Temario de oposiciones

Vicenta María Llorca Llorca

Teresa Vaello Ros
INGLÉS I
Secundaria
Teresa Vaello Ros
Vicenta María Llorca Llorca

Temario de oposiciones de INGLÉS SECUNDARIA I

Educàlia Editorial

Educàlia editorial
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46100 Burjassot - Valencia
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email: educaliaeditorial@e-ducalia.com
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Cubierta_INGLES.indd Todas las páginas 21/08/2018 13:49:22

 Temario de oposiciones
INGLÉS SECUNDARIA I
Teresa Vaello Ros
Vicenta María Llorca Llorca

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 Tercera edición, 2021
Autor: Teresa Vaello Ros, Vicenta María Llorca Llorca
Maquetación: Educàlia Editorial
Edita: Educàlia Editorial
Imprime: Grupo Digital 82, S.L.
ISBN: 978-84-947282-5-9
Depósito legal: V-2391-2018
Printed in Spain/Impreso en España.
Todos los derechos reservados. No está permitida la reimpresión de ninguna parte de este libro, ni de imágenes ni de texto, ni
tampoco su reproducción, ni utilización, en cualquier forma o por cualquier medio, bien sea electrónico, mecánico o de otro
modo, tanto conocida como los que puedan inventarse, incluyendo el fotocopiado o grabación, ni está permitido almace-
narlo en un sistema de información y recuperación, sin el permiso anticipado y por escrito del editor.
Alguna de las imágenes que incluye este libro son reproducciones que se han realizado acogiéndose al derecho de cita que
aparece en el artículo 32 de la Ley 22/1987, del 11 de noviembre, de la Propiedad intelectual. Educàlia Editorial agradece
a todas las instituciones, tanto públicas como privadas, citadas en estas páginas, su colaboración y pide disculpas por la
posible omisión involuntaria de algunas de ellas.
Educàlia Editorial
Avda de les Jacarandes 2 loft 327 46100 Burjassot-València
Tel. 963 76 85 42 - 960 624 309 - 610 900 111
Email: educaliaeditorial@e-ducalia.com
www.e-ducalia.com

TRIPAS_TEM_INGLESSEC_I (2020).indd 2 30/10/2020 16:00:08

 INDEX
UNIT 1 EVOLUCIÓN DE LA DIDÁCTICA DE LAS LENGUAS. TENDENCIAS ACTUALES
DE LA DIDÁCTICA DEL INGLÉS COMO LENGUA EXTRANJERA. LOS ENFOQUES CO-
MUNICATIVOS................................................................................................................................. 5

UNIT 2 TEORÍAS GENERALES SOBRE EL APRENDIZAJE Y LA ADQUISICIÓN DE UNA

LENGUA EXTRANJERA. EL CONCEPTO DE INTERLENGUA. EL TRATAMIENTO DEL ERROR.20

UNIT 3 EL PROCESO DE COMUNICACIÓN. FUNCIONES DEL LENGUAJE. LA LEN-

GUA EN USO. LA NEGOCIACIÓN DEL SIGNIFICADO............................................................ 33

UNIT 4 LA COMPETENCIA COMUNICATIVA: ANÁLISIS DE SUS COMPONENTES......... 46

UNIT 5 LA COMUNICACIÓN ORAL. ELEMENTOS Y NORMAS QUE RIGEN EL DIS-
CURSO ORAL. RUTINAS Y FÓRMULAS HABITUALES. ESTRATEGIAS PROPIAS DE LA CO-
MUNICACIÓN ORAL...................................................................................................................... 65

UNIT 6 LA COMUNICACIÓN ESCRITA. DISTINTOS TIPOS DE TEXTOS ESCRITOS.

