cohesion in an essay

Cohesion And Coherence In Essay Writing

Table of contents, introduction.

Before illustrating how to write coherent essays, let us start with the definitions of coherence and cohesion and list the ways we can achieve cohesion in a coherent text.

Definitions Cohesion and Coherence

What is coherence.

Coherence is related to the macro-level features of a text which enable it to have a sense as a whole.

What is cohesion?

How to achieve cohesion and coherence in essay writing, lexical cohesion.

Repeating words may contribute to cohesion. Repetition creates cohesive ties within the text.

Grammatical cohesion

Substitutions, conjunctions transition words, cohesive but not coherent texts.

The player threw the ball toward the goalkeeper. Balls are used in many sports. Most balls are spheres, but American football is an ellipsoid. Fortunately, the goalkeeper jumped to catch the ball. The crossbar in the soccer game is made of iron. The goalkeeper was standing there.

How to write a coherent essay?

1. start with an outline, 2. structure your essay.

3. Structure your paragraphs

4. relevance to the main topic, 5. stick to the purpose of the type of essay you’re-writing, 6. use cohesive devices and signposting phrases.

What is signposting in writing?

Essay signposting phrases.

7. Draft, revise, and edit

Writing Resources: Developing Cohesion

Cohesion  is a characteristic of a successful essay  when it flows as a united whole ; meaning, there is unity and connectedness between all of the parts. Cohesion is a writing issue at a macro and micro level. At a macro-level, cohesion is the way a paper uses a thesis sentence, topic sentences, and transitions across paragraphs to help unify and focus a paper. On a micro-level, cohesion happens within the paragraph unit between sentences; when each sentence links back to the previous sentence and looks ahead to the next, there is cohesion across sentences. Cohesion is an important aspect of writing because it helps readers to follow the writer’s thinking. 

Misconceptions & Stumbling Blocks

Many writers believe that you should avoid repetition at all costs. It’s true that strong writing tends to not feel repetitive in terms of style and word choice; however, some repetition is necessary in order to build an essay and even paragraphs that build on each other and develop logically. A pro tip when you’re drafting an essay would be to build in a lot of repetition and then as you revise, go through your essay and look for ways you can better develop your ideas by paraphrasing your argument and using appropriate synonyms.

Building Cohesion

Essay focus: macro cohesion.

Locate & read your thesis sentence and the first and last sentence of each paragraph. You might even highlight them and/or use a separate piece of paper to make note of the key ideas and subjects in each (that is, making a reverse outline while you’re reading).

• How do these sentences relate?
• How can you use the language of the thesis statement again in topic sentences to reconnect to the main argument?
• Does each paragraph clearly link back to the thesis? Is it clear how each paragraph adds to, extends, or complicates the thesis?
• Repetition of key terms and ideas (especially those that are key to the argument)
• Repetition of central arguments; ideally, more than repeating your argument, it evolves and develops as it encounters new supporting or conflicting evidence.
• Appropriate synonyms. Synonyms as well as restating (paraphrasing) main ideas and arguments both helps you to explain and develop the argument and to build cohesion in your essay.

Paragraph Focus: Micro Cohesion

For one paragraph, underline the subject and verb of each sentence.

• Does the paragraph have a consistent & narrow focus?
• Will readers see the connection between the sentences?
• Imagine that the there is a title for this paragraph: what would it be and how would it relate to the underlined words?
• Repetition of the central topic and a clear understanding of how the evidence in this paragraph pushes forward or complicates that idea.
• Variations on the topic
• Avoid unclear pronouns (e.g., it, this, these, etc.). Rather than using pronouns, try to state a clear and specific subject for each sentence. This is an opportunity to develop your meaning through naming your topic in different ways.
• Synonyms for key terms and ideas that help you to say your point in slightly new ways that also push forward your ideas.

Sentence to Sentence: Micro Cohesion  

Looking at one paragraph, try to name what each sentence is doing to the previous: is it adding further explanation? Is it complicating the topic? Is it providing an example? Is it offering a counter-perspective? Sentences that build off of each other have movement that is intentional and purposeful; that is, the writer knows the purpose of each sentence and the work that each sentence accomplishes for the paragraph.

• Transition words (look up a chart) to link sentence and to more clearly name what you’re doing in each sentence (e.g., again, likewise, indeed, therefore, however, additionally, etc.) 
• Precise verbs to help emphasize what the writer is doing and saying (if you’re working with a source/text) or what you’re doing and saying.
• Again, clear and precise subjects that continue to name your focus in each sentence.

A Link to a PDF Handout of this Writing Guide

• I nfographics
• Show AWL words
• Subscribe to newsletter
• What is academic writing?
• Academic Style
• What is the writing process?
• Understanding the title
• Brainstorming
• Researching
• First draft
• Proofreading
• Report writing
• Compare & contrast
• Cause & effect
• Problem-solution
• Classification
• Essay structure
• Introduction
• Literature review
• Book review
• Research proposal
• Thesis/dissertation

What is cohesion?

• Cohesion vs coherence

Transition signals

• What are references?
• In-text citations
• Reference sections
• Reporting verbs
• Band descriptors

Show AWL words on this page.

Levels 1-5:     grey  Levels 6-10:   orange 

Show sorted lists of these words.

Any words you don't know? Look them up in the website's built-in dictionary .

Choose a dictionary .  Wordnet  OPTED  both

Cohesion How to make texts stick together

Cohesion and coherence are important features of academic writing. They are one of the features tested in exams of academic English, including the IELTS test and the TOEFL test . This page gives information on what cohesion is and how to achieve good cohesion. It also explains the difference between cohesion and coherence , and how to achieve good coherence. There is also an example essay to highlight the main features of cohesion mentioned in this section, as well as some exercises to help you practise.

For another look at the same content, check out YouTube or Youku , or the infographic .

It is important for the parts of a written text to be connected together. Another word for this is cohesion . This word comes from the verb cohere , which means 'to stick together'. Cohesion is therefore related to ensuring that the words and sentences you use stick together.

Good cohesion is achieved through the following five main methods, each of which is described in more detail below:

• repeated words/ideas
• reference words
• transition signals
• substitution

Two other ways in which cohesion is achieved in a text, which are covered less frequently in academic English courses, are shell nouns and thematic development . These are also considered below.

Repeated words/ideas

Check out the cohesion infographic »

One way to achieve cohesion is to repeat words, or to repeat ideas using different words (synonyms). Study the following example. Repeated words (or synonyms) are shown in bold.

Cohesion is an important feature of academic writing . It can help ensure that your writing coheres or 'sticks together', which will make it easier for the reader to follow the main ideas in your essay or report . You can achieve good cohesion by paying attention to five important features . The first of these is repeated words. The second key feature is reference words. The third one is transition signals. The fourth is substitution. The final important aspect is ellipsis.

In this example, the word cohesion is used several times, including as a verb ( coheres ). It is important, in academic writing, to avoid too much repetition, so using different word forms or synonyms is common. The word writing is also used several times, including the phrase essay or report , which is a synonym for writing . The words important features are also repeated, again using synonyms: key feature , important aspect .

Reference words

Reference words are words which are used to refer to something which is mentioned elsewhere in the text, usually in a preceding sentence. The most common type is pronouns, such as 'it' or 'this' or 'these'. Study the previous example again. This time, the reference words are shown in bold.

Cohesion is an important feature of academic writing. It can help ensure that your writing coheres or 'sticks together', which will make it easier for the reader to follow the main ideas in your essay or report. You can achieve good cohesion by paying attention to five important features. The first of these is repeated words. The second key feature is reference words. The third one is transition signals. The fourth is substitution. The final important aspect is ellipsis.

The words it , which and these are reference words. The first two of these, it and which , both refer to 'cohesion' used in the preceding sentence. The final example, these , refers to 'important features', again used in the sentence that precedes it.

Transition signals, also called cohesive devices or linking words, are words or phrases which show the relationship between ideas. There are many different types, the most common of which are explained in the next section on transition signals . Some examples of transition signals are:

• for example - used to give examples
• in contrast - used to show a contrasting or opposite idea
• first - used to show the first item in a list
• as a result - used to show a result or effect

Study the previous example again. This time, the transition signals are shown in bold. Here the transition signals simply give a list, relating to the five important features: first , second , third , fourth , and final .

Substitution

Substitution means using one or more words to replace (substitute) for one or more words used earlier in the text. Grammatically, it is similar to reference words, the main difference being that substitution is usually limited to the clause which follows the word(s) being substituted, whereas reference words can refer to something far back in the text. The most common words used for substitution are one , so , and auxiliary verbs such as do, have and be . The following is an example.

• Drinking alcohol before driving is illegal in many countries, since doing so can seriously impair one's ability to drive safely.

In this sentence, the phrase 'doing so' substitutes for the phrase 'drinking alcohol before driving' which appears at the beginning of the sentence.

Below is the example used throughout this section. There is just one example of substitution: the word one , which substitutes for the phrase 'important features'.

Ellipsis means leaving out one or more words, because the meaning is clear from the context. Ellipsis is sometimes called substitution by zero , since essentially one or more words are substituted with no word taking their place.

Below is the example passage again. There is one example of ellipsis: the phrase 'The fourth is', which means 'The fourth [important feature] is', so the words 'important feature' have been omitted.

Shell nouns

Shell nouns are abstract nouns which summarise the meaning of preceding or succeeding information. This summarising helps to generate cohesion. Shell nouns may also be called carrier nouns , signalling nouns , or anaphoric nouns . Examples are: approach, aspect, category, challenge, change, characteristics, class, difficulty, effect, event, fact, factor, feature, form, issue, manner, method, problem, process, purpose, reason, result, stage, subject, system, task, tendency, trend, and type . They are often used with pronouns 'this', 'these', 'that' or 'those', or with the definite article 'the'. For example:

• Virus transmission can be reduced via frequent washing of hands, use of face masks, and isolation of infected individuals. These methods , however, are not completely effective and transmission may still occur, especially among health workers who have close contact with infected individuals.
• An increasing number of overseas students are attending university in the UK. This trend has led to increased support networks for overseas students.

In the example passage used throughout this section, the word features serves as a shell noun, summarising the information later in the passage.

Cohesion is an important feature of academic writing. It can help ensure that your writing coheres or 'sticks together', which will make it easier for the reader to follow the main ideas in your essay or report. You can achieve good cohesion by paying attention to five important features . The first of these is repeated words. The second key feature is reference words. The third one is transition signals. The fourth is substitution. The final important aspect is ellipsis.

Thematic development

Cohesion can also be achieved by thematic development. The term theme refers to the first element of a sentence or clause. The development of the theme in the rest of the sentence is called the rheme . It is common for the rheme of one sentence to form the theme of the next sentence; this type of organisation is often referred to as given-to-new structure, and helps to make writing cohere.

Consider the following short passage, which is an extension of the first example above.

• Virus transmission can be reduced via frequent washing of hands, use of face masks, and isolation of infected individuals. These methods, however, are not completely effective and transmission may still occur, especially among health workers who have close contact with infected individuals. It is important for such health workers to pay particular attention to transmission methods and undergo regular screening.

Here we have the following pattern:

• Virus transmission [ theme ]
• can be reduced via frequent washing of hands, use of face masks, and isolation of infected individuals [ rheme ]
• These methods [ theme = rheme of preceding sentence ]
• are not completely effective and transmission may still occur, especially among health workers who have close contact with infected individuals [ rheme ]
• health workers [ theme, contained in rheme of preceding sentence ]
• [need to] to pay particular attention to transmission methods and undergo regular screening [ rheme ]

Cohesion vs. coherence

The words 'cohesion' and 'coherence' are often used together with a similar meaning, which relates to how a text joins together to make a unified whole. Although they are similar, they are not the same. Cohesion relates to the micro level of the text, i.e. the words and sentences and how they join together. Coherence , in contrast, relates to the organisation and connection of ideas and whether they can be understood by the reader, and as such is concerned with the macro level features of a text, such as topic sentences , thesis statement , the summary in the concluding paragraph (dealt with in the essay structure section), and other 'bigger' features including headings such as those used in reports .

Coherence can be improved by using an outline before writing (or a reverse outline , which is an outline written after the writing is finished), to check that the ideas are logical and well organised. Asking a peer to check the writing to see if it makes sense, i.e. peer feedback , is another way to help improve coherence in your writing.

Example essay

Below is an example essay. It is the one used in the persuasion essay section. Click on the different areas (in the shaded boxes to the right) to highlight the different cohesive aspects in this essay, i.e. repeated words/ideas, reference words, transition signals, substitution and ellipsis.

Title: Consider whether human activity has made the world a better place.

History shows that human beings have come a long way from where they started. They have developed new technologies which means that everybody can enjoy luxuries they never previously imagined. However , the technologies that are temporarily making this world a better place to live could well prove to be an ultimate disaster due to , among other things, the creation of nuclear weapons , increasing pollution , and loss of animal species . The biggest threat to the earth caused by modern human activity comes from the creation of nuclear weapons . Although it cannot be denied that countries have to defend themselves, the kind of weapons that some of them currently possess are far in excess of what is needed for defence . If these [nuclear] weapons were used, they could lead to the destruction of the entire planet . Another harm caused by human activity to this earth is pollution . People have become reliant on modern technology, which can have adverse effects on the environment . For example , reliance on cars causes air and noise pollution . Even seemingly innocent devices, such as computers and mobile phones, use electricity, most of which is produced from coal-burning power stations, which further adds to environmental pollution . If we do not curb our direct and indirect use of fossil fuels, the harm to the environment may be catastrophic. Animals are an important feature of this earth and the past decades have witnessed the extinction of a considerable number of animal species . This is the consequence of human encroachment on wildlife habitats, for example deforestation to expand cities. Some may argue that such loss of [animal]   species is natural and has occurred throughout earth's history. However , the current rate of [animal]   species loss far exceeds normal levels   [of animal species loss] , and is threatening to become a mass extinction event. In summary , there is no doubt that current human activities such as the creation of nuclear weapons , pollution , and destruction of wildlife , are harmful to the earth . It is important for us to see not only the short-term effects of our actions, but their long-term ones as well. Otherwise , human activities will be just another step towards destruction .

Aktas, R.N. and Cortes, V. (2008), 'Shell nouns as cohesive devices in published and ESL student writing', Journal of English for Academic Purposes , 7 (2008) 3-14.

Alexander, O., Argent, S. and Spencer, J. (2008) EAP Essentials: A teacher's guide to principles and practice . Reading: Garnet Publishing Ltd.

Gray, B. (2010) 'On the use of demonstrative pronouns and determiners as cohesive devices: A focus on sentence-initial this/these in academic prose', Journal of English for Academic Purposes , 9 (2010) 167-183.

Halliday, M. A. K., and Hasan, R. (1976). Cohesion in English . London: Longman.

Hinkel, E. (2004). Teaching Academic ESL Writing: Practical Techniques in Vocabulary and Grammar . Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc Publishers.

Hyland, K. (2006) English for Academic Purposes: An advanced resource book . Abingdon: Routledge.

Thornbury, S. (2005) Beyond the Sentence: Introducing discourse analysis . Oxford: Macmillan Education.

GET FREE EBOOK

Like the website? Try the books. Enter your email to receive a free sample from Academic Writing Genres .

Below is a checklist for essay cohesion and coherence. Use it to check your own writing, or get a peer (another student) to help you.

Next section

Find out more about transition signals in the next section.

• Transitions

Previous section

Go back to the previous section about paraphrasing .

• Paraphrasing

Exercises & Activities Some ways to practise this area of EAP

You need to login to view the exercises. If you do not already have an account, you can register for free.

• Register        
• Forgot password        
• Resend activiation email

Author: Sheldon Smith    ‖    Last modified: 03 February 2022.

Sheldon Smith is the founder and editor of EAPFoundation.com. He has been teaching English for Academic Purposes since 2004. Find out more about him in the about section and connect with him on Twitter , Facebook and LinkedIn .

Compare & contrast essays examine the similarities of two or more objects, and the differences.

Cause & effect essays consider the reasons (or causes) for something, then discuss the results (or effects).

Discussion essays require you to examine both sides of a situation and to conclude by saying which side you favour.

Problem-solution essays are a sub-type of SPSE essays (Situation, Problem, Solution, Evaluation).

Transition signals are useful in achieving good cohesion and coherence in your writing.

Reporting verbs are used to link your in-text citations to the information cited.

• Departments
• For Students
• For Faculty
• Book Appointment

Flow and Cohesion

• Reverse Outline
• Paper Skeleton
• Creating a Research Space
• Personal Statements
• Literature Reviews

Our Writing Center gets a lot of students who are concerned about the  flow  of their writing, but this can mean a lot of different things. When we talk about "flow" we mean  cohesion  or how ideas and relationships are communicated to readers. Flow can involve the  big-picture  (how parts of the essay fit together and the way the sequence of these parts affect how readers understand it) and the  sentence-level  (how the structure of a sentence affects the ways meanings and relationships come across to readers). This page has an overview of ways to think about revising the  flow  of an essay on both of these levels.

