Coherence in Writing

Mini lesson on achieving Coherence in writing. Give it a try! But before you do, why not try some Coherent Breathing (i.e., breathing "from the heart")- to get in the mood?

1. Coherence in Writing
October 1
st
, 2012

2. liquid honey
•it flows
•it sticks together

3. a working definition
Coherencerefers to a certain
characteristic or aspect of
writing. Literally, the word
means "to stick together.“
Coherencein writing means that
all the ideas in a paragraph flow
smoothly from one sentence to
the next sentence. With
coherence, the reader has an
easy time understanding the
ideas that you wish to express.
[TOEFL-Prep Writing: Coherence]
co·her·ence–noun
logical interconnection; overall
sense or understandability.
Linguistics. the property of
unity in a written text that
stems from the links among its
underlying ideas and from the
logical organization and
development of its thematic
content.
[Dictionary.com -Reference]

4. Coherent… or not?
For me, the worst thing
about waiting tables was
the uniform. All the
waitresses had to wear
this ugly brown striped
jumper. The shirts were
polyester. Sometimes
someone you know
comes in. Now I have a
job in an office.
For me, the worst thing about
waiting tables was the
uniform. At the last place I
worked, all the waitresses had
to wear an ugly brown striped
jumper. Underneath it we had
to wear an even uglier
polyester shirt. Sometimes
someone I knew would come
in and I'd feel embarrassed by
my outfit. Now I have a job in
an office, where I can wear my
own clothes.

5. ways to achieve Coherence
ordering principles
pronouns
combining sentences
transitional words
repetition

6. ordering principles
e.g. chronological order
for narrative paragraphs
choose principle that fits
your material
use it consistently
narration
description
process
exemplification
comparison/contrast
definition
cause &effect
(paragraph type)

7. While there were many contributing factors to the French
Revolution, a primary cause was a financial crisis brought on by
royal extravagance. For years before the revolution finally
exploded in 1789, the royal government had been borrowing
heavily to cover deficit spending. (Cobb, 1988.) Even though
France’s high courts of appeal cautioned against such
borrowing, the royal’s extravagance continued, eventually
resulting in a financial crisis that required the government to
institute a series of taxes. As the press highlighted the
government’s spending with cartoons and stories, the
peasants, already burdened by high taxes, low wages and poor
harvests, began to resent the demands of the royals. Finally, in
1789, the Third Estate-the common people-became so
enraged, they demanded a new constitution and refused to
compromise with the existing government until it was written.
This demand set off the first sparks of revolution.
cause & effect ordering principle

8. pronouns
Murdochcould hear Seymour’s whoops
and Katie’s laughter. Hestepped up to
the window and, leaning in
close, rapped hard… Helet himselfinto
the hall, hung up his hat and coat, and
opened the door to the parlour.
Seymour greeted himwith more
exuberance than Murdochhad ever
seen himexpress before.
(antecedent!?)

9. combining sentences
Fred Smith has a problem.
He has too many cats. This
problem started innocently
enough with one female cat.
She had kittens. They grew
up, and the kittens had
kittens. Fred has thirty cats.
He spends most of his
energy and resources on
maintaining them. He is
exhausted.
Fred Smith has a problem. He
has too many cats. This
problem started innocently
enough with one female
cat, butshe had kittens that
grew up andhad more
kittens. Fred now has thirty
cats andspends most of his
energy and resources on
maintaining them. He is
exhausted.

10. transitional words
addition:
also / in addition to /
additionally
detail or example:
for example / that is / more
specifically
logic:
therefore / thus / in
conclusion
contrast:
yet / nevertheless / on the
other hand
similarity:
likewise / similarly / in other
words
reinforcement of ideas:
also / in other words / in
addition / for example /
moreover
change in ideas:
instead / on the other hand / yet
/ although / however / but / in
contrast / nevertheless
conclusion:
thus / therefore / in conclusion /
finally / accordingly / so
(linking words)

11. It’s perhaps not surprising that Marshall McLuhan, the
most influential communicationsexpert of the
twentieth century, was a Canadian. As a nation, we
have been preoccupiedwith forging communication
links among a sparse, widespread population. The old
Canadianone-dollar bill, with its line of telephone poles
receding to the distant horizon, illustrates this
preoccupation. Year after year we strive to maintain a
nationalradio and television broadcasting system in
the face of foreign competition. We have been
aggressive in entering the international high technology
market with our telecommunicationsequipment.
repetition
(optimal redundancy;
deliberate & judicious)

12. putting it all together
Throughout most of my school days my eyes failed to
focus correctly when reading. Consequently, I saw
different symbols every time I read a sentence. As a
result, the printed page was a chaotic kaleidoscope of
constantly changing letters that made no sense. For
example, when reading the last sentence I would see: “
A ttersmade sense,” or “As le terthat made no ense,” or
“Letters mad no sens,” depending on how my eyes
focused on a sentence. After my eye problem was
corrected, my real problems began because it was
assumed that I could now read like everyone else. This
was a big mistake that overlooked the psychological
effects created by my visual disability. Most
importantly, I was left doubting my understanding
when reading unfamiliar material while teachers began
to give me increasingly complex material to read.
ordering
principles
pronouns
combining
sentences
transitional
words
repetition

13. Test Yourself: Make It Coherent
http://www2.athabascau.ca/services/write-
site/paragraph-resource/make-it-coherent/quiz/
Athabasca University Write Site 
Coherent for you?