ESTRUCTURA Y ELEMENTOS FORMALES. NORMAS QUE RIGEN EL TEXTO ESCRITO.
RUTINAS Y FÓRMULAS................................................................................................................... 73

UNIT 7 SISTEMA FONOLÓGICO DE LA LENGUA INGLESA (I). LAS VOCALES. SÍM-

BOLOS FONÉTICOS. LOS DIPTONGOS. COMPARACIÓN CON EL SISTEMA FONO-
LÓGICO ESPAÑOL........................................................................................................................... 86

UNIT 8 SISTEMA FONOLÓGICO DE LA LENGUA INGLESA (II). LAS CONSONAN-

TES. SÍMBOLOS FONÉTICOS. COMPARACIÓN CON EL SISTEMA FONOLÓGICO ES-
PAÑOL................................................................................................................................................ 96

UNIT 9 SISTEMA FONOLÓGICO DE LA LENGUA INGLESA (III). ACENTO, RITMO Y

ENTONACIÓN. COMPARACIÓN CON EL SISTEMA FONOLÓGICO ESPAÑOL................. 103

UNIT 10 CARACTERÍSTICAS DE LA FORMACIÓN DE PALABRAS EN INGLÉS. PREFIJA-

CIÓN, SUFIJACIÓN Y COMPOSICIÓN....................................................................................... 111

UNIT 11 LA PALABRA COMO SIGNO LINGÜÍSTICO. HOMONIMIA, SINONIMIA,

ANTONIMIA. “FALSE FRIENDS”. CREATIVIDAD LÉXICA............................................................ 120

UNIT 12 CONCEPTO DE GRAMÁTICA: REFLEXIÓN SOBRE LA LENGUA Y SU APREN-

DIZAJE. DE LA GRAMÁTICA NORMATIVA A LA GRAMÁTICA EN FUNCIÓN DEL USO
DE LA LENGUA Y LA COMUNICACIÓN...................................................................................... 128

UNIT 13 LA EXPRESIÓN DE LA CANTIDAD.............................................................................. 139

UNIT 14 EXPRESIÓN DE LA CUALIDAD. EXPRESIÓN DE GRADO Y COMPARACIÓN..... 154
UNIT 15 EXPRESIÓN DEL MODO, LOS MEDIOS Y EL INSTRUMENTO............................... 167
UNIT 16 EXPRESIÓN DE LA POSESIÓN................................................................................... 175
UNIT 17 LA LOCALIZACIÓN EN EL ESPACIO: LUGAR, DIRECCIÓN Y DISTANCIA........... 183
UNIT 18 LA LOCALIZACIÓN EN EL TIEMPO: RELACIONES TEMPORALES. FRECUENCIA ..... 195

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 UNIT 19 TIEMPO REAL Y TIEMPO VERBAL: ASPECTO Y MODO........................................... 205
UNIT 20 VERBOS AUXILIARES Y MODALES: FORMAS Y FUNCIONES.............................. 216
UNIT 21 EL INFINITIVO Y LA FORMA EN –ING: SUS USOS................................................ 224
UNIT 22 ‘MULTI-WORD VERBS’................................................................................................. 238
UNIT 23 ESTRUCTURA DE LA ORACIÓN EN INGLÉS: AFIRMACIONES, PREGUNTAS,
NEGACIONES Y EXCLAMACIONES ............................................................................................ 246

UNIT 24 EXPRESIÓN DE LA ASERCIÓN, EL ÉNFASIS Y LA OBJECIÓN............................... 259

UNIT 25 RELACIONES DE CAUSA, CONSECUENCIA Y FINALIDAD.................................. 268
UNIT 26 EXPRESIÓN DE LA DUDA, CONDICIÓN, HIPÓTESIS Y CONSTRASTE............... 275
UNIT 27 LA VOZ PASIVA. FORMAS Y FUNCIONES............................................................... 286
UNIT 28 MACROFUNCIONES LINGÜÍSTICAS PARA EXPRESAR LAS INTENCIONES
COMUNICATIVAS MÁS HABITUALES: ENTABLAR Y MANTENER RELACIONES SOCIA-
LES, DAR Y PEDIR INFORMACIÓN SOBRE OBJETOS, PERSONAS Y ACCIONES, EXPRE-
SAR ACTITUDES INTELECTUALES Y EMOCIONALES.................................................................. 294

UNIT 29 ANÁLISIS Y ARTICULACIÓN DEL DISCURSO. COHESIÓN Y COHERENCIA.

