ACADEMIA SYSTEM GLOBAL COLLEGES

Brgy. Tabunok, City of Talisay, Cebu, Philippines

Subject Code: CORE11 Subject Title: Reading and Writing Skills

Module No: 04 Topic: PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN

TEXT (Part 1)

I. OVERVIEW

Good day! The relationship among reading, writing, and understanding is clear. Students
engaged in reading-to-learn will also be prepared to write well. In turn, students who are
engaged in writing-to-learn will become more effective readers. Through both
approaches, students will gain a better understanding of material and a greater ability to
demonstrate that understanding.

A. Learning Objectives

The learners will be able to:

a. identifies the properties of a well-written text;
b. distinguishes the various components of a well-written text using infographics; and
c. writes a short essay and supply the necessary information using the formal outline.
II. LET’S BEGIN

Organization makes your writing effective as it provides the readers a structural

framework that will guide them on what to have in a text and helps the reader follow the
complete and logical development of thoughts in a written text (Ibona et al. 2).

III. LET’S DIG DEEPER

Well-written texts are examples of effective writing. Well- written texts affect us in
many ways because the messages they impart are clear, well-developed, and coherent. Well-
written texts are not accidental but fruits of a carefully planned and elaborate process of
writing.

o Introduction – It captures the attention of the readers, establishes the

importance of the topic and gives the necessary background information of the topic.
It also provides a bridge from the opening sentences to the topic sentence which may
be positioned in the middle, or at the end of the paragraph (Ibona et al. 2).
o Body – It is the second part of a paragraph and follows the Introduction. It is the longest part
of the composition as it consists of many sentences which are supporting details of the main
topic. The body of the paragraph may be organized through any of these orders (Ibona et al. 2).

a) Chronological Order – explains a sequence of events. Details are arranged as they

actually occurred in time. Common transitions used for this order are first, last, next,
then, the following morning, a few hours later, still later, by noon (Ibona et al. 2).

Example:
It seemed like an ordinary day when she got up that morning, but Lynda was about to
embark on the worst day of her life. First, she fell in the bathtub because her mother forgot to
rinse out the bath oil. Then she spilled orange juice on the outfit she had spent hours putting
together for school pictures. When she changed, she messed up the French braid her mother
had put in her hair, as she walked out the door, she dropped all of her school books and her
math homework flew away. Once she made it to the car she thought everything would be all
right. She was wrong; her father didn’t look before he backed out of the driveway and ran into
the neighbor’s truck. Lynda’s side of the car was damaged the most, and she ended up with a
broken arm. That night, she cried herself to sleep.
http://www.kirnskorner4teachertalk.com/writing/sixtrait/organization/patters.html

b) Spatial order– describes a person, thing or place. Details are arranged through
movement in space systematically from starting point to other features, or the simple
physical position or relationships. It is commonly used in description, but can also be
applied in examples, comparisons and classifications. Typical transitions for this order
are top to bottom, left to right, front to back, outside to inside (Ibona et al. 3).
Example: “Our new home was one of a number of wooden single-story units huddled
together in a horseshoe enclosing a courtyard. Our new apartment was toward the rear
center of the horseshoe, away from the entrance to the courtyard. To reach the kitchen,
one had to pass through a small windowless anteroom made of loosely arranged planks.
Anybody inside could easily look through the chinks without being observed. Against the
wall opposite the entrance

to the kitchen was a large stove, which took up about one fifth of the room. Right next to
the stove was a bench with a bucket of water resting on it. Past the bench, in the middle of
the wall, was a door leading to the only other room. To the right of the door stood a
cupboard for pots, dishes, and food. Next to the cupboard, leaning against the wall on the
right, was old Helena’s bed. The kitchen was too small to accommodate another bed.
There was just enough room for a table and chairs, which had to be placed next to the
kitchen window. It was a strategic window, affording a view if the entire courtyard.”
(Nechama Tec, Dry Tears: The Story of a Lost Childhood. Oxford University Press, 1984)
http://grammar.about.com/od/rs/g/Spatial-Order.html
c) Deductive order – arranges details from general to specific. It begins with an overall
discussion of the subject the fills in details, facts, examples, and other supporting details
(Ibona et al. 4).

Example:
The problem of female smokers in Hong Kong is an issue for concern, according to our Health
Department Secretary, Dr. Chan Tai-wan, at a press conference yesterday about smoking
in Hong Kong. A survey by the Hospital Authority reveals that more than 70% of the
smokers in Hong Kong are female. 25% of the interviewees even admitted that they did
not quit smoking when they were pregnant. The age of theses female smokers is worth
mentioning too: 45% of the female smokers are between 15-25yearsold.
https://www.In.edu.hk/eng/rhetoric/Paragraph%20Developmet/Paragraph08.html

d) Inductive order– arranges details from specific to general and provides the support first,
and then draws a conclusion from it (Ibona et al. 4).

Example:
The curaparroco called the meeting of all the young ladies to organize a benefit parish fair,
with a beauty contest, if you please, where chest measurements were not even mentioned.
He ran the parish school and set quotas for contributions to precessions and other
religious festivals. No fiesta or get-together was likely to be held without his presence. The
parishioners consulted him on whether they should learn English, or accept a job in a new
American firm, whether such and such a young man from barbarian country outside
Ermita would make a good husband. He seemed to have a finger in every pie.
https://wikis.engrade.com/paragraphwriting3

e) Climatic order – arranges details according to importance that is from least to most
important or from most important to least important. Transitions from this order are
more important, most difficult, still harder, by far the most impressive, even more
discouraging, worse yet (Ibona et al. 5).