Big-Picture Revision Strategies

Reading out-loud.

Oftentimes, you can identify places that need some extra attention sharing your writing with a friend, or reading it out loud to yourself. For example, if it's hard to actually say a sentence at a normal conversational pace, this might indicate that there's something you can change about the structure that will make it easier to say (and probably, easier to understand). A few more tips:

• When you read out-loud, make sure to  slow down . If you are talking too fast, you might fill-in gaps or otherwise not notice things you want to change. You also want to give yourself time to process what you're saying  as you say it.
• If there's nobody around, there are also many computer programs that can convert text to speech and read to you, including  Microsoft Word .
• Take notes while you read. While you might want to fix things as you read, if you're worried about flow, it's also good to read your essay all the way through so that you can hear how parts fit together. If you don't want to interrupt your reading, you can take notes by doing things like putting a checkmark in the margins, using a highlighter, or making a list on a separate sheet of paper.

Structure and Sequence

Sometimes issues of flow and cohesion might actually be structural. It's good to reflect on the structure of an essay, the order of the different parts, and how they all fit together. If you want to revise the structure of your essay, consider trying one of the following activities.

Sign-Posting and Transitions

A great way to help readers comprehend the flow of ideas is include things like sign-posts and transitions. A sign-post is basically just language to point out different parts of the essay for readers in order to help them navigate your ideas. For example,  strong topic sentences  are a good as sign-posts because they tell readers what upcoming paragraphs are going to be about.  Transition sentences  can help readers understand how the ideas you were just discussing in a previous paragraph relate to what's coming up with the next paragraph. Here are a couple questions that can help you brainstorm sign-posting statements. After you brainstorm, you can then revise these sign-posting sentences so they fit better with your writing.

• Try starting a sentence by writing "In this paragraph, I will discuss..." After you complete this sentence, you can then revise it to make it fit better with your writing.
• "In the previous paragraph I discuss [purpose of paragraph 1] and this helps better understand [purpose of paragraph 2] because..."
• This paragraph supports my argument because..."
• While I discuss [previous idea or concept] above, I will now talk about [new idea or concept] because..."

Revision on the Sentence-Level

Verbs, or stuff we do.

A sentence seems clear when its important actions are in verbs. Compare these sentences where the actions are in bold and the verbs are UPPERCASE:

Because we  LACKED  data, we could not  EVALUATE  whether the UN  HAD TARGETED  funds to areas that most needed assistance. Our  lack  of data PREVENTED  evaluation  of UN  actions  in  targeting  funds to areas most in  need  of  assistance .

Nominalization

Turning a verb or adjective into a noun is called a “nominalization.” No element of style more characterizes turgid writing, writing that feels abstract, indirect, and difficult, than lots of nominalizations, especially as the subjects of verbs.  

Our request IS that you DO a review of the data.     vs. We REQUEST that you REVIEW the data.    

Try this:  when editing, underline the actions in your sentences.  Are those actions in the form of verbs?  If not, you might try rewriting your sentences to turn those actions into the main verbs in the sentence.

Active and Passive Verbs

Some critics of style tell us to avoid the passive everywhere because it adds a couple of words and often deletes the agent, the “doer” of the action.  But in fact, the passive is sometimes the better choice.  To choose between the active and passive, you have to answer two questions:

• The president  was rumored  to have considered resigning.
• Those who  are found  guilty can  be fined .
• Valuable records should always  be kept  in a safe.
• Because the test  was not done , the flaw  was not corrected .
• The weight given to industrial competitiveness as opposed to the value we attach to liberal arts   will determine  our decision.  
• Our decision  will be determined   by the weight we give to industrial competitiveness as opposed to the value we attach to the liberal arts .

Try this:   We need to find our passive verbs before we can evaluate whether or not to change them.  While you’re editing, try underlining all the “to be” verbs, since these are often paired with other verbs to make passive constructions.  The verbs you’re looking for are: am, are, is, was, were, be, become, became.  Once you’ve identified these verbs, check to see if they are necessary, or if the sentence would be clearer or stronger without them.  Example:  “There is one explanation in the story…” vs “The story explains…”

Writing is more coherent when readers are able to make connections across sentences and paragraphs. On the sentence level, this can include when the last few words of one set up information that appears in the first few words of the next.  That’s what gives us our experience of flow.

• Begin sentences with information familiar to your readers.  Readers get that information from two sources:  first, they remember words from the sentence they just read.  Second, readers bring to a sentence a general knowledge of its subject.  In a paper on black holes, for example, readers would find references to “astronomers”  familiar, even without prior mention.
• End sentences with information that readers cannot anticipate.  Readers prefer to read what’s easy before what’s hard, and what’s familiar and simple is easier to understand that what’ new and complex.  

Compare these two passages:

Try this:  While editing, check for these words: this, these, that, those, another, such, second, or more. Writers often refer to something in a previous sentence with these kinds of words. When you use any of those signals, try to put them at or close to the beginning of the sentence that you use them in.

Here are some tips to help your writing become more precise and cut out extra words.

• Delete what readers can infer.  This can include redundant categories like “period of time,” “pink in color,” or “shiny in appearance.

• Can you make sense of the negatives in this sentence?

Except when you have failed to submit applications without documentation, benefits will not be denied.

This handout contains excerpts from Joseph M. Williams'  Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace ( New York: Longman, 2000).

What this handout is about

This handout will explain what flow is, discuss how it works, and offer strategies to improve the flow of your writing.

What is flow?

Writing that “flows” is easy to read smoothly from beginning to end. Readers don’t have to stop, double back, reread, or work hard to find connections between ideas. Writers have structured the text so that it’s clear and easy to follow. But how do you make your writing flow? Pay attention to coherence and cohesion.

Coherence—global flow

Coherence, or global flow, means that ideas are sequenced logically at the higher levels: paragraphs, sections, and chapters. Readers can move easily from one major idea to the next without confusing jumps in the writer’s train of thought. There’s no single way to organize ideas, but there are common organizational patterns, including (but not limited to):

• Chronological (e.g., a history or a step-by-step process)
• Grouping similar ideas (e.g., advantages / disadvantages; causes / effects)
• Moving from large to small (e.g., national to local) or vice versa (local to national)
• Assertion, evidence, reasoning (e.g., an argument essay)
• Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion (e.g., lab reports)

More than a single organizational strategy can be present in a single draft, with one pattern for the draft as a whole and another pattern within sections or paragraphs of that draft. Take a look at some examples:

Assignment: Describe how domestic and international travel has changed over the last two centuries.

Primary pattern: chronological Additional pattern: grouping

Travel in the 19th century: Domestic travel. International travel. Travel in the 20th century: Domestic travel. International travel.

Assignment: “Analyze the contribution of support services to student success.”

Primary pattern: Assertion, evidence Additional patterns: various

(Assertion) Students who actively use support services have a better college experience (Chronological) Story of first-year student’s difficult experience in college (Grouping) Social and psychological reasons students may avoid using resources (Evidence) Research on academic resources and academic performance (Evidence) Research on self-care resources and student well-being (Chronological) Story of student’s much-improved second-year experience in college

Even though there are various patterns, there’s also a certain logic and consistency. If your readers can follow your organization and understand how you’re connecting your ideas, they will likely feel as though the essay “flows.”

You can also preview your organization through signposting. This strategy involves giving your readers a roadmap before they delve into the body of your paper, and it’s typically found near the beginning of a shorter essay or at the end of the first section of a longer work, such as a thesis. It may look something like this:

“This paper examines the value of using resources in university settings. The first section describes the experience of a first-year student at a top-tier university who did not use resources. The following section describes possible reasons for not using them. It then describes the types of resources available and surveys the research on the benefits of using these resources. The essay concludes with an analysis of how the student’s experience changed after taking advantage of the available support.”

Analyzing coherence

Try these two strategies to analyze the flow of your draft at the global level.

Reverse outlining

A reverse outline allows you to see how you have organized your topics based on what you actually wrote, rather than what you planned to write. After making the reverse outline, you can analyze the order of your ideas. To learn more about reverse outlining, you can watch our demo of this strategy , or read our Reorganizing Drafts handout for a more in-depth explanation. Some questions to consider:

• How am I ordering ideas? Can I describe the pattern?
• Why are the ideas presented in this order? Would they make more sense if I reorder them?
• What effect does the order of ideas have on my readers?
• How would reordering the information affect my paper?

Color coding

You can use color coding to group similar ideas or ideas that are connected in various ways. After sorting your ideas into differently colored groups, figure out how these ideas relate to one another, both within color groups and between color groups. For example, how do blue ideas relate to one another? How does this blue idea connect to this yellow idea? We have a short color coding demo that illustrates using the strategy before you draft. The reverse outlining demo above illustrates this strategy applied to an existing draft.

Cohesion—local flow

Cohesion, or local flow, means that the ideas are connected clearly at the sentence level. With clear connections between sentences, readers can move smoothly from one sentence to the next without stopping, doubling back, or trying to make sense of the text. Fortunately, writers can enhance cohesion with the following sentence-level strategies.

Known-to-new sequencing

Readers can process familiar (“known”) information more quickly than unfamiliar (“new”) information. When familiar information appears at the beginning of sentences, readers can concentrate their attention on new information in later parts of the sentence. In other words, sequencing information from “known to new” can help enhance the flow.

The paragraphs below illustrate this sequencing. They both contain the same information, but notice where the known and new information is located in each version.

1. The compact fluorescent bulb has become the standard bulb for household lamps. Until recently, most people used incandescent bulbs in their lamps. Heating a tungsten filament until it glows, throwing off light, is how this type of bulb operates. Unfortunately, approximately 90% of the energy used to produce the light is wasted by heating the filament.

2. The compact fluorescent bulb has become the standard bulb for household lamps. Until recently, most lamps used incandescent bulbs. This type of bulb operates by heating a tungsten filament until it glows, throwing off light. Unfortunately, heating the filament wastes approximately 90% of the energy used to produce the light.

The second version flows better because it follows the known-to-new strategy. In the second paragraph, notice how “household lamps” appears in the “new” position (the end of the sentence), and in the next sentence, “most lamps” appears in the “known” position (or beginning of the sentence). Similarly, “incandescent bulbs” appears for the first time in the “new” position, and then “this type of bulb” appears in the “known” position of the next sentence, and so on.

In this example, the new information in one sentence appeared in the known position of the very next sentence, but that isn’t always the case. Once the new information has been introduced in the later part of a sentence, it becomes known and can occupy the beginning part of any subsequent sentence.

Transitional expressions

Transitions indicate the logical relationships between ideas—relationships like similarity, contrast, addition, cause and effect, or exemplification. For an in-depth look at how to use transitions effectively, take a look at our transitions handout . For an explanation of the subtle differences between transitional expressions, see our transitions (ESL) handout .

Clear pronoun reference

Flow can be interrupted when pronoun reference is unclear. Pronouns are words like he, she, it, they, which, and this. We use these words to substitute for nouns that have been mentioned earlier. We call these nouns “antecedents.” For example,

Clear reference: Active listening strategies help you learn. They focus your attention on important lecture content.

It’s clear that “strategies” is the antecedent for “they” because it’s the only noun that comes before the pronoun. When there’s more than one possible antecedent, the choice may be less clear, and the cohesion won’t be as strong. Take a look at the example below.

Unclear reference: I went by the bookstore earlier and bought some textbooks and notebooks for my classes, but I’m going to have to return them because I bought the wrong ones.

Here, “them” could refer to two antecedents: the textbooks or the notebooks. It’s unclear which of these purchases needs to be returned, so your reader may have to pause to try to figure it out, thus interrupting the flow of the reading experience. Generally, this problem can be fixed by either adding another noun, or rephrasing the sentence. Let’s try both strategies by adding a noun and breaking the sentence in two.

Clear reference: I went by the bookstore earlier and bought some textbooks and notebooks for my classes. I’m going to have to return the textbooks because I bought the wrong ones.

Now, it is clear what needs to be returned.

A common cause of confusion in a text is the use of “which.” Look at this example:

Unclear reference: I’ve begun spending more time in the library and have been getting more sleep , which has resulted in an improvement in my test scores.

Does “which” here refer to spending more time in the library, getting more sleep, or both? Again, let’s solve this by splitting it into two sentences and changing our wording:

Clear reference: I’ve begun spending more of my free time in the library and have been getting more sleep. These habits have resulted in an improvement in my test scores.

Here’s another example of “which” being used in a sentence. In this sentence, “which” only has one antecedent, the roommate’s habit of staying up late, so it is clear why the writer is having difficulties sleeping.

Clear reference: My new roommate tends to stay up late, which has made it hard for me to get enough sleep.

This/these + summary noun

Another way to clarify the reference of pronouns like “this” or “these” is to add a summary noun. Look at this example:

The school board put forth a motion to remove the school vending machines and a motion to move detention to the weekend instead of after school. This created backlash from students and parents.

In the sentence above, “this” is vague, and could be referring to a number of things. It could refer to:

• The removal of vending machines
• The moving of detention
• Both motions

We can make this sentence more clear by adding something called a “summary noun,” like so:

The school board put forth a motion to remove the school vending machines, and a motion to move detention to the weekend instead of after school. These motions created backlash from students and parents.

By adding “motions,” the sentence can now only refer to both motions, rather than either individually.

Parallel structure

Parallel structure means using the same grammatical structure for things that come in sets. The similarity creates a rhythm that helps the writing flow.

Not parallel: walking, talked, and chewing gum

Parallel: walking, talking, and chewing gum

Not parallel: teenagers…people in their thirties…octogenarians

Parallel: people in their teens…people in their thirties…people in their eighties

Not parallel: To perform at your peak, you will need to get enough sleep each night, read the material and prepare questions before class every day, and be eating nutritious, well-balanced meals.

Parallel: To perform at your peak, you will need to get enough sleep each night, read the material and prepare questions before class every day, and eat nutritious, well-balanced meals.

Getting to the verb

Academic writers often disguise actions as things, making those things the subject of the sentence.

This change is called “nominalization” (“changing a verb to a noun”). It can be a useful strategy, but it can lead to excessively long subjects, pushing the verb far away from the beginning of the sentence. When there are too many words before the verb, the connection between the verb and the subject may not be clear. Readers may have to look backward in the sentence to find the subject, interrupting the flow of their reading.

Look at this example:

Student government’s recent decision to increase the rental fee on spaces that student groups reserve in the Union for regular meetings or special events, especially during high demand periods of the semester like homecoming week or the Week of Welcome but not during low-demand periods like midterm or finals week, elicited a response from several groups that were concerned about the potential impact of the change on their budgets.

“Student government’s decision…elicited a response.” There are 50 words before the verb “elicited” in this sentence! Compare this revision:

Student government recently decided to increase the rental fee on spaces that student groups reserve in the Union for regular meetings or special events, especially during high demand periods of the semester like homecoming week or the Week of Welcome but not during low-demand periods like midterm or finals week. This decision elicited a response from several groups that were concerned about the potential impact of the change on their budgets.

By changing the thing “decision” into the action “decided,” we’ve created a sentence with just two words before the verb, so it’s very clear who did what. We’ve also split the longer sentence into two, keeping the verb “elicited” and adding “this decision.”

Look for nouns that have underlying actions and try turning them into verbs near the beginning of your sentence: decision–>decide; emergence–>emerge; notification–>notify; description–>describe; etc.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Ruszkiewicz, John J., Christy Friend, Daniel Seward, and Maxine Hairston. 2010. The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers , 9th ed. Boston: Pearson Education.

Towson University. n.d. “Pronoun Reference.” Online Writing Support. https://webapps.towson.edu/ows/proref.htm .

Williams, Joseph, and Joseph Bizup. 2017. Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace , 12th ed. Boston: Pearson.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Make a Gift

• Subject Guides

Academic writing: a practical guide

• Structure & cohesion
• Academic writing
• The writing process
• Academic writing style
• Criticality in academic writing
• Working with evidence
• Referencing
• Assessment & feedback
• Dissertations
• Reflective writing
• Examination writing
• Academic posters
• Feedback on Structure and Organisation
• Feedback on Argument, Analysis, and Critical Thinking
• Feedback on Writing Style and Clarity
• Feedback on Referencing and Research
• Feedback on Presentation and Proofreading

Structure & cohesion

General advice for structuring all types of academic writing.

For advice on structuring specific types of writing, visit the relevant page under 'Types of academic writing'.

Structure in academic writing

Academic writing has a clear, logical structure to communicate your points and show the connections between them; a well-structured assignment is easy for the reader to follow and understand.

These general principles apply to structuring most types of academic writing:

• Use a linear structure where points build on each other - don't jump backward and forwards.
• Start with more general and then move to the more specific ideas and points.
• Put more relevant/important information first.
• Everything is relevant to the main argument or point of the paragraph.
• Use cohesion to join ideas and points clearly - don't make the reader do the work.
• Follow any structural requirements for your assignment or type of writing.