ANÁFORA Y CATÁFORA. LOS CONECTORES. DEIXIS............................................................... 307

UNIT 30 DISCURSO DIRECTO Y EL DISCURSO INDIRECTO................................................. 314

UNIT 31 TEXTO Y CONTEXTO. TIPOS DE TEXTO. CRITERIOS PARA LA CLASIFICA-
CIÓN TEXTUAL. EL REGISTRO........................................................................................................ 322

UNIT 32 EL TEXTO NARRATIVO. ESTRUCTURA Y CARACTERÍSTICAS.................................. 332

UNIT 33 EL TEXTO DESCRIPTIVO. ESTRUCTURA Y CARACTERÍSTICAS................................ 345

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 6
UNIT 6
LA COMUNICACIÓN ESCRITA. DISTINTOS TIPOS DE TEXTOS
ESCRITOS. ESTRUCTURA Y ELEMENTOS FORMALES. NORMAS QUE
RIGEN EL TEXTO ESCRITO. RUTINAS Y FÓRMULAS
0. Introduction
1. Written communication
2. Types of texts
3. Structure, formal components and norms
4. Routines and Formulae
5. Conclusion
6. Bibliography

0. INTRODUCTION
Topic number 6 deals with: ‘La comunicación escrita. Distintos tipos de textos escritos. Estructuras y
elementos formales. Normas que rigen el texto escrito. Rutinas y fórmulas’, being this an important
part of the teaching-learning process of English.
To begin with, I would like to justify this topic in the English curriculum. The previous educative system mainly
focused on grammar and lexical aspects, as it was thought that the mastery of a language was based on the
degree of proficiency at grammar level. Hence, generally students were able to apply the grammatical rules
of the language but some of them had problems when using the language orally. Our society is suffering
significant and evident changes as globalisation and the impact of new technologies, directly affecting
students when we talk about education. These terms have become a priority and a crucial tool in the learning
process throughout life. In fact, the new organic law, LOMCE, in addition to all these features, also takes
into consideration the diversity in abilities; the work-organization; helping towards its development; to
encourage positive attitudes towards the English language and culture; the students’ creativity and so on.
In short, the students must participate in their learning progress as LOMCE has established recently. For this
reason, the LOMCE, Organic Law for improvement of Quality (LOMCE) in Education 8/2013 of 9th
of December, has proposed a communicative approach to foreign languages. An approach which implies
the consideration of not only grammatical aspects, but also cultural, historical and literal characteristics of the
countries where the English language is spoken.
In this context, this topic number 6 has a relevant role in the English curriculum as it deals with communicative
aspects, and it can be a tool to transmit to our students some of the basic and indispensable competences,
such as: competence on linguistic communication.
All topics about communicative concepts are interrelated and they will always be treated as a whole. For
example, to understand oral communication and its relation with written communication, we will revise unit
number 5 such as in unit 29 and 3 or 4, which deal with communicative elements and their functions is
essential information in order to achieve a good understanding of this topic among others, are necessary.
I will divide this topic into four general parts: starting with a definition of the written communication. Secondly,
I will continue with the types of texts and their usage. Thirdly, I will take into account the structures, formal
components and norms as well as some routines and formulae. To conclude another relevant aspect to

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 6 be dealt with is the structural and formal components as well as routines and formulae to acquire a good
communication.
In this topic, we will study one of the most outstanding linguistic speech categories in a communicative
process: the written communication. It plays an important role within the learning of any language and
we will be able to communicate in a successful way as soon as we control all the following structures and
features.

1. WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
Writing Skill in English is a linear process, which means it has one central point or theme with every part
contributing to the main line of argument. Its aim is to inform rather than entertain. As well as this it is in the
standard written form of the language.
There are some features of academic writing that are often discussed. Academic writing is to some extent:
complex, formal, objective, explicit, hedged, and responsible. It uses language precisely and accurately. It
is also well organised and planned.
• Complexity
Written language is relatively more complex than spoken language. Written language has longer
words, it is lexically denser and it has a more varied vocabulary. It uses more noun-based phrases than
verb-based phrases. Written texts are shorter and the language has more grammatical complexity,
including more subordinate clauses and more passives.
• Formality
Academic writing is relatively formal. In general, this means that in an essay you should avoid colloquial
words and expressions.
• Precision
In academic writing, facts and figures are given precisely.
• Objectivity/ Explicitness
Written language has fewer words that refer to the writer or the reader. This means that the main emphasis
should be on the information that you want to give and the arguments you want to make, rather than you.
For that reason, academic writing tends to use nouns (and adjectives), rather than verbs (and adverbs).
Academic writing is explicit about the relationships in the text. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of
the writer in English to make it clear to the reader how the various parts of the text are related. These
connections can be made explicit by the use of different signalling words.
• Accuracy
Academic writing uses vocabulary accurately. Most subjects have words with narrow specific meanings.
Linguistics distinguishes clearly between “phonetics” and “phonemics”; general English does not.
• Responsibility
In academic writing you must be responsible for, and must be able to provide evidence and justification
for, any claims you make. You are also responsible for demonstrating an understanding of any source
texts you use.

