Hello and welcome dear friends to the third lecture of our writing course taught by Miss.

Angie.
In this lecture, we will learn something about:
The definition of coherence
The four ways of achieving coherence
Transition signals types
Let us move to the teacher's speech…
The lecturer:
Good morning. How are you today? Fine. We will start with chapter 4 which talks about
coherence.
What is coherence? And how can we achieve coherence in our writings?
This is page 40
Let us read the definition of coherence…
Another element of a good paragraph is coherence. The Latin verb 'cohere' means
"hold together." In order to have coherence in writing, the sentences must hold
together; that is, the movement from one sentence to the next (and in longer essays,
from one paragraph to the next) must be logical and smooth. There must be no
sudden jumps. Each sentence should flow smoothly into the next one.
So, if our writings have coherence, this means that the movement from one sentence to
another is smooth and logical. In addition, there is no sudden jumps in the order of
sentences.
There are four ways of achieving coherence in our writings. Let us read them…
There are four ways to achieve coherence:
1. The first way involve repeating key nouns
2. The second way involve using pronouns that refer back to key nouns.
3. The third way is to use transition signals to show how one idea is related to the
next.
4. The fourth way to achieve coherence is to arrange your sentences in logical
order.
Note: in the exam, I might ask you to define coherence and explain three ways of
achieving coherence in a text.
You will practise the first three ways to achieve coherence in this chapter, and you will
learn about logical order as well.
Move to page 41
Here, we will have an example of achieving coherence with the use of repeating key
nouns.
Repetition of Key Nouns
The easiest way to achieve coherence is to repeat key nouns frequently in your
paragraph.
Look at the model paragraph about gold to see how it uses this technique to achieve
coherence. The key noun in this paragraph is gold. Underline the word gold and all
pronouns that refer to it.
Note: the following passage is not important for the exam; it is just for the sake of
practice.
Gold (1)
Cold, a precious metal, is prized for two important characteristics. First of all, gold
has a lustrous beauty that is resistant to corrosion. Therefore, it is suitable for
jewelry coins and ornamental purposes. Gold never needs to be polished and will
remain beautiful forever. For example, a Macedonian coin remains as untarnished
today as the day it was minted twenty-three centuries ago. Another important
characteristic of gold is its usefulness to industry and science. For many years, it has
been used in hundreds of industrial applications. The most recent use of gold is in
astronauts' suits. Astronauts wear gold-plated heat shields for protection outside
spaceships. In conclusion, gold is treasured not only for its beauty but also for its
utility.
You should have underlined the noun gold seven times, the pronoun 'it' twice, and the
pronoun 'its' three times.
Thus, the above paragraph has coherence because we repeated the key noun 'god' more
than one time in order to remind the reader that this passage talks about gold.
Now, compare Gold (1) with Gold (2) and see how incoherent Gold 2 is.
Gold (2)
Gold. a precious metal, is prized for two important characteristics. First of all, it has
a lustrous beauty that is resistant to corrosion. Therefore, it is suitable for jewelry
coins and ornamental purposes. It never needs to be polished and will remain
beautiful forever. For example, a Macedonian coin remains as untarnished today as
the day it was minted twenty-three centuries ago. Another of its important
characteristics is its usefulness to industry and science. For many years, it has been
used in hundreds of industrial applications. Its most recent use is in astronauts'
suits. Astronauts wear heat shields made from it for protection outside spaceships.
In conclusion, it is treasured not only for its beauty but also for its utility.
Throughout the above paragraph, the word gold has been replaced by pronouns, making
the paragraph much less coherent.
This page 42
In this page, we will have another practice about using key nouns instead of pronouns.
Practice of repetition of key nouns:
In the following paragraph, the key noun is never repeated. Replace the
pronoun 'it' with the key noun 'English' wherever you think doing so
would make the paragraph more coherent.
English
English has almost become an international language. Except for
Chinese more people speak it than any other language. Spanish is the
official language of more countries in the world, but more countries
have it as their official or unofficial second language. More than 70
percent of the world’s mail is written in it. It is the primary language
on the Internet. In international business, it is used more than any
other language, and it is the language of airline pilots and air traffic
controllers all over the world. Moreover, although French used to be
the language of diplomacy, it has displaced it throughout the world.
Therefore, unless you plan to spend your life alone on a desert island
in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, it is a useful language to know.
The above paragraph is much less coherent because we have not used the
key noun 'English' a lot. As a result, the above text seems to be
ambiguous. To make it clearer, we need to replace the pronoun 'it' with
the key noun 'English' where necessary in order to have coherence and
make it easier to comprehend.
English
English has almost become an international language. Except for
Chinese more people speak English than any other language. Spanish
is the official language of more countries in the world, but more
countries have English as their official or unofficial second language.
More than 70 percent of the world’s mail is written in English. It is
the primary language on the Internet. In international business,
English is used more than any other language, and it is the language
of airline pilots and air traffic controllers all over the world.
Moreover, although French used to be the language of diplomacy,
English has displaced it throughout the world. Therefore, unless you
plan to spend your life alone on a desert island in the middle of the
Pacific Ocean, English is a useful language to know.
As you might have noticed, we are replacing these repeated pronouns
with the key noun of the paragraph. “English” is used whenever possible.
Like the in the conclusion, it is always necessary to repeat the key noun
of your essay or paragraph to remind your reader of what you were
discussing.
We are done with the first way of achieving coherence. Let us move to
the second way that involves the use of pronouns that refer back to key
nouns.
This page 42
Use of Consistent Pronouns:
When you use pronouns instead of key nouns, make sure that you use
the same person and number throughout your paragraph. Don't
change from you to he or she (change of person), or from he to they
(change of number).
Having coherence in your writing does not mean to repeat the key nouns
all the time; however, you need to substitute the key nouns with pronouns
where necessary. It must be borne in mind that when you use pronouns,
you need to check the agreement in number and in person. To make thing
easier for you, let us do practice 2 on page 43
Practice 2
Using consistent pronouns:
In the following paragraph, the pronouns are not consistent. Correct them
to make this paragraph more coherent.
Olympic athlete
An Olympic athlete must be strong both physically and mentally.
First of all, if you hope to compete in an Olympic sport, you must be
physically strong. Furthermore, an aspiring Olympian must train
rigorously for many years. For the most demanding sports, they train
several hours a day, five or six days a week, for ten or more years. In
addition to being physically strong, he or she must also be mentally
tough. This means that you have to be totally dedicated to your sport,
often giving up a normal school, family and social life. Being mentally
strong also means that he or she must be able to withstand the
intense pressure of international competition with its attendant
media coverage. Finally, not everyone can win a medal, so they must
possess the inner strength to live with defeat.
The first two lines deal with the pronoun 'you', so we need to be
consistent by using the pronoun 'you' through the whole text.
 Olympic athlete
An Olympic athlete must be strong both physically and mentally.
First of all, if you hope to compete in an Olympic sport, you must be
physically strong. Furthermore, an aspiring Olympian must train
rigorously for many years. For the most demanding sports, you train
several hours a day, five or six days a week, for ten or more years. In
addition to being physically strong, you must also be mentally tough.
This means that you have to be totally dedicated to your sport, often
giving up a normal school, family and social life. Being mentally
strong also means that you must be able to withstand the intense
pressure of international competition with its attendant media
coverage. Finally, not everyone can win a medal, so you must possess
the inner strength to live with defeat.
As you can see, the above paragraph has become more consistent because
we used the correct pronouns.
We are done with the second way of making a paragraph coherent. Move
to page 43 that talks about the third way of attaining coherence by using
transition signals.

