READING AND WRITING REVIEWER

!!! NOTE: TRANSITIONAL WORDS shows the change of action of the character(s) and connect events in

the story. For example, AFTERWARDS, MEANWHILE, AT NIGHT, AFTER, AT PRESENT, NEXT,

THEN, EARLIER, SUDDENLY, BEFORE, AT LAST, EVENTUALLY.

NARATION – the focus of this pattern is basically to narrate or tell a story.

– it emphasizes the what, when, and where something happened.

– moreover, ACTION WORDS AND TRANSITIONAL WORDS characterize a narrative

Paragraph.

DESCRIPTION – this pattern of development gives characteristics or details on what an object, a person

or place looks like.

– use powerful and appropriate adjectives and use effectively the five senses (SIGHT,

SMELL, TASTE, HEAR, TOUCH)

OBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION

– used in scientific writing to describe factual and scientific characters.

SUBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION

– use in fiction wherein a writer uses his own perspective to describe a person, an event

or a thing.

DEFINITION – the focus of this pattern is to explain or give a comprehensive understanding of a

concept, a term or idea.

– to define a term.

– writer provides a general definition then gives clear details to support.

– you may define a term or a concept by its characteristics, fuctions, examples, origin, or

effect.

– there are two types of definition – SCIENTIFIC AND SUBJECTIVE.

SCIENTIFIC DEFINITION

– defines concepts in the most factual way.

SUBJECTIVE DEFINITION

– defines complex terms in a personal way

CLASSIFICATION – is a method of paragraph or essay development in which a writer arranges people,

Objects, or ideas with shared characteristics into classes or groups.

and relationships between the items.

– this pattern helps the reader understand even the complex and vast idea as it will be

classified.

CAUSE AND EFFECT – this pattern of development discusses why something happens and what results

a particular occurrence or event.

– they can be discussed together

– in a particular paragraph, one or the other will be emphasized. It may be a

paragraph emphasizing a cause or a paragraph emphasizing an effect.

– a paragraph that emphasizes the cause begins with an effect. On the other hand,

in a paragraph that emphasizes the effect begins with a particular cause, then

explore the consequences.

COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

COMPARING – means looking on the similarities.

CONTRASTING – means looking on the differences.

– discussing and organizes ideas based on how people. events, places, and things

are similar or different to one another.

– there are two approaches that a writer can do to discuss the similarities and

difference: SEPARATELY AND SIDE-BY-SIDE.

SEPARATELY – the writer describes the first element then followed by the second element.

SIDE-BY-SIDE – the writer discusses both items based on each point of comparison and

contrast.

PROBLEM-SOLUTION – in this pattern of development, the writer presents a problem that needs to be

resolved.

– the paragraph states a concerning issue or a problem then next is the solution or

what should be done to solve the issue

– a paragraph that uses PROBLEM-SOLUTION HAS THREE MAIN PARTS;

TOPIC SENTENCE – introduce the solution to a problem ENDING SENTENCE

BODY SENTENCE – explain the problem and solution – which calls readers to action
PERSUASION – the writer describes an issue and states his position in the issue.

– the writer’s primary goal is to convince the readers to agree with the argument or claim

being raised, base from particular topic.

– a PERSUASIVE PARAGRAPH starts with a:

TOPIC SENTENCE – it states position or stand about something.

BODY SENTENCE – explains the reasons supporting the position or stand.

CLOSING SENTENCE – reiterates or intensifies the thesis statement.

PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEXT

TEXT – is defined as a written material or a piece of writing such as an article, essay, book, magazines,

or newspaper.

for a paragraph or any composition to be effective, it must always consider the properties of a

WELL-WRITTEN TEXT which includes organization, cohesion and coherence, language use, and
mechanics.

*ORGANIZATION – this is also known as an arrangement that refers to the structural framework for

writing.

– a text is considered organized when ideas are accurately and logically arranged with a

focus on the arrangement of ideas, incidents, evidence, or details in a definite order

in a paragraph, essay, or speech.

– can be achieved through the following techniques:

TEXT STRUCTURE, SIGNAL WORDS, AND PHYSICAL FORMAT

TEXT STRUCTURE – refers to the framework of a text’s beginning, middle, and end.

– beginning and ending help link the text into a coherent whole.

THREE MAJOR PARTS OF A TEXT STUCTURE

BEGINNING – also called as the lead or the hook.

– it introduces the readers to the purpose of the writing by introducing characters or setting

or the topic, thesis, or argument.

MIDDLE – depends on the genre.

– researchers have identified five basic organizational structures: SEQUENCE, DESCRIPTION,

CAUSE AND EFFECT, COMPARE AND CONTRAST, AND PROBLEM SOLUTION.

proven his/her position.

– possible implications of what has been discussed and writer’s conclusion may also

be included.

