Coherent Writing

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Coherent Writing

• Using repetition, pronouns, parallelism,
• and transitions to help your readers.

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What is coherence in writing?

• To make your written thoughts flow more smoothly
  
• Repeat important words or phrases.
• Synonyms
• Antonyms
• Use pronouns.
• Enumerate or number off elements in a list.
• Use parallelism to repeat a sentence structure.
• Employ transitions
• Conjunctions
• Conjunctive adverbs

After drinking, how coherent is this guy?
3
Introduction
What is coherence?

• Look at the paragraphs below.
• Which one is easier to read?

My fathers house had four bedrooms and two
sitting rooms. My father had planted a lot of
flowers in the garden. There was a large oak
tree in the front yard.
My fathers house had four bedrooms and two
sitting rooms. In front of the house was a large
garden. In the garden my father had planted a
lot of flowers. Most of these flowers were roses
and tulips.
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The Given-New Principle

• One of the ways that you can make sure that your
  sentences and
• paragraphs have coherence is to use the
  Given-New Principle.
• With the Given-New Principle, you use something
  given (an old piece
• of information) from a previous sentence, and add
  something new.
• Using something given from the previous
  sentence is the connecting
• idea between the old and new ideas.

given idea ??? new idea
given idea
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Example

• In the second of the following two sentences,
  find the given
• information that is being picked up from the
  first sentence, as
• well as the new information that has been
  added. Click on
• See Answer when you are finished. (Bates, 1997,
  p. 123).

One important value in Brazilian culture is
hospitality. Hospitality to a Brazilian means
essentially that your door is always open to
friends, relatives, and guests.
See Answer
6
Surface Signals

• To help connect ideas between sentences and
  paragraphs,
• We can use surface signals. Surface signals
  are words
• that help tell the reader the logical connection
  between
• ideas. Look at some examples of surface signals
  on the
• following pages. (Bates, 1997, p. 124).

Surface Signals
Idea
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Surface Signals
Repetition of Key Words
Example 1
One of the values of Saudi Arabian culture is
modesty in women. Women show their modesty by
covering themselves with a veil.
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Surface Signals
Repetition of Key Words
Example 2
Our next task was to look for those elusive
particles. Such particles are difficult to
detect without a microscope.
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Surface Signals
Repetition of Key Words
Example 3
Gold, a precious metal, is prized for two
important characteristics. First of all, gold
has a lustrous beauty that is resistant to
corrosion.
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Surface Signals
Demonstrative Adjectives (this, that, these,
those)
Example 1
Women show their modesty by covering themselves
with a veil. This covers the womans head and
often much of her face.
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Surface Signals
Demonstrative Adjectives (this, that, these,
those)
Example 2
An important custom in Ethiopian culture is the
coffee ceremony. This ceremony is often
practiced every Sunday.
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Surface Signals
Demonstrative Adjectives (this, that, these,
those)
Example 3
Cambodian parents try to raise their children to
have respect for elders, patience in trying
situations, and gentleness toward others. These
values are highly prized in Cambodian culture.
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Surface Signals
Pronouns (he, she, it, they, you)
Example 1
This veil covers the womans head and often much
of her face. She may also choose to wear a mask
that shows only her eyes.
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Surface Signals
Pronouns (he, she, it, they, you)
Example 2
Many Japanese believe in the importance of
teamwork. They teach their children to think of
the group first.
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Surface Signals
Pronouns (he, she, it, they, you)
Example 3
When a father is very sick, he knows that his
family will take care of him.
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Answer
old ideas
One important value in Brazilian culture is
hospitality. Hospitality to a Brazilian means
essentially that your door is always open to
friends, relatives, and guests.
new ideas
Back
Next
17
Im Sorry

• This paragraph is not very easy to read. It
  doesnt have
• coherence. Coherence means that one idea follows
  from a
• previous idea and connects smoothly to the next
  idea.

My fathers house had four bedrooms and two
sitting rooms. My father had planted a lot of
flowers in the garden. There was a large oak tree
in the front yard.
house
garden
tree
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Correct!

• This paragraph shows coherence because the ideas
  follow
• logically from one sentence to another.

My fathers house had four bedrooms and two
sitting rooms. In front of the house was a large
garden. In the garden my father had planted a
lot of flowers. Most of these flowers were roses
and tulips.
house
garden
flowers
roses and tulips
Back
Next
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Repeating creates coherence

• In this passage, which key word is repeated to
  create coherence?
• We Americans are a charitable and humane people
  we have institutions devoted to every good cause
  from rescuing homeless cats to preventing World
  War III. But what have we done to promote the art
  of thinking? Certainly we make no room for
  thought in our daily lives. Suppose a man were to
  say to his friends, "I'm not going to PTA tonight
  (or choir practice or the baseball game) because
  I need some time to myself, some time to think"?
  Such a man would be shunned by his neighbors his
  family would be ashamed of him. What if a
  teenager were to say, "I'm not going to the dance
  tonight because I need some time to think"? His
  parents would immediately start looking in the
  Yellow Pages for a psychiatrist. We are all too
  much like Julius Caesar we fear and distrust
  people who think too much. We believe that almost
  anything is more important than thinking.

