UNIT THREE

Coherence
Another element of a good paragraph is coherence. The Latin verb cohere
means "hold together." For coherence in writing, the sentences must hold
together; that is, the movement from one sentence to the next must be logical
and smooth. There must be no sudden jumps. ach sentence should !ow
smoothl" into the next one.
There are four ways to achieve coherence:
#. $epeat %e" nouns or use s"non"mous words.
&. 'se consistent pronouns.
(. 'se transition signals to lin% ideas.
). Arrange "our ideas in logical order.
Sample
Why I Dont Have a Cre!it Car!
# There are three reasons * don+t have a credit card. & The ,rst reason is that
using a piece of plastic instead of cash ma%es it too eas" for me to bu" things *
can+t a-ord. ( For instance, last wee% * saw a ./0.11 pair of pin% sandals in m"
favorite shoe store. ) 1f course, * don+t need pin% sandals, nor can * a-ord them.
0 2ith a credit card, however, * would now own those sandals and be worr"ing
about how to pa" for them. 3 The second reason * don+t have a credit card is
that * would. end up in debt# li%e m" friend 4ara the 4hopaholic. & /4ara got a
credit card last "ear, and she alread" owes .),111. 5 4he bu"s things that she
doesn+t reall" need, such as jewelr" and designer sunglasses. 6 4ara ma%es onl"
minimum pa"ments each month. #1 7er monthl" interest charges are more
than her pa"ments, so her balance( never decreases. ## 4he will be in debt for
"ears. #& The third reason * don+t have a credit card is the di8cult" in
understanding the ,ne print in the credit card contract. #( lf * don+t read the ,ne
print, * can be surprised. #) For example, some credit card companies will raise
m" interest rate if * ma%e a pa"ment even one da" late. #0 To sum up, credit
cards ma" be a convenience for some people, but for me, the" are a plastic
tic%et to ,nancial
disaster.
"uestions on the #o!el
# . 7ow man" reasons does the writer give for not having a credit card9 2hich
sentence tells "ou the number9
&. :ircle the words and phrases that signal each new reason.
(. 7ow does the writer support each reason9
). 2hat %e" word or phrase has been repeated and in what positions in the
paragraph ;i.e. in major or minor support sentences<9
#
$nimals in Captivity
Animals living in modern =oos enjo" several advantages over animals in the
wild; however, the" must also su-er some disadvantages. >ne advantage of
living in captivit" is that the animals are separated from their natural predators;
the" are protected and can, therefore, live without ris% of being attac%ed.
Another advantage is that the" are regularl" fed a special, well?balanced diet;
thus, the" do not have to hunt for food or su-er times when food is hard to ,nd.
Furthermore, veterinarians give them regular chec%ups, and whenever the
animals are sic%, the" give them prompt medical attention. @ecause all of their
needs are ta%en care of, most =oo animals are health" and contented. >n the
other hand, =oo animals face several distinct disadvantages. The most
important disadvantage is that since the" do not have to hunt for food or face
their enemies, some animals become bored, discontented, and even nervous.
Another disadvantage is that =oo visitors can endanger their lives. 4ome
animals can pic% up airborne diseases from humans unless the" are protected
b" glass walls. Furthermore, visitors often throw human food or garbage at the
animals. *f the" eat it, the" can become seriousl" ill and even die. *n brief, even
though animals in modern =oos live in safe, arti,cial habitats, life in captivit"
brings with it a whole new set of dangers. 7owever, =oo professionals and
wor%ers alwa"s wor% hard to %eep these beautiful animals health" and
contented, and the public should also cooperate full" in that e-ort.
"UESTI%NS
#. 2hat is the topic sentence9 'nderline it.
&. 7ow man" advantages does the writer list9 Aame them.
(. 2hat transition words and phrases introduce the advantages9
). 'nderline the sentence that introduces the disadvantages.
0. 7ow man" disadvantages does the writer list9 Aame them.
3. 2hat transition words and phrases introduce the disadvantages9
C%NNECT%RS: They em&race coor!inatin' con(unctions an! correlative
a!ver&s
#. The main coordinating conjunctions include an!) &ut) or) so) yet* 2hen
"ou use them to join complete sentences, the" are preceded b" a comma.
xampleB
The storm seemed to be arriving) so we all too% shelter in cellar.
&. The second class includes conjunctive adverbs such as therefore,
however, besides, etc. The" are preceded b" a full stop or a semi?colon
and followed b" a comma.
xampleB
The storm seemed to be arriving* Therefore) we all too% shelter in cellar.
&
The storm seemed to be arriving+ therefore) we all too% shelter in cellar.
