Lecture 1

Reading &
Writing Skills
 You learn to WRITE better by READING.

You learn to READ better by WRITING.

Reading and Writing WORK TOGETHER to

improve your ability to THINK!
 What is a TEXT?

Give a brief definition of what a text is?

Understanding Text
Awareness on the nature of text is a
guide in making reading and writing
more worthwhile and effective
Awareness that will lead us to pay
attention to the properties of a well-
written text
Awareness with the connection of
reading and writing and how they
intertwined with each other
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Is this a text?
How about this?
What do the images on the
following slides represent?

Decide whether they

constitute a text or not.

Justify your answer.

 TEXT
Texts are not only a collection
of words, phrases, and
sentences, but something that
tells about one central idea.
Text can be used for both written and spoken
language. It usually refers to a stretch, an extract
or complete piece of writing or speech. Texts
generally adhere to broad conventions and rules
which determine the language and structure used
in particular text types.
Cornbleet and Carter
The Language of Speech and Writing (2001, p 3)
The word TEXT derives
from the Latin texere
which means to
weave
i.e. i.e. to compose a
connected whole by
combining various
elements or details.
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 Text as Connected Discourse
As a reader and writer, getting involved
with texts is inevitable. Readers read
texts and writers write texts. This is why
understanding the nature of text is an
essential part of learning how to read and
write effectively.
 Basically, a text is a large unit of
written language. It is actually a
connected discourse. You must
have heard of a wide of definitions
of discourse utterance, talk,
speech, discussion, conversation,
etc. Simply put, discourse is an
expression of ideas. Thus, text is
a group of ideas put together to
make a point or one central idea.
 As you may have noticed, discourse as
the ideas, are not connected or do not
have a particular structure. As opposed to
what a discourse is, a text has a structure
which requires the ideas in the discourse
to be relevant to each other. The author
connected each idea to the others so that
the reader will be able to understand the
main point in the text.
 DEFINITION OF DISCOURSE. The
difference between text and discourse

Originally the word 'discourse' comes from Latin

'discursus' which denoted 'conversation, speech'.
Discourse is a term used in LINGUISTICS to refer to
a continuous stretch of (especially spoken)
LANGUAGE larger than a SENTENCE but, within
this broad notion, several different applications may
be found. At its most general, a discourse is a
behavioral UNIT which has a pre-theoretical status in
linguistics: it is a set of UTTERANCES which
constitute any recognizable SPEECH event, e.g. a
conversation, a joke, a sermon, an interview
[Crystal, Dictionary of linguistics
and phonetics, 3rd edn 1991]
 In the broad sense discourse includes TEXT (q.v.), but the two terms
are not always easily distinguished, and are often used synonymously.
Some linguists would restrict discourse to spoken communication, and
reserve text for written:

TEXT
1. Result of the process of
speech production in graphic
form
2. Indirect (processed) speech
3. No personal contacts
between agents
4. Perception of speech in
different space and time
5. One agent
DISCOURSE
1. The process of speech
production in the form of a sound
2. Spontaneous speech in a
particular situation with the help of
verbal and nonverbal means
3. Personal contacts between
agents
4. Generation and perception of
speech in a unity of space and time
5. Two authors constantly change
their roles speaker hearer
(bilateral discourse).
 Examples:
1st distinction - Widdowson (1973)
Text: Discourse:
is made up of is the use of such sentences.
sentences. -A discourse is made up of
- A text is made up of utterances having the
sentences having the property of coherence.
property of -Discourse analysis:
grammatical cohesion investigates coherence
(unting/sticking (logical interconnection or
together). consistency.
-Text Analysis: deals
with cohesion.
 2nd distinction
Text: Discourse:
Text is defined in Discourse is
terms of its being viewed as a
a physical process.
product.
Meaning is derived
Meaning is not through the readers
found in text. interaction with the
text discourse.
 Other Distinction
Text: Discourse:
written Spoken
Text analysis: Discourse analysis:
investigates analyzes spoken
written form form.
 Conclusion

Many researchers have come to

this conclusion:
Discourse analysis includes all
studies investigating the supra-
sentential structure of any stretch
of language, spoken or written.
 What about text analysis?
Text: is made up of sentences. A text is
made up of sentences having the property
of grammatical cohesion.
Text Analysis: deals with cohesion.
Properties of a Well-written Text
Now that you know the nature of a text that
is connected discourse you must already
have a clear picture in your mind of what s
should try to achieve in your writing. You
should be able to distinguish good writing
from a bad one. You are supposed to be
aware that for a writer to be able to express
meaning in writing, he or she must consider
unity and logical arrangement of ideas;
appropriateness of language use; and proper
grammar, punctuation, spelling, and format.
Those considerations make up a well-written
text.
Your writing must have the
following characteristics:
Organization
Coherence and
cohesion
Appropriate language
use
Proper mechanics
Organization
Organization refers to the arrangement of
ideas in a text. You can easily follow good
organization when you create an outline of
your ideas before you start. An outline can be
useful because it provides a format in which
ideas can be arranged in a hierarchy that is,
it distinguishes the general ideas from the
specific subordinating ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion