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 • Organisation/ Planning
6
Academic writing is well organised. It flows easily from one section to the next in a logical fashion. A
good place to start is the genre of your text. Once you have decided on the genre, the structure is easily
determined.
Academic writing is well planned. It usually takes place after research and evaluation, according to a specific
purpose and plan.
When talking about communication, we should analyse many factors with a common purpose:
‘To give information to the reader or listener.’
Good communication skills require a high level of self-awareness. Reading and writing have been considered
two different language skills that should be studied separately. As a result, many students find it hard to put
their thoughts into English. The process genre approach can be successfully applied to integrate writing into
the reading class. In this approach, besides linguistic knowledge, the writing genre, the schematic structure,
and the writing skills of the in-class reading materials are also stressed. The writing skills are in turn used in
guided writing, from outline writing, drafting, to revising.
One factor to be highlighted would be to consider always a purpose in the communicative process. For instance,
our purpose could be to inform others, to get information or to initiate action. This is necessary to be known in
advance. Students can read, but they often do not understand the meaning of what they are reading.
According to Crystal (1985), one of the main components of language is that it is an essential tool of
communication. Language is defined as a means of communication for every human being such as writing
an e-mail, having a phone conversation, watching a film, reading a novel, magazine comic.
Communication is usually defined as giving, receiving or exchanging information, opinions or ideas so that
the ‘message’ is completely understood by everybody involved. To some degree, there are also ‘barriers’
which may intervene with either verbal or written communication.

SENDER MESSAGE RECEIVER

Understanding and Understanding and

interpreting feedback interpreting the message

RECEIVE FEEDBACK SENDER

Communication through words may be writing or oral. In this case, written communication entails transmission
of messages which mainly consist of diagrams, pictures, graphs, reports, orders and instructions, agreements,
and so on. Written communication guarantees that everyone concerned the same information. It provides a
long-lasting record of communication for future. Written instructions are essential when the action called for
its crucial and complex.
In order to achieve a successful communication, it should be understandable, brief, truthful and comprehensive.
The main advantages and disadvantages of written communication are as follows:

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 6 ADVANTAGES
To transmit information in a uniform manner.
To state a perfect way of conveying long messages.
To be comprehensive, obvious and accurate.
To be suitable for expressing messages to a great quantity of persons at the same time.
DISADVANTAGES
The privacy here is quite difficult when using written communication.
It is a formal way of expressing.
It may be represented in several and different way by different people.

When escribing the different types of texts, we will also consider some essential features:
• Genre/Form: Genre is the type of text that has a characteristic form or features. It is the system used
to classify fiction and nonfiction texts. There are many types of written genres that include fantasy,
biographies, memoir, realistic fiction, forms, bills, brochures, maps, magazines articles, etc.
• Text Structure: Structure is the way the text is organized and presented. The structure of most fiction and
biographical texts is narrative, arranged primarily in chronological order. Factual texts are organized
categorically or topically and may have sections with headings. Writers of factual texts use several
underlying structural patterns to provide information to readers. The most important are description;
chronological sequence; comparison and contrast; cause and effect; and problem and solution. The
presence of these structures, especially when combined, can increase the challenge for readers.
• Content: Content refers to the subject matter of the text and the concepts that are important to understand.
In fiction, content may be related to the setting or to the kinds of problems characters’ experience. In
factual texts, content refers to the topic or focus. Content influences the difficulty of the text based on the
prior experience of readers, i.e. the more a reader knows about the topic, the easier it is to comprehend
the text.
• Themes and Ideas: Themes are big ideas that are communicated by the writer. Ideas may be concrete
and accessible or complex and abstract. A text may have multiple themes or a main theme and several
supporting themes.
• Language and Literary Features: Written language is qualitatively different from spoken language.
Fiction writers use dialogue, figurative language, and literary structures such as character, setting, and
plot. Factual writers use description and technical language. In hybrid texts you may find a wide range
of literary language.
• Sentence Complexity: Meaning is mapped onto the structure of language. Texts with simpler, more
natural sentences are easier to process. Sentences with embedded and conjoined clauses make a text
more difficult.
• Vocabulary: Vocabulary refers to words and their meanings. The more vocabulary words known and
understood in a text, the easier a text is to read.
• Words: This category refers to recognizing and solving the printed words in the text. The challenge
in a text partly depends on the number and the difficulty of the words that the reader must solve by
recognizing them or decoding them. Having a great many of the same high-frequency words makes a
text easier to read and understand.

