ma’am jaymee

PROPERTIES OF A
WELL-WRITTEN
TEXT
READING AND WRITING SKILLS QUARTER 3 - MODULE 2
This module provides relevant learning activities that will help you
evaluate a written text based on its properties which include
organization, coherence and cohesion, language use, and
mechanics.
After going through this module, you are expected to:
• identify the properties of a well-written text which include
organization, coherence and cohesion, language use, and mechanics;
• arrange a text observing and following a logical organization of
ideas;
• use cohesive devices to achieve coherence and cohesion within a
text; and• evaluate a written text based on its properties.
PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEX

1. Organization
It covers the arrangement of ideas presented in the paragraph. A
written text should
be highly organized in such a way that one idea should logically
flow to another idea.
The main idea or controlling idea is contained in the topic
sentence. It can be found at
the beginning, middle, or end of the paragraph. The succeeding
sentences support the topic
sentence.
 Example:
The agent or stimulus that elicits the stress reaction is referred to as the stressor. There
is a range in the strength of the response the stressor elicits. This is referred to as
intensity and can be viewed as a continuum with minor stressors on one end and major
stressors on the other. Most of the stressors encountered daily are minor stressors, such
as getting up late, running to class, and exhilaration over an unexpectedly high grade on
a test. They are encountered and adapted to with varying degrees of regularity. More
intense stressors such as the death of a family member, pregnancy or fathering a
pregnancy, or transferring to another school, could be major stressors.

- Stress: A Mental Wellness Challenge (Adapted from Connections for

Health, 1996

PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEX

ORGANIZATION
 The paragraph demonstrates organization or unity of ideas. The topic
sentence which
can be found at the beginning controls the rest of the sentences in the
paragraph. The
succeeding sentences support the main idea in the topic sentence.
Remember that topic
sentence reveals the main point and summarizes the overall idea of the
paragraph.

PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEX

ORGANIZATION
2. Coherence and Cohesion
A written text usually conveys a big amount of information. It is
composed of several ideas. With this, messages or ideas in a text should
have perceived coherence and cohesion.
Coherence is defined as the quality of being logical, consistent, and
understandable. On the other hand, cohesion is the act of forming a whole
unit.
To achieve and show coherence and cohesion of ideas in a written text, writers can
use cohesive devices or transitional words and phrases for a clear and logical flow
of thoughts from sentence to sentence and from paragraph to paragraph. These
transitions signal or prepare the reader for the idea that follows. They show
relationships of time, contrast, result, and addition or example. Some examples of
transitions under these relationships are shown in the chart below.
PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEX
COHERENCE AND COHESION
Examples of using cohesive devices or transitions in sentences:
➢ A strong typhoon hit some places in Bulacan. As a result,
many houses and trees were in ruins.
➢ Studies have shown that a person’s I.Q. increases with age,
therefore, as people grow older, they become more tolerant and
objective in their thinking.

PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEX

COHERENCE AND COHESION
Example of using cohesive devices in a paragraph:

There are many simple ways in which we can help in solving the growing problem
of garbage disposal within our community. First, bring your own reusable cloth bags
instead of accepting plastic bags from the store. However, if you forget to bring your
cloth bags to the store, you can ask the person bagging your groceries to use paper
bags or boxes instead of plastic bags. Secondly, avoid take-out foods which require
a lot of packaging. Also, learn how to segregate wastes that decompose and that can
be recycled naturally as fertilizer for plants. Finally, avoid bottled drinks because
they are a major source of waste in many places. Therefore, it is safe to say that
being conscious about how your family manages household waste can be of big help
in addressing your community’s problem in waste disposal
3. Language Use
The use of appropriate language is one of the properties of a well-written text. The
choice of language should also be suited to the target audience or readers.

Language use also covers the writer’s tone of writing: subjective or objective. The
subjective tone of writing uses the writer’s personal biases and judgment. On the other hand,
objective tone of writing uses factual information and arguments.

PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEX

LANGUAGE USE
A subjective tone focuses on the attitudes, thoughts, feelings, values, or
beliefs of the
writer or speaker. This kind of language contains judgments,
interpretations, evaluations, or
opinions. Usually, this tone of writing can be found on blogs,
opinions/columns in newspapers,
diaries, informal essays, comments in social media, and the likes.

PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEX

LANGUAGE USE
 Examples of sentences using subjective tone/language:

“The film was terrible.”

