TEXT AS

CONNEC
TED
DISCOU
 RSE
LESSON IN READING AND WRITING SKILLS
With Sir Rico Carinan
 Definition and Purposes
of a Discourse
A discourse is a formal and often
lengthy discussion of a topic, where
concepts and insights are arranged
in an organized and logical manner.
Also, it refers to the way how
language is used to convey meanings
or to propel action or provoke a
specific response.
 Definition and Purposes
of a Discourse
It is often associated with
speech, but it may also be
written. It usually serves as a
writer ’s or a scholar ’s analysis of
a concept or theory proposed by
another writer.
 THE PURPOSES OF A DISCOURSE.
1. To inform – A discourse that aims to inform provides a
descriptive and comprehensive discussion on the topic. It
points out what one should know about a topic or subject.
2. To persuade – A discourse that aims to persuade tries to
convince the readers that the proposed claim or solution
is better than any other proposal.
3. To entertain – A discourse that aims to amuse provides
a source of entertainment for its readers.
• Analyzing a discourse is usually
contextual. The reader tries to consider
several factors that may have influenced
the writer to make certain claims. Those
factors explain the author’s biases,
philosophy, and educational and
professional backgrounds, among others.
BELOW ARE THREE OF THOSE FACTORS:

1. Culture – The beliefs, customs,

attitudes, language, and other things
that define culture may influence the
author’s perspective on several issues.
Knowing about the culture the author
belongs to, the reader may
understand his or her biases.
• 2. Social environment – The author’s physical
surroundings and social relationships, as well
as the culture of the time may have influenced
his or her writing. For instance, during the
early decades of the 20th century, most
writers produced works that were classified
as “modern” because of its distinct feature:
stream of consciousness.
3. Experiences – Personal accounts or
first-hand experience of events, though
subjective, establish credibility and
reliability of information presented in
any discourse.
 TYPES OF DISCOURSE
1. Argumentation
–In this type of discourse,
the writer aims to
persuade the audience or
readers. He or she
presents valid claims or
counterclaims, each
supported by evidence, to
prove a point.
In proving claims, the writer
presents studies, experts’
opinions, and statistical data,
among others. Moreover, an
argumentative discourse
should appeal to logic or
reason instead of emotion.
 EXAMPLE:
A recent study confirmed that playing video games
may cause children to become violent. However, this is
only true for some children. Dr. Charlotte Cooper and
Dr.
Markey Vitasa of ABC University explained that children
who manifest a combination of three personality
traits―high neuroticism, disagreeableness, and low
levels of conscientiousness―are more likely to be
aggressive toward others after playing video games.
 EXPLANATION:

• In order to convince the readers, the author of

the passage mentioned a study to support his
or her claim about video games. The author
did not simply state that video games may
cause children to become violent; he or she
proved it by citing two experts.
 2. DESCRIPTION
– This type of discourse is based on
the main impression of the author
about the topic or subject. His or
her impression is influenced by
prior knowledge, culture,
environment, and experiences,
among others. As the writer
describes his or her observations, it
triggers sensory images among
readers.
 EXAMPLE:
• When I first saw my childhood friend Margarette,
she was about my younger sister Viv’s height. Her hair
was curly and dark, and her skin was pale. But what
really struck me when I first saw her was her big
round blue eyes.
• Explanation: Through the author’s description, the reader
can infer what the person Margarette looks like.
 3. EXPOSITION
• – This aims to inform, clarify, and
explain a phenomenon. It defines
what something is and provides an
in-depth discussion about topics that
are usually less explored.
Moreover, it gives reader
instructions on how something is
done.
3. EXPOSITION

•Example: How to set up an email account

1. Choose the web host.
2. Look for the sign up button. Click it.
3. Provide the required information.
4. Think of a unique username and a password. (Tip: For the
password, type in uppercase or add characters.)
5. Start using the newly setup email account.
3. EXPOSITION

