Discourse

- an extended expression of thoughts or ideas

- utterance, talk, speech, discussion, and

conversation

* The ideas in discourse are not connected or do

not have a particular structure.

Text- a large unit of written language

- a group of ideas put together to make a point or

one central idea

- has a structure which requires the ideas in the

discourse to be relevant to each other

- an actually connected discourse

Properties of a Well-written Text

1. Organization

- refers to the arrangement of ideas in a text

* Creating an outline of ideas before you start

writing can help your work become organized.

Outline

- provides a format in which ideas can be

arranged in a hierarchy- that is, it distinguishes

the general ideas from the specific or

subordinating ideas

2. Coherence and Cohesion

- refer 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 or

cohesive devices.

3. Appropriate Language Use

- refers to the acceptable style of language for a

particular form of text

4. Proper Mechanics

- refers to the conventions of writing which

includes capitalization, punctuation, spelling,

numerals, abbreviations, acronyms and

contractions

Morphology

- the study of words, how they are formed, and

their relationship to other words in the same

language

- analyzes the structure of words and parts of

words, such as root words, prefixes, and

suffixes

Morpheme

Two Types of Morpheme:

1. Free Morpheme

2. Bound Morpheme

- the smallest grammatical unit in a language

1. Free Morpheme

- can function independently as a word

Examples: house, cat, blood

2. Bound Morpheme

- a word element attached to a root word

(the main part of a word) to give it another

meaning

- cannot function independently as a word

Examples: affixes (prefixes and suffixes)

Affix

- a morpheme that is attached to a root word to

form a new word

1. Prefix

2. Suffix

Prefix

- a morpheme that comes before a root word

Examples:

auto- (automobile)

in- (incorrect)

over- (overcharge)

Suffix

- a morpheme that comes after a root word

Examples:

-ful (forgetful)

-ish (childish)

-ive (active)

Two Varieties of Suffixes

- modify the grammatical class of words by

signaling a change in number, tense, degrees

of comparison, and so on, but they do not shift

the base form into another word class

1. Inflectional Suffixes

Inflectional Morphemes Added to Examples

-s plural Nouns She got two guitars.

-'s possessive Nouns Zeynep's hair is too long.

-er comparative Adjectives Zeynep hair is longer than Derya.

-est superlative Adjectives Zeynep has the longest hair.

-s 3rd person singular present tense

Verbs Zeynep plays the guitar.

-ed past tense Verbs She played the guitar at the party.

-ing progressive Verbs She is playing the guitar at the party.

-en past participle Verbs She has taken the guitar at the party.

- modify either the part of speech or the actual

meaning of a word

2. Derivational Suffixes

Derivational Morpheme Meaning Examples

-al relating to formal, postal, practical

-less without homeless, hopeless

-ous full of famous, cautious

-hood state, condition, quality brotherhood, neighborhood

Compound Words

- combination of two different words

Examples:

back + ward = backward (towards the reverse direction)

book + shelf = bookshelf (storage of books)

full + moon = full moon (a moon appearing as a bright circle)

six + pack = six-pack (often in reference to a pack of drinks)

Context Clues

- are words, phrases, and sentences that

surround an unfamiliar word and help you

recognize the meaning of an unknown word

Example:

The narrator in the poem was euphoric at his son's

victory, for he cried out triumphantly when the boy

came home.

- victorious; triumphant; very happy and excited

1. Synonyms - used when the text has words or

phrases that ae similar in meaning to the unknown

word

euphoric

Other Examples:

a. This situation is a conundrum - a puzzle.

conundrum

- a confusing or a difficult situation

b. Humpty Dumpty took great pleasure in

obfuscating the poem's meaning to Alice. His

explanations about the poem were confusing

and complicated.

obfuscating

- making more difficult to understand;

confusing

c. We are planning a picnic for today. It is

sunny and warm outside. It will be an idyllic

day - just perfect for a picnic.

idyllic

- perfect; very peaceful, happy, and enjoyable

Example:

Although Mary was willing to play in the snow,

Jack was reluctant because he was so cold.

- not willing to do something

2. Antonyms - words that reveal the opposite meaning

in relation to the unknown word

reluctant

a. Marty is gregarious, not like his brother

who is quiet and shy.

gregarious

- sociable; outgoing; extrovert

b. The lanky dog was not fat, even though he

ate a lot.

lanky

- skinny

c. The rich woman gave a paltry sum to the

charity even though she was able to give

much more.

paltry

-very small or too small in amount

Example:

Projectiles include those items that are shot forward

such as a cannon shell, bullet, or rocket.

- things (such as bullet or rocket) that are shot from

weapon

3. Examples - are specific details in a text that are

used to clarify the meaning of a word

projectiles

a. Famous conquistadors include Cortes, who

conquered Aztec Mexico and Pizarro, who

conquered Inca Peru.

conquistadors

- conquerors; ones that take control of

(a country or city) through the use of force

b. A sleuth, such as Sherlock Holmes, can be

very helpful in solving crimes.

sleuth

- detective

- someone who looks for information to solve

crimes

c. Precipitation, such as rain and snow, falls

from the sky.

precipitation

- water that falls to the ground (such as rain

and snow)

Example:

The prisoner was in a state of wrath—a feeling of

intense anger.

- extreme anger

4. Definition - is usually signaled by a form of the

verb to be (am, is, are, was, were) or by commas or

dashes

wrath

a. To shun someone is to have nothing to do

with that person.

shun

- to avoid deliberately

b. He seemed to be ill, but it was merely a

ruse, that is, a clever trick to deceive us.

ruse

- a trick or act that is used to fool someone

- a wily subterfuge

- deception

c. Sedentary individuals, people who are not

very active, often have diminished health.

sedentary

- not doing or involving much physical

activity

Example:

An evanescent ring surrounded the moon as it rose.

It was there for a moment, and then it disappeared.

- lasting a very short time; brief; momentary

5. Explanation - words or phrases that explain the

unfamiliar word's meaning

evanescent

a. Elis is a blithe young girl. She always

greets everyone with a smile.

blithe

- cheerful; happy, lighthearted

b. Katie appeared infallible in math class

because she had never gotten a problem

wrong.

infallible

- unerring;

- unfailing

- not capable of being wrong

c. The tornado annihilated the whole town to

the point that nothing was left standing.

annihilated

- destroyed; eradicated; exterminated;

abolished

Simile- is identified by the use of “like,” “as,” “similar to,” and

the like. They compare dissimilar objects that share certain

charactristics

Examples:

1. When he walked into the room, the entire audience

looked up, like flowers turning towards the sun.

2. His headache was as painful as a root canal without the

benefit of laughing gas.

Metaphor- directly refers to the object being described as being or

previously being the object it is compared or connected to

Examples:

1. The boom of his voice, all thunder and lightning,

echoed through the entire hall.

2. The dog was a jack-in-the-box, trying to jump up on the

visitors.

Essential Learning

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 central idea.