Lesson 1 Lecture Note - Text As Connected Discourse PDF

ATENEO DE DAVAO UNIVERSITY Km. 7 Central Park Blvd, Talomo, 8016 Davao City, Philippines...

ATENEO DE DAVAO UNIVERSITY Km. 7 Central Park Blvd, Talomo, 8016 Davao City, Philippines Tel No. +63 (82) 221.2411 local 6200 E-Mail: [email protected] * www.addu.edu.ph In Consortium with Ateneo de Zamboanga University and Xavier University SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL – READING AND WRITING SKILLS Text vs. Discourse Text is a collection of information, usually in written or printed form. As a result, it is worth noting that the agent of a text is not critical: there may or may not be an agent. As defined by the linguistic glossary terms, the text is "a sequence of paragraphs that represents an extended unit of speech." Therefore, grammatical cohesion is a fundamental factor in a text. In order to analyze the content of a text, one should be aware of the linguistic and grammatical categories of the language and the information provided according to the meaning, grammatical devices used, structure, meaning, etc. Therefore, by analyzing the overall structure of the text, one is able to grasp the meaning of the text. Discourse (from Latin discursus, which means "conversation") is simply speech or writing. Discourse, in any medium, is a social interactive event with many layers of communication and many layers of purposes. A discourse is necessarily interactive, which means there is always an agent for the information in a discourse. In simple terms, discourse is often conversational communication between people. Therefore, under linguistics and literary theory, discourse is defined as "a social event of multi- layered communication in a variety of media: verbal, textual, visual, and audial, that has an interactive social purpose." Thus, interactive quality is a primary requirement in discourse. In other words, the existence of an agent for information defines what discourse means. Therefore, unlike a text, a discourse can have cohesive sentences as well as utterances from the communicating agents. In other words, discourse describes the usage of language for social purposes. This is the basic difference between text and discourse. So, what do we mean when we say a written text is a connected discourse? And how does this understanding lead us to good writing? Take a look at the example below: My favorite color is blue. Blue sports cars go very fast. Driving in this way is dangerous and can cause many car 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. Source: Scruton, G. (2011, August 10). What are cohesion and coherence? [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://gordonscruton.blogspot.com/2011/08/what-is- cohesion-coherence-cambridge.html. As you may have noticed, the ideas are not connected or do not have a particular structure. If we were to evaluate this piece of text, we could say that it is not very well- written. As a discourse, the text is not connected. So, what then makes a text a text connected to discourse?  ATENEO DE DAVAO UNIVERSITY Km. 7 Central Park Blvd, Talomo, 8016 Davao City, Philippines Tel No. +63 (82) 221.2411 local 6200 E-Mail: [email protected] * www.addu.edu.ph In Consortium with Ateneo de Zamboanga University and Xavier University SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL – READING AND WRITING SKILLS A written text acquires the characteristics of connected discourse when: 1. Its ideas are linked logically. Steps in making a logical division of ideas into paragraphs: a) Begin a logical division paragraph with a topic sentence. b) In the supporting sentences, discuss each point one after the other. c) Introduce each new point with a signal word or phrase. d) In addition, support each point with a convincing detail, such as an example or statistics. e) Finally, end a logical division paragraph with a concluding sentence. 2. There is logical organization and development of the theme. Consider its central theme when considering the logical organization of discourse. A central theme is a key, the core, the significant message of a reading selection. To get the central theme, try imagining this scene: A close friend stops by to visit you for a few minutes on the way to work. You invite him and ask him to sit down. He glances briefly at the headlines on the front page of the newspaper lying on the floor. Not having time to hear all the details, he asks, "What’s this about?" The summary you give – neither too long nor too short – is a statement of the central theme, in this case, of the news article. 3. There is the use of repetition, reference, conjunctions, connectives, and other transitional devices. Words or phrases that help transfer a thought from one sentence to the next, from one idea to the next, or from one paragraph to the next are known as transitional devices. Finally, transitional elements smoothly connect sentences and paragraphs so that no sudden jumps or interruptions between ideas occur. The Properties of a Well-Written Text What characteristics distinguish a well-written text? When there is something to be done, most people try to visualize the outcome so they can see how close they are to completing the task. You should have a clear picture in your mind of what you should try to achieve in your writing now that you understand the nature of a text—that it is connected discourse. By now, you should be able to tell the difference between good and bad writing. You should be aware that in order for a writer to express meaning in writing, he or she must consider the following: unity, logical arrangement, appropriateness of language use, proper grammar, punctuation, spelling, and format.  