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 • Illustrations: Drawings, paintings, or photographs accompany the text and add meaning and enjoyment.
6
In factual texts, illustrations also include graphics that provide a great deal of information that readers
must integrate with the text. Illustrations are an integral part of a high quality text. Increasingly, fiction
texts include a range of graphics, including labels, heading, subheadings, sidebars, photos and legends,
charts and graphs. After grade one, texts may include graphic texts that communicate information or
a story in a sequence of pictures and words. As text become more difficult, not all illustrations are
referenced or explained in the written text.
• Book and Print Features: Book and print features are the physical aspects of the text what readers
cope with in terms of length, size, and layout. Book and print features also include tools like the table of
contents, glossary, pronunciation guides, indexes, sidebars, and a variety of graphic features in graphic
texts that communicate how the text is read.

2. TYPES OF TEXTS
Communication is traditionally understood as:

The exchange and negotiation of information between at least two individuals

through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, oral and written, and produc-
tion and comprehension processes. (Halliday)
Hence, dealing with written communication is a form of using a set of symbols. Written English has its own
techniques and conventions. The content, structure, and style of a piece of writing are guided by its purpose.
On the other hand, written communication can be literary or non-literary; therefore, a text either belongs
to the fictional or the non-fictional text group. Especially within the non-fictional text-group the problem of
classification is still open to discussion.
Where a piece of writing is narration and is intended to entertain it will often take the form of a story, make
use of direct speech, and build up to a climax. Traditionally, narrative is carefully structured and there is likely
to be a clearly defined beginning, middle, and end.
An explanation in writing is factual and straightforward. Headings and subdivisions may be used for the
sake of clarity. Writing intended as persuasion to move the reader to a point of view will often use an
emotive style, present lists of points, and include devices of rhetoric.
The style of a piece of writing varies according to the knowledge of the intended audience, so that text for
young students includes simple sentences and basic words, whereas that intended for a high academic level
will be more sophisticated in style and vocabulary.
These are the four different types of writing that are generally used. There are many sub-types of writing that
may fall in any of those categories. A writer must know all these styles in order to identify the purpose of his
or her own writing and make sure it’s something the audience wants to read.

Basic text types:

DESCRIPTIVE
They basically deal with the creation of an image, e.g., objects and people. Therefore, you find many verbs
of ‘non-change’ (e.g., to be, to stand, lie, sit etc.) and adverbs of place. When talking about Technical
descriptions they will be considered as neutral, exact and impersonal, while impressionistic descriptions will
give expressions to the writer’s feelings or moods.
Based on perception in space. Impressionistic of landscapes or persons are often to be found in narratives
such as novels or short stories. Example: About fifteen miles below Monterey, on the wild coast, the Torres

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 6 family had their farm, a few sloping acres above the cliff that dropped to the brown reefs and to the hissing
white waters of the ocean.
Description is used in all forms of writing to create a vivid impression of a person, place, object or event e.g. to:
• describe a special place and explain why it is special.
• describe the most important person in your life.
Descriptive writing is usually used to help a writer develop an aspect of their work, e.g. to create a particular
mood, atmosphere or describe a place so that the reader can create vivid pictures of characters, places,
objects etc.
Description is a style of writing which can be useful for a variety of purposes:
• to engage a reader’s attention
• to create characters
• to set a mood
Descriptive writing’s main purpose is to describe. It is a style of writing that focuses on describing a character,
an event, or a place in great detail. It can be poetic when the author takes the time to be very specific in his
or her descriptions.
Characteristics:
• It is often poetic in nature
• It describes places, people, events, situations, or locations in a highly-detailed manner.
• The author visualizes what he or she sees, hears, tastes, smells, and feels.

