LESSON 2: PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE WRITING

SECOND SEMESTER | QUARTER 3 | SUBJECT: READING AND WRITING

Paragraph
o It is a group of interrelated sentences that talks about one main idea.
o It is composed of three major parts:
→ Topic sentence
→ Body – consists of the supporting details.
→ Closing sentence
Parts of Paragraph
1. Topic Sentence o It is the central idea of the paragraph.
o It can be a stand or a comment, an objective statement, or a question.
2. Body/Supporting Details o These are the sentences that clarify and prove the main idea.
3. Cohesive Devices o These are transitional devices, pronouns, or repetition of ideas used for all
the sentences to be linked properly.
4. Closing Sentence o It concludes the details that have been presented

Essay
o It is a group of paragraphs that talk about once central idea.
o It has more elaborate structure compared to paragraph.
o It is divided into three general parts:
I. Introduction
A. Lead or Attention-getter
B. Transitional statement
C. Thesis statement
II. Body
A. Major Point 1
1. Minor Detail 1
2. Minor Detail 2
B. Major Point 2
1. Minor Detail 1
2. Minor Detail 2
C. Major Point 3
1. Minor Detail 1
2. Minor Detail 2
III. Conclusion
A. Reiteration of the Thesis Statement
B. Transitional statement/ Reiteration of purpose, benefit, and recommendation.
C. Closing statement
Parts of Essay
1. Introduction
i. Lead o A lead or attention-getter is the first statement in the essay which aims to hook
statement/First the readers.
statement o A composition can have an effective lead using:
→ Provocative rhetorical → Anecdote
question → Analogy
→ Statistics → Quotation
→ Startling statement → Humor
 ii. Transitional o The first statement is then followed by transitional statement.
Statement o The sentence which links the lead to the thesis statement which provides a
background on the topic.
o In argumentative essay, it includes the statement of the case, and the arguments
will be refuted.

iii. Thesis Statement o The last part of the introductory paragraph.

o It states the main idea or the argument of the essay.
2. Transitional Paragraph o In some cases, a paragraph that does not directly provide support to a thesis
statement is included in an essay.
o Its major function is to bridge one paragraph to another.

3. Body o The meat of the essay.

o It discusses the thesis statement in detail through its paragraphs.
o This is where the topic is developed and where the arguments are laid out and
discussed.
4. Conclusion
i. Reiteration of o It begins with the restatement of the thesis statement using a different structure
thesis and wording to uphold the language style.

o The reiteration is then followed by transitional statement.

ii. Transitional o It talks about the recommendations, benefits of ideas presented, or purpose of
statement writing the essay.

o This is used to wrap up the essay.

o One of the strategies for ending an essay with a bang is to link it to the
iii. Closing statement attention-getter in the introduction.

Properties of Well-Written Text

1. Unity o Unified text is achieved when a composition contains one focused idea.
o It is achieved when all the supporting ideas are relevant to the main thought.
o Without unity, the text will be confusing.
2. Coherence and o These are achieved when ideas are logically, clearly, and smoothly linked to
Cohesion one another.
o Without it, the reader may not be able to comprehend your composition.

Coherence o It occurs when ideas are connected at the conceptual or idea level.
o It can be readily seen in a text through the smooth flow of the sentences and the
connection of the ideas.

Cohesion o It is the connection of ideas at the sentence level.

o It can be readily seen in a text through the smooth flow of the sentences and the
connection of the ideas.
o Cohesion can be applied through using three techniques:
→ Through the use of pronouns to refrain from using specific word
repeatedly.
 → Through the use of transitional devices to connect sentences with
linked ideas.
→ Through a repetition of keywords to tie up the paragraphs subtly.
3. Organization o It is achieved when ideas are logically and accurately arranged.
o Knowledge of the parts of a composition is a great help in adhering to the
correct organization of ideas.
o The sentences within a paragraph must also be organized logically.
4. Language use o The way language is used is one of the clearest indicators of well-written text.
o It enables the writer to effectively communicate ideas without confusing the
reader.
o Effective language use is achieved by observing the following time-tested
principles in writing.

1. Use clear and concise sentences. On average, a sentence is 18 words long.

Principles in Writing o Note that this does not require every sentence to be composed of
exactly 18 words.
2. Avoid redundancies, wordiness, cliches, and high falutin language.
3. Avoid excessive use of “there” and “it” structures.
o These sentences ca be revised by dropping the “there” and it” phrase
and transforming the sentences appropriately.
4. Use precise vocabulary. Be accurate and condense lengthy phrase into fewer
words.
5. Be consistent with your pronoun’s point of view.
6. Avoid sexist language.
7. Use the appropriate level of formality.
o The more formal texts use an academic tone while the less formal ones
usually use a personal or colloquial tone.
5. Mechanics o Refers to the technical aspect of writing.
o It includes a set of conventions on how to spell, abbreviate, punctuate and
capitalize composition.

Mechanics for formal and 1. Always use standard English.

academic texts: 2. Avoid contractions (e.g., shouldn’t)
3. Avoid exclamation marks unless they are part of a direct quotation.
4. In the first mention, mention the full name of an institutions or
organization with the abbreviation in parenthesis. Thereafter, use
abbreviation.
5. Numbers from zero to ten should be spelled out while numbers higher than
ten should be written in figures.
6. Generally, citations are used in academic and formal texts. However, they
are sparingly used in business texts.
o A paragraph is a group of interrelated sentences that talks about one main idea while an essay is a group of
paragraphs that talk about one central idea.
o A composition can either be paragraph or an essay.
o Various factors must be considered in identifying the effectiveness of a particular text, such as organization, cohesion,
and coherence, language use, and mechanics.