6/15/2015

A good paragraph has both unity & coherence UNITY & COHERENCE

What is Coherence?
• Coherence means establishing a relationship between the ideas presented in a paragraph.
• It brings about a rationale in the arrangement of the ideas which are introduced either in the chronological order or in the order of importance.
• Besides, transitions that compare, contrast, illustrate, add or show cause and effect build logical bridges.
• The ideas, thus expressed in the paragraph, flow smoothly from one to the other in a logical sequence.
• This helps the reader to understand the paragraph.

Element #1: Unity

What is Unity?
• Unity in a paragraph means that the entire paragraph should focus on one single idea.
• The supporting details should explain the main idea. • The concluding sentence should end the paragraph with the same idea.
• Thus, a unified paragraph presents a thought, supports it with adequate details and completes it with a conclusion*.

How to create good paragraph & essay ?
Unity
2)Order
3)Coherence
4)Completeness
1)

Example: No Unity

• Start with the topic sentence.

• The start of this paragraph is incorrect:

• Every other sentence supports this one idea with information that points back to it, or explains it!

• "Sunday is my favorite day, because I can watch football with my dad. There are other sports on other days to watch on TV."

• The paragraph is unified around that one idea.

• The second sentence detours from the main topic: how watching football with dad makes Sunday your favorite day.

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Don't include unrelated details

Example of Unity

• Sentences like these don't relate to the main idea in the topic sentence:

This is a better start to the paragraph:

• "There are other sports on other days to watch on TV.“

"Sunday is my favorite day, because I can watch football with my dad. He spends the whole day watching football on
TV with me, since he doesn't have to work that day."

• OR
• "Some days my dad doesn't make it home from work until after I'm in bed."

Element #2: Order
You can order your supporting sentences in different ways:
1. by chronology: the order of events in time
2. by importance: the order of most to least important, or least to most important
3. by logic: the order that makes the most sense based on the topic

Why is order important?

The second sentence elaborates on the main topic. This is a unified start.

Besides, essays need order too
• You can organize an essay using :
– Cause and Effect order
– Problem-Solution order
– Order of importance
– Pro-Con order
*among others

Element #3: Coherence

Random sentences cause confusion.
Without organization of your sentences, it's hard to tell what your main idea is.
Order helps you make your point, and helps the reader follow along from one idea to the next one, until you prove your conclusion. This is how you make your writing understandable to the reader.
You make your paragraph coherent by connecting ideas to one another.

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1.Repetition of Key Nouns
COHERENCE… achieved by

1. Repeating key nouns
2. Using consistent pronouns
3. Using appropriate transition signals

• The easiest way to achieve coherence is to repeat key nouns frequently in your paragraph. Eg: Key nouns are not repeated below.

• "Sunday is my favorite day, because I can watch football with my dad. There are other sports on other days to watch on TV."

2. Use consistent Pronouns
• When using pronouns, make sure the same person and number is used throughout the paragraph. • Don’t change from you or he or she (change of person) or from he to they (change of number)
• or from we to I (change in person and number)

3. Use Transition signals

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 as jewellery, coins, and ornamental purposes. Gold never needs to be polished and will retain its beauty forever. Another important characteristic of gold is its usefulness to industry and science. For many years, it has been used in hundreds of industrial applications, such as photography and dentistry. The most recent use of gold is in astronauts’ suits. Astronauts use gold-plated heat shields for protection when they go outside spaceships in space. In conclusion, gold is treasured not only for its beauty but also for its utility.

Element #4: Completeness

• Such as “first,” “finally” and “however,” or phrases such as “in conclusion,” “on the other hand,” and “as a result” among many others

For a complete paragraph, you need enough information to support the main idea, or prove your thesis.

• Transition signals give a paragraph coherence because they guide your reader from one idea to the next.

If all sentences clearly and thoroughly support the main idea, the paragraph is complete. 3

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A complete paragraph has…
1. Topic sentence: an interesting subject and its controlling idea
2. Supporting sentences: usually at least three, to develop the main idea thoroughly
3. Concluding sentence: to summarize the main idea and reinforce the topic sentence

The End

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