ATENEO DE DAVAO UNIVERSITY Km. 7 Central Park Blvd, Talomo, 8016 Davao City, Philippines Tel No. +63 (82) 221.2411 local 6200 E-Mail: [email protected] * www.addu.edu.ph In Consortium with Ateneo de Zamboanga University and Xavier University SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL – READING AND WRITING SKILLS When you have understood that a text is a connected discourse, you will start to become conscious of how each of your sentences relates to the other sentences in your writing. This awareness will lead you to pay attention to the properties of a well- written text—unity, organization, coherence, cohesion, appropriate language use, and mechanics (Cenizal-Raymundo, 2016). In particular, the following properties characterize good writing: 1. Organization. The first and most important characteristic of a well-written text is organization. It refers to how ideas are organized in a text. When you create an outline of your ideas before you begin, you can easily follow the good organization. An outline is similar to the skeleton of a human body—the latter gives the body form, whereas the former does the same for your writing. The form will help readers understand which parts are important and which are not. An outline is useful because it provides a format for organizing ideas in a hierarchy—that is, it distinguishes general ideas from specific or subordinating ideas. Moreover, it helps to make it easier for readers to grasp and comprehend the information offered. When writing, there are a variety of common forms that might help with text arrangement. This will assist you in guiding your readers through your material in a logical manner. 2. Coherence and cohesion. The goal of coherence is to ensure that everything in the text flows smoothly. The reader can see that everything is logically organized and connected, and that relevance to the essay's principal theme is maintained throughout. Texts that lack coherence are, unsurprisingly, difficult to read and comprehend. It undermines the entire purpose of writing, which is to communicate ideas in a clear and efficient manner. On the other hand, cohesion refers to the logical flow and connection in a written text and is produced by the employment of devices to link phrases together so that there is a logical flow between ideas from one sentence to the next. 3. Appropriate language use refers to the acceptable style of language for a particular form of text (Cenizal-Raymundo, 2016). The use of language is one of the most obvious signs of a well-written work. It assists writers in explaining concepts efficiently to readers without causing them to become confused. When writing a business letter, for instance, one must be formal in his or her choice of words and courteous in tone. 4. Mechanics refers to the different elements of speech and how they interact to generate sentences. Mechanics refers to the conventions of writing, which include capitalization, punctuation, spelling, numerals, abbreviations, and contractions. To successfully explain your ideas in a paper, you'll need to know both grammar and mechanics. Organization in Writing  ATENEO DE DAVAO UNIVERSITY Km. 7 Central Park Blvd, Talomo, 8016 Davao City, Philippines Tel No. +63 (82) 221.2411 local 6200 E-Mail: [email protected] * www.addu.edu.ph In Consortium with Ateneo de Zamboanga University and Xavier University SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL – READING AND WRITING SKILLS When writing, you need to present your ideas in a manner that makes sense to the readers. Thus, you organize your thoughts well and effectively. Simply put, organization is the "logical progression and completeness of ideas in a text" (Cali, n.d.). Organizing your writing focuses on two key areas: text structure and coherence. Text Structure The organization of information within a written text is referred to as text structure. This strategy teaches students that a text may present a main idea and details; a cause and its effects; and various perspectives on a topic. A text's structure is defined by the beginning, middle, and end patterns most paragraphs take. Different types of writing (expository, narrative, descriptive, persuasive, etc.) have different text structures depending on the audience and purpose. You can refer to the previous lessons on the patterns and modes of writing to learn how they differ in terms of text structure. Beginning The beginning of any piece of writing is always difficult to pen. An effectively written beginning can draw the reader into a piece of writing, while a mediocre one can discourage a reader from reading further (Cali, n.d.) The first paragraph of your paper is the introduction. The goal of your introduction is to inform your reader about the topic of the paper and the points that will be made about it. The thesis statement in the introduction informs your reader about the specific purpose or main argument of your paper. Most introductions or beginnings have two purposes. One is to draw the reader‘s attention, and two is to prepare the reader for the direction your writing is going to take. Opening Techniques These are a few statements that will get the attention of the readers and make them anticipate enthusiastically what lies in store for them in your paragraph or essay. 