Con(unctive a!ver&s came in !i,erent types:
A. To add a similar, eCual ideaB moreover, furthermore, besides, also, in addition,
additionall"
@. To add an expected continuationB nevertheless, nonetheless, still
:. To add a contrastB however, in contrast, on the contrar"
D. To add a resultB therefore, thus, hence, accordingl", conseCuentl", as a result
. To add an alternative possibilit"B otherwise
F. To add an exampleB for example, for instance
E. To add emphasisB in fact, indeed, as a matter of fact
7. To indicate order or seCuenceB ,rst, second, next, last, ,nall"
*. To indicate timeB then, next, after that, ,nall"
F. To signal the endB to sum up, in brief, in short, in conclusion, in a nutshell, in the
,nal anal"sis
G. To signal similarit"B similarl", li%ewise, in the same wa"
In the followin' para'raph) choose an appropriate transition si'nal from those
liste! an! write it in the &lan-* Capitali.e an! punctuate correctly* In some cases)
there may &e more than one appropriate answer*
7ave "ou ever wondered how those big ocean storms called hurricanes or
t"phoons get their names9 2ho decides to name a hurricane Ann or Barbara or
Bill9 The wa" hurricanes and t"phoons are named has changed over the "ears,
and it is an interesting stor". >riginall", weather forecasters described them b"
their position in degrees of latitude and longitude /01 /in a!!ition2for
e3ample2&ut 1 ????????????? a t"phoon might have been called 21.20 north,
157.52 west /41 / then) however) moreover1 ????????????? this method was
confusing because storms don+t sta" in the same place /51 /thus2 in &rief 2
therefore 1 ????????????? people developed other wa"s to identif" them. *n the
:aribbean 4ea, hurricanes were named for the :atholic saintsH da"s /61 / thus2
for instance2 moreover1 ????????????? a hurricane that struc% an island in the
:aribbean on 4aint Ann+s Da" was named Santa Ana. During 2orld 2ar *,
hurricanes and t"phoons were named according to the militar" alphabetB Able,
Baker, Charlie, and so on. During 2orld 2ar **, womenHs names began to be
used /71 /so2 therefore2 an!1 ????????????? for the next thirt"?,ve "ears, weather
forecasters tal%ed about Typhoon Alice or Hurricane Betsy /81 /however2
(
then2 also1 ????????????? in the #6/1s, the women+s liberation movement came
along and forced weather forecasters to use menHs names, too. /91 /thus2as a
result2:nally1 ????????????? after about #6/0, a storm could be named ertru!e or
eor"e. :urrentl", menHs and womenHs names alternateB Alice, Bret, Carla,
#a$i!, %llen, &re!erick, and so on. /;1 /to sum up2so2as a result1 ????????????? ,
the wa" hurricanes and t"phoons are named has changed over the "ears and
will undoubtedl" change again.
Sentence Writin'
Rewrite the followin' sentences in such a way that the secon!
sentence means e3actly the same as the :rst*
#. 4uch events raise again the Cuestion of dam safet" in @ritain.
vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
&. *n @ritain, the element that seems to pose the most ris% is age.
*n @ritain, age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .
(. Legislation can never be perfect.
There is no such thing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
). Failure to remed" a defective dam has rarel" been the cause of prosecution.
Authorities have rarel" been prosecuted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
0. 4ome dams have never been inspected, despite the statutor" obligation to do
so.
4ome dams have never been inspected al though . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
<or each of the sentences &elow) write a new sentence as similar as
possi&le in meanin' to the ori'inal) usin' the wor! 'iven in capital
letters*
#. Two dams in @ra=il collapsed after wee%s of torrential rain.
$4'LT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
&. 4uch events raise again the Cuestion of dam safet" in @ritain.
@$*AE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(. The $eservoirs Act, #6/0, is still to be implemented.
FF:T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
). Iost dam failures occur soon after construction or after a long uneventful
period of operation.
JLA: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
0. The new Act places enforcement of its legislation in the hands of 33 local
authorities.
)
$4J>A4*@L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
3. Local authorities do not alwa"s ful,ll the dictates of Jarliament.
:A$$K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Without loo-in' at the ori'inal te3t) :ll each of the num&ere! &lan-
spaces with one suita&le wor!*
Figures collated b" Ir. Io-at and supported b" general experience
;*< .............. to show that most dam failures occur either within the ,rst few
"ears of construction ;&< .............. after a long uneventful period of operation. *t
;(< .............. that @ritain+s dams are now ;)< .............. this stage. There is a
stead" upward ;0< .............. of incidents which ;3< .............. or ma" not ;/<
.............. to a major collapse, but which call ;5< .............. immediate remedial
action. *f the trend continues, then we ma" expect an increasing number of such
events and, ;6< .............. or later, a failure.
Legislation can never be perfect, and the relativel" good safet" record of
@ritish dams, which ;#1< .............. doubt follows from sound engineering
practice and administration, might also ;##< .............. a little to luc% and
an eCuable climate ;#&< ...............
'ntil now, failure to remed" a defective dam has ;#(< .............. been the
cause of prosecution Land the penalties are ver" mild. Also, ;#)<.............. Ir.
Io-at pointed ;#0< .............., some dams have never been inspected, ;#3<
.............. the statutor" obligation to do so. The new Act places enforcement of
its legislation in the hands of the 33 local ;#/< .............. . 2hile it overcomes
certain de,ciencies in the Act it replaces, splitting responsibilit" ;#5< .............
so ;#6< .............. small bodies could result ;&1< .............. a standard of safet"
that varies widel" throughout the countr".
H%#EW%R=
Write a para'raph on the followin' topic*
0
A compan" has announced that it wishes to build a large factor" near "ou
communit". Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this new in!uence on
"our communit". Do "ou support or oppose the factor"9 xplain "our position.
3