LESSON 1

Text as Connected Discourse

What is a text?
 a text is generally considered as written material ,especially longer pieces of writing as in a book, a letter
or a newspaper .
 a group of ideas put together to make a point or one central idea .
 text also made up of sentences.
 it deals with cohesion
What is a discourse?
 originally the word ‘discourse ' comes from latin discursus. which denoted conversation , argument or
speech .
 Text with distinct features and purpose.
 Formal and often lengthy discussion of a topic where concepts and insights are arranged in an organized
and logical manner
 an extended expression of thoughts or ideas.
A text shall have the following characteristics (M. Jorgensen & L. Phillips, 2002):
Cohesion – the connection of ideas at the sentence level.
Coherence – the connection of ideas at the paragraph level.
Intentionality – dwells into the purpose of the author/writer.
Informativity – the quantity of new information in the text.
Acceptability – how factual the pieces of information are. 
Situationality – the socio-cultural appropriateness of the text. Is it appropriate or acceptable to the target
reader?
Intertextuality – the connection of the succeeding discourse to the previous one. It also talks about the
existence of the succeeding text because of the previous one
Text as connected discourse
A text is a connected discourse, which means that all ideas in the text must be related in the sense
that they would express only one main idea, or that the text must have unity by combining all ideas to
emphasize central idea.

READING AND THINKING STRATEGIES ACROSS TEXT

(SELECTING AND ORGANIZING INFORMATION TECHNIQUE)
Organizing information is necessary in the prewriting stage. It helps you narrow down the topics for your paper.
Techniques are approaches or methods you may use;
✓ to organize the information, you have gathered
✓ to accomplish your desired aim in writing
✓ to improve your writing craft.
Brainstorming helps you generate topics and narrow them down to one. It improves your creative thinking
skills and deepens your understanding of a possible topic. On a brainstorming list you simply jot down all the

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words or ideas that come to mind about a topic. You can make the list when you have many ideas; you can
cross out some of them as you limit the topic.
Benefits of making or having a brainstorming list.
•It allows you to generate ideas quickly.
•It helps you recall information about a topic.
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS a communication tool that uses visual symbols to express knowledge, concepts,
thoughts, or ideas and relationship between them. The main purpose of a graphic organizer is to provide a visual
aid to facilitate learning and instruction.
1. Clock Diagram shows how items are related to one another in a time-oriented cycle.
2. Venn Diagram shows that uses circles to show the relationships among things or finite groups of things.
3. Decision-making process of making choices by identifying a decision, gathering information, and
assessing alternative resolutions.
4. KWHL Chart tracks what a student knows (K), what a student wants to know (W), how a student will
find the information, and what a student has learned (L) about a topic.
5. Y-Chart help organize what they know about a topic by writing and/or drawing what the topic looks
like, feels like, and sounds like.
6. Cycle Diagram illustrates a series of actions or steps that flow to another.
7. A Fishbone Diagram/ Ishikawa diagram is a cause-and-effect diagram that helps managers to track
down the reasons for imperfections, variations, defects, or failures.
8. The Frayer Model graphic organizer for building student vocabulary.
9. A Star Diagram used to identify the characteristics/ attributes of a chosen topic.
10. Chain Diagrams /sequence of events diagrams, are a type of graphic organizer that describe the stages
or steps in a process.
OUTLINE is a tool used to organize written ideas about a topic or thesis into a logical order. Outlines arrange
major topics, subtopics, and supporting details.
a. Topic Outline makes use of key words and phrases.
b. Sentence Outline makes use of complete sentences.

PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT

Narration
Narration tells a story. It relates an incident or a series of events that leads to a conclusion or ending. It tells the
readers when, where, and what happened.
A narrative paragraph contains action verbs and transition words that indicate time or sequence. The following
are some transition words used to signal time or sequence order:
• First, second, etc.
• After, next, then, eventually, soon
• Meanwhile, a short time later
• During, at the same time, simultaneously

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• Suddenly, instantly, momentarily
• The next day, following, thereafter
• In the end, ultimately

NARRATIVE DEVICES
1. Anecdote
- are brief narratives that are written from the writer’s memory. It can be used as an introduction to
an essay, as an example to illustrate a point, or as closing statement that caps things off nicely in your essay or
as a memento to your reader that will make him/her remember your narrative.
2. Flashback
- is an event that happened in the past. As the word itself suggests, you are “flashing back” or quickly
looking at something that had already happened. It is not necessarily the focus of a story; rather, more of an
addition to explain or to elaborate on a point made by the writer in the narrative.
3. Time Stretch
- a time stretch is a single event in the story that the author focuses writing about.
4. Time Summary
- characterized by jamming together multiple events and or shortening a relatively long period of
time.
5. Flashforward
- a flashforward is an event that has yet to happen in the story. It is “flashing forward” or quickly
looking at something that will happen in the future. Similar to the primary purpose of a flashback, a
flashforward is included in a narrative to add meaning to the story.
6. Dialogue
- a narrative does not only have a narrator who tells a story in accordance to how he/she observes a
sequence of events. Writers also include dialogues, a word or a series of words enclosed in a pair of quotation
marks, which signal the characters’ spoken language.

