COHERENCE IN WRITING

Coherence is product of many different factors, which combine to make every paragraph, every sentence, and every phrase contribute to the meaning of the whole piece. Coherence in writing is much more difficult to sustain than coherent speech simply because writers have no nonverbal clues to inform them if their message is clear or not. Therefore, writers must make their patterns of coherence much more explicit and much more carefully planned. Coherence itself is the product of two factors paragraph unity and sentence cohesion.

Sentence Cohesion

To achieve cohesion, the link of one sentence to the next, consider the following
techniques: 1. Repetition. In sentence B (the second of any two sentences), repeat a word from sentence A. 2. Synonymy. If direct repetition is too obvious, use a synonym of the word you wish to repeat. This strategy is call 'elegant variation.' 3. Antonymy. Using the 'opposite' word, an antonym, can also create sentence cohesion, since in language antonyms actually share more elements of meaning than you might imagine. 4. Pro-forms. Use a pronoun, pro-verb, or another pro-form to make explicit reference back to a form mentioned earlier. 5. Collocation. Use a commonly paired or expected or highly probable word to connect one sentence to another. 6. Enumeration. Use overt markers of sequence to highlight the connection between ideas. This system has many advantages: (a) it can link ideas that are otherwise completely unconnected, (b) it looks formal and distinctive, and (c) it promotes a second method of sentence cohesion, discussed in (7) below.
first(ly) secondly etc., finally, in the (first) place, last , to (begin) with, more important on top of (that), next, then

7. Parallelism. Repeat a sentence structure. This technique is the oldest, most overlooked, but probably the most elegant method of creating cohesion.

8. Transitions. Use a conjunction or conjunctive adverb to link sentences with particular logical relationships. To show addition: again, and, also, besides, equally important, first (second, etc.), further, furthermore, in addition, in the first place, moreover, next, too To compare: also, in the same manner, likewise, similarly To contrast: although, and yet, at the same time, but, despite, even though, however, in contrast, in spite of, nevertheless, on the contrary, on the other hand, still, though, yet To summarize or conclude: all in all, in conclusion, in other words, in short, in summary, on the whole, that is, therefore, to sum up To show time: after, afterward, as, as long as, as soon as, at last, before, during, earlier, finally, formerly, immediately, later, meanwhile, next, since, shortly, subsequently, then, thereafter, until, when, while To show place or direction: above, below, beyond, close, elsewhere, farther on, here, nearby, opposite, to the left (north, etc.) To indicate logical relationship: accordingly, as a result, because, consequently, for this reason, hence, if, otherwise, since, so, then, therefore, thus To show cause and effect. therefore, so, consequently, as a consequence, thus, as a result, hence, it follows that, because, since, for, ...

Concession. (Indicates a willingness to consider the other side) admittedly, I admit, true, I grant, of course, naturally, some believe, some people believe, it has been claimed that, once it was believed, there are those who would say, ... #Exemplification. (Indicates a shift from a more general or abstract idea to a more specific or concrete idea) for example, for instance, after all, an illustration of, even, indeed, in fact, it is true, of course, specifically, to be specific, that is, to illustrate, truly, ... Miscellaneous - Adverbs may be used at the beginning of sentences to show how the sentence which follows relates to the rest of the text. Many of them reveal the writers attitude to the idea they are expressing and so can be used as an important tool in evaluative writing. Admittedly, All things considered, As a general rule, As far as we know, Astonishingly Broadly, By and large, Characteristically, Clearly, Coincidentally, Conveniently Curiously, Disappointingly, Equally, Essentially, Explicitly, Even so, Eventually, Fortunately Fundamentally, Generally speaking, Interestingly, Ironically, In essence, In general, In particular, In practice, In reality, In retrospect/hindsight, In theory, In view of this More interestingly, More seriously, More specifically, Naturally, On balance, Obviously On reflection, Overall, Paradoxically, Potentially, Predictably, Presumably, Primarily, Probably, Remarkably, Seemingly, Significantly, Surprisingly, Theoretically To all intents and purposes, Typically, Ultimately, Understandably, Undoubtedly, Unfortunately, With hindsight