Writing to Achieve Cohesion

Cohesion

Nouns that belong together

Clear pronouns

Conjunctions and transitions

Review A

Review B

• all of its parts stick together to form a unified whole

• all of its ideas are arranged and connected in a way that makes sense

When we say that a piece of writing has cohesion, we mean that

Cohesion

If a paragraph is cohesive, the reader can easily follow the writer’s thoughts and understand his or her message.

Cohesion

Here are three tools that writers use to maketheir writing cohesive

nouns that belong together

pronouns with clear reference

conjunctions and transitions

1.

2.

3.

Cohesion

Mark Twain opens Life on the Mississippi with this cohesive paragraph about his subject:

The Mississippi is well worth reading about. It is not a commonplace river, but on the contrary is in all ways remarkable. Considering the Missouri its main branch, it is the longest river in the world—four thousand three hundred miles. It seems safe to say that it is also the crookedest river in the world, since in one part of its journey it uses up one thousand three hundred miles to cover the same ground that the crow would fly over in six hundred and seventy-five.

Nouns that belong together

See how Mark Twain achieves cohesion by usingnouns that belong together. The Mississippi is well worth reading about. It is not a commonplace river, but on the contrary is in all ways remarkable. Considering the Missouri its main branch, it is the longest river in the world—four thousand three hundred miles. It seems safe to say that it is also the crookedest river in the world, since in one part of its journey it uses up one thousand three hundred miles to cover the same ground that the crow would fly over in six hundred and seventy-five.

These nouns belong together because they all refer to the topic of the paragraph, the Mississippi River.

To make your writing cohesive, make a list of nouns that belong with your topic before you begin to write.

Nouns that belong together

Topic: hybrid cars

Nouns: gasoline, fuel,engine, motor, power, electricity,batteries

Topic Sentence: Many automotive companies are developing hybrid cars.

Give your topic in the topic sentence of a paragraph and use the nouns that belong with your topic in supporting sentences within the paragraph.

Nouns that belong together

Supporting sentence: New engines that run on both batteries and gasoline make these cars more fuel efficient.

You can test your writing for cohesion by making sure that• each paragraph includes many nouns that belong with the

topic• each sentence in a paragraph supports the main idea given

in your topic sentence

Clear pronouns

See how Mark Twain achieves cohesion by using clear pronouns.

Pronouns create cohesion by referring to something that the writer has already mentioned.

The Mississippi is well worth reading about. It is not a commonplace river, but on the contrary is in all ways remarkable. Considering the Missouri its main branch, it is the longest river in the world—four thousand three hundred miles. It seems safe to say that it is also the crookedest river in the world, since in one part of its journey it uses up one thousand three hundred miles to cover the same ground that the crow would fly over in six hundred and seventy-five.

The Mississippi is well worth reading about. It is not a commonplace river, . . . Considering the Missouri its main branch, it is the longest river in the world. . . . It seems safe to say that it is also the crookedest river in the world, since in one part of its journey it uses up one thousand three hundred miles. . . .

Clear pronouns

Although Twain doesn’t repeat “Mississippi River” even once in his paragraph, we understand his meaning because there is no doubt what the pronouns it and its refer to.

When you write, create cohesion by using pronouns to refer to important nouns, such as your topic. Make sure that each pronoun clearly refers to one noun.

Conjunctions and transitions

Another way to achieve cohesion is to connect ideas carefully by using conjunctions and transitions.

The Mississippi is well worth reading about. It is not a commonplace river, but on the contrary is in all ways remarkable. Considering the Missouri its main branch, it is the longest river in the world—four thousand three hundred miles. It seems safe to say that it is also the crookedest river in the world, since in one part of its journey it uses up one thousand three hundred miles to cover the same ground that the crow would fly over in six hundred and seventy-five.

See how Twain uses conjunctions and transitions.

The Mississippi is well worth reading about. It is not a commonplace river, but on the contrary is in all ways remarkable. Considering the Missouri its main branch, it is the longest river in the world—four thousand three hundred miles. It seems safe to say that it is also the crookedest river in the world, since in one part of its journey it uses up one thousand three hundred miles to cover the same ground that the crow would fly over in six hundred and seventy-five.

Conjunctions and transitions

Both conjunctions and transitions connect ideas by showing how they relate to each other.

Contrasting Ideas

It is not a commonplace river,

Comparing Ideas

It is the longest river in the world. . .

Idea 1

Idea 2

It is also the crookedest. . .

Idea 1

Idea 2

Cause andEffect

. . . since in one part of its journey it uses up one thousand three hundred miles to cover the same ground that the crow would fly over in six hundred and seventy-five.

Idea 3

but on the contrary is in all ways remarkable.

Writing to achieve cohesion

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Identify whether each pair of ideas is connected by nouns that belong together (N), clear pronouns (P), or conjunctions and transitions (CT).

1. Above the fireplace hung a picture of Lord Quimby. No one entering the room could ignore that portrait.

2. The mayor has proposed building a convention center. However, the council wants to invest in a stadium.

3. This guitar has no electronic parts. A metal resonator allows it to be heard from far away.

4. Downhill skiing was too expensive, so we decided to go snowshoeing.

On Your Own

Review A

Connect each pair of ideas by writing in the blank an appropriate noun, pronoun, conjunction or transition, as indicated.

1. If you see Javier, give ________ this message. (pronoun)

2. In the Peruvian desert giant animal figures were carved long ago. No one is sure who made these ________. (noun)

3. ________ we had already read all of the books on the list, we voted on a new selection. (conjunction)

4. Everyone is supposed to bring his or her favorite snack food. I made some ________. (noun)

5. Unlike birds, these mammals do not migrate when the weather gets cold. ________, they hibernate. (transition)

Review B

1. Include nouns related to this place. 2. Use the pronoun it or its, making sure that each

pronoun clearly refers to a particular noun. 3. Connect ideas by using conjunctions and transitions. 4. Mark your paragraph in different colors to identify

where you used each method for achieving cohesion.

Write a paragraph telling why a particular place is important or interesting to you.

The End