It has a beginning, a middle and an end: a guide to structuring academic writing [Google Slides]

Planning structure

The best way to write a well-structured assignment is to have a good plan before you start writing. What's your argument? What are the main points you want to include? What's a logical way to order these points? Don't just launch into writing with no idea of where you're going!

To make a general plan:

• Make a list of the information and points to include.
• Organise similar points into groups.
• Put the groups in a logical order.
• Within each group, organise the points logically.
• Check the plan to make sure it meets task requirements.

Here's a step-by-step demonstration of planning assignment structure:

Planning: general structure [YouTube]  | Planning: general structure [Google Doc]

Paragraph structure

A well-structured paragraph contains one main point or idea - all the information included is relevant to this point. If it's not related to the main point, it probably shouldn't be there!

There are many ways to structure a paragraph, but they generally all include:

• a topic sentence showing the main point
• development of the point: more detail, examples etc.
• evidence to support the point
• critical analysis showing how evidence relates to the main point
• a final wrap-up linking to the overall argument or next paragraph

However, this is only a guide - there are many ways to structure a paragraph. Reading sources from your field will help you to get a feel of ways to organise paragraphs.

Paragraph structure [Google Slides]

If the structure is the order of your points, cohesion is what ties them together and guides the reader through your argument. 

Create cohesion using words and phrases that show the relationships between points. For example:

• basic connectives: and, or, but, so
• giving more detail: for example, to illustrate, an example of this is
• showing contrast: however, although, while, conversely, alternatively
• showing similarity: another, also, similarly, collectively, taken together
• cause/effect: leading to, the effect of this is, therefore, this may stem from
• referencing words: this/that, who, which/that, the groups, these findings
• showing implications: this suggests that, these findings may mean that, based on this

Cohesive words and phrases are shown in bold in this example paragraph about how language background affects maths skills development :

The time taken to pronounce number words is another linguistic factor that  could affect children’s arithmetical development. If number words take longer to pronounce, fewer items can be held in working memory, which could affect the strategies used to solve arithmetic problems (Geary et al., 1993; Geary et al., 1996). In East Asian languages, number words are generally short, one-syllable words, while in English and other languages they can be much longer. The effect of this on working memory is seen in Chinese children’s longer digit span memory compared to their American peers (Geary et al., 1993). It also  seems to influence the choice of strategies used by the two groups to solve arithmetic problems, with Chinese children using faster processes than American children (Geary et al., 1996). This limitation of working memory may mean speakers of less transparent languages rely more on slow procedural strategies than speakers of a transparent language, extending even to adulthood (Campbell & Xue, 2001).

More detailed advice and examples:

• << Previous: Academic writing style
• Next: Criticality in academic writing >>
• Last Updated: Jun 4, 2024 10:44 AM
• URL: https://subjectguides.york.ac.uk/academic-writing

Cohesion and Coherence

Introduction

Every writer wishes to make their points clearly to their readers, with pieces of writing that are are easy to read and have logical links between the various points made. This coherence , this clarity of expression , is created by grammar and vocabulary (lexis) through cohesion . This is the “glue” that joins your ideas together to form a cohesive whole.

In this Learning Object we are going to focus on how this is done, in order to assist you when you come to write your next assignments and in your reading. In reading, if you understand how the author makes connections within the text, you gain a better understanding of his or her message. As regards your writing, after analysing the texts in this Learning Object, you should analyse your own writing in the same way. This will help you to realise which techniques you could use more to benefit your reader.

Before starting the activities, you can obtain an overview of how best to use this Learning Object, using a Screencast (with audio), by following this link Overview

• To raise awareness of how cohesion contributes to coherence in text
• To raise awareness of how cohesion is created through: reference, conjunction, ellipsis, substitution and lexis , including cohesive nouns .
• To raise your awareness of cohesion at paragraph level and how punctuation plays a crucial role in this

Activity 1: Ways of creating cohesion in text

According to the writers Halliday and Hasan (1976), there are six main ways that cohesion is created in a text. These they called: Reference , Substitution , Ellipsis , Lexical Chains , Cohesive Nouns and Conjunction .

Open this Cohesion Presentation PDF document that shows you examples of each of them.

For the following six ways of creating cohesion, select each one to read detailed explanations and examples:

This way of creating cohesion uses:

• determiners (e.g. "this" , "that" , "these" and "those" );
• pronouns (e.g. "him" , "them" , "me" );
• possessive pronouns (e.g. "your" , "their" , "hers" );
• relative pronouns (e.g. "which" , "who" , "whose" ).
• This type of cohesion can also be achieved comparatively with expressions like: "similarly" , "likewise" , "less" .

In this way of creating cohesion you can use:

• synonyms (e.g. "beautiful" for "lovely" );
• hyponyms and superordinates (e.g. "daffodil" , "rose" and "daisy" , are all hyponyms of the superordinate "flower" ).
• Lexical chains are created in a text by using words in the same lexical set (e.g. "army" , "soldiers" , "barracks" , "weapons" ).

These techniques allow for the central themes to be reiterated in a way that avoids monotony for the reader.

These words are a kind of lexical reference.

• They can summarise many words in one (e.g. "attitude" , "solution" , "difficulty" ), and have been called 'umbrella' nouns for this reason (Bailey 2006:150).
• They are used to signal what is to come (e.g. "the problem to be discussed..." ), or can refer back (e.g. "The issue mentioned above..." ).

This method of creating cohesion uses one word/phrase to replace a word/phrase used earlier. For example,

• "the one(s)" and "the same" can be used to replace nouns (e.g. "I'll have the same." ).
• Verbs can be replaced by "do" (e.g. "The authorities said they had acted , but nobody believed they had done .").
• In speaking, whole clauses can be replaced by, "so" or "not" (e.g. "I hope so/not." ).

In this way of creating cohesion, words are omitted because they are understood from the context. e.g.

• " John can type and I can [type] too! ";
• " I don't want to go out, do you? [want to go out] ."

This type of cohesion includes:

• listing words (e.g. "firstly" , "next" , "lastly" );
• linkers for addition (e.g. " moreover" , "and" , "also" );
• concession (e.g. "but" , "however" , "despite" ); and
• cause and effect (e.g. "so" , "because" , "as a result" ).

Then try this Cohesion quiz to test your memory of the terms.

Activity 2: Highlighting cohesion in a text

For this activity you are going to read the short narrative text below, which is a piece of creative writing about a student, and then complete an exercise in highlighting the cohesive words, using colour codes. First, read the text quickly and try to think of a title for it.

The student sighed as she handed in the assignment, at last it was finished. This was the most difficult piece of writing which she had been set, but she had completed it. The ‘magnum opus’ was 10,000 words long. This project, though not quite a dissertation, was still the longest piece of academic writing she had ever written. She had thought she would never complete it and it had taken all her strength to do so.

Her achievement made her elated, but had left her exhausted. When she had read the title of the task, she knew it was not going to be just another essay, not an easy one at all. Finally, the completed work lay on the counter of the reception [and was] beautifully bound. She would sleep easy at night, [and she would be] no longer troubled by thoughts of its accusing blank pages – the nightmare was over!

Instruction

Now try this colour coding exercise to highlight the 6 different ways of creating cohesion.

--> Show feedback Hide feedback

The original title of the piece of writing was “The Assignment” .

Now try this interactive exercise to colour-code the words and phrases that create cohesion in the 6 different ways using the six colours.

You can download this Feedback 1 PDF for a summary of the answers to the task.

Activity 3: Cohesion in a discursive text

In this exercise you are going to see how the 6 ways of creating cohesion are used in a short text arguing in favour of working in groups as a way to learn better in class. Before you read the text, you might like to predict what the arguments might be in favour of and against classes being organised to work together in this way.

To do a series of exercises to raise awareness of different forms of cohesion used in academic writing, try these interactive cloze exercises .

Activity 4: Colour coding the cohesion in the discursive text

Now, we are going to use the same text to see how your awareness of cohesion is improving.

Read this longer discursive text about working in groups. As you read, notice the different forms of cohesion that are used in the text. After you’ve read it, move on to the colour-coding exercise that follows.

“Working in groups is a bad idea because it encourages weak students to let the others do the work.” Discuss

The idea that working in groups is a bad thing is fundamentally mistaken because, overall, the advantages of this way of configuring the class outweigh the potential disadvantages [of this way of configuring the class]. In groups there is the opportunity for peer teaching, which can often be invaluable. In addition, lessons organised in this way become less teacher-centred. Moreover, in life today, team-working is a feature of every workplace and one of the roles of university education is to provide a preparation for students’ future careers.

Firstly, peer teaching can contribute to effective learning in most classroom situations. Many students (especially in large classes) can benefit from this approach. Weaker students are often less afraid of making mistakes and taking risks in front of their peers, than in close contact with their teacher or in front of the whole class. Also, with regard to the stronger students, a perfect way to consolidate their learning is to transmit that knowledge to others. Furthermore, most pedagogic approaches today concur that a lesson that is focused on the teacher at all times, is one from which the students are unlikely to benefit. Certainly, some classroom activities, like project work for example, are best conducted in small groups. The teacher as the source of all wisdom standing at the front of the class, the ‘jug and mug’ model of education, is not only antiquated, but also ineffective.

A further benefit of group-teaching is the preparation it provides for working in teams. In a great variety of careers today, the employees are asked to, and are judged on their ability to work in teams. Group working in class represents basically the same concept. The same skills are being tested and developed – interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence, to mention just two. In business today, the ability to lead effectively and to support one’s peers is prized almost above all other skills.

In conclusion then, while it may sometimes be true that the weak students may ‘take it easy’ sometimes in groups, allowing others to work hard to compensate for their laziness, if the lesson materials are interesting and the teacher motivating, this is a rare occurrence. As outlined above, there are so many ‘pros’ to this method of classroom configuration that these easily outweigh this somewhat questionable ‘con’.

Now try these Cohesion colour-coding exercies , using the 6 different colours.

Show feedback Hide feedback

You can download this Feedback 2 PDF document for a summary of the answers to the task.

Activity 5: Cohesive nouns, reference and substitution

For more exercises to practise cohesive nouns, reference and substitution try this Reference and Substitution cloze exercise .

Activity 6: Cohesion and coherence at paragraph level

Cohesion has a strong connection to coherence (logic and meaning). In fact, cohesion is the grammatical and lexical realisation of coherence at a profound level within the text. It is what makes a text more than just a jumbled mixture of sentences.

In this exercise, you will use your understanding of cohesion and punctuation, and your understanding of the underlying meaning of paragraphs, to put them into the most logical order. Now try these Paragraph Cohesion Activities .

Would you like to review the main points?

Show review Hide review

To review the way we create cohesion in texts follow this link The 6 Ways of Creating Cohesion

For websites with more information and exercises to raise your awareness of cohesion and the way we organise information following a ‘given-to-new’ pattern, we recommend the following websites:

• The Grammar of English Ideas
• Academic Writing in English

References:

Batstone, R. (1994). Grammar. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Cook, G. (1996). Discourse. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Halliday, M. A. K. and R. Hasan (1976). Cohesion in English. London: Longman UK Group Limited.

Lubelska, D. (1991). “An approach to teaching cohesion to improve in reading” in Reading in a Foreign Language, 7 (2)

© William Tweddle, Queen Mary, University of London, 2010, visual created by the author using a Smartboard and Jing

Cohesion in Writing | Definition, Elements & Examples

Bethany is a certified Special Education and Elementary teacher with 11 years experience teaching Special Education from grades PK through 5. She has a Bachelor's degree in Special Education, Elementary Education, and English from Gordon College and a Master's degree in Special Education from Salem State University.

Margaret has taught both college and high school English and has a master's degree in English from Mississippi State University. She holds a Mississippi AA Educator License.

Table of Contents

What is cohesion in writing, elements of cohesion in writing, examples of cohesion in writing, lesson summary, what is an example of cohesion in writing.

Examples of cohesion in writing include:

• Use of transition words to clarify the connection between ideas: "Megan will take her driver's test next week; therefore, she plans to spend several hours driving, parallel parking, and studying traffic regulations."
• Use of parallel grammatical structures: "For her birthday party, Agatha must choose between riding bikes, climbing rocks, or baking cupcakes."

What does cohesion mean?

Cohesion means "sticking together." Cohesion in writing refers to elements of writing that cause words, phrases, and sentences to come together and present a clear, unified text.

Cohesion is a term that refers to sticking together closely. The term has applications in physics, such as the cohesion of molecular particles to form a single body, as well as in general descriptive language, where it might imply good teamwork among a group of individuals. In writing, cohesion occurs when the elements of a text work together to present a unified whole.

How Does Cohesion Function in Writing?

In terms of writing, cohesion refers to words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs that stick together or work well together, allowing the writer to convey a well-developed idea. Writers can focus on cohesion throughout an entire essay, from paragraph to paragraph and at a sentence level.

Why is Cohesion Important?

Cohesion gives the reader insight into what the writer is thinking. Cohesive writing helps to avoid reader confusion and instead leaves a memorable impression. Cohesion also affects the flow of the essay, meaning that readers can move from one item to the next with clarity.

To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. Create your account

An error occurred trying to load this video.

Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support.

You must c C reate an account to continue watching

Register to view this lesson.

As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 88,000 lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you succeed.

Get unlimited access to over 88,000 lessons.

Already registered? Log in here for access

Resources created by teachers for teachers.

I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. It’s like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. I feel like it’s a lifeline.

You're on a roll. Keep up the good work!

Just checking in. are you still watching.

• 0:04 What Is Cohesion?
• 0:19 Transitional Words & Phrases
• 1:00 Consistency
• 1:27 Repetitive Elements
• 2:35 Linking Elements
• 3:09 Lesson Summary

To improve their cohesion in writing, writers can consider several elements. Tools such as transitions, framing devices, parallelism, repetition, linking words, and point of view can all be employed to increase cohesion. When revising a piece of writing, such as an essay or research paper, writers should evaluate the relevance of each sentence and paragraph. Superfluous or distracting text can be replaced with one of the following devices that improve cohesion.

Transitions

A transition is a move from one place or state to another. In writing, transitional words and phrases are used to move from one idea to another. Transition words can help to clarify the relationship between two sentences, paragraphs, or even phrases. Some types of transition words include:

• Temporal: first, later, next
• Causality: as a result, therefore, consequently
• Illustration: for example, for instance
• Reiteration: in other words, again

Transition words allow a reader to understand how the ideas in a text go together.

Linking Words

An important aspect of cohesion is connection. Linking words are used to connect words, phrases, and clauses. Three types of conjunctions are used to make linguistic connections.

• Coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet) are linking words used to connect words or phrases of parallel structure. Jess likes cats and dogs. Do you want to sing a chorus or play guitar?
• Subordinating conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses that may not have parallel structures. Some examples include before, however, nonetheless, while, since, and because. Seth can't play tonight because his guitar string broke.
• Correlative conjunctions are used in pairs (both/and, not only/but also, either/or, neither/nor) to establish the connection between two ideas. Both the cat and the dog are sleeping on the sofa.

Appropriate use of linking words adds cohesion and readability to a text, as well as clarifies the author's meaning.

Framing Devices

Just as a frame surrounds the outside of a picture or window, framing devices are images or ideas that surround a text. Framing devices are most obvious in fiction, such as Alice in Wonderland beginning and ends with Alice asleep under the tree. However, a thoughtful writer can choose a relevant image or idea to appear in the opening paragraph of an essay to stimulate the reader's interest, then bring the image back in the concluding paragraph to remind the reader how the entire essay was intended to prove one specific point. For example, an essay on industrial waste might begin and end with an image of marine devastation, such as a turtle caught in plastic. The framing device ensures that readers begin and end their reading with the same potent thought.

Point of View

It is important for a writer to maintain a consistent point of view throughout an entire text. If a piece is written in the first person (using I and me) it should not shift into the third person (using he, she, it, they). In addition, a text should adopt a single tone, such as conversational or authoritative, and remain consistent. To establish a point of view, it may help the writer to consider their relationship to both the topic of the text and their audience.

Parallelism

Parallelism is the use of the same grammatical structure in close proximity. Parallelism is important on multiple levels:

• Words: My grandmother enjoys fishing, swimming, and camping. The three things that grandmother enjoys are listed in the same verb form (fishing, swimming, camping). Parallelism at the word level makes text smoother and easier to follow.
• Phrases: Keith looked for his keys on the table, under the desk, and behind the shelf. The three places where Keith looked are written in the form of prepositional phrases , creating a parallel structure . This format avoids grammatical awkwardness.
• Sentences: For Aunt Sue, the best part of the vacation is swimming. For Mom, the highlight is biking. For Allison, the best thing is walking on the beach. Each of these sentences follows the same format. While good writing should use a variety of sentence structures, using parallel sentence structures serves to highlight or emphasize a specific idea or contrast. This example highlights the differences between what each person likes best on vacation.

Parallelism increases cohesion in writing by highlighting words, phrases, and sentences that are connected and encouraging the reader to compare the parallel elements.

