Text as Connected Discourse Overview

Text as Connected Discourse

• The word texere means "to weave," referring to the act of combining words to create meaning.
• Discursus means "exchange of ideas," representing the process of sharing thoughts through written or spoken communication.

Properties of a Well-Written Text

• Organization: A crucial aspect of well-written text, achieved in several ways. Physical format, signal words, and structure are all vital.
• Coherence and Cohesion: Coherence is the sense of unity within a text, encompassing the main points of sentences and paragraphs. Cohesion, also essential, affects the writing's tone.

Organization (Techniques)

• Physical Format: Techniques like headings/subheadings, bullet points, and font emphasis (bold, italics) make a text visually clear and organized.
• Signal Words: These cues help readers follow the text's flow; examples include words like "first," "second," and "however". 
• Structure: The framework of a text. A text's structure commonly features a beginning with an introduction and thesis statement, a middle with supporting details, and an end with a conclusion and final message.

Coherence and Cohesion in Writing

• Coherence: Ensures a smooth, unified understanding throughout the writing. It considers both the main point of individual sentences and the overall main point of each paragraph. 
• Cohesion: A crucial aspect of academic writing directly influencing the writing style.

Language Use

• Informal Language: Suitable for personal writing or communication with family, friends, or colleagues.
• Formal Language: Appropriate for academic, business, and official writing.
• Unbiased Language: Essential in academic and professional contexts. It steers clear of racial, religious, and gender bias. An example of unbiased language is: "A teacher should motivate her students."

Proper Mechanics

• Spelling: Correct use of letters to form words following accepted rules. Think of your target audience.
• Capitalization: The use of uppercase letters (e.g., proper nouns, titles).
• Punctuation (Examples):
• Period: Used after sentences, abbreviations, and decimals.
• Exclamation Point: Marks emphatic or forceful sentences.
• Question Mark: Emphasizes or strengthens sentences asking questions.
• Quotation Marks: Indicate direct quotations; also for titles of short stories, poems, chapters.
• Apostrophe: Shows ownership or indicates plural forms of letters.
• Colon: Used after independent clauses to introduce elements.
• Parentheses: Enclose supplementary information; non-essential details, or explanations.
• Brackets: Mark insertions within quotations; clarifications inserted in quotations.
• Hyphen: Separates or joins words.
• Dash: Shows a sudden break in thought
• Slash: Separates words; denotes alternatives.
• Semicolon: Joins independent clauses when conjunctions like "and," "or," "but," are not present.
• Ellipsis: Indicates that words have been removed from a quotation.
• Comma: Signals pauses and shifts within sentences; connects independent clauses.