Example:
Consider the potential effect of just a small increase in the earth’s atmospheric temperature. A
rise of only a few degrees could melt the polar ice caps. Rainfall patterns would change.
Some deserts might bloom, but lands now fertile might turn to desert, and many hot
climates could become uninhabitable. If the sea level rose only a few feet, dozens of coastal
cities would be destroyed, and life as we know it would be changed utterly.
http://grammar.about.com/od/c/g/Climatic-Order.html
o Conclusion – This is the final section and found at the end of the paragraph. It closes the
issue being discussed, ends the paragraph, and aims to convince the reader that all most
important arguments about the topic have been tackled. Furthermore, it summarizes the
connections between details or information covered in the body part of the paragraph and
the topic sentence. In closing the paragraph, the following should be observed: use a
connector (finally, consequently, in conclusion, etc.), link to the topic sentence (restate the
topic sentence or use a synonym), and expand the thought by giving the readers something
to ponder on after reading your paper (Ibona et al. 5-6).

Here is an example paragraph demonstrating how the principles of organization are applied:

Human Body
(1) The human body is a wonderful piece of work that nature has created. (2) It is not beautiful
like the body of a butterfly or peacock but it is shaped practically. (3) It can do many types of
work which other animals cannot. (4) It is not strong like the body of a tiger. (5) But in place
of physical strength it has a big and sharp brain. (6) By using this brain the human physique
has been able to overcome many of its limitations. (7) By sitting in an aeroplane it flies faster
than a kite, by riding a motorcycle it travels faster than a leopard, and by firing a machine
gun it fights much better than a tiger. (8) In spite of all this, the human body suffers from
many diseases because it has a weakness for habits such as smoking, drinking and overeating.
(9) When it is healthy the body can give great pleasure but when it is sick it can cause great
pain. (10) The wise man would always keep his body fit because a healthy mind can work only
in a healthy body.
http://writeenglish.net/paragraph1-1.php

(1)- The Introduction part which states the topic sentence and focuses on the main idea- human
body with an assertion as a wonderful piece of work that nature has created. It tells the
readers what to know about human body- its qualities and characteristics being the
wonderful creation.

(2) – (7) - The supporting details explaining and interpreting the topic sentence by comparing
and contrasting. They develop the paragraph with logical sentences that stick on the main
idea, use transitional words to help the readers follow the flow of ideas smoothly, and use
appropriate language for the readers to have vivid visual images and to understand the
paragraph easily.
(8) – (9) – They still interpret and analyze the main idea focusing on its adverse side, and this
shows the paragraph’s balanced development by proving the topic sentence with supporting
details completely. Moreover, these two sentences generate thoughts that lead into a
conclusion about the main topic.
(10) – The Conclusion part which closes the paragraph by summarizing the connections between
details covered in the body part of the paragraph and the topic sentence giving the readers
something to reflect and act on. (Ibona et al. 6-7).
IV. WE’RE ON OUR WAY

Let us have short exercises to see if we have learned something from the PROPERTIES OF
A WELL-WRITTEN TEXT.

A. TRUE OR FALSE
Directions: Write TRUE if the statement is correct and FALSE if wrong.

1. The body is the final section and found at the end of the paragraph.
2. Inductive order arranges details from general to specific.
3. Climatic Order arranges details according to importance that is from least to most
important or from most important to least important.
4. Spatial Order describes a person, thing or place. Details are arranged through
movement in space systematically from starting point to other features, or the simple
physical position or relationships.
_____5. Chronological Order explains a sequence of events.

V. HOW FAR HAVE WE GONE?

IDENTIFICATION
Direction: Identify what is being described below.

1. This part which states the topic sentence and focuses on the main idea- human
body with an assertion as a wonderful piece of work that nature has created.
2. This which closes the paragraph by summarizing the connections between details
covered in the body part of the paragraph and the topic sentence giving the readers
something to reflect and act on.
3. It captures the attention of the readers, establishes the importance of the topic
and gives the necessary background information of the topic.
4. It is the longest part of the composition as it consists of many sentences which
are supporting details of the main topic.
5. Chronological Order common transitions used for this order are first, last, next,
then, the following morning, a few hours later, still later, by noon.
VI. WALKING THE EXTRA MILE

Directions: Use a formal outline to represent a short essay about a specific topic of your own
choosing. Supply the necessary information in the outline found below.

Subject

Topic

Introductory Paragraph

Thesis Sentence

Primary Idea

Secondary Idea

Secondary Idea

Body

Primarily Idea

Secondary Idea

Secondary Idea

Secondary Idea

Concluding Paragraph

Primary Idea

Secondary Idea

Secondary Idea

Secondary Idea
VII. REFERENCES

ONLINE AND ELECTRONIC RESOURCES

Retrieved from https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/05/07/reading-and-writing-understanding

Asian College of Technology, RWS-Manual

Retrieved from http://writeenglish.net/paragraph1-1.php

Retrieved from http://grammar.about.com/od/c/g/Climatic-Order.html

Retrieved from http://grammar.about.com/od/rs/g/Spatial-Order.html

Retrieved from https://wikis.engrade.com/paragraphwriting3

Retrieved from https://www.In.edu.hk/eng/rhetoric/Paragraph%20Developmet/Paragraph08.html

Retrieved from http://www.kirnskorner4teachertalk.com/writing/sixtrait/organization/patters.htmL

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