Transition Signals
Transition signals are words such as first, second, next, finally,
therefore, and however, or phrases such as in conclusion, on the other
hand, and as a result.
Think of transition signals as traffic signs that tell your reader when
to go forward, turn, slow down, and stop. In other words, they tell
the reader when you are giving a similar idea (similarly. moreover.
furthermore, in addition), an opposite idea (on the other hand,
however, in contrast), an example (for example), a result (as a result),
or a conclusion (in conclusion).
Using transition words as a guide makes it easier for your reader to
follow your ideas. Transition words give your paragraph coherence.
Nothing new about these transition words. In the exam, I might ask you
about the definition of transition signals.
Move to page 44
We are going to talk about types of transition signals.
Types of Transition signals:
Transition signals can be categorized into three groups by grammatical
function. The three groups are:
1. Sentence connectors (including transition phrases and conjunctive
adverbial).
2. Clause connectors (including coordinating conjunctions and
subordinating conjunctions).
3. A mixed group called others.
Let us talk about the first type which is sentence connector; this type has
two kinds of connectors:
A. Transition phrases
B. Conjunctive adverbs
1. Sentence Connectors
A. Transition Phrases
The phrases in this group usually appear at the beginning of
sentences. They may also appear in the middle (normally following
the subject) or at the end of sentences. They are always separated
from the rest of the sentence by commas.
Therefore, the transition phrases of sentence connectors may be placed at
the beginning of sentences as in example 1, in the middle of sentences as
in example 2, or at the end of sentences as in example 3. Look at the
examples that have the transition phrase "for example"
1. For example, the Baltic Sea in-Northern Europe is only one-
fourth as saline as the Red Sea in the Middle East.
2. The Baltic Sea in Northern Europe, for example, is only one-
fourth as saline as the Red Sea in the Middle East.
3. The Baltic Sea in Northern Europe is only one-fourth as saline
as the Red Sea in the Middle East, for example.

