Properties of Well-Written Text

• Lesson 5 discusses the properties of a well-written text

Organization

• A good composition needs organization and should have a beginning, middle, and end
• The beginning introduces the topic by attracting the reader's intention
• The middle elaborates on the main idea through discussion
• The end summarizes or clinches the topic

Coherence and Cohesion

• Logical and clear transitional expressions are required
• Transitional and connecting words should show relationships
• Introductory transitional expressions include "in particular" and "for example"
• Time transitional expressions include "first", "after", "before", "finally", and "next"
• Space transitional expressions include "behind", "below", "here", and "in front of"
• Comparison transitional expressions include "similarly", "than", and "also"
• Contrast transitional expressions include "however", "on the other hand", and "on the contrary"

Language Use

• The English language can be classified into formal and informal
• Both formal and informal English should be grammatically correct, differing in vocabulary, tone, mechanics, and organization
• Formal English has an academic tone and is more complex with longer words, sentences, and paragraphs
• Formal English does not use contractions
• Formal English is appropriate business correspondence, documents, formal speeches, memoranda, and research
• Informal English is friendly, personal, and conversational with shorter, simpler words, sentences, and paragraphs
• Contractions are acceptable in Informal English
• Informal English is applicable in daily conversations, personal letters, newspapers, and magazines

Mechanics

• Mechanics refer to the conventions of writing, including capitalization, abbreviation, use of italics, and writing of numbers
• Clarity is added through mechanics
• Capitalize the first work of every sentence and quoted sentence
• Capitalize the first word of every line of poetry
• Capitalize the first word of the salutation and complimentary close in a letter
• Capitalize titles prefixed to names of persons, such as Professor Benjamin A. Gonzales
• Capitalize the pronoun "I" and the exclamation "O" but not "oh"
• Capitalize the important words of the book, journal, magazine, literary work, and song titles
• Do not capitalize prepositions, conjunctions, and articles, unless at the beginning of the title
• Capitalize all proper nouns
• Capitalize the word "God", its synonyms, and its pronouns
• Capitalize names of people, titles for specific persons, countries, states, regions, and other geographic areas, streets, and religious and religious groups
• Capitalize names used to refer to the Bible and other sacred writings
• Capitalize the names of days of the week, months, festivals, schools, colleges, and universities
• Capitalize the names of races, organizations, and members of each
• Capitalize the names of historical events, eras, and holidays
• Capitalize the names of trade names
• Abbreviations are shortened forms of words or phrases to be used only when necessary
• Acceptable abbreviations include those used before proper names (Mr., Ms., Mrs., Dr., Prof., Rev.) and those used after proper names (LPT, M.A., PhD.)
• Use periods after abbreviations
• Represent numbers as figures when writing dates, time, hours, room numbers, telephone numbers, volume, chapter, page numbers, and street
• Represent numbers from one to ninety-nine with words.
• Represent measurements, time, percentages, money, chapter, and page numbers with figures
• Represent a number at the beginning of a sentence in words
• Represent fractions standing alone with words
• Use figure and letter combinations when expressing ordinal numbers, numbering items in a list, or expressing numbered streets from 10th and up
• Use Roman numerals for volume and chapter numbers for the main divisions of outlines
• Titles of books, long poems, plays, motion pictures, works of art, magazines, and newspapers should be italicized
• Foreign words and phrases that have not been integrated into the English language should be italicized
• Scientific names should be italicized
• Italics are used for emphasis on a word
• Italicize names of ships, trains, airplanes, and legal cases

Explore the key properties of well-written text, including organization, coherence, cohesion, and appropriate language use. Learn how to structure compositions with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Understand the importance of logical transitions and the effective use of transitional expressions to enhance clarity and flow.