Repetition of Words or Phrases

The repetition of keywords and phrases is an important part of cohesion. If a text is intended to teach the reader new terms or concepts, it is necessary to repeat those words and phrases. In addition, repetition ties the sections of a text together. Repetition of important words can replace the excessive use of pronouns, especially when the pronoun's antecedent is unclear. Synonyms provide an additional tool to maintain the impact of repeated ideas while avoiding redundancy.

For example: The role of the monarch in formulating policy must not be underestimated. The king's task may seem minimal in comparison to the responsibility of the senate, but the role of the monarch is indispensable. In this statement, the phrase role of the monarch is repeated twice, for emphasis, and the synonymous phrase king's task is added to further direct the reader's attention to the author's point.

The following table presents examples of cohesion in writing along with an explanation of the cohesive elements.

Cohesion examples can be found in every genre of writing. Good writers revise their writing to ensure proper and adequate use of cohesive elements.

Cohesion in writing occurs when the words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs work together to create a unified impression. Cohesion causes text to stick together, eliminating confusion and emphasizing connection. Elements of cohesion in writing include:

• Transition : the movement from one idea to another with words such as first, later, and for example
• Framing devices : a repeated idea or image used at the beginning and end of a text
• Parallelism : use of the same grammatical structure to link ideas; used on the word, phrase, and sentence level
• Repetition : repetition of keywords and phrases, including the use of synonyms
• Linking words : coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or), subordinating conjunctions (whether, although, since), and correlative conjunctions (both/and, either/or) that connect words, phrases, or clauses
• Point of view : consistent use of the first or third person and consistent choice of an authoritative or conversational tone

Cohesive writing makes a text memorable and reduces reader confusion.

Video Transcript

What is cohesion.

Cohesion in writing can be thought of as the way the words, sentences, paragraphs, and ideas stick together; it's essentially stickiness. There are several different ways to achieve cohesive writing, which we'll take a few minutes to explore now!

Transitional Words & Phrases

Transitions are words and phrases that serve as signals or cues to the reader, and they can help the reader move from one paragraph or idea to another. For example, to show the passage of time, writers might use transitional words such as ''first,'' ''later,'' or ''after.'' To introduce examples, writers might use transitional phrases such as ''for instance'' or ''for example.''

Transitions have many functions and can be used to show contrast, similarities, summary, and even cause and effect. Transitions are markers that are useful for showing the relationship between ideas, and they provide cohesion and flow in written works.

Consistency

Another way writers provide cohesion in their writing is by using a consistent point of view. Typically, the writer's point of view is established in the first sentence, and that point of view is maintained throughout an entire work. For example, if writers use the first person point of view, which includes ''I,'' ''me,'' or some other first person pronoun, they'll stay with the first person point of view to make the writing consistent and thus, cohesive.

Repetitive Elements

Repetitive elements such as framing devices can also provide cohesion in writing. Framing devices are repeated images or ideas that appear at the beginning and end of a work of writing. For example, a memoir might begin with a single image such as a broken window. A writer using a framing device might return to the broken window image at the conclusion of the work.

Another way writers use repetition to aid cohesion is by using parallelism. Parallelism occurs when writers select the same grammatical form to express related ideas. For example, the ''-ing'' participle ending in the following sentence is an example of parallelism:

• My grandmother enjoys fishing, swimming, and camping.

In addition, writers often repeat key words or phrases. This type of repetition also ensures cohesive writing. Writers might, for example, mention the key points of an essay in the thesis statement. Organizing the essay around those key points and repeating the key words or phrases in the topic sentences of the body paragraphs can create cohesion.

Linking Elements

Even simple words such as ''and,'' ''but,'' and ''or'' can show the relationship between ideas. These words are called coordinating conjunctions , and they're often a crucial element in linking ideas.

Correlative conjunctions , including the words ''however,'' ''therefore,'' and ''nonetheless,'' can also be used to show the relationship between clauses. These devices help create cohesive writing, and like the coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions have the added benefit of giving the writing a smooth, flowing quality.

Okay, let's take a moment to review what we've learned. As we saw in this lesson, writers use a variety of techniques to provide cohesion , or stickiness, which is specifically the way the words, sentences, paragraphs, and ideas stick together, in their writing. Repetitive and linking elements, transitions (or words and phrases that serve as cues to the reader and help them move from sentence to sentence or paragraph to paragraph), and a consistent point of view are just a few of the tools available to writers who want to include elements of cohesion in their writing.

Other examples include framing devices , or repeated images or ideas that appear at the beginning and end of a work of writing, parallelism , or when writers select the same grammatical form to express related ideas, and conjunctions , which are either coordinating (as in ''and'' or ''but'') or correlative (as in ''however'' or ''therefore''), and show a relationship between different ideas.

Unlock Your Education

See for yourself why 30 million people use study.com, become a study.com member and start learning now..

Already a member? Log In

Recommended Lessons and Courses for You

Related lessons, related courses, recommended lessons for you.

Cohesion in Writing | Definition, Elements & Examples Related Study Materials

• Related Topics

Browse by Courses

• Civics Study Guide
• Instructional Strategies for Teachers: Help & Review
• Intro to Criminal Justice: Help and Review
• Public Speaking 101: Help and Review
• Introduction to Political Science: Help and Review
• Intro to Anthropology: Help and Review
• DSST General Anthropology Prep
• DSST Principles of Public Speaking Prep
• Introduction to Public Speaking: Certificate Program
• DSST Criminal Justice Prep
• Introduction to Criminal Justice: Certificate Program
• Praxis Marketing Education (5561) Prep
• Praxis Family and Consumer Sciences (5122) Prep
• Praxis Biology and General Science: Practice and Study Guide
• Praxis Biology: Content Knowledge (5235) Prep

Browse by Lessons

• What is a Cohesive Sentence?
• CPTED: Principles, Training & Strategies
• Confirmation Bias | Definition, Psychology & Examples
• The Charter of Rights and Freedom in Canadian Constitution
• Peacemaking Definition, Theories & Examples
• Battered Child Syndrome: Symptoms & Court Cases
• Cumulative Risk in Law: Definition & Overview
• Department of Justice: Definition, Agencies & Responsibilities
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): History & Crime Statistics
• J. Edgar Hoover | Biography, Career & Death
• Drug Interdiction | Definition & Tips
• Alice Stebbins Wells | Biography & Impact
• The War on Drugs | History, Timeline & Statistics
• The Kansas City Preventative Patrol Experiment
• Directed Patrol in Criminology: Definition & Overview

Create an account to start this course today Used by over 30 million students worldwide Create an account

Explore our library of over 88,000 lessons

• Foreign Language
• Social Science
• See All College Courses
• Common Core
• High School
• See All High School Courses
• College & Career Guidance Courses
• College Placement Exams
• Entrance Exams
• General Test Prep
• K-8 Courses
• Skills Courses
• Teacher Certification Exams
• See All Other Courses
• Create a Goal
• Create custom courses
• Get your questions answered

It appears you have javascript disabled. Please enable javascript to get the full experience of gustavus.edu

Cohesion concerns the flow of sentences and paragraphs from one to another. It involves the tying together of old information and new. When we write academic essays, particularly in the humanities, we work hard to foster cohesion structurally, which enhances a reader's understanding of our ideas.

Essay organization

The first paragraph should include a thesis statement, which announces the main idea or argument of the paper.The rest of the sentences should lead up to or anticipate the thesis, either directly or indirectly.

The body paragraphs should support the thesis statement and should be arranged in a clear hierarchy.

Readers should be able to understand how each paragraph relates to what has come before it. This can be accomplished by the use of transition sentences.

Repetition helps to enhance a reader's understanding of what the author has written. Pointers are used as a tool in sentences to use repetition for better understanding.

Pointers are words, phrases, or ideas that appear in a sentence, and are repeated in the next.

Example : Epilepsy is a brain or neurological disorder where excess electrical energy causes seizures. Seizures result when the brain's nerve cells, or neurons, produce an excessive or abnormal amount of electrical activity. Depending on this activity …

Example : Depending on this activity, three results may occur. First, the seizure may start and stop in one location. Next, it may spread a bit and stop. Finally, it may go through the body's nervous system before stopping.

To prevent repetitions from becoming dull, an author may use:

• Variations of the word (golf, golfer, golfing)
• Pronouns (doctors…they)
• Synonyms (jump, hop, bounce)

Transitions

Transitional words and phrases, also known as “tags,” are used to hold a paper together.They can be simple conjunctions, like and and but, or they can be more complex. Here is a chart of transitional devices accompanied by a simplified definition of their function:

• Academic Skills
• Reading, writing and referencing
• Writing effectively

Connecting ideas

How to connect ideas at the sentence and paragraph level in academic writing.

What is cohesion?

Cohesion refers to the way we use vocabulary and grammatical structures to make connections between the ideas within a text. It provides flow and sequence to your work and helps make your paragraphs clear for the reader.

Cohesive devices are words and expressions that show relationships between parts of text and ideas, such as cause and effect, time, addition, or comparison and contrast.

Watch the video to learn how to make your ideas link together and your narrative flow.

How can I create cohesion?

Let’s look at types of cohesive devices.

Linking words

Academic writing usually deals with complex ideas. To enable the reader to follow your thoughts, they need to be clearly and smoothly linked. To join ideas and sentences, we use a number of connecting words and phrases. For example:

Additionally, and, also, apart from this, as well (as), in addition, moreover, further, furthermore.

If, in that case, provided that, unless.

Correspondingly, equally, for the same reason, in a similar manner, in comparison, in the same way, on the one hand, similarly.

Alternatively, although, but, conversely, despite, even so, even though, however, in contrast, in spite of, instead, on the contrary, contrary to, nevertheless, nonetheless, notwithstanding, on the other hand, rather, still, though, yet, whereas, while.

Again, in fact, interestingly, indeed, it should be noted (that), more important(ly), most importantly, to repeat, (un)fortunately, unquestionably.

A further instance of this is..., an example of this is…, for example, for instance, such as, thus, as follows.

In other words, more simply, namely, simply put, to put it differently / another way, such as, that is.

A / the consequence of, because, due to, for, the effect of …, since, the result of …

Accordingly, as a result/consequence, consequently, for this reason, hence, so, therefore, thus.

Admittedly, although, clearly though, even though, however, indeed, obviously.

As a rule, for the most part, generally, in general, in most cases, normally, on the whole, usually.

First, second, third (etc), next, before, earlier, finally, following, given the above, later, meanwhile, subsequently, then, to conclude, while.

A note about presentation and style

Check a usage guide for exact rules for punctuation. Many introductory phrases have a comma after them. For example, 'therefore,' and 'in addition,'.

Referring backwards

To avoid repeating words and phrases many times, we use cohesive devices to make references to other parts of a text, such as:

• Pronouns: it, he, she, his, her, they, their
• Demonstratives: this, that, these, those
• Articles: a, the
• Adverbs: previously, subsequently

The Australian prime minister has called an early election. The date was selected to coincide with the start of the Olympic Games. This decision was based on the views of his ministerial advisors, who predicted that voter confidence in the government’s policies would be strong at this time . As previously mentioned , decisions on the timing of elections are based on predictions of voter confidence in the existing government.

In the example above:

• The date - refers back to the election date
• This decision - refers to the prime minister calling an early election
• His - refers to the Australian prime minister
• this time - refers to the start of the Olympic Games
• As previously mentioned - refers to all of the earlier information about the selection of election dates

Looking forward

We often use words and phrases to highlight new information for the reader. This helps make a smooth transition from one point to another. Such phrases include: the following, as follows, below, next, subsequently .

The following dates have been proposed for the forthcoming election: September 8, September 15 and 3 October.

The next issue to be discussed is the influence of the media on voter confidence in the government.

Connecting paragraphs

Apart from using the linking words / phrases above, showing the link between paragraphs could involve writing ‘hand-holding’ sentences. These are sentences that link back to the ideas of the previous paragraph. For instance, when outlining the positive and negative issues about a topic you could use the following:

Example (from beginning of previous paragraph):

• One of the main advantages of X is…

When you are ready to move your discussion to the negative issues, you could write one of the following as a paragraph opener:

• Having considered the positive effects of X, negative issues may now need to be taken into account…
• Despite the positive effects outlined above, negative issues also need to be considered...

It is always important to make paragraphs part of a coherent whole text; they must not remain isolated units.

Checking for paragraph links in your own work

When you are editing your next written assignment, ask yourself the following questions as you read through your work (Gillett, Hammond, & Martala, 2009):

• Does the start of my paragraph give my reader enough information about what the paragraph will be about?
• Does my paragraph add to or elaborate on a point made previously and, if so, have I made this explicit with an appropriate linking word / phrase?
• Does my paragraph introduce a completely new point or a different viewpoint to before and, if so, have I explicitly shown this with a suitable connective?
• Have I used similar connectives repeatedly? If yes, try to vary them using the above list.

Strategies to improve cohesion

• Select a piece of writing, preferably from a textbook or journal article, from your area of study.
• Choose a paragraph and underline or highlight all the different forms of cohesion used, such as using linking words, referring backwards, looking forwards or adding synonyms.
• Which forms are the most common?
• Choose a couple that you think are effective and practice using them in your own writing.
• Try to use a variety of ways to show the relationship between your ideas.

Looking for one-on-one advice?

Get tailored advice from an Academic Skills Adviser by booking an Individual appointment, or get quick feedback from one of our Academic Writing Mentors via email through our Writing advice service.

Go to Student appointments

Achieving coherence

“A piece of writing is coherent when it elicits the response: ‘I follow you. I see what you mean.’ It is incoherent when it elicits the response: ‘I see what you're saying here, but what has it got to do with the topic at hand or with what you just told me above?’ ” - Johns, A.M

Transitions

Parallelism, challenge task, what is coherence.

Coherence in a piece of writing means that the reader can easily understand it. Coherence is about making everything flow smoothly. The reader can see that everything is logically arranged and connected, and relevance to the central focus of the essay is maintained throughout.

 

Pronouns are useful cohesive devices because they make it unnecessary to repeat words too often. Consider the following:

Repetitious referencing: 

When Gillette first invented disposable razor blades, he found it very hard to sell  the disposable razor blades .  He found it very hard to sell the disposable razor blades  because nobody had marketed a throw-away product before.

When Gillette first invented disposable razor blades, he found it very hard to sell  them .  This  was because nobody had marketed a throw-away product before.

Pronouns as cohesive devices 

This following presentation shows how pronouns can be used effectively to achieve coherence within a text and some common problems of use.  

Repetition in a piece of writing does not always demonstrate cohesion.   Study these sentences:

So, how does repetition as a cohesive device work?

When a pronoun is used, sometimes what the pronoun refers to (ie, the referent) is not always clear. Clarity is achieved by  repeating a key noun or synonym . Repetition is a cohesive device used deliberately to improve coherence in a text.

In the following text, decide ifthe referent for the pronoun  it   is clear. Otherwise, replace it  with the key noun English  where clarity is needed.

English has almost become an international language. Except for Chinese, more people speak it ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select3" ).html( document.getElementById( "select3" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' ));  than any other language. Spanish is the official language of more countries in the world, but more countries have English ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select4" ).html( document.getElementById( "select4" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' ));  as their official or unofficial second language. More than 70% of the world's mail is written in English ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select5" ).html( document.getElementById( "select5" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' ));  It ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select6" ).html( document.getElementById( "select6" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' ));  is the primary language on the Internet. (p.23). Text source: Oshima, A. and Hogue. A. (2006).  (4th ed.). NY: Pearson Education

Click here to view the revised text.

Suggested improvement

English has almost become an international language. Except for Chinese, more people speak it (clear reference; retain)  than any other language. Spanish is the official language of more countries in the world, but more countries have English ( it is replaced with a key noun) as their official or unofficial second language. More than 70% of the world's mail is written in English ( it is replaced with a key noun).  It (clear reference; retain) is the primary language on the Internet.

Sometimes, repetition of a key noun is preferred even when the reference is clear. In the following text, it is clear that it  refers to the key noun gold , but when used throughout the text, the style becomes monotonous.

Gold, a precious metal, is prized for two important characteristics. First of all,  has a lustrous beauty that is resistant to corrosion. Therefore,   is suitable for jewellery, coins and ornamental purposes.   never needs to be polished and will remain beautiful forever. For example, a Macedonian coin remains as untarnished today as the day it was minted 23 centuries ago. Another characteristic of   is its usefulness to industry and science. For many years,   has been used in hundreds of industrial applications, such as photography and dentistry. Its most recent use is in astronauts’ suits. Astronauts wear heat shields made from  for protection when they go outside spaceships in space. In conclusion,  is treasured not only for its beauty but also its utility. (p.22). Text source: Oshima, A. and Hogue, A. (2006).  (4th ed.). NY: Pearson Education

Improved text: Note where the key noun gold is repeated. The deliberate repetition creates interest and adds maturity to the writing style.

