Writing Coherent Paragraphs

Writing Coherent Paragraphs

Definition. A paragraph is coherent when its sentences are related to each other. Remember that the purpose of a sentence is to communicate the objectives of a piece of writing. Sentences serve little purpose, therefore, unless they have something to do with the other sentences in a paragraph. Paragraph coherence exists when each sentence in a paragraph serves a purpose and the readers know what that purpose is.

The relatedness of sentences comes from coherence techniques (see below). If these techniques are absent, sentences may seem only randomly or marginally relevant to the paragraph.  An incoherent paragraph rambles from idea to idea, with no sign that the writer has thought about what communicative purposes its sentences serve.

Coherence and Purpose. Consequently, at some point a writer must know the purpose of each paragraph she has written. Paragraph classification (see the separate handout) aids in determining paragraph purpose (the function and rhetorical strategy classifications are particularly relevant).

The coherence techniques in a paragraph should mirror the writer's intellectualization of that paragraph's purpose. If a writer doesn't know the purpose of a paragraph, coherence techniques may not work. However, if a writer doesn't know the purpose of a paragraph, a writer can try to apply coherence techniques as a way of figuring out what that paragraph's purpose is. It is possible, I am arguing, to use coherence techniques self-consciously to interrogate one's own writing. In other words, in trying to "fake" coherence by mechanically applying these techniques, a writer may achieve "real" coherence. The writer will be forcing himself to think about what he is trying to write and also forcing himself to look at what he has actually written. Recognizing the discrepancy between thought and word is a key moment in fixing weaknesses in coherence.

Paragraph-to-Paragraph Coherence. Furthermore, paragraphs must be coherent with respect to each other. Each paragraph must contribute to a piece of writing's objectives, and the reader must understand the relationship between adjacent paragraphs to know the reason for each paragraph's existence. If an essay contains a series of paragraphs with no indication of why one paragraph follows another, the essay is incoherent. To create coherence between paragraphs, use the same coherence techniques as for coherence within paragraphs.

The Writing Process. Coherence results from strenuous revision. During drafting, writers ought to have a sense of what paragraphs might assist in fulfilling the writers' communicative objectives, especially in the sense of what ideas the written work must express. In the early stages, however, the writer may only have a tenuous grasp of what purposes her paragraphs serve, and even what order the paragraphs should be in. I recommend that writers establish coherence between paragraphs by the end of the revision stage. Writers should pay attention to coherence within paragraphs during revising, but coherence within paragraphs might not be fully developed until the editing stage.

Common Coherence Techniques

1.      Use transitional expressions.

2.      Use pronouns.

3.      Use deliberate repetition.

4.      Use parallelism.

1.                  Transitional Expressions

Transitional expressions are words and phrases that indicate connections among ideas. Their use is crucial in writing. Particularly in argumentative writing, the writer should consider issues related to critical thinking (such as soundness of arguments, fallacies, and flaws in premises).  Try not to use the same expressions in the same piece of writing (especially if the text is short). A thesaurus may be helpful in coming up with relevant transitional expressions (but avoid weird ones). Elegant use of transitions takes practice, but inelegant use is better than no use.

Common transitional expressions (others are possible)

Relationship	Expressions
Addition	also, in addition, too, moreover, and, besides, furthermore, equally important, then, finally, as well, further, indeed, in fact, ; [semicolon]
Alternative	either…or, if only, instead, instead of, in that case, neither…nor, otherwise, rather than, unless, whether…or, or, in other words
Causation	as a result of, because, due to, for, on account of, since
Comparison	similarly, likewise, in the same way, not only…but also, as…as [e.g., as big as a house]
Concession	of course, to be sure, certainly, granted
Contrast	but, yet, however, on the other hand, nevertheless, nonetheless, conversely, in contrast, by contrast, still, at the same time, although, despite, even if, whereas, by comparison
Degree or Extent	for the most part, so…that [e.g., she is so loud that she doesn't need a microphone], to some extent, to some degree, to a certain extent, such…that [e.g., it is such a long way that I can't walk], in part, partly
Example	for example, for instance, thus, as an illustration, namely, specifically, such as, : [colon], in that
Place	in the front, in the foreground, in the back, in the background, at the side, adjacent, nearby, in the distance, here, there
Purpose	so that, to, so as to, in order to, in such a way as to
Result	therefore, thus, as a result, so, accordingly, as a result, it follows that, consequently
Summary	hence, in short, in brief, in summary, in conclusion, to sum up
Time Sequence	first, second, third, next, then, finally, afterwards, before, soon, later, meanwhile, subsequently, immediately, eventually, currently

EXAMPLE [from George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language"]: 

In prose, the worst thing one can do with words is to surrender to them. When you think of a concrete object, you think wordlessly, and then, if you want to describe the thing you have been visualizing you probably hunt about till you find the exact words that seem to fit it. When you think of something abstract you are more inclined to use words from the start, and unless you make a conscious effort to prevent it, the existing dialect will come rushing in and do the job for you, at the expense of blurring or even changing your meaning. Probably it is better to put off using words as long as possible and get one's meaning as clear as one can through pictures or sensations. Afterwards one can choose--not simply accept--the phrases that will best cover the meaning, and then switch round and decide what impression one's words are likely to make on another person.