“The operating system isn’t the best one out there; it’s too slow for
most people’s needs.”
“I don’t think that this company cares about what their customers think
about them.”

PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEX

LANGUAGE USE
Objective tone or language focuses on the plain facts about a person or
object - what is true and what can be proven. This kind is often used in
textbooks, references, science
journals, researches, newspaper articles, atlases, encyclopedias, and the
likes.

PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEX

LANGUAGE USE
 Examples of sentences using objective tone/language:

“The film lasted for one hour and thirty-five minutes”.

“The Philippines ranks 110th out of 139 countries in terms of mobile data speed, having
an average of 18.49 megabits per second (Mbps) as of November 2020.”
“English is one of the official languages of the Philippines and is spoken by more than 14
million Filipinos.

PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEX

LANGUAGE USE
THE WRITER HAS TO DECIDE THE LANGUAGE AND
TONE OF WRITING DEPENDING ON ITS PURPOSE.

PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEX

LANGUAGE USE
4. Mechanics
The mechanics is the overall characteristic of the written text.
According to Nordquist (2020), writing mechanics are conventions
governing the technical aspects of writing,
including spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and abbreviation.

PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEX

MECHANICS
A. Spelling.
In writing, spelling is the correct arrangement of letters that form
words. To improve spelling skills, you can use a memory device
known as mnemonics. This is done by using phrase, acronym, or
pattern to remember something like the spelling of a word. You can
also increase your reading skills by making a list of commonly
misspelled words or by marking words in a dictionary that seem to
give you trouble repeatedly.

PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEX

MECHANICS
B. Punctuation. It is a set of marks used to regulate texts and clarify
their meanings, mainly by separating or linking words, phrases, and
clauses.

PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEX

MECHANICS
 I ATE,
MAMA.
I ATE MAMA.
PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEX
MECHANICS
C. Capitalization. It is the practice of using capital letters in writing or
printing. Proper nouns, keywords in titles, and beginnings of sentences
are generally capitalized. The
pronoun “I” is capitalized under all circumstances.

PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEX

MECHANICS
D. ABBREVIATION. IT IS A SHORTENED FORM OF A
WORD OR PHRASE.

PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEX

MECHANICS
5. Grammar and Mechanics
While mechanics refers to the rules of written language such as
capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and abbreviation; grammar, on the
other hand, is the structure of written
and spoken language. Grammar refers to the parts of speech and how
they combine to form sentences. An understanding of both grammar
and mechanics is required to communicate one’s ideas in paper.

PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEX

GRAMMAR AND MECHANICS
Directions: Write True if the statement is correct and False if it is
incorrect. Write your answers on the space provided for.
_____ 1. Organization covers the arrangement of ideas presented in
the paragraph.
_____ 2. A written text should be highly organized in such a way
that one idea should logically flow to another idea to achieve
confusion.
_____ 3. The main idea or controlling idea is contained in the topic
sentence.
_____ 4. Writers can use cohesive devices or transitional words
and phrases for a clear and logical flow of thoughts from sentence
to sentence and from paragraph to paragraph.
_____ 5. The use of an appropriate language is not a characteristic
or property of a well-written text.
_____ 6. The choice of the language should also be suited to the
target audience or readers.
_____ 7. Objective tone or language focuses on the plain facts
about a person or object - what is true and what can be proven.
_____ 8. Coherence are conventions governing the technical
aspects of writing, including spelling, punctuation, capitalization,
and abbreviation.
_____ 9. An understanding of both grammar and mechanics is
required to clearly communicate one’s ideas in paper.
_____ 10. The writer has to decide the language and tone of writing
depending on its purpose.
 DIRECTIONS: EXAMINE THE FOLLOWING
SENTENCES. USE THE APPROPRIATE COHESIVE OR
TRANSITIONAL
DEVICES TO CONNECT THE IDEAS IN THE GIVEN
SENTENCES. CHOICES ARE PROVIDED IN THE BOX
BELOW.
IN ADDITION TO THAT HOWEVER
AS A RESULT FIRST
BECAUSE INSTEAD
1. Different oil companies had an oil-price increase. _______________, the prices of
basic commodities increased, too
2. Hypertension is called by many as “the silent killer”. _______________ in many
cases, it produces no symptoms until permanent organ damage results in chronic illness
or death.
3. The programmer and his assistant delved into their files. _______________, they did
not find the documents they were looking for.
4. Planning and implementing organizational activities must be done in order.
________________, the organization should seek permission to conduct an activity
from the Office of Student Affairs.
5. Vitamins help slow down aging and make one’s skin look younger and more
glowing. _______________, they fight the health hazard of stress and help cut down
medical bills.
 INDEPENDENT ACTIVITY 2
DIRECTIONS: READ THE PARAGRAPHS BELOW.
COMPLETE THE PARAGRAPHS BY WRITING THE
APPROPRIATE
COHESIVE OR TRANSITIONAL DEVICE FOR EACH
PART. CHOOSE FROM THE LIST GIVEN IN THE BOX.

