Textual Cohesion and Structure
O. Juxtaposed: Linked punctuation marks, mainly dependent. O. Coordinates: Same syntactic level, all simple clauses are independent. Copulatives-C-> Links together (and / or). Disjunctives-D-> United links (and / or be.. / ara…ara…). Adversatives-A: Links together (but / yet / however…). Subordinated O.: Hierarchical relationship among clauses – main clause and propositions.
Subordinated Clauses-Substantive. Subordinated Clauses-Adjectives related resources. Subordinated Clauses-Adverbial properties / circumstantial (CCL / T / F). Improper Subordination: Causal, final, concessive, conditional, comparative, consecutive.
Subordinated Completive Clauses: Introduced by a conjunction. Syntactically, they function as CD, CN, attribute, CRVo (part said that would come later).
Subordinated Substantive Infinitive Clauses: No link / connector. Infinitive preceded by A / DE. They have the same syntactic functions as completive clauses. (Said to be the framework before).
Subordinated Substantive Relative Clauses: Introduced by relative pronouns. They function as FS + CI / CC of the main proposition.
Subordinated Interrogative Substantive Clauses: Introduced by an interrogative sentence. FS = CD.
Subordinated Adjective Clauses: Introduced by a relative pronoun (who, what, which, where, whose…). FS = sentential connector / background (main).
Specificative Adjective Clauses: Specify / qualify the noun (antecedent).
Explanatory Adjective Clauses: Add information about the noun, and commas appear between the clause and the noun.
Participle Adjective Clauses: No relative pronoun. Adjectival participle / adverbial value.
Adverbial Subordination: Circumstantial / improper subordination: Introduced by adverbs (when / where / how), adverbial phrases, and conjunctions. FS = CC (participle, gerund, infinitive).
Improper Adverbial Subordinate Clauses: Logical meaning relationship with the main clause.
- Causals: Express the cause, motive, or reason for the main verb in the indicative mood (because / as).
- Finals: Express the main aim or purpose. Subjunctive verb.
- Concessives: Express opposition that does not prevent the main clause from happening.
- Conditionals: Link (if) “if I find me looking for.”
- Comparatives: Comparative structure (more than, less than).
- Consecutives: Express the consequence of the main clause (so that, so…).
Suitability: Text adaptation to the communication situation. Formality level, text type -> appropriate to the communicative intention (conversation, narration, description, exposition…).
Consistency: Selection / organization of ideas that constitute the text, structure of the content.
Cohesion: Links between statements / sentences within a text, distinguishes between different ideas, makes the relationships between them explicit. Text elements (pronouns, synonyms), pauses and intonation, punctuation marks, connectors.
Correction: Phonetic, orthographic, morphological, syntactic, and lexical rules.
Presentation: Gestures, voice modulation, editing conventions, neatness, margins, white space, separating paragraphs, titles, subtitles…).
Structure: E.g., narration -> approach, outcome. Exposition -> introduction, development, conclusion. Argument -> hypothesis, thesis, arguments, confirmation / rejection.
Representation of the different parts: Clear presentation of the different parts, different paragraphs.
Links between these parts: Connectors and punctuation marks / linking words.
Connectors:
- Sentence Connectors: Connect different parts within a sentence (because – explains cause and effect).
- Textual Connectors: Connect sentences or whole paragraphs (in short, this argument results in…).
Opening: Introducing a topic (the main objective, we intend to expose, this is written…).
Continuation: Add information, clarification, nuance, distinction (moreover, also, though, on the other hand, for instance, in particular, namely, that is, in other words, indeed, on the contrary, instead).
Ordering: Expository / time / space (first, second, last, finally, before, while, simultaneously, later, above, below, front, back, inside, outside, near, far).
Closing: Summarize, recap, conclude (in short, briefly, on the whole, in conclusion, ultimately).
A text without connectors -> the structuring of ideas is not evident to the receiver. Connectors make it easier to follow the thread of the text and understand the ideas coherently. Connectors are usually preceded by a punctuation mark, such as a comma.