Mastering Written Texts: Tips for Students

A written text is a unit that discusses a specific topic with a specific purpose. It is composed of a series of sentences that maintain syntactic relations between them.

Key Elements of Effective Writing

• Consistency is the proper management of ideas. A paragraph, a portion of text that is enclosed by a full stop, helps us to verify consistency. Depending on how ideas are ordered, the structure can be analytic or synthetic.

• Cohesion refers to lexical items that connect different sentences, linking them together. Discourse markers are linked by lexical-semantic relationships or repetition.

• Adequacy occurs when there is a good correspondence between what is said and how it is said.

Discourse Markers

• Order: First, after
• Consecutive: Therefore, for
• Contrastive: Instead, on the contrary, however
• Explanatory: Or
• Summary: In conclusion, finally

Effective Note-Taking Strategies

• Listen actively and do not try to copy everything the teacher says.
• Distinguish important ideas from secondary ones.
• If you have to copy something exactly, ask the speaker to slow down to ensure you have enough time.
• If you miss something important, ask the speaker to repeat it.
• Review your notes on the same day.

Creating an Effective Abstract

• An abstract is an abbreviation - break down the text and rebuild it.
• Use your own words.
• Include the main idea plus two or three supporting ideas.
• Be objective (no personal comments).
• Cover the entire text, not just a part.

Presentation of Written Texts

• Use your most readable handwriting.
• Do not leave stains or use correction fluid (make a draft and review it).
• Leave a left margin.

Diacritical Accents

Diacritical accents are used to differentiate between monosyllables that have more than one meaning. Examples include: tú (you) vs. tu (your), él (he) vs. el (the), mí (me) vs. mi (my), sé (I know) vs. se (reflexive pronoun), más (more) vs. mas (but), sí (yes) vs. si (if).

Understanding Criticism

Criticism is a type of feedback that focuses on taking a stand for or against the subject in question. To both comment and criticize, we must start with a basic idea (prior knowledge).

The Standard and Opposition in Legal Language

The standard is a set of rules that provides for the proper functioning of a community, belonging to the legal language.

An opposition is a test that allows access to public service, i.e., to work for the state, also belonging to the legal language.

The Interview: A Journalistic Genre

The interview is a newspaper article in which we present the ideas and opinions of a person. Interviews often take the form of a dialogue. There are two types of interviews:

• Profile: Presents a portrayal of a person to the public, highlighting qualities of interest, reviews, and a biography of the person.
• Objective: Informs the public about what an expert thinks about a subject.

Parts of the interview: Title, presentation, and dialogue.

The Report: An Informative Text

The report is an informative text that comprehensively develops a particular topic. Reports address various issues and have four parts: headline, introduction, body, and final paragraph or sentence.

The Chronicle: A Hybrid Genre

The chronicle is a genre halfway between the literary text (speech) and journalistic text. It narrates historical events in chronological order and is subjective.

Documentary: A Genre of Reality

The documentary genre, in film or television, involves the exposure of images taken from reality. It is informative.

The News: Reporting Current Events

The news is an informative text about a current event that deserves to be reported based on criteria of social relevance. It answers the questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? The information is presented from most important to least important.

Legal Language: Structure and Sub-entries

Legal language articles are structured into sub-entries.