LESSON 5 :

PROPERTIES OF A
WELL-WRITTEN
TEXT
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 the main idea.
• The end clinches or summarizes the
topic.
B. COHERENCE OR COHESION
• The parts of the essay should stick
together or cohere.
• There should be a logical and clear
transition. Make use of logical and
clear transitions in writing.
• Transitional and connecting words
show relationships.
• Edit your work for clarity, unity and
coherence.
Check out the following sample transitional
expressions:

• Introductory – in particular, for example

• Time – first, after, before, finally, next
• Space – behind, below, here, in front of
• Comparison – similarly, than, also
• Cause and Effect – therefore, because,
since
• Degree –first, most important, mainly
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.
FORMAL ENGLISH
• Tone is academic
• Words, sentences and paragraph
are longer and more complex
• Unfamiliar words are used
• Does not use contractions
• It is used in business
correspondence, documents, formal
speeches, and researches.
INFORMAL ENGLISH
• Tone is friendly, more personal and
conversational
• Words, sentences and paragraph
are shorter and simpler.
• Contraction can be used
• It is used in daily conversations,
personal letters, newspapers and
magazines.
USES OF LANGUAGE
• LANGUAGE - is the human ability to
acquire and use complex systems of
communication.
• EVOCATIVELY - used language serves to
bring about a response.
• EXPRESSIVE - best characterized by its
lack of other directedness.
• EVALUATIVE - to express ethical,
aesthetic, or technical judgements.
 Ethical Language - right or wrong, duties
and obligations, rughts and responsibilities.
Aesthetic Language - about beauty and
ugliness, the pleasing and the displeasing.
Technical Language - about what is
useful and useless , efficient and efficient,
functional and dysfunctional.

l PERFORMATIVE - used to accomplish

some social act, not to evaluate or react
to it.
D. MECHANICS
Mechanics refer to conventions
regarding capitalization, abbreviation,
use of italics, and the writing of
numbers. Below are some rules culled
from A Manual Style of the University of
Chicago Press with the author’s
examples.
1. CAPITALS
a) Capitalize the first word of every
sentence and of every quoted
sentence.
b) Capitalize the first word of every line
of poetry.
c) Capitalize the first word of the
salutation and the complimentary
close of a letter.
d) Capitalize titles prefixed to names of
persons.
e) Capitalize the pronoun I and the
exclamation O but not “oh”.
f) Capitalize important word in the title
of a book, journal, magazine, literary
work, and songs. Do not capitalize
prepositions, conjunctions, and
articles unless they are at the
beginning of the title.
g) Capitalize all proper nouns.
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
m)Names of days, weeks, months,
festivals
n) Names of school, colleges, and
universities
o) Names of races, organizations, and
members of each
p) Names of historical events, eras, and
holidays
q) Trade names
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 when they
appear after proper names.
3) The abbreviation 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.

3. NUMBERS
a. Use figures to represent numbers in
writing dates, time, hours, room
numbers, telephone numbers,
volume, chapter, page numbers,
and 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.
f. Use figure and letter combinations
when you are expressing ordinal
numbers, numbering items in a lis, or
expressing numbered streets from
10th and up.
g. Use Roman numerals for volume and
chapter numbers for the main
divisions of outlines.
4. ITALICS
a. Use italics to indicate titles of books,
long poems, plays, motion pictures,
works of art, magazines and
newspapers.
b. Use italics to indicate foreign words
and phrases that are not yet in the
English language.
c. Use italics to write scientific names.
d. Use italics of indicated letters,
numbers, and words spoken of as
such.
THANK YOU ^__^