Coherence and cohesion refers to the
connection of ideas and connection
between sentences and between
paragraphs. In order for you to assure
coherence and cohesion, you need to
use transitional and cohesive devices.
Appropriate Language Use
Appropriate language use refers to the
acceptable style of language for a
particular form of text.

Proper Mechanics
Mechanics refers to the conventions of
writing which includes capitalization,
punctuation, spelling, numerals,
abbreviations, acronyms, and
contractions.
To sum it all up.....

Knowing the properties of a well-written

text leads you to becoming adept in
writing a well-written text because you
will be guided by your awareness of what
it takes to write an effective text.

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 a central idea. For a
writer to achieve unity in the text being
written, the following must be achieved:
 The ideas must be organized in a particular
way and must have an introduction, a body,
and a conclusion

The ideas must be properly connected with

cohesive or transitional devices such as
conjunctions and signal words.

The use of language must be concise and

appropriate.

The punctuation, spelling, and format must

be correct
THREE TYPES OF WRITING
INFORMATIVE or EXPOSITORY
WRITING
tells about a person, place, thing, event,
or idea.
Each paragraph:
has a topic sentence.
has sentences that give facts, details,
examples, or explanations.
has a conclusion.
NARRATIVE or DESCRIPTIVE WRITING

tells a story.
can be real or imaginary.
has characters.
has a setting.
is in order and has transitions.
has a beginning, middle, and
end.
OPINION or PERSUASIVE WRITING

tells others what you think.

tries to convince others to agree
with you by giving reasons, examples,
facts, or details to support your opinion.
Each paragraph:
has a topic sentence, detail
sentences, and a conclusion.
Persuasive Writing Process
Before you start writing, it is a good idea to
ask these questions:
The Reason Why are you writing this?
The Result What do you want?
The Reader - Who are you writing for?
The Readers Needs What is your readers emotional state?
The Response what response do you want to achieve? Is it
about sales? About credibility? Or about awareness?
The Promise What are you offering?
The Delivery Why should the reader believe you are able to
deliver?
Once you have done this, use a persuasive writing
brainstormer template to polish your argument.
In any types of writing, one should be able to......
The boy was so sad BECAUSE his dog ran away.

The woman loved the ocean. FOR INSTANCE, she

moved to a house overlooking the ocean.

The man is so fascinated by whales. FOR

EXAMPLE, he keeps on reading all kinds of
stories about whales.

The force of the wind was so strong. I knew it

when THE AUTHOR STATED that the wind could
shatter a window.

ACCORDING TO THE TEXT, the purpose of the

evacuation center is to provide a temporary
shelter for the typhoon victims.

FROM THE READING I KNOW THAT Jupiter is the

largest planet in our solar system.
Reading Writing Connection
You now have learned that both the reader and the writer are
connected with text. Considering that you will be dealing
with the process of reading and writing, it is just right for you
to start with something common between them the subject.
A subject is something that is acted upon. Both the reader
and the writer act upon the text they read and write.
Reading and writing are similar and at the same time
different in many ways.
Process Reading Writing

Stage 1 Pre-reading strategy: Prewriting strategy:

Before activating prior Previewing Generating ideas

knowledge

Stage 2 Comprehension and Drafting:

critical reading strategy:
During communicating
with the reader/writer Evaluating the authors Considering the audience
argument and purpose

Stage 3 Assessing reading skills: Assessing writing skills:

After checking the Writing about a read text Reading and draft
effectiveness of
reading/writing
As you may have noticed from the table, both reading
and writing have a process. In the different stages of
each of the processes, both reading and writing are
done. Stage 1 requires the reader and the writer to
activate their prior knowledge information acquired
through experience which is important for the reader
to be able to relate to the ideas in the reading material
and for the writer to be able to generate useful ideas to
write about. During the actual reading and writing
(stage 2), both reader and writer attempt to
communicate with their audience which is essential for
the readers understanding of the text and for the
achievement of the writers writing purpose. In stage
3, the effectiveness of the tasks performed is
evaluated through comprehension checking for reading
and editing for writing.
MCA Galvez for Reading & Writing Skills. November
2016