• Explanation: The passage gives instructions

on how to set up an email account. Some
examples of an exposition may be found in
some magazine articles or editorials, which
usually include life hacks.
 4. NARRATION
– This type of discourse is
like storytelling. It recalls
events chronologically. It
is told in the first, second,
or third person point of
view.
 4. NARRATION
Moreover, its structure may
be linear or nonlinear. A linear
structure follows a typical
format: beginning, middle,
end; while a nonlinear
structure may start from the
end or in the middle.
 4. NARRATION
•Example: I remember the time when I learned how to swim.
I was only eight years old and afraid to bathe in a pool. I
envied the kids who played with inflatable balls and
animals. Whenever my family would visit the clubhouse, I
would sit beside the pool and never really jump in to join
them. A summer camp opened in our neighborhood, and my
mom thought of enrolling my brother and me in a
swimming class. Two days before the class started, my mom
gave me a pep talk; that made me realize that I did not want to
miss out the fun just because I was afraid.
4. NARRATION

• Explanation: The passage conveys a

person’s experience about learning how
to swim. The events are told
chronologically, and the story is told in
the first-person point of view
 III. LITERARY DISCOURSE

•A literary discourse is generally focused

on creative works, including nonfiction.
Also, it includes texts that are used strictly
for business communication.
 THE FOLLOWING ARE THE THREE TYPES OF
LITERARY DISCOURSE:
1. Poetic
– This type of discourse is commonly found in creative
works like poems, novels, short stories, and plays. It
focuses on how language is used to form themes and
convey ideologies. Some meanings in creative works
are explicit, while some are implied, especially in
poems. Ordinary words, especially those used in a
poem, are made appealing through sound patterns.
 1. POETIC
•Example: The Road Not Taken (An Excerpt) By Robert Frost
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages
hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one
less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.
• Explanation: In the text, the author used the roads as a
metaphor for making life decisions. Also, notice that the last
words in the poem rhyme: sigh, I, and by; hence and
difference.
 2. EXPRESSIVE
– This type of discourse is commonly found in academic
journals, letters, diaries, and blogs. It is a personal
narrative and is typically written in the first person
point of view. In the process, the writer reveals
something about his or her identity. In literary terms,
expressive discourses are referred to as creative
nonfiction.
2. EXPRESSIVE
•Example: The Diary of a Young Girl (An Excerpt) By Anne
Frank Sunday, 21 June 1942. Everyone at school is waiting to
hear what happens next. Who will move up a class, and
who will stay down? We’re all trying to guess! I think my
girlfriends and I will be OK, though we’ll have to wait
patiently to find out. Most of my teachers like me, but old Mr.
Keesing gets angry with me because I often talk too much!
He made me do some extra homework and write about
‘Someone Who Talks Too Much.’
2. EXPRESSIVE

• Explanation: Based on the passage, the writer

is describing what she felt while waiting for
the big announcement in school. She
describes what she is like in school —
talkative—and how sociable she is as most of
her teachers like her.
3. TRANSACTIONAL

– This type of discourse is commonly found in

instructional materials, advertisements, and editorial
articles, among others. It is directive in nature as it
provides detailed information on how something is
done or achieved. Moreover, it encourages the
reader to do something or to take action.
3. TRANSACTIONAL
Example: How to Cook Chicken Tinola Ingredients:
• 1/2 kg chicken wings
• 1 red onion, peeled and sliced
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 small ginger, peeled and julienned
• 1 small green papaya, peeled and cut into wedges
• 1-2 stalks of malunggay
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of pepper
• 3-4 cups of water
Procedure:
• 1. Prepare all the ingredients.
• 2. Heat the pan in a medium flame. Add 2–3 tablespoons of oil.
• 3. Sauté garlic, onion, and ginger. Add chicken wings and sauté for 3–4 minutes.
• 4. Pour 3–4 cups of water. Let it simmer.
• 5. Add the papaya. Simmer until the chicken becomes tender.
• 6. Add the malunggay leaves.
• 7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• 8. Serve and enjoy. Explanation: The recipe above shows the instructions in
cooking chicken tinola. It is a list that shows the step-by-step detail in cooking the
dish
 IV. ACADEMIC DISCOURSE
• An academic discourse is expository or argumentative in
nature. Sometimes, it presents an individual’s insights
regarding a concept or method in a scholarly way. • Unlike
other discourses, an academic discourse uses formal
language and the third person point of view; it maintains an
objective tone. It avoids using figures of speech and idiomatic
expressions, including biased or stereotyped and sexist
language. Its examples include essays, journals, book reviews,
synthesis, literature review, and research, among others.
 IV. ACADEMIC DISCOURSE
• Example: Medea is portrayed as an empowered woman in the Euripides’
play. It is a far cry from how women were viewed and represented in the
Ancient Greece. Women then were mainly portrayed as in charge of
producing
children, taking care of them, and being a mistress of the household. Medea’s
character defies and challenges conformities. Her deeds, though evil in nature,
stem from the strength of her mind… Medea, although elicits pity from the
audience during the first part of the play as an abandoned wife and mother, in
the end, is feared and abhorred as she proves to be aware of how wicked her
deeds are and yet would not have it the other way around:“I understand what
evil I am about to do but my wrath is stronger even than my thoughts…”
(Euripides 27).
 IV. ACADEMIC DISCOURSE