1. Asking a rhetorical question-one that does not need an outright answer from the audience 2. Citing a biblical passage 3. Using a quotation 4. Using the first few lines of a song or writing a famous poetic passage 5. Telling an anecdote or a humorous story  ATENEO DE DAVAO UNIVERSITY Km. 7 Central Park Blvd, Talomo, 8016 Davao City, Philippines Tel No. +63 (82) 221.2411 local 6200 E-Mail: [email protected] * www.addu.edu.ph In Consortium with Ateneo de Zamboanga University and Xavier University SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL – READING AND WRITING SKILLS 6. Using a startling or intriguing statement 7. Using narrative material taken from newspapers, television newscasts, talk shows, etc. Before writing a paragraph, it is important to first think about the topic and then about what you want to say about it. Most often, the topic is easy, but the question then turns to what you want to say about the topic. This concept is sometimes called the "controlling idea." Strong paragraphs are typically about one main idea or topic, which is often explicitly stated in a topic sentence. Good topic sentences should always contain both a topic and a controlling idea.  The topic is the main subject matter or idea covered in the paragraph. The topic of a paragraph or essay is the broad subject of the paragraph or essay. Simple topics are described using only a few words or phrases.  The controlling idea: this idea focuses on the topic by providing direction to the composition. The controlling idea is the paragraph's principal point or issue. It serves as a guide for the paragraph's ideas and assists you in staying on track. Each paragraph's controlling idea also connects to the thesis statement. When your paragraphs contain a clearly stated topic sentence, such as one of the following, your reader will know what to expect and, therefore, understand your ideas better. Read the following topic sentences: They all contain a topic (italicized) and a controlling idea (bold). Examples of topic sentences:  People can avoid plagiarism by taking certain precautions.  There are several advantages to online education.  Effective leadership requires specific qualities that anyone can develop. Middle The main chunk of your writing would involve you writing the supporting information for your paragraph. The kind of supporting information you will provide depends on the type of mode of paragraph development you are going to use. The body paragraphs of an essay, report, or speech explain and develop the main idea (or thesis). They follow the introduction and precede the conclusion. The body is typically the longest section of an essay, and each body paragraph may begin with a topic sentence that introduces the topic of the paragraph.  ATENEO DE DAVAO UNIVERSITY Km. 7 Central Park Blvd, Talomo, 8016 Davao City, Philippines Tel No. +63 (82) 221.2411 local 6200 E-Mail: [email protected] * www.addu.edu.ph In Consortium with Ateneo de Zamboanga University and Xavier University SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL – READING AND WRITING SKILLS They form the foundation for your thesis, as stated in your introduction. They represent the evolution of your idea and the presentation of your evidence. Clincher It is the final paragraph of your essay or any other college paper that summarizes its thesis and arguments. It helps readers understand why your essay is important to them. Why should you know how to conclude an essay? A conclusion brings your essay to an end by driving the main points one last time. It's your chance to wow readers and explain why your paper is important. In other words, the conclusion of your essay should answer the question, "So what?” 1. Give your audience something to ponder after they've finished reading your essay. 