered down,
like rain through the ether.

4. Formal-Informal Language – Informal language is usually used in writing for oneself

or in writing to family, friends, and colleagues. On the other hand, formal language
is used in writing academic, business and official texts.

● Examples:
Formal
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The lunch served in the cafeteria today was not very appeting. The food was ever
cooked, smelled terrible, and tasted awful. Instead of serving students substandard
food, the school should look into bringing in food from a caterer or local restaurant
if at all possible.

Informal

Lunch in the cafeteria today was nasty it looked, smelled, and tasted bad. The school
shouldn't serve nasty food like that. They should bring in food from a restaurant or
something.

Formal and Informal Language

Formal: The United Nations has condemned Formal: It is imperative that you arrive
the violenc Formalt is imperative that on time for your appointment.
you amive on time for your appointment.
Informal: Make sure you're not late for
Informal: The UN called the violence your appointment.
against civilians "unacceptable."

Formal: Thank you for your time and Formal: In order to assess the situation,
cideration we will need more information.

Informal: Thanks for your time and Informal: We need more information to
consideration figure out what's going

Formal: The committee has come to the

Formal: The author makes a compelling decision that the proposal should be
argument that the war was unnecessary. rejected.

Informal The author argues that the war Informal: The committee decided to reject
was dumb. the proposal.

Formal: it is important to note that the Formal: I am writing to inform you that
data is preliminary and subject to your application has been accepted.
change.
Informal: Keep in mind that this data Informal: Congratulations, your
isn't set in stone yet. application was accepted.

5. Direct and Simple Sentences – readers would easily understand the text.

● Example: Direct and Simple Sentences

● Look for some paper - Get a piece of paper.
● Go to the top of it-Write your name at the top of it

6. Unbiased Language – free of racial bias, free of religious bias, and free of gender
bias

● Example:

● chairman/chairwoman - chairperson
● postman - postal worker Ray is mentally disabled (biased)
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● Ray has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (unbiased)

Small Language Changes Can Have a Huge Impact

Replace… With…

Coloured people POC (People of Colour)

Digital native Tech-savvy

Confined to a wheelchair A wheelchair user

Chairman Chairperson

Man the stockroom Manage the stockroom

Mankind Humanity

Peanut gallery Audience

_ is my spirit animal "I love _"

He or She They

A homosexual A gay person/a lesbian

Mechanics in Writing

– It refers to the rules of the written language, such as capitalization, punctuation,

and spelling.
– An understanding of both grammar and mechanics is required to clearly communicate
your ideas in a paper. The conventions governing the technical aspects of writing
including spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and abbreviations.

Punctuation – is the act of using a system of symbols such as comma, period, quotation
marks, question marks, etc. that are used to give structure to and organize a text.
the use of punctuation guides the reader regarding how the text should be read.

Punctuation Marks Rules and Examples:

Quotation Marks (“) – (speech marks) show that words have been directly qouted.
● Examples:
“I've been working hard all day, ” he said. “Let's go out to dinner!”
“He wouldn't lie to me. I know it, ” said Elaine.

Spelling – a set of conventions that regulate the way of using graphemes to represent
a language in its written form.

Apostrophe (‘) – it has two main functions:

● An apostrophe shows that a letter (or letters) has been ommited from a word in
a contraction.
Examples:
It's (it is) not ready yet. Come back later.
I'd (I would) be happier if you did it without being asked.
● An apostrophe is used to make a noun possessive.
Examples:
Chicago's winters are very cold and severe.
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The dog's feet are muddy.

Hyphen (–) – it has also two main functions:

● The most common use of the hyphen is to form compound words, words that are
made up of more than one word. Sometimes this occurs when two words are put
together to serve as an adjective
● Examples: I paid for two full-price tickets, but I still was not admitted to
the arena. I want a refund.
After losing three jobs this year, I havee no self-confidence left.
En dash (–) – generally, the en dash indicates a range of numbers of a period of time.
In this sense, it it used with numerals.
Examples:
● During the World War II years (1939–1945), basic commodities were rationed in
many countries.
● The school is open to children ages 6–14.

Em dash (—) – the em dash (twice as long as the en dash) shows a big pause in a
sentence or emphasizes the end of a sentence.
● Examples: I'm ready to talk—if you're ready to listen.
You said you'd—you said you'd be faithful to me!

Ellipsis/Ellipsis Point (...)– the ellipsis, a series of three dots, shows that
something has been removed from a sentence. It can also show a pause or an unfinished
sentence.
● Examples: The report indicates that we can expect sales of 45 million units
next year if conditions… remain favorable.
I really don't know what I'm going to do…

Comma (,)– the comma joins two or more ideas in a sentence or separates items in a
series.
● Examples: We've hired all our interns, and we're ready to start working in the
project.
The largest economies in Southeast Asia are those of Indonesia, Thailand, and the
Philippines.

Colon (:)– a colon introduces the information that comes after it. It tells the reader
that something is coming.
● Examples: I've narrowed my choices down to two schools:Indiana or Michigan
State.
As I see it, you've committed three criminal acts: frauds, perjury, and
misrepresentation or financial assets.

Semicolon (;) – the semicolon connects two complete sentences that are related.
● Examples: Franklin D. Roosevelt was the U. S. president for four terms; he led
the country through World War II.
Roses are red; Violets are purple.

Exclamation Mark (!)– exclamation mark or exclamation point shows strong emphasis or
strong emotion. It is rarely used in formal writing.
● Examples:
Stop!
Don't do that!

Question Mark (?) – shows that a question is being asked, that the speaker or writer
is seeking sn answer to something.
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● Examples: Can we agreed that peace is better than war?

What time does the movie start?

Period (US) – the full stop or period is the most common punctuation mark in the
English Language. It has two main functions.
1. It shows the end of a sentence.
a. Examples: Dinner's ready.
b. Sales have increased every month since January.
2. It indicates an abbreviation. This is more commonly used in American English.
a. Examples: Ms. Jones arrives at 8 to open the office; you can start work
any time after that.
Let's buy a 64-oz.bottle. the kids will be thirsty after playing baseball all
day.
Capitalization – the act of writing the first letter of a word in uppercase while the
rest of the letters are in lowercase.
Abbreviations