The theory of text linguistics seeks to go beyond describing the rules for producing individual sentences to describing the rules for producing texts of various kinds, as communication is achieved through texts rather than isolated sentences. Since its emergence, this theory has proven to be effective and valuable in applied linguistic studies, thanks to its mechanisms and tools for uncovering the underlying cohesion and coherence of texts.

A text is a communicative event whose "textuality" is realized when it meets seven essential criteria proposed by Robert de Beaugrand in his book Text, Discourse, and Process. These criteria are cohesion, coherence, intentionality, acceptability, situationally, intertextuality, and informativity.