Coherence at Three Levels
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| coherence/kəʊˈhɪərəns/ | The way sentences and paragraphs connect into one clear whole. |
| Repetition/ˌrepəˈtɪʃn/ | The repeated use of an element, word or pattern to create an effect. |
| synonyms/ˈsɪnənɪmz/ | A word or expression with the same or a closely similar meaning to another in a given context. |
| pronoun references/ˈprəʊnaʊn ˈrefrənsɪz/ | Making clear which noun a word such as it or they points back to. |
| parallel structure/ˈpærəlel ˈstrʌktʃə/ | Repeating the same grammatical shape in a list or a pair. |
| Transitional elements/trænˈsɪʃənl ˈelɪmənts/ | Words or sentences that show how the next idea relates to the last. |
A text can be clear sentence by sentence and still lose you
- Every sentence makes sense, and after two paragraphs you cannot say what the argument is.
- Clarity is local; coherence 连贯 is what holds the levels together.
- The CED names three levels, and a text can fail at any one of them.
Every sentence may know its own address; coherence makes sure they all live in the same essay.
Inside a sentence
- In a sentence, the idea in one clause logically links to the idea in another.
- A sentence whose two halves have no relation is grammatical and incoherent.
- That is why coordination and subordination — Unit 7 — are coherence tools, not decoration.
The devices are examinable by name- and they are what a "structure" question is actually asking about
Inside a paragraph
- In a paragraph, each sentence builds on the one before it.
- Test a paragraph by asking of every sentence: what did the previous one make possible?
- A sentence that could be moved anywhere in the paragraph is not building on anything.
Build coherence at three levels
Coherence is built inside a sentence, between sentences and between paragraphs, and the fixes are different.
Within a paragraph, each sentence should ____ on the one before it.
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A sentence that could be moved anywhere is not building on anything.
The level students lose is the whole-text one. Every paragraph can be internally coherent while the sequence is arbitrary — and an essay in that state has clarity everywhere and reasoning nowhere.
Select all the levels at which the CED says coherence occurs.
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Coherence is a relation between ideas, so a single word is not a level.
The level of coherence students most often lose is...
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Every paragraph can be competent while the sequence is arbitrary.
Across the whole text
- Across the text, each paragraph relates to the line of reasoning.
- This is the level students most often lose — every paragraph is competent and the sequence is arbitrary.
- The topic-sentence test from Unit 3 checks exactly this level.
Select all the coherence devices the CED names.
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Pronoun reference and transitional elements complete the list; footnotes are not on it.
Match each level to what holds it together.
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Three levels, three different things to check.
What creates the links
- Repetition 重复, synonyms 同义词, pronoun references 代词指代 and parallel structure 平行结构 indicate or develop relationships between ideas.
- Transitional elements 过渡成分 — words, phrases, clauses, sentences, even whole paragraphs — assist in creating coherence.
- These are examinable by name: a "structure" question is asking which of these the writer used.
A paragraph opens "The scheme is expensive" and its second sentence begins "Students also report...". Also claims a link the sentences do not have — cost and student reports are not the same idea, and the transition papers over the gap instead of building one.
Coherence operates in a sentence (clause links to clause), a paragraph (each sentence builds on the last) and the whole text (each paragraph relates to the line of reasoning). Repetition, synonyms, pronoun reference, parallel structure and transitional elements create the links.
Write from a sentence 2 that does not follow
- Each sentence in a paragraph is grammatical. Sentence 2 does not build on sentence 1.
- Say which level of coherence has failed.
Every sentence in a paragraph is clear on its own, but sentence 2 does not build on sentence 1. Where has coherence failed?
Paragraph coherence is the link between its sentences.
What has failed if sentence 2 ignores sentence 1?
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A paragraph has to build, not merely sit side by side.