Gold , a precious metal, is prized for two important characteristics. First of all, gold has a lustrous beauty that is resistant to corrosion. Therefore, it is suitable for jewellery, coins and ornamental purposes. Gold never needs to be polished and will remain beautiful forever. For example, a Macedonian coin remains as untarnished today as the day it was made 23 centuries ago. Another important characteristic of gold is its usefulness to industry and science. For many years, it has been used in hundreds of industrial applications. The most recent use of gold is in astronauts’ suits. Astronauts wear gold -plated shields when they go outside spaceships in space. In conclusion, gold is treasured not only for its beauty but also its utility.

Pronoun + Repetition of key noun

Sometimes, greater cohesion can be achieved by using a pronoun followed by an appropriate key noun or synonym (a word with a similar meaning).

In the two main studies, no dramatic change was found in the rate of corrosion.  could be due to several reasons.   Generally speaking, crime rates in Europe have fallen over the past two years.   has been the result of new approaches to punishment. When a group of school children was interviewed, the majority said they preferred their teachers to be humorous yet kind. However,  were not as highly rated by teachers.

Transitions are like traffic signals. They guide the reader from one idea to the next. They signal a range of relationships between sentences, such as comparison, contrast, example and result. Click here for a more comprehensive list of Transitions (Logical Organisers) .

Test yourself: How well do you understand transitions?

Which of the three alternatives should follow the transition or logical organiser in capital letters to complete the second sentence?

Using transitions/logical organisers

Improve the coherence of the following paragraph by adding transitions in the blank spaces. Use the italicised hint in brackets to help you choose an apporpriate transition for each blank. If you need to, review the list of Transitions (Logical Organisers)   before you start.

First, CDs brought digital sound into people's homes. Then DVD technology brought digital sound and video and completely revolutionised the movie industry. Soon there will be 1. ( ) revolution: Blu-ray *BDs. A Blu-ray disc will have several advantages. 2. ( ), it has an enormous data storage capacity. A single-sided DVD can hold 4.7 gigabytes of information, about the size of an average 2-hour movie. A single-sided BD, 3. ( ) can hold up to 27 gigabytes, enough for 13 hours of standard video. A 4. ( ) advantage is that a BD can record, store, and play back high-definition video because of its larger capacity. A double-layer BD can store about 50 gigabytes, enough for 4.5 hours of high-definition video. The cost will be the same. 5. ( ), a BD has a higher data transfer rate - 36 megabits per second - than today's DVDs, which transfer at 10 megabits per second. 6. ( ), a BD can record 25 gigabytes of data in just over an hour and a half. 7. ( , because of their storage capacity and comparable cost, BDs will probably take over the market when they become widely available. (p.31). Text source: Oshima, A. and Hogue, A. (2008).  4th ed.). NY: Pearson Longman Ltd.

Using transitions

Choose the most appropriate transition from the options given to complete the article:

There are three separate sources of hazards related to the use of nuclear reactions to supply us with energy. Firstly ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select14" ).html( document.getElementById( "select14" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); , the radioactive material must travel from its place of manufacture to the power station. Although ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select15" ).html( document.getElementById( "select15" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); the power stations themselves are solidly built, the containers used for the transport of the material are not. Unfortunately, there are normally only two methods of transport available, namely ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select16" ).html( document.getElementById( "select16" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); road or rail, and both of these involve close contact with the general public, since ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select17" ).html( document.getElementById( "select17" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); the routes are bound to pass near or through heavily-populated areas.  Secondly ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select18" ).html( document.getElementById( "select18" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); , there is the problem of waste. All nuclear power stations produce wastes which in most cases will remain radioactive for thousands of years. It is impossible to de-activiate these wastes; consequently ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select19" ).html( document.getElementById( "select19" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); , they must be disposed of carefully. For example ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select20" ).html( document.getElementById( "select20" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); , they may be buried under the ground, dropped into disused mineshafts, or sunk in the sea. However ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select21" ).html( document.getElementById( "select21" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); , these methods do not solve the problem; they merely store it, since ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select22" ).html( document.getElementById( "select22" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); an earthquake could crack open the containers. Thirdly ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select23" ).html( document.getElementById( "select23" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); , there is the problem of accidental exposure due to a leak or an explosion at the power station. As with the other two hazards, this is extremely unlikely. Nevertheless ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select24" ).html( document.getElementById( "select24" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); it can happen. Separately, and during short periods, these three types of risk are no great cause for concern. Taken together, though ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select25" ).html( document.getElementById( "select25" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); , and especially over much longer periods, the probability of a disaster is extremely high. (p. 62). Text source: Coe, N., Rycroft, R., & Ernest, P. (1983).  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Overusing transitions

While the use of appropriate transitions can improve coherence (as the previous practice activity shows), it can also be counterproductive if transitions are overused. Use transitions carefully to enhance and clarify the logical connection between ideas in extended texts. Write a range of sentences and vary sentence openings. 

Study the following examples:

: If people stopped drinking, they might be able to prevent the onset of liver disease. , governments permit the production and sale of alcohol.  , they should help in preventing this disease.  , government resources are limited.  : If people stopped drinking, they might be able to prevent the onset of liver disease. Governments permit the production and sale of alcohol.  They should help in preventing this disease. Government resources are limited.  If people stopped drinking, they might be able to prevent the onset of liver disease. The government should help in preventing this disease  they permit the production and sale of alcohol. Government resources,  , are limited.

Identifying cohesive devices

1.  Repetition of key noun                   

2.  Repetition of key noun                    

3.  Pronoun + Repetition                      

4.  Repetition with synonym                 

5.  Pronoun                                       

6.  Pronoun

7.    Transition

8.    Transition

9.    Repetition of key noun  

10.   Pronoun

11.   Pronoun + Repetition

 

Write the name of the cohesive device - pronoun , repetition  or  transition  - in the space after each underlined word or phrase before the blank.

The Sinking of the Titanic

In 1912, the Titanic, the largest and best equipped transatlantic liner of   pronoun ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select26" ).html( document.getElementById( "select26" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); time, hit an iceberg on   pronoun ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select27" ).html( document.getElementById( "select27" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); first crossing from England to America and sank. Of the 2,235 parrengers and crew, only 718 survivived. Research has shown that a number of factors played an important part in the   repetition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select28" ).html( document.getElementById( "select28" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); .  transition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select29" ).html( document.getElementById( "select29" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); , the  repetition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select30" ).html( document.getElementById( "select30" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); carried only sixteen lifeboats, with room for about 1,100 people.   pronoun ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select31" ).html( document.getElementById( "select31" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); was clearly not enough for a ship of the  repetition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select32" ).html( document.getElementById( "select32" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); size.   transition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select33" ).html( document.getElementById( "select33" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); , the designer of the   repetition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select34" ).html( document.getElementById( "select34" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); originally planned to equip the   repetition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select35" ).html( document.getElementById( "select35" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); with forty-eight   repetition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select36" ).html( document.getElementById( "select36" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); ;   transition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select37" ).html( document.getElementById( "select37" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); , in order to reduce   pronoun ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select38" ).html( document.getElementById( "select38" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); costs for building the   repetition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select39" ).html( document.getElementById( "select39" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); , the owners of the   repetition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select40" ).html( document.getElementById( "select40" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); decided to give   pronoun ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select41" ).html( document.getElementById( "select41" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); only sixteen  repetition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select42" ).html( document.getElementById( "select42" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); . A   transition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select43" ).html( document.getElementById( "select43" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' ));    repetition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select44" ).html( document.getElementById( "select44" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); was that the   repetition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select45" ).html( document.getElementById( "select45" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); crew were not given enough time to become familiar with the   repetition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select46" ).html( document.getElementById( "select46" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); , especially with   pronoun ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select47" ).html( document.getElementById( "select47" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); emergency equipment.   transition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select48" ).html( document.getElementById( "select48" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); , many   repetition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select49" ).html( document.getElementById( "select49" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); left the   repetition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select50" ).html( document.getElementById( "select50" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); only half-full and many more people died than needed to. The   transition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select51" ).html( document.getElementById( "select51" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' ));    repetition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select52" ).html( document.getElementById( "select52" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); in the  repetition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select53" ).html( document.getElementById( "select53" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); was the behaviour of the   repetition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select54" ).html( document.getElementById( "select54" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); officers on the night of the   repetition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select55" ).html( document.getElementById( "select55" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); . In the twenty-four hours before the   repetition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select56" ).html( document.getElementById( "select56" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); ,  pronoun ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select57" ).html( document.getElementById( "select57" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); received a number of warnings about  repetition ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select58" ).html( document.getElementById( "select58" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); in the area, but  pronoun ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select59" ).html( document.getElementById( "select59" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); took no precautions.   pronoun ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); tmpAr.push( ' ' ); jQuery( "#select60" ).html( document.getElementById( "select60" ).innerHTML + tmpAr.join( '' )); did not change direction or even reduce speed. (p. 22). Source: Pakenham, K.J. (1998).   Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Using cohesive devices - pronouns and repetition

Read through the text below and consider how you might use pronouns and repetition (either with a key noun or synonym) to replace the bolded  expressions. Write your revised text in the submission box. 

Facebook did not invent social networking, but the company has fine-tuned into a science. When a newcomer logs in, the experience is designed to generate something Facebook calls the aha! moment.   is an observable emotional connection, gleaned by videotaping the expressions of test users navigating   for the first time. Facebook has developed a formula for the precise number of aha! moments users must have before   are hooked. Company officials will not say exactly what that magic number is, but everything about Facebook is geared to reach   as quickly as possible. So far, at least, Facebook has avoided the digital exoduses that beset   predecessors, MySpace and Friendster.  is partly because Facebook is so good at making  indispensable. Losing Facebook hurts. Source: Fletcher, D. (2010, May 31). Friends without borders.  , 21, 16-22.

Write the revised text here:

Click here to view a suggested answer.

Suggested answer :

The Aha! Moment

Facebook did not invent social networking, but the company has fine-tuned it ( pronoun-first person ) into a science. When a newcomer logs in, the experience is designed to generate something Facebook calls the aha! moment. This ( pronoun-determiner ) is an observable emotional connection, gleaned by videotaping the expressions of test users navigating the site ( repetition with synonym ) for the first time. Facebook has developed a formula for the precise number of aha! moments users must have before they ( pronoun-third person )  are hooked. Company officials will not say exactly what that magic number is, but everything about the site ( repetition with synonym ) is geared to reach it as quickly as possible.

So far, at least, Facebook has avoided the digital exoduses that beset its ( pronoun-possessive )  predecessors, MySpace and Friendster. This is partly because Facebook is so good at making itself ( pronoun-reflexive ) indispensable. Losing Facebook hurts.

Cohesion between paragraphs

So far, we have looked at cohesion within paragraphs. In longer texts of several paragraphs, a combination of pronouns, transition and reptition can be used to maintain logical flow and connection between paragraphs.

The extract presented here consists of four paragraphs of an expository essay entitled Sustainable Development from a Historical Perspective: The Mayan Civilisation . Note how the bolded expressions at the start of the second, third and fourth paragraphs provide cohesive links to the paragraph preceding them.

Click to view  Cohesion between paragraphs.

Sometimes known as parallel structures or balanced constructions, parallelism is the use of similar grammatical forms or sentence structures when listing or when comparing two or more items.

When used correctly, parallelism can improve the clarity of your writing.

): :  The elderly residents enjoy many recreational activities: swimming, *read and *to garden. : The elderly residents enjoy many recreational activities:  ,  , and  .   :    The academic conversation group consists of students from China, Japan, Korea and *some Germans. :  The academic conversation group consists of students from  , , , and   :    This paper discusses the main features of the AST system, the functionalities, and *the system also has a number of limitations. :  This paper discusses the  , , and

Parallelism in extended texts

The following excerpt from Bertrand Russell's famous prologue to his autobiography has some classic examples of parallelism:

:   The computer is both fast and *it has reliability

: The computer is both   and .

:   The problem with electronic banking is neither the lack of security nor *the fact that you pay high interest rates.

: The problem with electronic banking is neither   nor  .

:   The aim of the new law is not only to reduce the incidence of boy racing but also *setting up new standards for noise tolerance in the whole neighbourhood.

: The aim of the new law is not only  ... but also   new standards for noise tolerance in the whole neighbourhood.

Correcting faulty parallel constructions

Correct the faulty parallel constructions ( bold ) in the following sentences. 

1.   The researcher wanted to find out where the new immigrants came from and to talk about their future plans.

2.  The earthquake victims were both concerned about water contamination and the slow response from the government also made them angry.

3.  An ideal environment for studying includes good lighting, a spacious room, and the furniture must be comfortable.

4.  Computers have changed the way people live, for their work, and how they use their leisure time.

5. Houses play an important role not only to provide a place to live, but also for giving a sense of security.

Write your corrections here:

Click here to view the suggested answers.

Suggested answers :

1   The researcher wanted to find out where the new immigrants came from and what their future plans were.

2.  The earthquake victims were both concerned about water contamination and angry at the the slow response from the government.

3.  An ideal environment for studying includes good lighting, a spacious room, and comfortable furniture.

4.  Computers have changed the way people live, work, and use their leisure time.

5. Houses play an important role not only to provide a place to live, but also to give a sense of security.

Recognising parallel structures

Read through the text and underline the examples of parallel structures (there are five of them). If you can, write the type of grammatical form used in each case. The first one has been done for you as an example.

Write out the entire paragraph in the submission box if it is easier.

Now you try :

Not only have geneticists found beneficial uses of genetically engineered organisms in agriculture, but they have also found ( 1. paired conjunctions ) useful ways to use these organisms advantageously in the larger environment. According to the Monsanto company, a leader in genetic engineering research, recombinant DNA techniques may provide scientists with new ways to clean up the environment and with more efficient methods of producing chemicals. By using genetically engineered organisms, scientists have been able to produce natural gas. This process will decrease society's dependence on the environment and will reduce the rate at which natural resources are depleted. In other processes, genetically engineered bacteria are being used both to extract metals from their geological setting and to speed the breakup of complex petroleum mixtures which will help to clean up oil spills. (p. 523).

Source: Rosen, L.J. (1995). Discovery and commitment: A guide for college writers. Mass.: Allyn and Bacon.

Write your answer here.

Click here to view the answer to the question above

 

«

»

• Select text to style.
• Paste youtube/vimeo url to add embeded video.
• Click + sign or type / at the beginning of line to show plugins selection.
• Use image plugin to upload or copy/paste image searched from internet or paste in snip/sketched image from snap tool

Table of Contents

Collaboration, information literacy, writing process, coherence – how to achieve coherence in writing.

• © 2023 by Joseph M. Moxley - University of South Florida

Coherence refers to a style of writing where ideas, themes, and language connect logically, consistently, and clearly to guide the reader's understanding. By mastering coherence , alongside flow , inclusiveness , simplicity,  and unity , you'll be well-equipped to craft professional or academic pieces that engage and inform effectively. Acquire the skills to instill coherence in your work and discern it in the writings of others.

What is Coherence?

Coherence in writing refers to the logical connections and consistency that hold a text together, making it understandable and meaningful to the reader. Writers create coherence in three ways:

• logical consistency
• conceptual consistency
• linguistic consistency.

What is Logical Consistency?

• For instance, if they argue, “If it rains, the ground gets wet,” and later state, “It’s raining but the ground isn’t wet,” without additional explanation, this represents a logical inconsistency.

What is Conceptual Consistency?

• For example, if you are writing an essay arguing that regular exercise has multiple benefits for mental health, each paragraph should introduce and discuss a different benefit of exercise, all contributing to your main argument. Including a paragraph discussing the nutritional value of various foods, while interesting, would break the conceptual consistency, as it doesn’t directly relate to the benefits of exercise for mental health.

What is Linguistic Consistency?

• For example, if a writer jumps erratically between different tenses or switches point of view without clear demarcation, the reader might find it hard to follow the narrative, leading to a lack of linguistic coherence.

Related Concepts: Flow ; Given to New Contract ; Grammar ; Organization ; Organizational Structures ; Organizational Patterns ; Sentence Errors

Why Does Coherence Matter?

Coherence is crucial in writing as it ensures that the text is understandable and that the ideas flow logically from one to the next. When writing is coherent, readers can easily follow the progression of ideas, making the content more engaging and easier to comprehend. Coherence connects the dots for the reader, linking concepts, arguments, and details in a clear, logical manner.

Without coherence, even the most interesting or groundbreaking ideas can become muddled and lose their impact. A coherent piece of writing keeps the reader’s attention, demonstrates the writer’s control over their subject matter, and can effectively persuade, inform, or entertain. Thus, coherence contributes significantly to the effectiveness of writing in achieving its intended purpose.

How Do Writers Create Coherence in Writing?