Description gives information of what a person, an object, a place, or a situation is like. It appeals to the
reader’s senses; it makes the reader see, hear, taste, smell, or feel the subject.
Visual imagery engages the sense of sight. This is what you can see and includes visual
descriptions. Physical attributes including color, size, shape, lightness and darkness, shadows, and shade are all
part of visual imagery.
Example:
The night was black as ever, but bright stars lit up the sky in beautiful and varied constellations
which were sprinkled across the astronomical landscape.
Gustatory imagery engages the sense of taste. This is what you can taste and includes flavors. This
can include the five basic tastes—sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami—as well as the textures and sensations
tied to the act of eating.
Example:
The candy melted in her mouth and swirls of bittersweet chocolate and slightly sweet but salty
caramel blended on her tongue.

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 Tactile imagery engages the sense of touch. This is what you can feel and includes textures and the
many sensations a human being experiences when touching something. Differences in temperature is also a part
of tactile imagery.
Example:
A gust of cold air blew over her, causing her body to shiver. After she pulled the fuzzy blanket up
to her chin, she was warm and cozy.
Auditory imagery engages the sense of hearing. This is the way things sound. Literary devices
such as onomatopoeia and alliteration can help create sounds in writing.
Example:
Silence was broken by the peal of piano key as Shanon began practicing her concerto.
Olfactory imagery engages the sense of smell. Scent is one of the most direct triggers of memory
and emotion but can be difficult to write about. Since taste and smell are so closely linked, you will sometimes
find the same words (such as “sweet”) used to describe both. Simile is common in olfactory imagery, because it
allows writers to compare a particular scent to common smells like dirt, grass, manure, or roses.
Example:
She smelled the scent of sweet hibiscus wafting through the air, its tropical smell a reminder that
she was on vacation in a beautiful place.
DEFINITION
Defining is trying to understand the meanings of a word or an expression. It is :
• analysing
• delineating
• exploring
• discovering the different aspects of a particular concept
• observation
• expressing how one perceives a word based on his/her own personal experiences
Defining is understanding the essence of a word, an idea, a concept, or an expression. It should be done clearly
or through specific terms so that even the most abstract concepts can easily be understood and relatable to the
human perception. two principal methods of describing the meanings of. words.
• Denotation – is the primary, explicit, or literal definition of a word.
• Connotation – is the secondary meaning of a word

TECHNIQUES, STRATEGIES AND METHODS OF DEFINING

1. Analysis – is the process of breaking down a concept into its constituent parts.
2. Collocation – means that there are words or expressions that are usually almost immediately associated
with the concept you are trying to define.
3. Comparison – is associating the word or expression you are trying to define with something else not
necessarily synonymous with it. It is highly dependent on imagery which creates a vivid picture of a
concept in the reader’s mind.
4. Contrast – understanding how at least two similar concepts are different from each other.
5. Etymology - is the history of a word. It explains the evolution of a word or how it has come to be.
6. Exemplification is defining something by giving examples. Illustration , on the other hand, is giving an
example and focusing on it to elaborate on the concept you are trying to define.
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 7. Extended Definition – is a personal interpretation of an author to an abstract and multifaceted concept.
It goes beyond denotation and connotation. It gives the reader a new and fresh understanding of a
concept as it largely draws upon the author’s own perspective of the world.
8. Function– another way of understanding what a word or concept means is to know its purpose. It
answers the question: What is it used for?
9. Negation – is a technique that you can use to define a word or concept by explaining what it is not.

Exemplification is one of the most common and effective ways to show or explain an idea or point (e.g.,
observation, opinion, belief).
• In this pattern of development, the main idea is explained by giving an extended example or a series of
detailed examples.
• Examples can make abstract ideas more understandable to human perception.
Visual Illustrations appeal to the sense of sight. Since the eyesight is given primacy over the other human
senses, you can use visual illustrations to concretize abstract concepts.
Facts are concepts, ideas, and statements that are generally assumed true, real, and / or existing. Facts given as
examples are very useful in supporting your point as most people accept these facts as already part of reality
that they usually uncontested.
Detailing/ details entails analysing, which is the process of breaking down a concept or idea into its constituent
parts. When enumerating details, you zoom in and focus on the minute parts, as opposed to zooming out when
you see the big picture.
Opinions are individual interpretations of people on certain events, situations, ideas, and / or concepts.
Observations also make use of description – appealing to the five senses.

Classification refers to sorting or arranging subjects (e.g., persons, places, things, ideas) into groups or
categories according to their common or shared characteristic.
 The subjects can be grouped in many different ways depending on your purpose. With a purpose in
mind, you can determine how to group the subjects in your list.
Principles of Classification
1. Consistency is characterized by having parallel similarities in the divisions you make in your writing.
2.Exclusiveness means there is no overlapping between or among the items divided and classified together.
3. Completeness - means that no important part is omitted from the writing.

Compare and Contrast

A paragraph that demonstrates comparison and/or contrast examines how given subjects are either similar or
different.
 Comparison examines how the subjects are the same.
 Contrast examines how the subjects are different.
 Using transitional words and phrases that signal comparison and contrast are highly recommended.
Cause and Effects
When you use this technique, you are exploring why events occur and what happens as a result of them.
Transitional words and phrases that signal causes and effects are suggested.

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Persuasion, as a mode of paragraph development, is almost always coupled with argumentation.
Argumentation makes use of logos, or appealing to the audience's logic; that is, when you argue, you use facts,
and well-supported and well-developed claims to support an argument.

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