Thus However
Although For example
Because
Further In addition to that
English is considered by many as the language of international communication. _______________
it is not the most spoken language in the world, English is the official language in 53 countries and
is spoken as a first language by around 400 people worldwide. _______________, here in the
Philippines, English has always been one of the official languages and is spoken by more than 14
million Filipinos. It is the language of commerce and law. _______________, Philippines uses
English as the primary medium of instruction in education. _______________, proficiency in the
language is also one of the Philippines strengths, _______________ it has helped drive the
economy and even made the Philippines the top voice outsourcing destination in the world.
_______________, during the discussion organized by the British Council, key stakeholders
acknowledged that even if the Philippines is doing fine in terms of English competency, there were
still concerns on how much of a competitive advantage it still is for the country.
_______________, they agreed that the country needs to step up its efforts in improving the
teaching and learning of the language, developing it as a vital skill of the workforce.
 INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT 2
DIRECTIONS: EXAMINE THE ITEMS GIVEN BELOW.
ARRANGE THEM IN PROPER ORDER SO THAT IDEAS WOULD
FLOW LOGICALLY AND CLEARLY. NUMBER THEM
ACCORDINGLY. WRITE YOUR ANSWERS ON THE LINES
BEFORE
THE STATEMENTS.
A. The Research Process
_____ After the literature has been reviewed, the researcher clarifies the problem and narrows the
scope of the study.
_____ The researcher identifies a problem or develops a research question.
_____ The researcher defines the population or group of people that will be the focus of the study.
_____ The researcher must learn more about the topic under investigation by reading related
literature and studies.
_____ To minimize confusion on the scope of the study, the researcher should specifically define
the variables, terms, and phrases that will be included in the study.
_____ Once the plan is completed, the actual study begins with the collection of data.
_____ After determining the population, the researcher must develop the instrumentation plan or
the plan for the study.
_____ This is where the researcher analyzes the data collected so that the research question can be
answered.
B. Narrative of a Fire Incident
_____ Five firefighters from the BFP arrived at the scene at 6:30 AM.
_____ The fire at the Green West Apartment was first noticed at 6:15 AM by a reside
named Bonifacio Cruz.
_____ They fought the blaze for half an hour.
_____ The authorities reported that the damage was worth 6 million pesos.
_____ They then broke the windows and brought their hoses in.
_____ Immediately after arriving at the scene, they awakened and
evacuated all the affected residents.
_____ Mr. Cruz called the BFP Station near their residence.
Independent Activity 3
A. Directions: Identify the tone of language used in each of the given
sentences. Write OB if
it uses objective tone and SUB if subjective tone.
__________ 1. “Self-love begins when you start seeing your worth
despite how others see you less.”
__________ 2. “That’s probably one of the best movies that I’ve seen
so far.”
__________ 3. “Intelligence quotient or IQ is the measure of a person’s
reasoning ability and how well someone can use information and logic
to answer questions or make predictions.”
__________ 4. “There is nothing like an ice-cold bottle of soda to
satisfy a thirst!”
__________ 5. “Suffrage or right to vote in electing public officials
may be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines not otherwise
disqualified by law.”
B. Directions: Read and examine the given sentences. On the space provided for, write
OKAY if there is no error. If not, encircle the part of the sentence that makes it wrong
or not acceptable.
__________ 6. “I have to thank everybody for coming to this very special ocassion.”
__________ 7. “I disagree to the efficacy of the new policy. However, I will not
support it.”
__________ 8. “There’s no reason to feel embarassed about a normal body function.”
__________ 9. “As your supervisor: I promise to stand for your rights in this
company.”
__________ 10. “This business venture will never flourish unless you give your
support.”
 INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT 3
DIRECTIONS: EVALUATE THE FOLLOWING
SENTENCES. WRITE IN IF THE SENTENCE SUPPORTS
OR IS RELATED
TO THE GIVEN TOPIC BELOW AND OUT IF NOT.