NARRATIVE
They deal mainly with changes in time, i.e., with actions and events. Typical text type markers are verbs that
denote ‘change’ as well as expressions of time (time-sequence signals)); but adverbs of place are not excluded.
Narration is to be found in short stories, novels, biographies, anecdotes, diaries, news, stories and reports.
Based on perception in time. Narration is the telling of a story; the succession of events is given in chronological
order.
Purpose
The basic purpose of narrative is to entertain, to gain and hold readers’ interest. However narratives can also
be written to teach or inform, to change attitudes / social opinions e.g. soap operas and television dramas
that are used to raise topical issues. Narratives sequence people/characters in time and place but differ from
recounts in that through the sequencing, the stories set up one or more problems, which must eventually find
a way to be resolved. The common structure or basic plan of narrative text is known as the “story grammar”.
Although there are numerous variations of the story grammar, the typical elements are:
• Settings — when and where the story occurs.
• Characters— the most important people or characters in the story.
• Initiating event — an action or occurrence that establishes a problem and/or goal.
• Conflicts/goal — the focal point around which the whole story is organized.
• Events — one or more attempts by the main character(s) to achieve the goal or solve the problem.
• Resolutions — the outcome of the attempts to achieve the goal

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 The graphic representation of these story grammar elements is called a story map. The exact form and
6
complexity of a map depends, of course, upon the unique structure of each narrative and the personal
preference of the teacher constructing the map.
Types
There are many types of narrative. They can be imaginary, factual or a combination of both. They may
include fairy stories, mysteries, science fiction, romances, horror stories, adventure stories, fables, myths and
legends, historical narratives, ballads, slice of life, personal experience.
Features:
• Characters with defined personalities/identities.
• Dialogue often included - tense may change to the present or the future.
• Descriptive language to create images in the reader’s mind and enhance the story.
Structure
In a Traditional Narrative the focus of the text is on a series of actions:
Orientation
(Introduction) in which the characters, setting, and time of the story are established. Usually answers who?
When? Where?
E.g. Hobbit went out hunting in the forest one dark gloomy night.
Complication or problem
The complication usually involves the main character(s) (often mirroring the complications in real life).
Resolution
There needs to be a resolution of the complication. The complication may be resolved for better or worse/
happily or unhappily. Sometimes there are a number of complications that have to be resolved. These add
and sustain interest and suspense for the reader.
Further more, when there is plan for writing narrative texts, the focus should be on the following characteristics:
• Plot: What is going to happen?
• Setting: Where will the story take place? When will the story take place?
• Characterization: Who are the main characters? What do they look like?
• Structure: How will the story begin? What will be the problem? How is the problem going to be resolved?
• Theme: What is the theme / message the writer is attempting to communicate?
Narrative writing’s main purpose is to tell a story. The author will create different characters and tell you what
happens to them (sometimes the author writes from the point of view of one of the characters—this is known
as first person narration). Novels, short stories, novellas, poetry, and biographies can all fall in the narrative
writing style. Simply, narrative writing answers the question: “What happened then?”
Characteristics:
• A person tells a story or event.
• Has characters and dialogue.
• Has definite and logical beginnings, intervals, and endings.
• Often has situations like actions, motivational events, and disputes or conflicts with their eventual
solutions.

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 6 EXPOSITORY
They tend to be explanatory: they explain objects and ideas in their interrelations. Typical verbs for the
identification and explanation of objects and ideas are: to refer to, be defined, be called, consists of, contain
etc. If a relation to previously mentioned facts and ideas is to be established, words like namely, incidentally,
for example, in other words, etc., are used.
Typical of this text type are the expository essay, the definition, the summary and the interpretative piece.
It aims at explanation, i.e. the cognitive analysis and subsequent syntheses of complex facts. Example: An
essay on “Rhetoric: What is it and why do we study it?”
There is a chance that your work may fall flat if you have not chosen one of the really good expository essay
topics. Not all topics out there are interesting or meaty enough to be thoroughly investigated within a paper.
Make sure you put effort into choosing a topic that has a lot of material to cover it and pique the interest of
readers!
• Trending Topics: Are there any hot issues that deserve some deep discussion? If so, consider educating
people on this seemingly new occurrence through the use of a well-written essay.
Example: Cultural and Historical Shifts.
• A topic close to your heart: It is easy much easier to defend a thesis if you find yourself passionately
thinking about the topic. If you have an advocacy and want to inform others, choose this path and you
might be able to sway beliefs!
Comparing the past and the present is a good way of framing an argument, especially if a lot has been
written about it.
Expository writing’s main purpose is to explain. It is a subject-oriented writing style, in which authors focus
on telling you about a given topic or subject without voicing their personal opinions. These types of essays
or articles furnish you with relevant facts and figures but do not include their opinions. This is one of the most
common types of writing. You always see it in textbooks and how-to articles. The author just tells you about
a given subject, such as how to do something.
Characteristics:
• Usually explains something in a process.
• Is often equipped with facts and figures.
• Is usually in a logical order and sequence.
Types of expository texts
• Textbook writing.
• How-to articles.
• Recipes.
• News stories (not including opinion or editorial pieces).
• Business, technical, or scientific writing.

