The Islamia University of Bahawalpur

Department of Computer Science

Technical and Business writing

Instructor: Ali Khalid

Lesson: 2
Coherence and Cohesion in writing

What is coherence in terms of writing

Coherence in a piece of writing means that the reader can easily understand it.
Coherence is about making everything flow smoothly. The reader can see that
everything is logically arranged and connected, and relevance to the central
focus of the paragraph is maintained throughout.

In a coherent paragraph, each sentence relates clearly to the topic sentence or

controlling idea, but there is more to coherence than this. If a paragraph is
coherent, each sentence flows smoothly into the next without obvious shifts or
jumps. A coherent paragraph also highlights the ties between old and new
information to make the structure of ideas or arguments clear to the reader.

Along with the smooth flow of sentences, a paragraph's coherence may also be
related to its length. If you have written a very long paragraph, you should
check it carefully to see if it contains more than one controlling idea. If it
does, you should start a new paragraph where the original paragraph wanders
from its controlling idea.

What is Cohesion in terms of writing

In writing, cohesion refers to the linguistic devices and techniques used to
create logical connections and unity between different parts of a text. Cohesion
ensures that a piece of writing flows smoothly and coherently, allowing readers
to understand the relationships between ideas, sentences, and paragraphs. It
involves the use of various cohesive devices.

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Subject: Technical and Business writing

Instructor: Ali Khalid

Difference between Coherence and Cohesion: In writing, coherence

and cohesion are both essential aspects of ensuring that a text is well-
structured, easy to understand, and effectively communicates the intended
message. While they are related concepts, there are distinct differences
between coherence and cohesion:

Coherence Definition: Coherence refers to the overall unity, clarity, and

logical flow of ideas within a text. It involves organizing and connecting
individual sentences, paragraphs, and sections in a way that makes sense to the
reader.

Key Features:

1. Logical Progression: Ideas in the text should progress logically from

one point to the next, with each sentence or paragraph building upon the
previous ones.

2. Smooth Transitions: Effective use of transitional words and phrases

helps to guide the reader smoothly from one idea to the next,
maintaining continuity and coherence.

3. Clear Organization: The text should have a clear structure and

organization, with a well-defined introduction, body, and conclusion that
present ideas in a coherent manner.

4. Consistent Tone and Style: Maintaining a consistent tone and style

throughout the text helps to enhance coherence and keep the reader
engaged.

Example: A coherent essay on climate change might begin by introducing

the topic, followed by paragraphs discussing the causes, effects, and
potential solutions, with each paragraph logically connected to the next.

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Subject: Technical and Business writing

Instructor: Ali Khalid

Cohesion Definition: Cohesion refers to the grammatical and lexical

connections between individual words, phrases, and sentences within a text. It
involves using cohesive devices to link ideas together and create a sense of
unity and coherence.

Different Types of Cohesion

Cohesion is the grammatical and lexical linking within a text or sentence that holds
a text together and gives it meaning.
There are two main types of Cohesion:

1. Grammatical cohesion, which is based on structural content.

It includes: Cohesive devices

2. lexical cohesion, which is based on lexical content and background

knowledge.
It includes:

1. Linkers/ Cohesive devices

2. Anaphoric Reference

3. Cataphoric References

4. Exophoric Reference

5. Tense Agreement

6. Substitution

7. Ellipsis

Example: Cohesive devices in a paragraph might include using pronouns

(e.g., "this," "these") to refer back to previously mentioned concepts, and
using transitional phrases (e.g., "on the other hand," "in contrast") to signal
shifts between ideas.

In summary, coherence focuses on the overall organization and logical flow of

ideas within a text, while cohesion deals with the grammatical and lexical

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Subject: Technical and Business writing

Instructor: Ali Khalid

connections that link individual words, phrases, and sentences together. Both
coherence and cohesion are important for ensuring that a piece of writing is
clear, cohesive, and effectively communicates the intended message to the
reader.

1. Linkers/ Cohesive devices

Cohesive devices, sometimes called linking words, linkers, connectors,

discourse markers or transitional words. Cohesive Devices are words or
phrases that show the relationship between paragraphs or sections of a text or
speech. Cohesive devices are words like 'For example', 'In conclusion',
'however' and 'moreover'.

Let’s look at these two examples below:

1. Netflix has many movies and shows and it is only $9.

2. The Christmas tree is natural but it is expensive.

As we can see in the sentences above, and it is used to add something to the
previous statement,
In the second sentence, we can see how something positive and negative is said
about the Christmas. We know that because the word but is used to contrast
ideas.

Some examples of Cohesive Devices

There are many examples of cohesive devices, they can be grouped by

category.
If you want so show similarity, you can use cohesive devices such as:

And Equally

Also Identically

Too

Similarly

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Subject: Technical and Business writing

Instructor: Ali Khalid

If you want to introduce an item in a series, you can use:

First Then

In the first place In addition

In the second place Finally

If you need to compare, you can use cohesive devices such as:

But However

Nevertheless By comparison

Meanwhile In contrast

For emphasizing, you can use cohesive devices such as:

In fact Certainly

Absolutely Obviously

Without any doubt Definitely

2. Anaphoric Reference
Anaphoric Reference means that a word in a text refers back to other ideas in the text
for its meaning. Anaphoric reference occurs when a word or phrase refers to something
mentioned earlier in the discourse.

For example:

1. I went out with Jo on Sunday. She looked awful. ´She` clearly refers to Jo, there
is no need to repeat her name.

2. ‘The cook took off her apron. She hung it on a peg’ – her and she refer back to the
cook. It refers back to the apron.

3. “Michael went to the bank. He was annoyed because it was closed.” – He refers
to Michael. it refers to the bank.

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Subject: Technical and Business writing

Instructor: Ali Khalid

2. Cataphoric References
Cataphoric reference means that a word in a text refers to another later in the text and you
need to look forward to understand
For example:

1. “When he arrived, John noticed that the door was open.”

“he” refers to “john” later in discourse.

2. “Although I phone her every week, my mother still complains that I don’t keep in
touch often enough.” Her refers to my mother.

3. The book was there on the table. I’d never read Crime and Punishment and I
didn’t intend to do so now.
The book refers to Crime and Punishment.

3. Exophoric Reference
Exophoric reference refers to an idea outside the text. This is a reference to world
knowledge shared by the reader.
OR
Exophoric reference occurs when a word or phrase refers to something outside the
discourse.

Example

1. “The Prime Minister responded quickly to the threat.”

Here we are expected to know who the Prime Minister is.

2. “They’re late again, can you believe it?”

They refer to some people outside the discourse known to both speakers.

3. “I know! Well, they’d better get here soon or it will get cold.”
It refers to something that both speakers know about (perhaps the dinner).

4. Tense Agreement

The basic idea behind sentence agreement is pretty simple: all the parts of your sentence
should match (or agree). Verbs need to agree with their subjects in number (singular
or plural) and in person (first, second, or third). In order to check agreement, you
simply need to find the verb and ask who or what is doing the action of that verb.

For Example:
1. I really am (first-person singular) happy to see you.

2. We really are (first-person plural) happy to see you.

3. He really is (third-person singular) happy to see you.

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Subject: Technical and Business writing

Instructor: Ali Khalid

6. Substitution

Substitution refers to replacing words in order to reduce repetition in a text.

Example

1. “Now we’re finishing our essays. I know you want to go out, but before you can
do that, please finish.

“do that” avoids a repetition of “go out”

Instead of repeating “finish our essays”

“our essays” is dropped from the sentence”

2. `I want to go but I can't' instead of `I want to go but I can't go.

7. Ellipsis
An ellipsis (...) is a set of three periods that indicates the omission of words from
quoted material, hesitation, or trailing off in dialogue or train of thought.

1. Would you like sugar for your coffee, or ...

2. With sweaty palms, I reached out for the knob and threw the door open to
reveal ... a lost puppy.

3. To be continued…

4. Michael reminded us, “The school day at all schools…begins at 8:30

a.m.”

5. “My kitten…he’s gone” sobbed the little girl.

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