Coherence and Cohesion in a Paragraph
BEGS 183 Solved Assignment 2021-22 Coherence is an essential quality for good academic writing.
In academic writing, the flow of ideas from one sentence to the next should be
smooth and logical. Without cohesion, the reader will not understand the main
points that you are trying to make. It also hampers readability. Cohesion
necessarily precedes coherence. Coherence and Cohesion in a Paragraph There is a difference between cohesion and
coherence: cohesion is achieved when sentences are connected at the sentence
level, whereas as coherence is achieved when ideas are connected. In addition,
cohesion focuses on the grammar and style of your paper.
Coherence also means “clarity of expression” and it is
created when correct vocabulary and grammar are used. After all, the goal of
writing is to benefit the readers. Coherence and Cohesion in a Paragraph Without both coherence and cohesion, the
readers may detect choppiness in the text and feel as if there are gaps in the
ideas presented. Needless to say, texts without coherence are difficult to read
and understand. Coherence and Cohesion in a Paragraph It defeats the whole purpose of writing, which is to relay
ideas in a clear and efficient manner. There are strategies that you can use to
ensure coherence and cohesion in academic writing.
BEGS 183 Solved Assignment 2021-22 Paragraph coherence and cohesion results in paragraph unity.
To ensure that your paragraphs have unity, there are two things to keep in
mind: it must have a single topic (found in the topic sentence) and sentences
provide more detail than the topic sentence, while maintaining the focus on the
idea presented. Coherence and Cohesion in a Paragraph The paragraph below shows a lack of unity: Non-cohesive sample:
Dogs are canines that people domesticated a long time ago. Wolves are
predecessors of dogs and they help people in a variety of ways. There are
various reasons for owning a dog, and the most important is companionship. Coherence and Cohesion in a Paragraph Cohesive sample: Dogs are canines that people domesticated a long time ago,
primarily for practical reasons. Even though dogs descended from wolves, they
are tame and can be kept in households. Since they are tame, people have
various reasons for owning a dog, such as companionship. Notice that the ideas
in the non-cohesive sample are not arranged logically. Coherence and Cohesion in a Paragraph The sentences are not
connected by transitions and give the readers new ideas that are not found in
the topic sentence. Thus, the paragraph is hard to read, leaving readers
confused about the topic. On the other hand, the cohesive sample has ideas
arranged logically. Coherence and Cohesion in a Paragraph All ideas in this sample flow from the topic sentence. In
addition, they give more details about the topic while maintaining their focus
on the topic sentence.
Establishing
Coherence
It is important to focus on coherence when writing at the
sentence level. However, cohesion smoothens the flow of writing and should be
established. There are various ways to ensure coherent writing:
·
Write sentences that flow by varying the lengths
and structures, the use of correct punctuation, and broadening your word
choices
·
Use simple transitions, such as “in addition,
additionally, furthermore, therefore, thus, on the contrary, by the same token,
at the same time, in other words, etc.”
·
Repeat your keywords but be careful of excessive
repetition
·
Repeat sentence structures, which is used as a
rhetorical technique rather than cohesion to highlight parallelism between
sentences
·
Ensure thematic consistency
·
Start every sentence or paragraph with
information that hints at the content of the next sentence