unity&coherence

Unity: All parts of the paragraph work together as a unit to express and support one main idea.

Coherence: The ideas in the paragraph are arranged and connected in a way that will make sense to readers. (by paying attention to the order or organizational pattern of the ideas, and the connections made between paragraphs.)

Unity is a very important characteristic of good paragraph writing. Paragraph unity means that one paragraph is about ONLY ONE main topic. That is, all the sentences -- the topic, supporting sentences, the detail sentences, and (sometimes) the concluding sentence -- are all telling the reader about ONE main topic. If your paragraph contains a sentence or some sentences that are NOT related to the main topic, then we say that the paragraph "lacks unity," or that the sentence is "off-topic."

How to Prevent Cheating (1) Teachers should take steps to prevent students from cheating on exams. (2) To begin with, teachers should stop reusing old tests. (3) Even a test that has been used once is soon known by all new students. (4) Students will check with their friends to find out, for example, what was on Dr. Höl’s final exam last term. (5) School of Foreign Languages at Pamukkale University is very difficult to study, so the exams are known to be dead-end by most of the students. (6) Teachers should also take some common sense precautions at test time. (7) They should make students separate themselves--by at least one seat--during an exam, and they should watch the class closely. (8) The best place for the teacher to sit is in the rear of the room, so that a student is never sure if the teacher is looking at him or her. (9) Last of all, teachers must make it clear to students that there will be strict penalties for cheating. (10) One of the problems with our school systems is a lack of discipline. (11) Teachers never used to put up with bad behavior, as they so today. (12) Anyone caught cheating should immediately receive a zero for the exam. (13) Because cheating is unfair to honest students, it should not be tolerated.

Why Adults Visit Amusement Parks (1) Adults visit amusement parks for several reasons. (2) For one thing, an amusement park is a place where you can find lots of junk food. (3) At the park, you can drink coke and eat popcorn, ice-cream, or hamburgers. (4) Parks should provide stands where healthier food, such as salads or cold chicken, would be sold. (5) Another reason people visit amusement parks is to prove themselves. (6) They want to visit the park that has the newest, scariest ride in order to say that they went on Kamikaze, Roket, Ahtapot, or Balerin. (7) Going on a scary ride is a way to feel courageous and adventurous without taking much of a risk. (8) Some rides, however, can be dangerous. (9) Rides that are not properly inspected or maintained have killed people all over the country. (10) A final reason people visit amusement parks is to escape from everyday pressures. (11) When people are at the top of a gigantic roller coaster, they are not thinking of bills, work, or personal problems. (12) A scary ride can make people forget these worries. (13) In conclusion, amusement parks are not only for children but also for adults

A paragraph is coherent when all its sentences are arranged in a clear order according to some definite plan so that they are easy to understand. Consider the following list of numbers: 38, 4, 56, 40, 3, 57, 39, 2, 37, 55

Makes little sense and you would never remember it, right? Now try this version:2, 3, 4 37, 38, 39, 40 55, 56, 57The second list is easier to make sense of and remember because the numbers are logically grouped and ordered. Your writing should do the same.

CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

SPATIAL ORDER

ORDER OF IMPORTANCE

LOGICAL ORDER

Relate events in the order they happened (explain a process, tell a story, explain a cause and effect)

Used to describe things according to where they are located. (middle, left, right, east, west…)

Show importance of details in relation to oneanother (pay attention to what a readerreads first and last)

Group related ideas (compare and contrast, define a subject)

You can create connections in and between sentences by (a) using transitions and (b) referring to words and ideas that you have mentioned earlier. Study the following chart for (a)

Consider the following paragraph :

My hometown is famous for several amazing natural features. First, it is noted for Çamurluk River, which is very wide and beautiful. On either side of this river, there are many willow trees which have long branches that can move slowly in the wind. In autumn the leaves of these trees fall and cover the riverbanks like golden snow. Second, on the other side of the town is Göz Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep. Even though it is steep, climbing this hill is not dangerous, because there are some firm rocks along the sides that can be used as stairs. There are no trees around this hill, so it stands clearly against the sky and can be seen from many miles away. The third amazing feature is Uluçınar Tree. This tree is probably about six hundred years old. These three landmarks are truly amazing and make my hometown a famous place.

Look at the words in bold font in the previous page. Do you see how they help guide the reader? For example, consider the words, First, Second, and The third amazing feature. We can call these words major connectors. Major connectors help organize the main parts of your paragraph. This paragraph has three main parts: (1) a part about the Çamurluk River, (2) a part about Göz Hill, and (3) a part about Uluçınar Tree. Another way of saying this is that this paragraph has three main points which are indicated by the major connectors. Using such major connectors is an important way of providing coherence in a paragraph.

What about the other words in bold, such as those appearing in the phrases "these trees" and "this hill"? We can call these minor connectors. Minor connectors provide coherence to a paragraph by connecting sentences within each of the main parts of your paragraph. That is, when you write about your main points, you can use minor connectors to link your details to each main point.

To sum up, coherence is needed in order for readers to understand the material that you are presenting to them.

Transitions help maintain coherence by fostering connections between your words, sentences, and paragraphs.