2. A conclusion should bring your paper to a close. It would be a good idea to end on a positive note. It is not about introducing new ideas, but rather summarizing your writing. The goal is to restate the thesis, summarize the body of the essay, and leave the reader with a lasting impression. A Clincher can be of three types: summary, restatement, or concluding statement. A summary clincher sentence condenses the entire thought of your paragraph into one sentence. A restatement re-states your main idea, albeit in different words. Here, you can use synonyms and a different sentence structure to restate your topic sentence or thesis statement. Finally, a concluding statement is a recommendation or a prediction about the future based on your topic sentence or thesis statement. Sample text: Making a great cup of tea is easy if you follow these three steps. First, heat a cup of water to the boiling point. Then put the teabag in the hot water, and let it seep into the hot water for at least three minutes. Finally, add creamer and sugar to taste. There is nothing tastier than a strong cup of tea early in the morning. Source: Kaplan University Writing Center, ELL Resource Library. The Topic Sentence and Paragraph. September 2011 © 2011, Kaplan University Writing Center retrieved from http://www.montereysat.com/uploads/5/1/5/3/51535499/the_topic_sentence_and_paragraph_organizationrev.pdf Coherence in Writing  ATENEO DE DAVAO UNIVERSITY Km. 7 Central Park Blvd, Talomo, 8016 Davao City, Philippines Tel No. +63 (82) 221.2411 local 6200 E-Mail: [email protected] * www.addu.edu.ph In Consortium with Ateneo de Zamboanga University and Xavier University SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL – READING AND WRITING SKILLS Coherence comes from the Latin word cohere, which means to stick together. Coherence in writing, then, refers to the smooth transition and connection of ideas. As mentioned in the earlier discussion, coherence is the way the elements in our sentences and paragraphs hang together to produce meaning. It is described as coherence. When we write rough drafts, we are usually more concerned with getting our thoughts on paper than with ensuring that they interconnect well enough for a reader to easily process our reasoning. TRANSITION WORDS As a writer, one of your primary goals is to present ideas in a clear and understandable manner. You should be deliberate about how you structure your paper as a whole, as well as how you form the individual paragraphs that comprise it, to help readers move through your complex ideas. While clear writing is mostly achieved by carefully sequencing your ideas throughout your paper, you can help readers understand the connections you're making by using transitional words in individual sentences. Transitional words and phrases can help your reader understand the logic of your paper by creating powerful links between your ideas. There are six categories of transition words: 1. Spatial order. Words used in descriptive writing to signal spatial relationships, such as above, below, beside, nearby, beyond, inside, and outside. 2. Time order. Words used in writing narratives, and instructions to signal chronological sequence, such as before, after, first, next, then, when, finally, while, as, during, earlier, later, and meanwhile. 3. Numerical order. Words used in expository writing to signal order of importance, such as first, second, also, finally, in addition, equally important, and more or less important. 4. Cause/effect order. Words used in expository writing to signal causal relationships, such as because, since, for, so, as a result, consequently, thus, and hence. 5. Comparison/contrast order. Words used in expository writing to signal similarities and differences, such as (for similarities) also, additionally, just as, as if, as though, like, and similarly; and (for differences) but, yet, only, although, whereas, in contrast, conversely, however, on the other hand, rather, instead, in spite of, and nevertheless.  ATENEO DE DAVAO UNIVERSITY Km. 7 Central Park Blvd, Talomo, 8016 Davao City, Philippines Tel No. +63 (82) 221.2411 local 6200 E-Mail: [email protected] * www.addu.edu.ph In Consortium with Ateneo de Zamboanga University and Xavier University SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL – READING AND WRITING SKILLS 6. General/specific order. Words used in descriptive reports and arguments to signal more specific elaboration of an idea, such as, for example, such as, like, namely, for instance, that is, in fact, in other words, and indeed. Connected discourse flows easily and smoothly from one sentence and paragraph to the next, clarifying the relationships between ideas and allowing the reader to grasp connections. Incoherent writing, on the other hand, confuses and, at times, irritates the reader. Cohesion in a text refers to its connectivity. The ease with which the writing can be understood is referred to as coherence. References: Casinto, C. (2016). Reading and writing skills: Strategies for critical and purposeful communication. Makati City: MegaTEXTS Phil., Inc. Cenizal-Raymundo, H. (2016). Reading and writing skills: Discover life. Makati City: Diwa Learning Systems. Hardison, Karen P.L. “Text And Discourse.” Enotes.com, Enotes.com, 6 Aug. 2011 Kaplan University Writing Center, ELL Resource Library. The Topic Sentence and Paragraph. September 2011 © 2011, Kaplan University Writing Center. Retrieved from http://www.montereysat.com/uploads/5/1/5/3/51535499/the_topic_sentence_and _paragraph_organizationrev.pdf Schulten, K. (2010). 55 questions for students. Retrieved from http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/16/55 -questions - for -students/?_r=0 Walter, J. (2017). Building writing skills: The hands -on way. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.