Textual Adequacy, Coherence, and Cohesion

Suitability

Introduction: Suitability covers aspects like margins, paragraphs, bold and italic typeface, and adherence to spelling rules (legislation).

Registration: Depends on the issue, the channel, and the receiver. There are two types:

  • Formal: Used for serious issues, employing specialized vocabulary.
  • Informal: Uses everyday vocabulary for informal affairs.

Purpose: This refers to the author’s communicative intention, indicated by the type of text (expository, argumentative, etc.) and the type of language used.

Coherence

Coherence refers to the logical relationship between parts of a text. It involves ideas related to the same subject, organization into paragraphs, and related ideas forming a unit of meaning.

Cohesion

Cohesion means the parts of the text are united. Resources used for cohesion include:

  • Repetition
  • Lexical semantic fields
  • Joint replacement
  • Synonyms
  • Hypernyms and hyponyms
  • Pronominalization
  • Connectors

Text Types and Structures

Opinion Article

Features an expository-argumentative structure (introduction, development, and conclusion), a free theme, a lively style, clear language, first-person perspective, and the intent to disseminate the author’s opinion.

Personal Column

Written by a renowned author, it blends journalism and literature, featuring a literary style, arguments, and personal opinions.

Editorial

Unsigned, with an introduction-body-conclusion argumentative structure, it reflects an ideological line, using the third person and a clear, sometimes cultured style.

Letters to the Editor

Addressed to the director, signed by the reader, short (around 30 lines), using standard language and an expository-argumentative structure.

Institutional Correspondence

Includes a header (agency identification, address, and date), a greeting (to an esteemed citizen), a body (containing the information), and a closing (with a closing statement and signature).

Instance

Includes a header (e.g., “Sr.,” and affiliation), a body or exposition (stating “WHO,” “HAVING…,” “REQUESTS…”), and a closing (date, signature, identification of the applicant, and formal treatment, e.g., “Hon. Sr.,” “Ilmo. Mr.”).

Conjunctions

  • Copulative: y, e, ni, que
  • Disjunctive: o, u, bien
  • Adversative: pero, mas, sin embargo
  • Causal: porque, pues, ya que
  • Conditional: si, como, con tal que, si no hubiera sido
  • Consecutive: luego, por lo tanto, por consiguiente
  • Concessive: aunque, si bien, a pesar de
  • Final: para que, a fin de que
  • Distributive: uno… otro, aquí…allá

Sentence Coordination

  • Copular: Sentences that add the meaning of propositions.
  • Adversative: Slightly oppose the meanings.
  • Disjunctive: There is a choice between the meanings of prepositions.
  • Distributive: Meanings are shared.
  • Explanatory: The second proposition clarifies something from the first because the sender thinks that means something.

Subordination

  • Causal: Propositions explain the cause of the action of another preposition. The link precedes the cause.
  • Consecutive: Propositions in which one observes the effect. The link precedes the effect.
  • Conditional: One of the proposals is a condition for the other’s compliance.
  • Final: One of the propositions expresses the end of another (i.e., why it is performed).
  • Concessive: Establish a strong, unrelated opposition between the meanings of propositions.

Unordered Sentences

Substantive proposals included in another larger proposition that work just like a noun.

Morphology

Referent pronouns, verb imperfective/perfective aspect, prepositions as independent morphemes, combined independent morphemes, periphrasis introducing tense and aspect, uncountable/countable nouns, derivative/non-derivative adjectives (one or two endings).