Lesson 5: Properties of a Well-Written Text

Silay Institute, Incorporated READING & WRITING  CONTENT S Lesson 5- Properties of a Well-Written Text Silay Institute, Incorporated  CONATION To learn about the importance of coherence, organization, proper language...

Silay Institute, Incorporated READING & WRITING  CONTENT S Lesson 5- Properties of a Well-Written Text Silay Institute, Incorporated  CONATION To learn about the importance of coherence, organization, proper language and mechanics, and to apply these to actual writing. Silay Institute, Incorporated  A. ORGANIZATION A good composition has organization. There should be a beginning, a middle, and an end. The beginning introduces the topic. It attracts the attention of the reader. The middle is the discussion of the topic. It expounds on the main idea. The end clinches or summarizes the topic. Silay Institute, Incorporated A. ORGANIZATION Silay Institute, Incorporated A. ORGANIZATION Silay Institute, Incorporated  B. COHERENCE AND COHESION Introductory- in particular, for The parts of the discourse or example essay should stick together or cohere. There should be Time- first, after, before, finally, logical and clear transitions. next Make use of logical and clear transitions in writing. Space- behind, below, here, in front Transitional and connecting of words show relationships. Check out the following Comparison- similarly, than, also sample transitional Contrast- however, on the other expressions: hand, on the contrary Silay Institute, Incorporated B. COHERENCE AND COHESION Silay Institute, Incorporated C. LANGUAGE USE The English language can be classified into formal English and informal English. Both formal and informal English should be grammatically correct. However, they differ in vocabulary, tone, mechanics, and organization. Silay Institute, Incorporated C. LANGUAGE USE The tone of formal English is academic. Words, sentences, and paragraphs are longer and more complex. It does not use contractions. Formal English is used in business correspondence, documents, formal speeches, memoranda and researches. Silay Institute, Incorporated C. LANGUAGE USE The tone of informal English is friendly, more personal, and conversational. Words, sentences and paragraphs are shorter and simpler. Contractions can be used. Informal English is used in daily conversations, personal letters, newspapers and magazines. Silay Institute, Incorporated  D. MECHANICS Mechanics refer to conventions regarding capitalization, abbreviation, use of italics, and the writing of numbers. Mechanics add to the clarity of writing. The following are some rules from A Manual of Style of the University of Chicago Press with this author’s examples. 1. CAPITALS a. Capitalize the first word of every sentence and of every quoted sentence. The professor said, “Sit down.” b. Capitalize the first word of every line of poetry. Silay Institute, Incorporated CAPITALS c. Capitalize the first word of the salutation and the complimentary close of a letter. Dear President Marcos: Very truly yours, d. Capitalize titles prefixed to names of persons. Professor Benjamin A. Gonzales e. Capitalize the pronoun I and the exclamation O but not “oh” f. Capitalize important word in the title of the book, journal, magazine, literary work, and songs. Do not capitalize prepositions, conjunctions, and articles unless they are at the beginning of the title. 13 CAPITALS g. Capitalize all proper nouns. The word God, all its synonyms and the pronouns referring to God: Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, Heavenly Father h. Names of persons and titles for specific persons i. Names of countries, state, regions, and other geographic areas j. Names of street k. Names of religions and religious groups l. Names used to refer to the Bible and other sacred writings: Bible, the Scriptures 14 CAPITALS m. Names of days of the week, months, festivals n. Names of schools, colleges, and universities o. Names of races, organizations, and members of each: Filipino, Christian Brotherhood International p. Names of historical events, eras, and holidays q. Trade names: Dove, Jollibee 15 ABBREVIATIO NS 2. ABBREVIATIONS- Abbreviations are shortened forms of words and phrases. Avoid using abbreviations unless necessary. a. In formal writing, use only acceptable abbreviations: 1) Mr., Ms., Mrs., Dr., Prof., Rev., when used before proper names 2) Abbreviations of degrees and honorary titles (LPT, M.A., PhD.,) when they appear after proper names 3) The abbreviations Php for peso, $ for dollars, no. for number, A.D. for Anno Domini, and B.C. for Before Christ when they are used with numerals. b. Put a period after abbreviations. 16 NUMBERS 3. NUMBERS a. Use figures to represent numbers in writing dates, time, hours, room numbers, telephone numbers, volume, chapter, page numbers, street numbers. b. Use words for numbers from one to ninety-nine. c. Use figures to represent numbers in writing measurements, time, percentages, money, chapter and page numbers. d. Use words to represent a number when it begins a sentence. e. Use words to represent fractions standing alone. 17 NUMBERS f. Use figure and letter combinations when you are expressing ordinal numbers, numbering items in a list, or expressing numbered streets from 10th and up. g. Use Roman numerals for volume and chapter numbers for the main divisions of outlines. 18 ITALICS 4. ITALICS a. Use italics to indicate titles of books, long poems, plays, motion pictures, works of art, magazine and newspapers. I love Shakespeare’s play, “Merchant of Venice”. b. Use italics to indicate foreign words and phrases that are not yet in the English language. I write best after my sturm and drang season. c. Use italics to write scientific names. Homo sapiens 19 ITALICS 4. ITALICS a. Use italics to indicate titles of books, long poems, plays, motion pictures, works of art, magazine and newspapers. I love Shakespeare’s play, “Merchant of Venice”. b. Use italics to indicate foreign words and phrases that are not yet in the English language. I write best after my sturm and drang season. c. Use italics to write scientific names. Homo sapiens d. Use italics of indicated letters, numbers, and words spoken of as such. Cross your t’s and dot your i’s. 20 ITALICS e. Use italics to indicate emphasis on a word Now is the day of salvation! f. Use italics to indicate names of ships, trains, and airplanes. I visited M.V. Doulos g. Use italics in writing the names of legal cases. People vs. Luci Fer Tan 21 22