2.      Pronouns

Use pronouns to connect specified nouns in earlier sentences to the content of later sentences.

EXAMPLE: [the first two paragraphs of Lenore Keeshig-Tobias' "He Was a Boxer When I Was Small"]

His thundering rages are most vivid, his tears subtle. Watching and feeling for them, but unable to bridge the gap, I learned to love, hate him all in the same breath. No one ever knew this. They saw a kid in love with her father.

      He was a boxer when I was small. People say he was good and would have made it had he started younger, but he had a wife and growing family to provide for. Amateur boxing paid nothing, but he loved it. I think he must have been about twenty-two then. He claims that we were too young to have seen him fight, but I remember.

[Note that the pronoun "he" creates coherence between the two paragraphs as well.]

3.      Deliberate Repetition

Repeat a key term or phrase if that term or phase is central to the ideas in a paragraph. To establish coherence in this way, synonyms of that key term are not useful. Furthermore, the shorter a paragraph is, the less often a writer should use repetition (since too much repetition can be monotonous and wordy). But deliberate repetition can be an uncomplicated way of indicating the centrality of an idea to a paragraph.  This technique often occurs together with parallelism (see 4. below).

 EXAMPLE [from Marie Nelson's Beowulf's Boast Words"]

But let us begin as Beowulf begins, with the situation in the land of the Danes when Beowulf arrives. As readers will remember, all promisers do not follow through by doing what they say they will do. As Hrothgar explains to Beowulf, who has just arrived, his trusted "ōretmecgas" often promised to wait for Grendel's attack in the meadhall.

4.      Parallelism

Parallelism (or parallel structure) is the use of grammatically equivalent syntax in adjacent sentences or within sentences. The repeated rhythm of parallel structures notifies the reader that the ideas in parallel structures are related to each another. Like deliberate repetition, overuse of parallelism can at times cause monotony and wordiness: but consistent parallelism is extremely effective in promoting coherence, and I recommend erring on the side of overuse in this case. Indeed, lack of parallelism at times creates ungrammatical structures.

EXAMPLE

WEAK: James was not only a prolific novelist but wrote essays, too, and also several plays.

STRONGER: James was not only a prolific novelist but also an essayist and a playwright.

EXAMPLE [from Winston S. Churchill's speech on the evacuation at Dunkirk ("Wars Are Not Won by Evacuations")]

Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous states have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight in the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and liberation of the old.

Exercise

Identify the coherence techniques in these two paragraphs. (Underline the technique and write in the margin the name of the technique.)

            As Gene Roddenberry's James T. Kirk, William Shatner was the embodiment of Kennedy-era sensitive macho: articulate, reasonable and commanding, but always game to buss an intergalactic babe or bust a Klingon jaw. If it was the role of a lifetime for Shatner, that was not his decision to make. Fans, and the particular properties of the television medium, would make it for him. A low-ratings earner from the getgo, Star Trek nevertheless began to build its unprecedentedly rabid fan-base almost instantly. It was organized fan pressure that convinced NBC to leave the show on for a third season, and it was eventually fan pressure that made William Shatner realize that, if there was anything worth clinging on to (so to speak) for a lifetime, it was the role of Jim Kirk.

            It first hit him in New Jersey in 1970. After 79 episodes, Star Trek had been cancelled, and the combination of an expensive divorce and a residual-free contract with Paramount, which owned the series and Kirk, soon left the actor every bit as broke as  he'd been when Roddenberry first called. By 1970, he was doing summer stock for money, but not enough money that he didn't have to cut costs by driving from job to job in a pickup with a camper shell on the back. As Shatner recalls it, he was asleep in the camper, when a six-year-old boy knocked on the door. The kid had seen the strange sleeping apparatus and wanted to ask the inhabitant of the camper if it was a spaceship. Imagine his surprise when Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise came to the door. It was then that Shatner began to realize the extent to which Star Trek, which would soon run in syndication across the States and 100 countries, had taken a life of its own.

[Source: Pevere, Greg, and Greig Dymond. Mondo Canuck: A Canadian Pop Culture Odyssey. Scarborough, Ont: Prentice-Hall, 1996. 202.]

[V. Zenari. Adapted from: Troyka, Lynn Quitman, and Cy Strom. Simon and Shuster Handbook for Writers. 3^rd Can. ed. Toronto: Prentice Hall, 2002.]