B. Conjunctive Adverbs
Conjunctive adverbs (except too) may also appear at the' beginning,
in the middle, or at the end of sentences, and arc separated by
commas.
Conjunctive adverbs are words like (furthermore, moreover, however,
nevertheless etc…) they also can come at the beginning, in the middle or
at the end of the sentences. They are preceded by a comma. Look at the
following example where we have the conjunctive adverb (furthermore)
is used in three different places, yet it is preceded by a comma.
1. Furthermore, the runoff created by melting snow adds a
considerable amount of fresh water to dilute the saline sea
water.
2. The runoff created by melting snow, furthermore, adds a
considerable amount of fresh water to dilute the saline sea
water.
3. My parents want me to become an engineer, however.
 Conjunctive adverbs are also often used with a semicolon and a
comma to join TWO independent clauses to form a compound
sentence.
When we use the conjunctive adverbs to connect two independent
clauses, you need to use a semicolon before the conjunctive adverb and a
comma after it as it shown in the following examples:
o In warm climate zones, water evaporates rapidly; therefore,
the concentration of salt is greater.
o The company's sales increased last year; nevertheless, its net
profit declined.

 Most transition phrases may also fol1ow this pattern:

o Many societies in the world are matriarchal: that is, the mother
is head of the family.
o Some English words do not have exact equivalents in other
languages; for example, there is no German word for the
adjective fair, as in for ploy.
The second group of transition signals is called "clause connector"; this
group has two kinds of connectors:
A. Coordinating conjunctions
B. Subordination conjunctions
This page 46
2. Clause Connectors
A. Coordinating conjunctions
The five coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, so, yet, or) are
used with a comma to join two independent clauses to form a
compound sentence.
The coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS) connect two independent
clauses. Whenever we have two independent clauses joined together with
a connector, we call this sentence a compound sentence because it
comprises two independent clauses. Anew, these FANBOYS are
preceded by a comma. Have a look at the following examples:
 In a matriarchy, the mother is the head of the family, and all of
the children belong to her clan.
 In warm climate zones, water evaporates rapidly, so the
concentration of salt is greater.
 The company's sales increased last year, yet its net profit
declined.
What is the difference between 'yet' and 'but'? let's read…
Yet and but have similar meanings: they both signal that an opposite
idea is coming.
Yet is preferred when the second clause is an unexpected or
surprising contrast to the first clause.
When the two clauses are direct opposites, but is preferred.
 Thomas Edison dropped out of school at age twelve, yet he
became a famous inventor.
 I want to study art, but my parents want me to become an
engineer
Yet is similar in meaning to nevertheless, and but is similar to
however.
Move to page 47
We will talk about the second type of clause connectors .i.e. subordinate
conjunctions

B. Subordinating Conjunctions

These words (and many others including because, when, and so that)
introduce a dependent clause, which is joined to an independent
clause to form a complex sentence. There are two possible positions
for the dependent clause:

If the dependent clause comes before the independent clause, use a

comma after it.
  Although the company's sales increased last year, its net profit
declined.
If the independent clause comes first, do not use a comma.
 The company's net profit declined last year although its sales
increased.
Subordinate conjunctions join two clauses: one dependent + one
independent. The dependent clause starts with a subordinate conjunction
like (when, although, while, if etc...). If the dependent clause comes
before the independent clause, use a comma after the dependent clause;
however, if the independent clause comes first, there is no need to use a
comma after it.
Move to the last type of transition signals
3. Others
The transition signals in this group include adjectives such as
additional, prepositions such as in spite of, and nouns such as
example. There are no special punctuation rules for this group.
What is the difference between in spite of and although?
After in spite of, we use a noun phrase as in first example; however, we
use a whole sentence after although: subject + verb.
 The company's net profit declined last year in spite of increased
sales.
 Despite increased sales, the company's net profit declined last
year.
The comma is necessary because the prepositional phrase comes before
the subject of the sentence.
 An additional reason for the company's bankruptcy was the
lack of competent management.
 Examples of vocabulary differences between British and
American English include bonnet/hood, petrol/gasoline,
windscreen/windshield, and lorry/truck.
Ok, that is everything for today. See you next week…
FOR any questions or Private Courses, you can contact me
via Whats'App (0945462264)
Done by: Moussa Al-Rashed
Scanned by: Ahmad Jawad