Week 7 – TEXTS 2a/b

PARAGRAPH UNITY – COHERENCE – COHESION

READING SELECTIVELY & PARAPHRASING
Paragraph unity

You need to keep your paragraph to a single subject, the specific topic –the main point- you highlighted
in your topic sentence. If you go off the topic, it means you are talking about something irrelevant,
which will destroy your paragraph’s unity.

Paragraph Coherence and Support for Ideas

Good writing requires structure. While writing your paragraph, you will need to follow the structure
below, unless your instructor suggests a different one.

Your paragraph will have the following components:

 Topic Sentence (claim)

 Supporting Evidence (backup)
 Comments (evaluation)
 Concluding Sentence (conclusion
Following this structure will give your paragraph the coherence – the logical flow.

Read Extract 1 from the article titled “COVID-19, networks and sport" below and highlight, underline,
circle each component to see the pieces:

EXTRACT 1 - SPORTS INDUSTRY (TEXT 2a)

1
COVID-19 is having a substantial impact on sporting schedules as some of the most watched sporting
events worldwide have been cancelled or postponed. 2For instance, football's much anticipated Euro 2020
tournament has been postponed for 12 months while play-offs have been postponed till June 2020 at the
earliest. 3The international Olympic committee was committed to staging the Tokyo 2020 Olympics this
summer without delay despite the pandemic. 4However, they have now made the decision to postpone the
games to 2021, a decision that is supported by athletes and their respective nations. 5In a similar vein, the
Australian Formula One Grand Prix has been delayed with Bahrain and Vietnam opting to cancel their
fixtures until further notice. 6It could clearly be stated that these are but a few examples; golf, tennis,
athletics, basketball, rugby, cycling, boxing, snooker, and ice-skating fixtures have all faced cancellations
and delays in an attempt to curb the spread of the disease. 7This will have a significant impact on the
entertainment industry and the viewing habits of people worldwide. 8Inevitably, during the outbreak, with
the cancellation of these sporting events in order to mitigate the spread, even the most dedicated sports
fans are adapting to this loss, finding new ways to spend time and new shows that entertain themselves.
Source: Parnell, D., Widdop, P., Bond, A., & Wilson, R. (2020). COVID-19, networks and sport.
Managing Sport and Leisure.

Paragraph cohesion

Cohesion is closely linked to coherence. Cohesion is all about your effort to keep the pieces
together by using effective words and/ or phrases that help the reader understand the relationships
between the ideas.

You can achieve cohesion in a paragraph using cohesive devices:

 Keywords
 Synonymous words
 Pronouns
 Language of attribution
 Linking words from coordinators (e.g., and, so, but) and subordinators (e.g. although,
because, while, unless), to conjunctive adverbs (e.g., however, therefore, moreover) and
sequence markers (e.g., first, second, third).

Read the extract again and find examples for each cohesive device and write them down in the space
provided below:

Keywords

Synonymous words

Pronouns

Linking words

* This chapter is following the approach (with adaptations) from Chapter 3 of Steve Marshal. Advance in Academic Writing, Pearson.

2
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without the prior written permission of the BAU SFL Modern Languages Department.
Find a word in the extract that is similar in meaning to the words given below.

1. considerable, significant (adj.) :

2. decide, prefer (v.):
3. encounter, experience (v.):
4. control, restrain (v.):
5. committed, devoted (adj.):

Write what the underlined words in the extract refer to.

1. They (line 5): ............................................................................................................

2. Their (line 7): ...........................................................................................................
3. Their (line 8): ...........................................................................................................
4. This (line 11): ...........................................................................................................
5. Themselves (line 15): ...............................................................................................

Choose the phrase that is closest in meaning to the underlined part in the sentence below.

COVID-19 is having a substantial impact on sporting schedules as some of the most watched
sporting events worldwide have been cancelled or postponed.
a. Sports games are affected by COVID-19
b. Sporting fixtures have been severely affected by COVID-19
c. COVID-19 has had a mild effect on sporting events
d. COVID-19 is having a severe impact on sporting schedules

Exercise 1

A. Claim: The outbreak of COVID-19 has had a detrimental impact on the sports industry.

Which sentence or sentences in Extract 1 support the claim above?

