Cohesion and coherence

1. Cohesion and coherence We should practice the principles of cohesion and coherence in order to deliver the elegant experience our readers desire and deserve.

2. Overview We cannot achieve clarity by simply mapping characters and actions onto subjects and verbs. CLARITY is not just about what is on the page, but how what is on the page actually makes us feel. We do not want our readers to feel confused by our writing.

3. Overview Thus, we need to ensure that our writing demonstrates principles of cohesion and coherence. We write for our audience. Cohesive and coherent writing respects the reader’s unspoken desire to have a successful reading experience.

4. How Does This Feel? The basis of our American democracy—equal opportunity for all—is being threatened by college costs that have been rising fast for the last several years. Increases in family income have been significantly outpaced by increases in tuition at our colleges and universities during that period. Only the children of the wealthiest families in our society will be able to afford a college education if this trend continues. Knowledge and intellectual skills, in addition to wealth, will divide us as a people, when that happens.

5. Feel This… In the last several years, college costs have been rising so fast that they are now threatening the basis of our American democracy—equal opportunity for all. During that period, tuition has significantly outpaced increases in family income. If this trend continues, a college education will soon be affordable only by the children of the wealthiest families in our society. When that happens, we will be divided as a people not only by wealth, but by knowledge and intellectual skills.

6. The Difference… The basis of our American democracy—equal opportunity for all—is being threatened by college costs that have been rising fast for the last several years. In the last several years, college costs have been rising so fast that they are now threatening the basis of our American democracy.

7. The Difference… Increases in family income have been significantly outpaced by increases in tuition at our colleges and universities during that period. During that period, tuition has significantly outpaced increases in family income.

8. The Difference… Only the children of the wealthiest families in our society will be able to afford a college education if this trend continues. If this trend continues, a college education will soon be affordable only by the children of the wealthiest families in society. We feel the difference in reading these passages.

9. Why We practice cohesion and coherence We should practice the principles of cohesion and coherence in order to deliver the elegant, polished experience our readers desire and deserve.

10. Cohesion

11. Cohesion: A Sense of Flow Cohesive writing produces a sense of flow. We should think of cohesion as pairs of sentences fitting together the way two Lego pieces do. We judge sequences of sentences to be cohesive depending on how each sentence ends and the next begins.

12. Cohesion: A Sense of Flow We should begin sentences with information familiar to our readers. We should end sentences with information readers cannot anticipate.

13. How to Begin Sentences… Readers bring a general knowledge to a sentence. Readers get familiar 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. We should strive to start sentences with information that readers are familiar with. As Williams explains, this principle cooperates with the principle of characters as subjects. Once we mention our main characters, readers take them as familiar information. Readers remember words from a sentence they just read.

14. Exercise : How Does This Feel? Two aims—the recovery of the American economy and the modernization of America into a military power—were in the president’s mind when he assumed his office. The drop in unemployment figures and inflation, and the increase in the GNP testifies to his success in the first. But our increased involvement in international conflict without any clear set of political goals indicates less success without the second. Nevertheless, increases in the military budget and a good deal of saber rattling pleased the American voter.

15. Feel This… When the president assumed office, he had two main aims—the recovery of… Instead of “Two aims—the recovery of the American economy and the modernization of America into a military power—were in the president’s mind when he assumed his office.” The reader is familiar with the President and when he assumed office.

16. Feel This… He succeeded in the first as testified by the drop in unemployment figures and inflation. Instead of “The drop in unemployment figures and inflation, and the increase in the GNP testifies to his success in the first.”

17. Cohesion: A Sense of Flow We should begin sentences with information familiar to our readers. We should end sentences with information readers cannot anticipate. These principles allow us to deliver the elegant experience our readers desire and deserve.

18. CoHERENCE

19. Coherence: A Sense of the Whole Coherent writing exemplifies a sense of the whole. We should think of coherence as seeing what all the sentences in a piece of writing add up to, the way a hundred Lego pieces create a building, bridge, or boat. The sentences in a coherent paragraph are related and focus on a single point. Each subject of each sentence should be related.

20. How to Diagnose and Revise for Coherence Here’s how to diagnose and revise problems: Underline the first seven or eight words of every sentence in a passage. Ask yourself: Do the underlined words constitute a relatively small set of related ideas? Do those words name the most important characters? What are the main topics and characters?

21. Diagnose , Analyze, Revise The particular ideas toward the beginning of sentences define what a passage is “about” for a reader. Moving through a paragraph from a coherent point of view is made possible by a sequence of topics that constitute a limited set of related ideas. Revised Readers look for consistent topic sentences to tell them what a whole passage is “about.” If they feel that its sequence of topics focuses on a limited set of related topics, then they will feel they are moving…

22. Coherence: A Sense of the Whole Review: Coherent writing exemplifies a sense of the whole. The sentences in a coherent paragraph are related and focus on a single point. Each subject of each sentence should be related. These principles allow us to deliver the elegant experience our readers desire and deserve.

23. Two qualifications

26. Review Begin sentences with subjects that communicate information your readers are familiar with. Through a series of sentences, keep your topics short and reasonably consistent.