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 ARGUMENTATIVE/PERSUASIVE TEXT
6
Texts deal with problems and controversial ideas. Reasons for or against some topic are put forward. The aim
is always to attract the reader/audience. There is a dialectical text structure, and words like but, by contrast,
however, yet, still, in any case, so, etc., are linguistic signals of a contrastive text structure. But the basis of any
argumentative text form has to be provided by expository passages, by the explanation of facts, concepts,
developments or processes. While comment tends to be subjective in character, scientific argument seeks to
be objective.
Persuasive writing’s main purpose is to convince. Unlike expository writing, persuasive writing contains the
opinions and biases of the author. To convince others to agree with the author’s point of view, persuasive writing
contains justifications and reasons. It is often used in letters of complaint, advertisements or commercials,
affiliate marketing pitches, cover letters, and newspaper opinion and editorial pieces.
Characteristics:
• Persuasive writing is equipped with reasons, arguments, and justifications.
• In persuasive writing, the author takes a stand and asks you to agree with his or her point of view.
• It often asks for readers to do something about the situation (this is called a call-to-action).
Examples of argumentative texts:
• Opinion and editorial newspaper pieces.
• Advertisements.
• Reviews (of books, music, movie, restaurants, etc.).
• Letter of recommendation.
• Letter of complaint.
• Cover letters

INSTRUCTIVE
In this type of texts, the writer tells the reader/audience what to do. The instructive text type is based on the
action-demanding sentence. Commercial and political propaganda, directions, regulations, rules etc., are
typical examples.

DIALOGICAL
They are conversations which could be distinguished between spontaneous —a phone call, chatting—, or
non-spontaneous —a planned conversation. Besides, as speakers we will take into consideration some
factors such as to talk about a concrete topic within a specific context and of course lead by one of the
participants. In short, it is an exchange of information between at least two persons.
Apart from the five major types of texts, we should also mention other sources used daily. These are the texts,
spoken, written, and visual that are part of people‘s daily lives. For the youngest students, the emphasis is on
everyday texts used in the home. As students’ progress through the school, the emphasis shifts to texts used in
the school. The range of everyday texts mentioned in the English curriculum includes:

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 6 classified ads recounts observations telephone conversations questionnaires speeches
debates small group work instructions labels captions notices diaries and
journals shopping list bills and invoices travel guides manuals subtitle films
e-mails chats greeting cards classified ads recounts observations tele-
phone conversations questionnaires speeches debates small group work
instructions labels captions notices diaries and journals lyrics poems

Another classification when talking about types of texts could be the following one, including fictional and
non-fictional texts:

FICTIONAL TEXTS detective novel, detective story, drama, fable, fairy tale, legend, lyrics, nar-
rative, novel, picture stories, play, poem, radio drama, science fiction novel,
short story, sketch, song, story, tale, traged
NON-FICTIONAL Advertisement, agenda, biography, booklet, brochure, entry in a reference
TEXTS book, form, graffiti, graphics, instruction, interview, invitation, leaflet, letter,
menu, message, announcement, news, newspaper article, recipe, report,
schedule, sign, speech, statement, timetable, weather forecast.