• Explanation: The text is a review of Euripides’

famous play Medea. The critic, although stating his
or her insights of the play, writes in an objective
tone, using the third person point of view. Moreover,
the review does not use a figure of speech or
idiomatic expression to describe, elaborate, or
prove a point.
 STRUCTURES OR FORMATS OF ACADEMIC
DISCOURSES MAY VARY DEPENDING ON THE
APPROVED OR RECOMMENDED STYLE GUIDE
TO USE. BELOW IS A GENERAL FORMAT.
1. Introduction – In this part, the writer states the significance of the topic and
the issues that need to be addressed. Also, the writer mentions the
objectives of the discourse and how it may be beneficial or detrimental.
2. Body – In this part, the writer discusses the methods of gathering
information. He or she then presents the findings and interprets them.
Moreover, he or she formulates arguments and supports them with evidence.
3. Conclusion – In this part, the writer reiterates the claims and asserts his or
her stand. He or she may include insights and recommendations for further
studies 25
 V. CHARACTERISTICS OF CONNECTED
DISCOURSE

1. Written text is also described as written

discourse, especially when a simple
analysis of it reveals that it is connected
discourse, e.g. It uses cohesive devices,
connectives, conjunctions, and repetitions.
• Example: “There are three reasons I don’t have a credit card.
The first reason is that using a piece of plastic instead of cash
makes it too easy for me to buy things I can’t afford. For
instance, last week I saw a 4,000.00 php pair of pink sandals in
my favorite shoe
store. Of course, I don’t need pink sandals, nor I can afford them.
With a credit card, however, I would now own those sandals and
be worrying about how to pay for them. The second reason I
don’t have a credit card is that I would end up in debt like my
friend Sara, the shopaholic. Sara got a credit last year, and she
already owes 30,000.00 php. She buy things that she doesn’t
really need such as jewelry and designer sunglasses. She will be
in debt for years
• . The third reason I don’t have a credit card is the
difficulty in understanding the fine print in the
credit card contract. If I don’t read the fine print, I
can be surprised. For example, some credit
companies will raise my interest rate if I make
payment even one day late. To sum up, credit cards
may be a convenience for some people, but for me,
they are plastic ticket to financial disaster.”
•Explanation: The author directly state the central theme
of the paragraph in the first sentence which is further
develop by the following sentences. Also, the author
use transitional devices to logically linked liked the
ideas in the paragraph:“first”,“second”, “third”, and
“To sum
up”. Furthermore, the author use repetition to keep the
readers to the theme: “The first reason…”, “The second
reason…”, and “The third reason…”
ACTIVITY TIME!
 Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth,
on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and
dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether
that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated,
can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that
war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a
final resting-place for those who here gave their lives, that
that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that
we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot
consecrate—we cannot hallow —this ground. The brave
men, living and dead, who struggled here, have
consecrated it far above our poor power to add or
detract. The world will little note, nor long remember
what we say here, but it can never forget what they
did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated
here to the unfinished work which they who fought here
have thus far so nobly advanced.
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great
task remaining before us—that from these honored
dead we take increased devotion to that cause for
which they here gave the last full measure of devotion
—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall
not have died in vain—that this nation, under God,
shall have a new birth of freedom, and that
government of the people, by the people, for the
people, shall not perish from the earth.
• Process Questions:

1. What is the speech all about?

2. What is the purpose of the speaker?
3. What makes the reading text a connected
discourse?
Keep Learning!
Keep Excelling!
Keep Shining!