• Your thesis statement serves as the guiding star of your paper. It sets the direction and focus, ensuring all subsequent points relate back to this central idea.
• Acknowledge and address potential counterarguments to strengthen your position and add depth to your writing.
• Use the genres and organizational patterns appropriate for your rhetorical situation . A deductive structure (general to specific) is often effective, guiding the reader logically through your argument. Yet different disciplines may privilege more inductive approaches , such as law and philosophy.
• When following a given-to-new order, writers move from what the reader already knows to new information. In formal or persuasive contexts, writers are careful to vet new information for the reader following information literacy laws and conventions .
• Strategic repetition of crucial terms and your thesis helps your readers follow your main ideas and evidence for claims 
• While repetition is useful, varying language with synonyms can prevent redundancy and keep the reader engaged.
• Parallelism in sentences can provide rhythm and clarity, making complex ideas easier to follow.
• Consistent use of pronouns avoids confusion and helps in maintaining a clear line of thought.
• Arrange your ideas in a sequence that naturally builds from one point to the next, ensuring each paragraph flows smoothly into the next .
• Signposting , or using phrases that indicate what’s coming next or what just happened, can help orient the reader within your argument.
• Don’t bother repeating your argument in your conclusion. Prioritize conciseness. Yet end with a call to action or appeal to kairos and ethos .

Recommended Resources

• Organization
• Organizational Patterns

Brevity - Say More with Less

Clarity (in Speech and Writing)

Coherence - How to Achieve Coherence in Writing

Flow - How to Create Flow in Writing

Inclusivity - Inclusive Language

The Elements of Style - The DNA of Powerful Writing

Recommended

Academic Writing – How to Write for the Academic Community

Structured Revision – How to Revise Your Work

Professional Writing – How to Write for the Professional World

Credibility & Authority – How to Be Credible & Authoritative in Speech & Writing

Citation Guide – Learn How to Cite Sources in Academic and Professional Writing

Page Design – How to Design Messages for Maximum Impact

Suggested edits.

• Please select the purpose of your message. * - Corrections, Typos, or Edits Technical Support/Problems using the site Advertising with Writing Commons Copyright Issues I am contacting you about something else
• Your full name
• Your email address *
• Page URL needing edits *
• Email This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Other Topics:

Citation - Definition - Introduction to Citation in Academic & Professional Writing

• Joseph M. Moxley

Explore the different ways to cite sources in academic and professional writing, including in-text (Parenthetical), numerical, and note citations.

Collaboration - What is the Role of Collaboration in Academic & Professional Writing?

Collaboration refers to the act of working with others or AI to solve problems, coauthor texts, and develop products and services. Collaboration is a highly prized workplace competency in academic...

Genre may reference a type of writing, art, or musical composition; socially-agreed upon expectations about how writers and speakers should respond to particular rhetorical situations; the cultural values; the epistemological assumptions...

Grammar refers to the rules that inform how people and discourse communities use language (e.g., written or spoken English, body language, or visual language) to communicate. Learn about the rhetorical...

Information Literacy - Discerning Quality Information from Noise

Information Literacy refers to the competencies associated with locating, evaluating, using, and archiving information. In order to thrive, much less survive in a global information economy — an economy where information functions as a...

Mindset refers to a person or community’s way of feeling, thinking, and acting about a topic. The mindsets you hold, consciously or subconsciously, shape how you feel, think, and act–and...

Rhetoric: Exploring Its Definition and Impact on Modern Communication

Learn about rhetoric and rhetorical practices (e.g., rhetorical analysis, rhetorical reasoning,  rhetorical situation, and rhetorical stance) so that you can strategically manage how you compose and subsequently produce a text...

Style, most simply, refers to how you say something as opposed to what you say. The style of your writing matters because audiences are unlikely to read your work or...

The Writing Process - Research on Composing

The writing process refers to everything you do in order to complete a writing project. Over the last six decades, researchers have studied and theorized about how writers go about...

Writing Studies

Writing studies refers to an interdisciplinary community of scholars and researchers who study writing. Writing studies also refers to an academic, interdisciplinary discipline – a subject of study. Students in...

Featured Articles

Unit 8: Academic Writing Resources

50 Cohesion and Coherence in Academic Writing

The word cohesion come from the Latin verb  cohaerēre which means to stick together. In English academic writing, it is the responsibility of the writer to make sure that the ideas expressed in an essay are clear and easy for the reader to understand.

  Look at the two paragraphs below. They are almost identical. Which is easier to follow and understand?  Why?

Example 1: Research showed that universities provided inconsistent messages about the use of mobile computing devices. Some universities provided students with devices and instructors with implementation support. All instructors were not willingly taking advantage of those opportunities. Other institutions worked to provide university-related applications for the mobile device but did not support their use in learning. Some instructors at the universities deemed the devices as inappropriate and asked students to store them away when entering the classroom. This inconsistent message remains a barrier to the effective implementation of mobile devices in higher education.

Example 2: Research showed that universities provided inconsistent messages about the use of mobile computing devices. On the one hand , some universities provided students with devices and instructors with implementation support. Yet , all instructors were not willingly taking advantage of those opportunities. On the other hand , other institutions worked to provide university-related applications for the mobile device but did not support their use in learning. Therefore , some instructors at the universities deemed the devices as inappropriate and asked students to store them away when entering the classroom. This inconsistent message remains a barrier. In short, this inconsistent message remains a barrier to the effective implementation of mobile devices in higher education.

Text adapted from: Gikas, J. & Grant, M. (2013). Mobile computing devices in higher education: Student perspectives on learning with cellphones, smartphones, & social media.)

You probably noticed the second example contains a number of expressions which clarify the connections between ideas.

Techniques for building coherence.

When sentences, ideas, and details fit together clearly, readers can follow along easily, and the writing is coherent . The ideas tie together smoothly and clearly. To establish the links that readers need, use the methods listed here.

Repetition of a Key Term or Phrase

This technique focuses your ideas and keeps your reader on track. These repeated words and their related terms are sometimes referred to as lexical chains. 

Example : The problem with contemporary art is that it is not easily understood by most people. Contemporary art is deliberately abstract, and that means it leaves the viewer wondering what she is looking at.

Synonyms are words that have essentially the same meaning, and they provide some variety in your word choices, helping the reader to stay focused on the idea being discussed.

Example : Myths narrate sacred histories and explain sacred origins. These traditional narratives are, in short, a set of beliefs that are a very real force in the lives of the people who tell them.

This, that, these, those, he, she, it, and they   are useful pronouns for referring back to something previously mentioned. Be sure, however, that what you are referring to is clear.

Example : When scientific experiments do not work out as expected, they are often considered failures until some other scientist tries them again. Those that work out better the second time around are the ones that promise the most rewards.

Transitional Words

There are many words in English that cue our readers to relationships between sentences, joining sentences together. See the next chapter for more transition words. There you will find lists of words, such as however, therefore, in addition, also, but, moreover, etc.

Example : I like autumn, and yet autumn is a sad time of the year, too. The leaves turn bright shades of red and the weather is mild, but I can’t help thinking ahead to the winter and the ice storms that will surely blow through here. In addition , that will be the season too many layers of clothes to put on and days when I’ll have to shovel heaps of snow from the sidewalk.

This/These Plus Summary Nouns

A simple, efficient way to establish the old-to-new flow of information is to use:

• Demonstrative pronoun (This / These) + noun (singular or plural)

Consider the following sentences.

Example : Writing instructors know that students need to understand the differences between formal and informal language. This understanding can help students make strategic choices in their writing.

What does this understanding refer to?

Example : In recent years, the number of students applying for undergraduate admission at Ivy League colleges has increased steadily, while the number of places available has remained fairly constant. This situation has resulted in intense competition for admission.

What does this situation refer to? What is the effect of using this instead of that ? Could the writer have used only this instead of this situation ?

The phrases in italics contain a summary noun or word that refers back to the idea in the previous sentence. They summarize what has already been said and pick up where the previous sentence has ended. You may have noticed in your academic reading that this is not always followed by a noun—that is, this is unsupported or unattended. Keep in mind, however, that if there is a possibility your reader will not understand what this is referring to, your best strategy is to follow this with a noun so that your meaning is clear.

Chart of This/These + Summary Nouns

approach	method, strategy, process, idea
trend	pattern, tendency
disadvantage	weakness, problem, challenge, obstacle, difficulty, drawback
advantage	strength, solution, benefit
aspect	characteristic, feature, factor
stage	step, part
reason	cause, effect, result
circumstance	situation, example, issue

Watch this video

from Scientific Writing with Karen L. McKee

Academic Writing I Copyright © by UW-Madison ESL Program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

• Writing Center
• Writing Resources

Creating Cohesive and Coherent Paragraphs

What this resource is about:  .

Readers rely on a text’s organization to help them understand it. Well-organized and connected sentences lead to a cohesive, coherent piece of writing. Sometimes we refer to this as “flow.”  This resource explores some ways to create more cohesive and coherent writing.  

Topic and Stress:

Topic: The beginning of the sentence is what the reader understands to be the topic. When the reader knows the topic right away, the sentence feels clearer.   

In the example below, the topics are bolded. The first sentence isn’t wrong, but in the second one, you can see that naming the topic right away makes the idea more concrete.  

      1.  It has been predicted that the global average temperature will increase at a rate of 0.2*C/decade.

      2.  Global average temperature has been predicted to increase at a rate of 0.2*C/decade.  

                                                                                                                                                                       (Schimel, 2012, p.117)

Stress: The end of the sentence is what is being emphasized, i.e. what the writer wants the reader to know about the topic. In the examples below, the topic is bolded and the stress is italicized. The information is the same in all three sentences, but where that information is placed emphasizes different things.  

• Viruses were not studied in the sea until 1989 yet are its most abundant biological entities.
• The most abundant biological entities in the sea are viruses, yet they were not studied until 1989.
• The most abundant biological entities in the sea were not studied until 1989: viruses.  

                                                                                                                                                                       (Schimel, 2012, p.114)

Cohesive Writing Connects Topic and Stress:  

Sentences are cohesive when the stress of one sentence is used as the topic of the next. Below, the first example reads like a list of facts. The ideas are related but the sentences don’t connect. The second example connects the topics and stress which creates a sense of flow.  

• Molecules are comprised of covalently bonded atoms. Molecules’ reactions are controlled by the strength of the bonds. Molecules, however, sometimes react slower than bond strength would predict.  
• Molecules are comprised of covalently bonded atoms. Bond strength controls a molecule’s reactions. Sometimes, however, those reactions are slower than bond strength would predict.  

                                                                                                                                                                       (Schimel, 2012, p.126)

Another way to connect topics and stress is to vary sentence constructions. In the first example both sentences are written in active voice . In the second example, the second sentence is written in passive voice  in order to better connect the topic and stress.  

       1. Some astonishing questions about the nature of the universe have been raised by scientists studying black               holes in space. The collapse of a dead star into a point perhaps no larger than a marble creates a black                     hole.  

       2. Some astonishing questions about the nature of the universe have been raised by scientists studying black               holes in space. A black hole is created by the collapse of a dead star into a point perhaps no larger than a                 marble.  

                                                                                                                                                        (Williams & Bizup, 2017, p. 66)

Orienting-Informing Pattern

Readers are less confused when sentences start with something they already know or have already been introduced to. Then the writer can add new information, and the reader is better prepared for it. In other words, the writer orients the reader, then informs them (Cayley, 2011). Building sentences and paragraphs this way contributes to the overall sense of cohesion.  

Below, in the first example about salvage logging, the idea cavities is a new idea that comes out of nowhere. The writer skipped orienting the reader to the new idea; they went straight to informing. To make the paragraph more coherent, the writer describes what a cavity is before stating why it matters.  

• Salvage logging is an increasingly common way of harvesting forests that have been attacked by insect pests. In salvage logging, trees that have been attacked are selectively harvested. Cavities in standing dead trees serve as nesting sites for birds. The population biology of cavity-nesting birds is therefore likely affected by salvage logging.  
• Salvage logging is an increasingly common way of harvesting forests that have been attacked by insect pests. In salvage logging, trees that have been attacked are selectively harvested. The dead trees that are harvested, however, can provide cavities that are nesting sites for birds. The population biology of cavity-nesting birds is therefore likely affected by salvage logging.  

                                                                                                                                                                      (Schimel, 2012, p. 127)

Sources:  

Caley, R. (2011, March 020. Sentences . Explorations of Style: A Blog about Academic Writing. https://explorationsofstyle.com/2011/03/02/sentences/

Schimel, J. (2012). Writing science: How to write papers that get cited and proposals that get funded. Oxford University Press.  

Williams, J.M., & Bizup, J. (2017).  Style: Lessons in clarity and grace  (12th ed.).Pearson Education Inc. 

The Writing Center

Montana State University P.O. Box 172310 Bozeman, MT 59717-2310

Wilson Hall 1-114, (406) 994-5315 Romney Hall 207, (406) 994-5320 MSU Library (1st floor), (406) 994-4346

[email protected]

Facebook   Twitter   Instagram  

Job Opportunities FAQ & How To

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Revising for Cohesion

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Writing a cohesive paper takes time and revision. This resource will focus primarily on topic sentences that begin each paragraph and on topics, or main points, within a paragraph. This resource will also enable students to look closely at their sentences and see how each sentence relates to another within a paragraph. This material is adapted from Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace , by Joseph Williams.

For a video guide to cutting unnecessary essay content, visit the Purdue OWL's vidcast on cutting.

• Begin sentences with short, simple words and phrases.
• These phrases should communicate information that appeared in previous sentences, or build on knowledge that you share with your reader.
• Within a paragraph, keep your topics, or main points, direct and reasonably consistent.

Tip: Create a list of words to draw from that intuitively tells the reader what to focus on. If your words progress from “investigate, remedy, resolve” or “negate, discover, re-invent” the reader should be able to follow the line of action and they will feel like your ideas cohere.

Exercise: Diagnosis, Analysis, Revision

• Underline the first few words of every sentence in a paragraph, ignoring short introductory phrases such as "In the beginning," or "For the most part."
• If you can, underline the first few words of every clause. (Remember that a clause has a subject and verb)
• Read your underlined words. Is there a consistent set of related topics?
• Will your reader see these connections among the topics?
• Imagine that the passage has a title. The words in the title should identify what should be the topics of most of the sentences.
• Decide what you will focus on in each paragraph.
• In most sentences, make your topics subjects that do the action in the sentences.
• Move your topics to the beginning of your sentences. Avoid hiding your topic behind long introductory phrases or clauses.

Sample Passage

Topics are crucial for readers because readers depend on topics to focus their attention on particular ideas toward the beginning of sentences . Topics tell readers what a whole passage is "about." If readers feel that a sequence of topics is coherent, then they will feel they are moving through a paragraph from a cumulatively coherent point of view. But if throughout the paragraph readers feel that its topics shift randomly, then they have to begin each sentence out of context, from no coherent point of view. When that happens, readers feel dislocated , disoriented, and out of focus.

Analysis of the Sample Passage:

1. Read your underlined words. Is there a consistent set of related topics?

Here are some significant words from the clauses that are underlined in the above example: topics , readers, topics, readers, they, readers, they, readers. Do these words help guide your reader along?

2. Will your reader see these connections among the topics?

Utilize repetition and patterns of progression. What this sample passage does really well is that it works with repetition. It also has a pattern of progression: in the first sentence, the phrase, “topics are crucial” is used and then the writer explains how topics are crucial in the rest of this sentence and the next. In terms of repetition, the phrase “readers feel that” is used twice. The third time it is used, there’s a variation to the pattern. This variation is direct, concise, and surprising: “Readers feel dislocated,” begins this clause.

3. Imagine that the passage has a title. The words in the title should identify what should be the topics of most of the sentences.

Sample Title: “How Topics Coherently Guide the Reader” Do the themes in the above passage match with this title?

4. Decide what you will focus on in each paragraph.

Think about the importance of your topics and what happens to the paragraph if these topics are not utilized. In the sample passage, the highlighted phrase seems out of place. Consider this revision:

Topics are crucial for readers. Topics tell readers what a whole passage is "about." Readers depend on topics to focus their attention on particular ideas toward the beginning of sentences . If readers feel that a sequence of topics is coherent, then they will feel they are moving through a paragraph from a cumulatively coherent point of view.

In this revision, the phrase “what a passage is ‘about,’” comes before “Readers depend…” This coheres better than the initial draft because the writer sets the reader up for a definition, or in-depth explanation of what the word “about”’ means.

Questions to ask yourself as you revise

On a sentence level:

1. Do your sentences "hang together"? Readers must feel that sentences in a paragraph are not just individually clear, but are unified with each other. Readers should be able to move easily from one sentence to the next, feeling that each sentence "coheres" with the one before and after it.

One way of thinking about this is as if you are giving your readers sign posts or clues they can follow throughout your passage. These will act as signals that guide the reader into your argument.

2. Does the sentence begin with information that’s familiar to the reader? Readers will be familiar with your information if it has already been touched upon in the previous sentence.

It’s important to address how readers feel about unfamiliar information. As a writer, we sometimes forget that readers have different assumptions, values and beliefs than we do. Their bodies of knowledge are not the same as ours. Thus, it’s important to clearly build your progression of thought or argument in a cohesive paper. In the sample passage, the writer clearly defines why readers depend on topics: “Topics tell the reader what a passage is ‘about.’”

3. Does the sentence end with interesting information the reader would not anticipate?

In the case of the sample passage, the last sentence has a sharp and unexpected ending. The last few words, “out of focus” are an unexpected way to end the paragraph because the entire paragraph has been about how topics are cohesive tools. Ending on this note leaves the reader feeling uneasy about leaving topics out of context, which is the aim of the sample passage.