*if text structures serve as the framework, they used SIGNAL WORDS.

SIGNAL WORDS – are textual cues that readers use to follow a text.

– They can “signal” the transition from one point to another, the ordering of events and

concepts, or the writer’s chosen text type.

FORMAT – it is observed in how the text physically appears like headings and subheadings, bullet

points, bullet points, or font emphasis.

*COHERENCE AND COHESION

– when ideas are organized well, a text can achieve coherence and cohesion.

– both should be present to make your text easier for your readers to follow and

understand.

– to achieved coherence and cohesion, one technique is to use signal devices which that

hint readers on how the points in your paragraph are progression. This can be shown

in the paragraphs using transitions, repetitions, synonyms, pronouns,

and parallel structures.

COHERENCE – refers to the overall sense of unity in a text.

COHESION – is the connection of ideas both at the sentence level and at the paragraph level.

1. TRANSITION – refers to words that connect one idea to another, making the writer’s ideas flow

smoothly.
2. REPITITIONS – include a word, phrase, or a full sentence repeated to highlight its importance in the

entire text.

EXAMPLE: The president said, “Work, work, and work,” are the keys to success.

3. SYNONYMS – are words similar in meaning to important words or phrases. THIS TECHNIQUE IS

USED IF DIRECT REPETITION IS TOO OBVIOUS.

EXAMPLE: Teenagers face an enormous amount of peer pressure from friends. Hence, many

young adults are showing signs of great stress or depression at an early age.

4. PRONOUNS – are used to connect sentence by referring to preceding nouns and pronouns.

– they can also help create paragraph readable by removing wordiness and unnecessary

repetitions.

EXAMPLE: Rodrigo R. Duterte is the 16th President of the Republic of the Philippines. Moreover,
he

also served as Davao City’s mayor for a long period of time. He also known by many as

a strong leader.

*LANGUAGE USE – it refers to the appropriateness of word/vocabulary usage.

– proper language use enables you, the writer, to capture the message that you want

to give to your readers.

– one of the strongest indications of WELL-WRITTEN TEXT because it leads writers to

effectively communicate ideas without confusing the reader.

Six characteristics of effective language:

1. concrete and specific; not vague and abstract 4. precise, not ambiguous

2. concise, not verbose 5. constructive, not destructive

3. familiar, not obscure 6. appropriately formal

– CONCRETE LANGUAGE involves tangible qualities/characteristics and things we know

through our senses

– SPECIFIC LANGUAGE designates particular items or individuals’ cases.

EXAMPLES:

observe how statement become more effective as the language becomes more concrete and specific.

In contrast, abstract and general statement can generate multiple interpretations, and leave many

questions unanswered.

CONCISE LANGUAGE – it involves using the most appropriate terms to get one’s point across.

– means using a minimal amount of effective terms to convey one’s argument.

– to make the sentence more succinct, writers must avoid unnecessary words in

their sentences.

FAMILIAR LANGUAGE – it refers to words/terms that the reader easily recognizes and understand

because they use them regularly.

– the message has a greater effect when using vocabulary that is familiar to the

reader.
 the use of unfamiliar language or highfalutin words can eliminate the essence of the message.

PRECISE LANGUAGE – through the use of precise language, vocabulary of specific nouns, and vivid

verbs, you can construct clear mental images and avoid wordiness.

– precise writing replaces vague terms for accurate nouns and active verbs.

EXAMPLES:

CONSTRUCTIVE LANGUAGE – expresses a potentially negative in a positive way, while destructive

leads the reader to blame and criticism, causing defensive.

FORMALITY OF LANGUAGE – should confirm to the formality of the situations and the relationships

between the writer and the reader.

depending on the reader, the writer’s relationship with the reader, and the circumstances, the three
examples may be suitable.

*MECHANICS – these are conventions that have to be considered in writing: SPELLING, PUNCTUATIONS,

AND CAPITALIZATION. to prevent confusion, it is necessary to know these conventions.

regarding the spelling of your words.

!!! REMEMBER !!! there are slight differences in American English spelling and British English spelling.

2. PUNCTUATIONS – it is the act of using systems of symbols used to provide structures to and organize
text, such as COMMA, PERIOD, QUATATIONS MARKS, QUESTIONS MARKS, ETC.
– the use of punctuation directs the readers to interpret the text.
3.CAPITALIZATIONS – like punctuations, helps express details. Any sentence’s first word is capitalized,

signaling that a new sentence has started.

– to signify uniqueness, pronouns are capitalized.

EXAMPLES:

” REV I EW IS ESSENT I AL T O EV ALUAT I O N, W HI CH IS ESSENT I AL T O PRO G RESS”

“ SUC CESS DEPENDS UPO N PREV I O US PREPARAT I O NS, AND W I T HO UT SUC H