Around major holidays, how well do we think?
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Repeating creates coherence

• Think is the key word repeated to create
  coherence
• We Americans are a charitable and humane people
  we have institutions devoted to every good cause
  from rescuing homeless cats to preventing World
  War III. But what have we done to promote the art
  of thinking? Certainly we make no room for
  thought in our daily lives. Suppose a man were to
  say to his friends, "I'm not going to PTA tonight
  (or choir practice or the baseball game) because
  I need some time to myself, some time to think"?
  Such a man would be shunned by his neighbors his
  family would be ashamed of him. What if a
  teenager were to say, "I'm not going to the dance
  tonight because I need some time to think"? His
  parents would immediately start looking in the
  Yellow Pages for a psychiatrist. We are all too
  much like Julius Caesar we fear and distrust
  people who think too much. We believe that almost
  anything is more important than thinking.

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Pronouns create coherence

• Which pronoun is correct?
• 1.  My grandmother really loved Juan. She left
  all her money to Federico and he/him.
• 2. A student in that all-women's college should
  have no fears about her/their future.
• 3. He was worried about who/whom he should ask to
  the big dance, that he ended up not asking
  anyone.
• 4. Neither Eva nor I/me am responsible for this
  mess.

Just whose nose is it, anyway?
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Demonstratives create coherence

• In each case, which demonstrative (this, that,
  these, those) is correct?
• 1. The book is in my hand. __ book is easy to
  read.
• 2. The book is in your hand. __ book is hard to
  read.
• 3. The books are in my hand. __ books are good.
• 4. The books are in your hand. __ books are bad.

What is the man demonstrating?
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Demonstratives create coherence

• Here are the correct demonstratives
• 1. The book is in my hand. This book is easy to
  read.
• 2. The book is in your hand. That book is hard to
  read.
• 3. The books are in my hand. These books are
  good.
• 4. The books are in your hand. Those books are
  bad.

• What does each demonstrative mean?
• 1. This means single and near.
• 2. That means single and far.
• 3. These means plural and near.
• 4. Those means plural and far.

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Can transitions help coherence?

• Use a conjunction or conjunctive adverb to link
  sentences with logical relationships.
• Identity. Indicates sameness. that is, that is to
  say, in other words, ...
• Opposition. Indicates a contrast. but, yet,
  however, nevertheless, still, though, although,
  whereas, in contrast, rather, ...

3. Addition. Indicates continuation. and, too,
also, furthermore, moreover, in addition,
besides, in the same way, again, another,
similarly, a similar, the same, ... 4. Cause
and effect. therefore, so, consequently, as a
consequence, thus, as a result, hence, it follows
that, because, since, for, ...
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Can you use the right transitions?

• Karen is rich ___, her cousin Kate is poor.a.
  thereforeb. howeverc. otherwise
• You'd better take a taxi. ___, you'll arrive
  late.a. Consequentlyb. Furthermorec. Otherwise

• I enjoy reading this new magazine. ___, it has
  good articles.a. Moreoverb. Neverthelessc.
  However
• Jack wasn't tired. ___, he took a nap.a.
  Otherwiseb. Hencec. Nevertheless

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Can transitions help coherence?

• Cause and effect. therefore, so, consequently, as
  a consequence, thus, as a result, hence, it
  follows that, because, since, for
• Indefinites. Indicates a logical connection of an
  unspecified type. in fact, indeed, now, ...

• Concession. Indicates a willingness to consider
  the other side. admittedly, I admit, true, I
  grant, of course, naturally, some believe, some
  people believe, it has been claimed that, once it
  was believed, there are those who would say, ...
• Exemplification. Indicates a shift from a more
  general or abstract idea to a more specific or
  concrete idea.

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Can you use the right transitions?

• Phil was not thirsty ___, he drank five glasses
  of water.a. howeverb. moreoverc. furthermore
• The kids didn't study. ___, they failed the
  course.a. Thereforeb. Nonethelessc. Otherwise

• The weather was terrible. ___, we decided to
  delay our trip.a. Furthermoreb. Besidesc.
  Therefore
• You must buy the tickets ___, we won't be able
  to see that play.a. otherwiseb. althoughc.
  besides

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Can you keep your ideas in parallel?

• Which alternate uses parallel form?
• Tran has wit, charm, and she has an extremely
  pleasant personality.
• Tran has wit, charm, and a pleasing personality.
• He learned to read poems critically and to
  appreciate good prose.
• He learned to read poems critically and he
  appreciated good prose.

• He wanted three things to learn a skill, to make
  good friends, and to learn about life.
• He wanted three things to learn a skill, to make
  good friends, and learning about life.
• Coach was a brilliant strategist, a caring
  mentor, and a wise friend.
• Coach was a brilliant strategist, a caring
  mentor, and friend

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Can you keep your ideas in parallel?

• Which alternate uses parallel form?
• We found the film repulsive, offensive, and we
  thought it was embarrassing.
• We found the film repulsive, offensive, and
  embarrassing.
• Ed kept his store clean, neat, and he made it
  conveniently arranged.
• Ed kept his store clean, neat, and conveniently
  arranged.

• Ali rewarded his students for working hard on the
  final project and going beyond the call of duty.
• Ali rewarded his students for their hard work on
  the final project and going beyond the call of
  duty.
• I like finding a good trout stream, setting up
  camp, and spending a couple of days fishing.
• I like finding a good trout stream, setting up
  camp, and to spend a couple of days fishing.

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Summary of Written Coherence

• In writing, repeat key words in order to
  emphasize your topic.
• Use demonstratives such as this and that to
  reemphasize important points.
• Use appropriate pronouns to repeat more
  indirectly than direct repetition.
• Use good parallelism to repeat a sentence
  structure.

After drinking, how coherent is Sally?