On a paragraph level:

Will your reader be able to identify quickly the "topic" of each paragraph?

Note: it is easier to see coherence and clarity in other people's writing because by the time we reach a final draft, everything we write seems old or familiar to us. Improving on this takes practice. Try giving yourself a few days between writing and revising to get a fresh look.

• school Campus Bookshelves
• menu_book Bookshelves
• perm_media Learning Objects
• login Login
• how_to_reg Request Instructor Account
• hub Instructor Commons

Margin Size

• Download Page (PDF)
• Download Full Book (PDF)
• Periodic Table
• Physics Constants
• Scientific Calculator
• Reference & Cite
• Tools expand_more
• Readability

selected template will load here

This action is not available.

16.2: Cohesion- What do People Mean When They Say My Writing Doesn’t “Flow”

• Last updated
• Save as PDF
• Page ID 5517
• Lumen Learning

\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)

\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)

\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)

( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)

\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)

\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)

\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)

\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)

\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\)

\( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\)

\( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)

\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\)

\( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)

\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\)

\( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)

\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

\( \newcommand{\vectorA}[1]{\vec{#1}}      % arrow\)

\( \newcommand{\vectorAt}[1]{\vec{\text{#1}}}      % arrow\)

\( \newcommand{\vectorB}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)

\( \newcommand{\vectorC}[1]{\textbf{#1}} \)

\( \newcommand{\vectorD}[1]{\overrightarrow{#1}} \)

\( \newcommand{\vectorDt}[1]{\overrightarrow{\text{#1}}} \)

\( \newcommand{\vectE}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{\mathbf {#1}}}} \)

Before You Read

Write 750 to 1,000 words in response to this prompt, keeping in mind that you’re going to be working with this piece of writing extensively in the coming days—not only in this chapter but in other chapters related to style:

As a public university that receives substantial support from the state legislature, the U has an obligation to serve the people of the state of Utah. However, there can be disagreements on what that service means. On one hand, it can mean admitting as many Utah residents as possible in order to increase the state’s population of college-educated citizens. On the other hand, it can mean increasing admission requirements to fulfill the U’s position as the “flagship” university in the state. Where do you come down?

Cohesion, or “Flow”—An Overview

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Many (student) writers have turned in papers only to have their readers (more often than not, their teachers) hand the papers back with comments that the writing doesn’t “flow.”

Unfortunately, teachers may not always be explicit about what they mean—just that it doesn’t “read” or “sound” right or that the ideas don’t progress from one to another. This chapter is about what “flow” actually means and how to make sure your writing does it.

By “flow,” most readers mean what grammarians and linguists call cohesion —the property of a text to hold together at the level of sentences and paragraphs. Of course, cohesion is good in any communication medium, and each medium can present challenges for it. If you’re sending text messages back and forth to a friend and the network sends them out of order, the result can be confusing: you might have written “thank GOD” in response to some piece of news, but your friend might not have gotten your message until after she texted “gotta go.” Oops. If you’re speaking to someone on a train or bus and something outside the window catches your attention, you might say something about it, and the other person might say, “wait—what?”

But in both those cases, you can quickly and easily clear up the confusion. Speech and texting are more or less synchronous media: that is, they involve people communicating at the same time and often in the same (virtual) space. Writing, however—in the traditional sense, anyway—is different, because it’s asynchronous . It also requires an important trade-off. Writing has worked well for a long time as a communication technology because it’s relatively easy to distribute. Someone using writing to communicate doesn’t have to move from place to place: she may simply write something down and send it. However, to use a metaphor from very current communication technologies, writing has low bandwidth compared to other media. If someone is speaking to you, you can infer meaning from words themselves but also from vocal inflections, facial expressions, hand gestures, posture, and even from how close the other person is to you. You can’t do that when you write and read. So, writers and readers can send and receive on the cheap, but they carry a burden of making their words work extraordinarily hard.

This idea has a very clear implication for your own written arguments—an important enough implication that we’d say it pretty loudly if you were standing right in front of us. But, since this is writing, we’ll use boldface: just because an argument you’re making is clear in your own head, that doesn’t mean it’s automatically clear to people who are reading the written version of your argument . That’s one of the reasons it’s a good idea to circulate the writing you do to others before you turn it in for a grade or circulate it in high-stakes situations.

Fortunately, the to-do list for “flow” is relatively short. Throughout Englishlanguage writing, it turns out that there is a small number of strategies for achieving cohesion. These strategies help writers follow a key principle for communicating with readers as effectively as possible on the assumption that they’re not looking over their readers’ shoulders pointing out what they really need to know. That principle is called the given-new contract . This contract implies that you as a writer will start your projected readers with something relatively familiar and then lead them to less familiar material. It’s an idea that is simple to state, but it’s powerful, and it works at different levels of a document. At the level of overall document design, consistent visual items on each page (page number location, headings, “white” space, fonts) help create a familiar visual field that works like a container for whatever new information is coming next. As you read earlier in this book, a lot of a writer’s job in an introduction, after all, is orienting readers so that they’re at least familiar with the broad topic before the writer gets specific—with an argument, for example. But the contract helps sentence-level cohesion, as well. It’s very helpful to readers if you create a cycle in which you try to put “given” information at the start of sentences and shift “new” information to the ends, and then recycle the “new” information as “given” information in sentences that come up. The principle of end emphasis helps here: readers tend to latch more onto how sentences end than onto how they begin. Skilled writers know this is often the case, so they’ll reserve end-of-sentence slots for new or challenging information, since they know they often have a little more of their readers’ attention at those spots anyway.

The given-new contract and the concept of end emphasis are a little tough to explain in abstract terms, so here’s an example followed by some analysis. We’ve numbered the sentences to help make the analysis clear.

1 This textbook is freely circulable under the terms of a Creative Commons (“CC”) license. 2 CC is a nonprofit organization that helps content creators, such as textbook authors, share their products in more diverse ways than traditional copyright allows. 3 While typical copyright restricts others from using an author’s work unless they have the author’s express consent, CC allows authors to pick and choose which restrictions to apply to their work by using one of several free licenses. 4 For example, this book is available via an “Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike” agreement: adopters of the textbook may use it free of charge and may even modify it without permission, but they must agree not to try to sell it or share it with others under different licensing terms.

Each sentence in this passage shows our attempt to honor the given-new contract. Here’s how:

• The first sentence introduces the term “Creative Commons” near its end. We’re assuming that you may not know (much) about CC, so we’re trying to exploit end emphasis to introduce it here very early in the paragraph.
• This sentence immediately recycles CC and defines the term more fully. The sentence ends with the important (and “new”) idea that CC allows for a wider range of options than copyright.
• Now, the passage explains in a little more detail the point it just made about copyright restrictions and goes on to clarify the contrast with CC, ending with the “new” information that CC allows authors to choose from several licenses.
• Not surprisingly, the next sentence shows what the previous sentence introduced by giving an example of a relevant CC license.

In addition to using the principle of end emphasis, writers who honor the given-new contract frequently use several other strategies.

Stock transition words and phrases

Many writers first learn to make their writing flow by using explicit, specialpurpose transitional devices. You may hear these devices called “signposts,” because they work much like highway and street signs. When steel boxes weighing 2 tons and more are rolling around at high speeds, it’s important that their operators are repeatedly and clearly told exactly where and when to go with as little ambiguity as possible.

Here’s a list of stock, generic, all-purpose transition words and phrases, organized by their basic functions. Keep in mind that there are differences among these that can make a difference and that determining what those differences is is beyond the scope of this book. It’s a matter of experience.

Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\)

To add or show sequence : again, also, and, and then, besides, equally important, finally, first, further, furthermore, in addition, in the first place, last, moreover, next, second, still, too

To compare : also, in the same way, likewise, similarly

To contrast : although, and yet, but, but at the same time, despite, even so, even though, for all that, however, in contrast, in spite of, nevertheless, notwithstanding, on the contrary, on the other hand, regardless, still, though, yet

To give examples or intensify : after all, an illustration of, even, for example, for instance, indeed, in fact, it is true, of course, specifically, that is, to illustrate, truly

To indicate place : above, adjacent to, below, elsewhere, farther on, here, near, nearby, on the other side, opposite to, there, to the east, to the left

To indicate time : after a while, afterward, as long as, as soon as, at last, at length, at that time, before, earlier, formerly, immediately, in the meantime, in the past, lately, later, meanwhile, now, presently, shortly, simultaneously, since, so far, soon, subsequently, then, thereafter, until, until now, when

To repeat, summarize, or conclude : all in all, altogether, in brief, in conclusion, in other words, in particular, in short, in simpler terms, in summary, on the whole, that is, to put it differently, to summarize

To show cause and effect : accordingly, as a result, because, consequently, for this purpose, hence, otherwise, since, then, therefore, thereupon, thus, to this end, with this object in mind

As we just told you, avoiding ambiguity in academic and professional writing is important. But it’s not as important as avoiding it on highways, in factories, or around high-voltage equipment or explosives. In those contexts, lots of signposts with lots of redundancy are vital. In many writing situations, you can expect your readers to pick up other useful clues for cohesion, so it’s somewhat less important to use a lot of these “stock” or generic transition words. In fact, if you overuse them (for instance, in an essay in which your first paragraph starts with “first,” your second paragraph starts with “second,” and on and on), it can get annoying.

If you’re old enough vaguely to remember the Schoolhouse Rock series, you might remember the episode about pronouns (“he,” “she,” “her,” “him,” “you,” “we,” “they,” “it,” “one,” “this,” “that,” and some others) and how they can stand for nouns, even if the nouns have long names. The idea is that pronouns make speaking and writing more efficient. But you may not have learned that pronouns are at least as powerful as cohesive devices. Since pronouns work by referring back to nouns that have previously been mentioned, they can help writers carry the ideas their nouns represent across sentences and paragraphs.

You may have been told to limit your use of pronouns or even avoid them altogether. This is bad advice, but it’s understandable: pronouns work very well when they clearly refer to their antecedents, but they can create significant comprehension problems, misdirection, and vagueness when they don’t.

Contrary to a lot of advice novice writers get, repetition is effective. For example, as you’ll learn later in this book (or now if you want to read ahead, of course), many rhetorical strategies that are thousands of years old and that exist in several languages use repetition. It’s a time-honored way to signal importance, create a sense of rhythm, and help audiences remember key ideas. But repetition gets a bad reputation because it can become redundant. (Yes, that sentence used repetition to get its point across. It’s no accident that it had a lot of “r”s.)

Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\)

Repetition can involve individual words, phrases, or grammatical structures. When you repeat similar structural elements but not necessarily the words themselves, you are using parallelism , a special variety of repetition that not only helps cohesion but also helps you to communicate that similarly important ideas should be read together. When sentences are written using non-parallel parts, it’s certainly possible for readers to understand them, but it creates work for the reader that usually isn’t necessary. Compare these sentences:

Student writers should learn to start projects early, how to ask for advice from teachers and peers, and when to focus on correcting grammar. Student writers should learn to start projects early, to ask for advice from teachers and peers, and to figure out when to focus on correcting their grammar.

See the difference? The first sentence is comprehensible: the commas, for example, let you know that you’re reading a list. But the extra adverbs (“how” and “when”) get in the way of the sentence’s clarity. And that problem, in turn, means that it’s hard to see clearly how each item in the list relates to the others. In the revised sentence, though, it’s a lot clearer that each of the three items is something student writers should “learn to” do. That relationship is made clear by the repeating grammatical pattern:

Student writers should learn

• to start projects early
• to ask for advice
• to figure out when to focus on grammar

Here’s an example of some writing that uses a variety of cohesion strategies. We know it well because one of us wrote it. It’s a short essay, written for a broad academic audience in a U publication, about the current state of the English language. To clarify the analysis that follows, we’ve underlined a few of the transition devices.

Example \(\PageIndex{1}\):

Teaching (and Learning) Englishes

University Writing Program

I teach English-language writing, and I’m a native speaker of the English language. Being a native speaker might seem to be an excellent basic qualification for my job: at the very least, it should necessarily make me the model of English usage. However, it actually makes me very unusual.

According to The British Council, approximately 1.5 billion people around the world use English. Roughly 375 million of them are like me: they have learned English since birth, and most of them live in countries like the US, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand that are traditional English-language centers.

That still leaves over a billion English users. 375 million of those people live in countries that were British colonies until the middle of the last century, such as Ghana, India, Kenya, and Nigeria.

But the largest number of English speakers—50% of the global total—are in countries that were not British colonies and that don’t have much of a history with English. Count China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and South Korea among them. So, most English speakers aren’t where we might expect them to be. In addition, they’re not using English in ways we might expect, either, which helps explain why I’m referring to them as “users” and not “writers” or “speakers.” Most people who use English around the world do so in specific circumstances in order to get very specific things done. Many Indians, for instance, might use English in publications and to transact business over the phone, Hindi in a government office, Gujarati at the store, and maybe one of several other languages at home.

What does this mean for my teaching and research? People and information move around globally more so now than ever, and that movement makes diverse uses of English feed back into the US. As students at the U (and the U is not alone) become more culturally and linguistically diverse, I often have as much to learn from them as I have to teach them.

This short example uses each of the cohesion strategies described above:

• Overall, the example attempts to honor the given-new contract. It starts on familiar territory—or at least, with an attempt to orient the reader very quickly to the writer’s personal approach. And it also makes a statement about the writer that the reader likely intuitively agrees with: namely, he’s a native speaker of English, which makes him well qualified to be an English teacher. But the first paragraph ends with a surprising claim: being a native English speaker means being unusual. Here, then, the writer starts with what’s comfortable but then uses end emphasis to reinforce the “new” information at the end.
• The writer does use several stock transitions: in fact, one of them —“however”—helps introduce the surprising sentence at the end of the introduction by clearly signposting something different or unexpected. And, as another example, the fourth paragraph starts with “but,” which signposts another transition to information that contradicts what comes before. (You may have been told never to start sentences with conjunctions like “but” or “and.” It turns out that it’s generally fine to do that. Just be aware of your readers’ preferences.)
• Pronouns appear to be the most common cohesion device in the essay. At the start of the third paragraph, for example, “that” stands in for the statistic in the previous paragraph, which would be hard to write out all over again. But “that” also carries forward the sense of the statistic into the next paragraph. And “those people” carries the statistic forward to the next sentence. (Really, “those” is actually an adjective that modifies “people,” but it’s enough like a pronoun that we’re handling it like one here.)
• Repetition is also common in this essay. Words are repeated—or at least, put very close to other words that are very similar in meaning. “English” and “British colonies” clearly help tie together the third and fourth paragraphs. And sentences show parallelism. See, for instance, paragraph four: “So, most English speakers aren’t where we would expect them to be. In addition, they’re not using English in ways we might expect, either.”
• Identify at least three other specific cohesion devices used in the example essay. Be prepared to say what kind of device it is and what effect it has on your reading. Also be prepared to suggest what would happen if it weren’t there.
• Re-read the 750-1,000 words you wrote before you read this chapter, paying particular attention to cohesion. Now, revise it to improve its flow.

Pasco-Hernando State College

• Unity and Coherence in Essays
• The Writing Process
• Paragraphs and Essays
• Proving the Thesis/Critical Thinking
• Appropriate Language

Test Yourself

• Essay Organization Quiz
• Sample Essay - Fairies
• Sample Essay - Modern Technology

Related Pages

• Proving the Thesis

Unity is the idea that all parts of the writing work to achieve the same goal: proving the thesis. Just as the content of a paragraph should focus on a topic sentence, the content of an essay must focus on the thesis.  The introduction paragraph introduces the thesis, the body paragraphs each have a proof point (topic sentence) with content that proves the thesis, and the concluding paragraph sums up the proof and restates the thesis. Extraneous information in any part of the essay which is not related to the thesis is distracting and takes away from the strength of proving the thesis.

An essay must have coherence. The sentences must flow smoothly and logically from one to the next as they support the purpose of  each paragraph in proving the thesis. .

Just as the last sentence in a paragraph must connect back to the topic sentence of the paragraph, the last paragraph of the essay should connect back to the thesis by reviewing the proof and restating the thesis.

Example of Essay with Problems of Unity and Coherence

Here is an example of a brief essay that includes a paragraph that  does not  support the thesis “Many people are changing their diets to be healthier.”

     People are concerned about pesticides, steroids, and antibiotics in the food they eat.  Many now shop for organic foods since they don’t have the pesticides used in conventionally grown food.  Meat from chicken and cows that are not given steroids or antibiotics are gaining in popularity even though they are much more expensive. More and more, people are eliminating pesticides, steroids, and antibiotics from their diets.

    Eating healthier also is beneficial to the environment since there are less pesticides poisoning the earth. Pesticides getting into the waterways is creating a problem with drinking water.  Historically, safe drinking water has been a problem. It is believed the Ancient Egyptians drank beer since the water was not safe to drink.  Brewing beer killed the harmful organisms and bacteria in the water from the Nile.