B. Choose one supporting evidence for the claim from Extract 1 and paraphrase it. Don’t forget to
cite.

3
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without the prior written permission of the BAU SFL Modern Languages Department.
EXTRACT 2 - FOOD SECTOR (TEXT 2b)

1
I. The food sector, including food distribution and retailing, has been put under strain as a result
of people panic-buying and stockpiling food. 2This has led to increased concerns about
shortages of food products such as long-life milk, pasta, rice, and tinned vegetables.3Panic-
buying has resulted in an increase of £1bn worth of food in UK homes. 4This high demand for
food products has also affected online food delivery. 5Companies are struggling with excessive
bookings, with deliveries arriving late or not at all. 6Moreover, food banks have also been
affected by panic-buying and food stockpiling as donations have reduced. 7Concerns about
food running out also means that vulnerable populations who cannot afford to stockpile may
not be able to find food.

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II. In addition, despite reassurance by the government, stores have made drastic changes by
restricting the amount of each product that an individual can buy. 2The panic buying trend led
to an opening of more than 30,000 new jobs to meet the high pressure of restocking shelves,
and setting special shopping hours for the elderly populations and National Health Service
(NHS) staff. 3Further changes that have been introduced include a decrease in the range of
products, with the aim of focusing on products that are in greater need.

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III. Although supermarkets have seen a huge demand for food products, restaurants and cafes
have been forced to close. 2As a result, many of these stores are at risk of permanent closure
and many of their employees have lost their jobs. 3The impact of COVID-19 on the food
industry has forced Leon, a UK fast-food chain, to change its business model; 65 of its
restaurants were said to turn into shops that sell refrigerated ready-meal-type plastic pouches.
Source: Laborde, D., Martin, W., Swinnen, J., & Vos, R. (2020). COVID-19 risks to
global food security. Science.

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All rights reserved. No part of this booklet may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a data base or retrieval system,
without the prior written permission of the BAU SFL Modern Languages Department.
Read the extract and find examples of linking words as cohesive devices and write them down in the
space provided below:

Find a word in the extract that is similar in meaning to the words given below.

1. unease, worry (n.): .....................

2. extreme, radical (adj.): ....................
3. limit, restrain (v.): ....................
4. variety, kind (n.): ....................

Write what the underlined words refer to:

The food sector, including food distribution and retailing, has been put under strain as a result of people
panic-buying and stockpiling food. This has led to increased concerns about shortages of food products
such as long-life milk, pasta, rice, and tinned vegetables.

This: ...........................................................................................................................

Although supermarkets have seen a huge demand for food products, restaurants and cafes have been forced
to close. As a result, many of these stores are at risk of permanent closure and many of their employees
have lost their jobs. The impact of COVID-19 on the food industry has forced Leon, a UK fast-food chain,
to change its business model; 65 of its restaurants were said to turn into shops that sell refrigerated ready-
meal-type plastic pouches.

1. these stores: ………………………………………………………………………......

2. their: ……………………………………………………………………….................
3. their: ……………………………………………………………………….................
4. its: ………………………………………………………………………......................

5
All rights reserved. No part of this booklet may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a data base or retrieval system,
without the prior written permission of the BAU SFL Modern Languages Department.
Choose the phrase that is closest in meaning to the underlined part in the sentence below.

This has led to increased concerns about shortages of food products such as long-life milk, pasta,
rice, and tinned vegetables.

1. Increased fear about food products

2. More concerns over food products
3. More fear over the lack of food supplies
4. Concerning the lack of food

Exercise 2

A. Claim: The COVID-19 pandemic led to panic-buying and stocking of food by many
people.

Which sentence or sentences in Extract 2 support the claim above?

B. Choose one supporting evidence for the claim from Extract 2 and paraphrase it. Don’t
forget to cite.

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All rights reserved. No part of this booklet may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a data base or retrieval system,
without the prior written permission of the BAU SFL Modern Languages Department.