how to convert WebElement to string in selenium using java?

how to convert WebElement to string in selenium using java?

By byXpath = By.xpath("//*[@id=‘content’]/table/tbody/tr/td[2]");
List links = driver.findElements(byXpath);

List texts = links.stream().map(WebElement::getText).collect(Collectors.toList());

OR
List links =driver.findElements(By.xpath("//*[@id=‘content’]/table/tbody/tr/td[2]"));

String []linkText =new String[links.size()];
int i=0;

//Storing List elements text into String array
for(WebElement a: links)
{
linkText[i]=a.getText();
i++;