     There is a growing concern about eating genetically modified foods, and people are opting for non-GMO diets.  Some people say there are more allergic reactions and other health problems resulting from these foods.  Others are concerned because there are no long-term studies which clearly show no adverse health effects such as cancers or other illnesses. Avoiding GMO food is another way people are eating healthier food.

See how just one paragraph  can take away from the effectiveness of the essay in showing how people are changing to healthier food since the unity and coherence are affected.  There is no longer unity among all the paragraphs.  The thought pattern is disjointed and the essay loses its coherence.

Transitions and Logical Flow of Ideas

Transitions are words, groups of words, or sentences that connect one sentence to another or one paragraph to another.

They promote a logical flow from one idea to the next and overall unity and coherence.

While transitions are not needed in every sentence or at the end of every paragraph, they are missed when they are omitted since the flow of thoughts becomes disjointed or even confusing.

There are different types of transitions:

Time – before, after, during, in the meantime, nowadays

Space – over, around, under

Examples – for instance, one example is

Comparison – on the other hand, the opposing view

Consequence – as a result, subsequently

These are just a few examples.  The idea is to paint a clear, logical connection between sentences and between paragraphs.

• Printer-friendly version

Final Drafts

Cohesion: what do people mean when they say my writing doesn’t “flow”, before you read.

Write 750 to 1,000 words in response to this prompt, keeping in mind that you’re going to be working with this piece of writing extensively in the coming days—not only in this chapter but in other chapters related to style:

As a public university that receives substantial support from the state legislature, the U has an obligation to serve the people of the state of Utah. However, there can be disagreements on what that service means. On one hand, it can mean admitting as many Utah residents as possible in order to increase the state’s population of college-educated citizens. On the other hand, it can mean increasing admission requirements to fulfill the U’s position as the “flagship” university in the state. Where do you come down?

Cohesion, or “Flow”—An Overview

Unfortunately, teachers may not always be explicit about what they mean—just that it doesn’t “read” or “sound” right or that the ideas don’t progress from one to another. This chapter is about what “flow” actually means and how to make sure your writing does it.

By “flow,” most readers mean what grammarians and linguists call cohesion —the property of a text to hold together at the level of sentences and paragraphs. Of course, cohesion is good in any communication medium, and each medium can present challenges for it. If you’re sending text messages back and forth to a friend and the network sends them out of order, the result can be confusing: you might have written “thank GOD” in response to some piece of news, but your friend might not have gotten your message until after she texted “gotta go.” Oops. If you’re speaking to someone on a train or bus and something outside the window catches your attention, you might say something about it, and the other person might say, “wait—what?”

But in both those cases, you can quickly and easily clear up the confusion. Speech and texting are more or less synchronous media: that is, they involve people communicating at the same time and often in the same (virtual) space. Writing, however—in the traditional sense, anyway—is different, because it’s asynchronous . It also requires an important trade-off. Writing has worked well for a long time as a communication technology because it’s relatively easy to distribute. Someone using writing to communicate doesn’t have to move from place to place: she may simply write something down and send it. However, to use a metaphor from very current communication technologies, writing has low bandwidth compared to other media. If someone is speaking to you, you can infer meaning from words themselves but also from vocal inflections, facial expressions, hand gestures, posture, and even from how close the other person is to you. You can’t do that when you write and read. So, writers and readers can send and receive on the cheap, but they carry a burden of making their words work extraordinarily hard.

This idea has a very clear implication for your own written arguments—an important enough implication that we’d say it pretty loudly if you were standing right in front of us. But, since this is writing, we’ll use boldface: just because an argument you’re making is clear in your own head, that doesn’t mean it’s automatically clear to people who are reading the written version of your argument . That’s one of the reasons it’s a good idea to circulate the writing you do to others before you turn it in for a grade or circulate it in high-stakes situations.

Fortunately, the to-do list for “flow” is relatively short. Throughout Englishlanguage writing, it turns out that there is a small number of strategies for achieving cohesion. These strategies help writers follow a key principle for communicating with readers as effectively as possible on the assumption that they’re not looking over their readers’ shoulders pointing out what they really need to know. That principle is called the given-new contract . This contract implies that you as a writer will start your projected readers with something relatively familiar and then lead them to less familiar material. It’s an idea that is simple to state, but it’s powerful, and it works at different levels of a document. At the level of overall document design, consistent visual items on each page (page number location, headings, “white” space, fonts) help create a familiar visual field that works like a container for whatever new information is coming next. As you read earlier in this book, a lot of a writer’s job in an introduction, after all, is orienting readers so that they’re at least familiar with the broad topic before the writer gets specific—with an argument, for example. But the contract helps sentence-level cohesion, as well. It’s very helpful to readers if you create a cycle in which you try to put “given” information at the start of sentences and shift “new” information to the ends, and then recycle the “new” information as “given” information in sentences that come up. The principle of end emphasis helps here: readers tend to latch more onto how sentences end than onto how they begin. Skilled writers know this is often the case, so they’ll reserve end-of-sentence slots for new or challenging information, since they know they often have a little more of their readers’ attention at those spots anyway.

The given-new contract and the concept of end emphasis are a little tough to explain in abstract terms, so here’s an example followed by some analysis. We’ve numbered the sentences to help make the analysis clear.

1 This textbook is freely circulable under the terms of a Creative Commons (“CC”) license. 2 CC is a nonprofit organization that helps content creators, such as textbook authors, share their products in more diverse ways than traditional copyright allows. 3 While typical copyright restricts others from using an author’s work unless they have the author’s express consent, CC allows authors to pick and choose which restrictions to apply to their work by using one of several free licenses. 4 For example, this book is available via an “Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike” agreement: adopters of the textbook may use it free of charge and may even modify it without permission, but they must agree not to try to sell it or share it with others under different licensing terms.

Each sentence in this passage shows our attempt to honor the given-new contract. Here’s how:

• The first sentence introduces the term “Creative Commons” near its end. We’re assuming that you may not know (much) about CC, so we’re trying to exploit end emphasis to introduce it here very early in the paragraph.
• This sentence immediately recycles CC and defines the term more fully. The sentence ends with the important (and “new”) idea that CC allows for a wider range of options than copyright.
• Now, the passage explains in a little more detail the point it just made about copyright restrictions and goes on to clarify the contrast with CC, ending with the “new” information that CC allows authors to choose from several licenses.
• Not surprisingly, the next sentence shows what the previous sentence introduced by giving an example of a relevant CC license.

In addition to using the principle of end emphasis, writers who honor the given-new contract frequently use several other strategies.

Stock transition words and phrases

Many writers first learn to make their writing flow by using explicit, specialpurpose transitional devices. You may hear these devices called “signposts,” because they work much like highway and street signs. When steel boxes weighing 2 tons and more are rolling around at high speeds, it’s important that their operators are repeatedly and clearly told exactly where and when to go with as little ambiguity as possible.

Here’s a list of stock, generic, all-purpose transition words and phrases, organized by their basic functions. Keep in mind that there are differences among these that can make a difference and that determining what those differences is is beyond the scope of this book. It’s a matter of experience.

To compare : also, in the same way, likewise, similarly

To contrast : although, and yet, but, but at the same time, despite, even so, even though, for all that, however, in contrast, in spite of, nevertheless, notwithstanding, on the contrary, on the other hand, regardless, still, though, yet

To give examples or intensify : after all, an illustration of, even, for example, for instance, indeed, in fact, it is true, of course, specifically, that is, to illustrate, truly

To indicate place : above, adjacent to, below, elsewhere, farther on, here, near, nearby, on the other side, opposite to, there, to the east, to the left

To indicate time : after a while, afterward, as long as, as soon as, at last, at length, at that time, before, earlier, formerly, immediately, in the meantime, in the past, lately, later, meanwhile, now, presently, shortly, simultaneously, since, so far, soon, subsequently, then, thereafter, until, until now, when

To repeat, summarize, or conclude : all in all, altogether, in brief, in conclusion, in other words, in particular, in short, in simpler terms, in summary, on the whole, that is, to put it differently, to summarize

To show cause and effect : accordingly, as a result, because, consequently, for this purpose, hence, otherwise, since, then, therefore, thereupon, thus, to this end, with this object in mind

As we just told you, avoiding ambiguity in academic and professional writing is important. But it’s not as important as avoiding it on highways, in factories, or around high-voltage equipment or explosives. In those contexts, lots of signposts with lots of redundancy are vital. In many writing situations, you can expect your readers to pick up other useful clues for cohesion, so it’s somewhat less important to use a lot of these “stock” or generic transition words. In fact, if you overuse them (for instance, in an essay in which your first paragraph starts with “first,” your second paragraph starts with “second,” and on and on), it can get annoying.

If you’re old enough vaguely to remember the Schoolhouse Rock series, you might remember the episode about pronouns (“he,” “she,” “her,” “him,” “you,” “we,” “they,” “it,” “one,” “this,” “that,” and some others) and how they can stand for nouns, even if the nouns have long names. The idea is that pronouns make speaking and writing more efficient. But you may not have learned that pronouns are at least as powerful as cohesive devices. Since pronouns work by referring back to nouns that have previously been mentioned, they can help writers carry the ideas their nouns represent across sentences and paragraphs.

You may have been told to limit your use of pronouns or even avoid them altogether. This is bad advice, but it’s understandable: pronouns work very well when they clearly refer to their antecedents, but they can create significant comprehension problems, misdirection, and vagueness when they don’t.

Contrary to a lot of advice novice writers get, repetition is effective. For example, as you’ll learn later in this book (or now if you want to read ahead, of course), many rhetorical strategies that are thousands of years old and that exist in several languages use repetition. It’s a time-honored way to signal importance, create a sense of rhythm, and help audiences remember key ideas. But repetition gets a bad reputation because it can become redundant. (Yes, that sentence used repetition to get its point across. It’s no accident that it had a lot of “r”s.)

Repetition can involve individual words, phrases, or grammatical structures. When you repeat similar structural elements but not necessarily the words themselves, you are using parallelism , a special variety of repetition that not only helps cohesion but also helps you to communicate that similarly important ideas should be read together. When sentences are written using non-parallel parts, it’s certainly possible for readers to understand them, but it creates work for the reader that usually isn’t necessary. Compare these sentences:

Student writers should learn to start projects early, how to ask for advice from teachers and peers, and when to focus on correcting grammar. Student writers should learn to start projects early, to ask for advice from teachers and peers, and to figure out when to focus on correcting their grammar.

See the difference? The first sentence is comprehensible: the commas, for example, let you know that you’re reading a list. But the extra adverbs (“how” and “when”) get in the way of the sentence’s clarity. And that problem, in turn, means that it’s hard to see clearly how each item in the list relates to the others. In the revised sentence, though, it’s a lot clearer that each of the three items is something student writers should “learn to” do. That relationship is made clear by the repeating grammatical pattern:

Student writers should learn

• to start projects early
• to ask for advice
• to figure out when to focus on grammar

Here’s an example of some writing that uses a variety of cohesion strategies. We know it well because one of us wrote it. It’s a short essay, written for a broad academic audience in a U publication, about the current state of the English language. To clarify the analysis that follows, we’ve underlined a few of the transition devices.

Teaching (and Learning) Englishes

University Writing Program

I teach English-language writing, and I’m a native speaker of the English language. Being a native speaker might seem to be an excellent basic qualification for my job: at the very least, it should necessarily make me the model of English usage. However, it actually makes me very unusual.

According to The British Council, approximately 1.5 billion people around the world use English. Roughly 375 million of them are like me: they have learned English since birth, and most of them live in countries like the US, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand that are traditional English-language centers.

That still leaves over a billion English users. 375 million of those people live in countries that were British colonies until the middle of the last century, such as Ghana, India, Kenya, and Nigeria.

But the largest number of English speakers—50% of the global total—are in countries that were not British colonies and that don’t have much of a history with English. Count China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and South Korea among them. So, most English speakers aren’t where we might expect them to be. In addition, they’re not using English in ways we might expect, either, which helps explain why I’m referring to them as “users” and not “writers” or “speakers.” Most people who use English around the world do so in specific circumstances in order to get very specific things done. Many Indians, for instance, might use English in publications and to transact business over the phone, Hindi in a government office, Gujarati at the store, and maybe one of several other languages at home.

What does this mean for my teaching and research? People and information move around globally more so now than ever, and that movement makes diverse uses of English feed back into the US. As students at the U (and the U is not alone) become more culturally and linguistically diverse, I often have as much to learn from them as I have to teach them.

This short example uses each of the cohesion strategies described above:

• Overall, the example attempts to honor the given-new contract. It starts on familiar territory—or at least, with an attempt to orient the reader very quickly to the writer’s personal approach. And it also makes a statement about the writer that the reader likely intuitively agrees with: namely, he’s a native speaker of English, which makes him well qualified to be an English teacher. But the first paragraph ends with a surprising claim: being a native English speaker means being unusual. Here, then, the writer starts with what’s comfortable but then uses end emphasis to reinforce the “new” information at the end.
• The writer does use several stock transitions: in fact, one of them —“however”—helps introduce the surprising sentence at the end of the introduction by clearly signposting something different or unexpected. And, as another example, the fourth paragraph starts with “but,” which signposts another transition to information that contradicts what comes before. (You may have been told never to start sentences with conjunctions like “but” or “and.” It turns out that it’s generally fine to do that. Just be aware of your readers’ preferences.)
• Pronouns appear to be the most common cohesion device in the essay. At the start of the third paragraph, for example, “that” stands in for the statistic in the previous paragraph, which would be hard to write out all over again. But “that” also carries forward the sense of the statistic into the next paragraph. And “those people” carries the statistic forward to the next sentence. (Really, “those” is actually an adjective that modifies “people,” but it’s enough like a pronoun that we’re handling it like one here.)
• Repetition is also common in this essay. Words are repeated—or at least, put very close to other words that are very similar in meaning. “English” and “British colonies” clearly help tie together the third and fourth paragraphs. And sentences show parallelism. See, for instance, paragraph four: “So, most English speakers aren’t where we would expect them to be. In addition, they’re not using English in ways we might expect, either.”
• Identify at least three other specific cohesion devices used in the example essay. Be prepared to say what kind of device it is and what effect it has on your reading. Also be prepared to suggest what would happen if it weren’t there.
• Re-read the 750-1,000 words you wrote before you read this chapter, paying particular attention to cohesion. Now, revise it to improve its flow.
• Open 2010. Authored by : Jay Jordan. Provided by : University of Utah. Located at : https://utah.instructure.com/courses/324133/files/44665618/download?wrap=1 . Project : University Writing Program. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• Image of mirrored building. Authored by : Ian Muttoo. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/4HWFQg . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• Image of stone archways. Authored by : Paolo Dallorso. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/78Y6C4 . License : CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
• Image of mahjong tiles. Authored by : elPadawan. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/egHTTg . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

A New Measure Shows C.E.O. Pay at Even More Astronomical Levels

With new executive pay disclosures, the big picture is still riches at the top and lagging wages for most of the rank-and-file, our columnist says.

By Jeff Sommer

Jeff Sommer writes Strategies , a weekly column on markets, finance and the economy.

The annual tallies of chief executive pay for 2023 have arrived and they are fascinating and irritating, in equal measure.

There is already so much evidence that C.E.O.s are earning a ton of money — while most employees are not — that these annual revelations can’t be called shocking news.

But this year, there’s a new wrinkle: Companies must disclose how much C.E.O. stock holdings increase when the market rises. By that measure, too, chief executives are amassing extraordinary wealth.

From any angle, the specifics are eye-popping.

In 2023, using traditional measures of executive pay, four chief executives of publicly traded companies were each rewarded with more than $150 million:

Jon Winkelried of TPG , a private equity company.

Harvey Schwartz of the Carlyle Group , also a private equity firm.

Hock Tan of Broadcom , a semiconductor and data-center giant.

Nikesh Arora of Palo Alto Networks , a global cybersecurity company.

Plus, new rules stemming from the Dodd-Frank law of 2010 have gone into effect. They focus on how the market changes executive pay each year, yielding a second highest-paid C.E.O. list.

These new numbers — called compensation actually paid (CAP) — are often even bigger than the traditional chief executive payday bonanzas. That’s the case for a man whose outsize pay is already a major issue for his company: Elon Musk of Tesla, who gained $1.4 billion in 2023 — more than any other C.E.O.

But that stunning figure is only theoretical and based largely on stock that Mr. Musk no longer has a legal claim to. The holdings reflect an earlier $46.5 billion pay package that a judge in Delaware has voided , and that Mr. Musk is fighting to reclaim. Tesla shareholders are set to vote on Mr. Musk’s pay on June 13, and court battles are likely to continue for a long while.

Who Was Granted the Most Last Year

Top 10 U.S. chief executives by compensation granted in 2023. “Pay ratio” is C.E.O. total relative to the median worker’s pay.

Who Earned the Most Last Year

Top 10 U.S. chief executives by “compensation actually paid” in 2023, an accounting measure that includes changes in the value of current and potential stock holdings.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .