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Coherentwriting 101
Coherentwriting 101
complete me…
Once upon a time…
Coherence in Writing
October 1st, 2012
liquid honey
• it flows
• it sticks together
a working definition
For me, the worst thing For me, the worst thing about
waiting tables was the
about waiting tables was uniform. At the last place I
the uniform. All the worked, all the waitresses had
waitresses had to wear to wear an ugly brown striped
jumper. Underneath it we had
this ugly brown striped to wear an even uglier
jumper. The shirts were polyester shirt. Sometimes
polyester. Sometimes someone I knew would come
in and I'd feel embarrassed by
someone you know my outfit. Now I have a job in
comes in. Now I have a an office, where I can wear my
job in an office. own clothes.
ways to achieve Coherence
ordering principles
pronouns
combining sentences
transitional words
repetition
ordering principles
(paragraph type)
narration
e.g. chronological order
description for narrative paragraphs
process
exemplification choose principle that fits
comparison/contrast your material
definition
cause &effect use it consistently
cause & effect ordering principle
addition:
also / in addition to /
additionally reinforcement of ideas:
detail or example: also / in other words / in
for example / that is / more addition / for example /
specifically moreover
logic: change in ideas:
therefore / thus / in
conclusion instead / on the other hand / yet
contrast: / although / however / but / in
yet / nevertheless / on the contrast / nevertheless
other hand conclusion:
similarity: thus / therefore / in conclusion /
likewise / similarly / in other finally / accordingly / so
words
repetition
(optimal redundancy;
deliberate & judicious)