3. STRUCTURE, FORMAL COMPONENTS AND NORMS

Text, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is the ‘wording of anything written or printed; the structure
formed by the words in their order; the very words, phrases, and sentences as written.’ Such a definition allows
for text to be considered as both the written words in general, and, more holistically, as the combination of
such written words to form a structure that produces meaning.
Each writer has to take into account the type of text chosen in order to organize it. Each text has its own
structure and of course its own characteristics too. To achieve a perfect domain of the textual components
some norms and considerations will be applied. Lexical and grammatical fields will be also essential elements

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 in the textual analysis. When writing not only the topic chosen is an important element, but also the way
6
you expose the facts as well as if we are telling a fictional or real story the elements will be different in the
description of the action.
Hence, taking into account the concept of textuality some syntactic and semantic components when
organizing a text will be considered, I mean, the terms Cohesion and Coherence (Unit 29); they will help
us perform a linguistic text not a set of written paragraphs without any order and meaning. Besides, some
cohesive items such as the so called reference, ellipsis, deixis, lexical relations, etc.
Communication is the presentation of ideas or essays that make a clear point, supply details supporting that
point and demonstrate unity and coherence of thought. The mastery of good or standard written English and
the ability to comprehend and write about information acquired through reading, note-taking and listening
are also elements of written communication. The goals of every student in written communication are to be
able to write unified and coherent essays, to have knowledge of the vocabulary and conventions of the field,
and a mastery of written English.
Communication makes human organization and cooperation possible, and verbal as well as written
communication establish culture and civilization. In the history of humanity, written communication is a fairly
recent phenomenon:

purpose

objective
information

suitable of information

Text structure refers to the way an author arranges information in his writing. Text structure enables autors/
writers to organize their thoughts as they write. It also helps the reader in that it provides a structure in which
information can be found and understood while it’s being read. There are several different types of text
structure, including:
• Chronological: discussing things or events in order.
• Cause and effect: explaining a cause and its results in whatever situation.
• Problem and solution: presenting a problem and offering a solution.
• Compare and contrast: discussing similarities and differences.
• Classification-division: sorting information into topics and categories.
For the purpose of this lesson, we will focus on the classification-division text structure.
Process for Classification-Division:
For writers, there are several steps to be followed in the process of developing a written piece that follows a
classification-division text structure:
1. Decide on a main topic.
2. Divide the main topic into two or more subtopics.
3. For each subtopic, provide information and details to clarify and explain, or divide each subtopic further
by creating categories for each subtopic.
4. If categories have been developed, provide information and details to clarify and explain each category.
5. Begin writing following the proper format.

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 6 Now, we can also present the following structure to take into account when writing:
Introduction
Including a thesis statement, a description of the topic as a whole, and an explanation of the process and
purpose for dividing the main topic into subtopics and beyond.
Body
• Least important subtopic first, most important subtopic last
• Subtopic One followed by categories if needed
• Subtopic Two followed by categories if needed
• Subtopic Three, etc.
Conclusion
A basic summary of each subtopic and category followed by a restating of the original thesis statement.

4. ROUTINES AND FORMULAE

Without any doubt, reading plays an important role in the development of writing skill and both skills should
be always carried out in close co-operation. These two communicative abilities depend on the writer and
reader’s goal.
Our objective as teachers will be to achieve a perfect organization of the material employed and to use
certain logical and grammatical features. As well as we will analyse the different kinds of writing such as
letters, reports, tales, etc.
Regarding routines and formulae, we will distinguish many typical structures used to express our thoughts in
writing skill, for instance not to use abbreviations and contractions in verbal and pronominal forms, the use of
personal pronouns before the verbal forms, the use of adverbs or adverbial phrases at the beginning of the
sentence, the use of a grammatical order of the elements within a sentence, etc.
Consequently, our purpose will be focused on the selection of certain types of sentence structures in order to
get the maximum explicitness in a text.
Similarly, other devices will help us such as the spelling and punctuation rules which will provide an appropriate
and correct sentence structure. The study of conversational structures will develop a communicative and
social interaction between people. However, this process is not carried out in an arbitrary way. There exist
some linguistic characteristics and will be ruled by some internal considerations. (Topic 29)
In any case, as we have seen, the analysis of a written text will always depend on the contexts for their
writing. In real life, writing is usually undertaken in response to a demand. For adults, the demand may arise
from academic studies, professional responsibilities, etc. On the other hand, for students, to think about
possible future purposes for writing in English (local newspaper, organizations, chatting, emails, etc.)
Summarizing, it is a clear sense of audience that enables a writer to select appropriate content and express
it in an appropriate form and style: in a way that facilitates the process of communicating.

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