Lessons to Develop a Writer's Toolkit:
Coherence: Paragraphs
Dr. Stuart Blythe
Department of English & Linguistics
Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne
About Paragraph Coherence
Writers achieve coherence in at least three ways.
- By starting with known information and then proceeding to new information. For example, the sentence, "Bits are the smallest level of computer information," may not make complete sense to someone unfamiliar with binary code. It may be more appropriate, when writing to such an audience, to begin with something like this: "Computers work on a code made up of 1's and 0's. Each 1 or 0 is called a 'bit.'" This may be more appropriate because you can begin with more familiar concepts such as "computer" and "code" (the latter of which people can recognize generally).
- By making sure that each sentence somehow picks up where its predecessor left off. Look again at these two sentences: "Computers work on a code made up of 1's and 0's. Each 1 or 0 is called a 'bit.'" Notice that "1's and 0's" in the first sentence is repeated at the beginning of the second. The second picks up the subject at the end of the first sentence. Now, look at the entire passage:
Notice how each topic (in bold) appearing at the end of one sentence usually gets repeated somehow at the beginning of the sentence that follows.
Computers work on a code made up of 1's and 0's. Each 1 or 0 is called a 'bit.' By themselves, bits have no power until they are put into a series of 8. These series of 8 bits constitute a 'byte.' Bytes can have 256 possibilities. Each possibility represents one character on the screen, such as a comma.
- By using transition words when appropriate. Sometimes, a writer needs to signal to a reader that a shift in topic has occurred, or that a comparison is being made, or that additional information is being offered. Transition words are appropriate in such cases. For more on transitions, see the handout offered by Purdue's Online Writing Lab.
The following example illustrates the strategies mentioned above. Related words are have color coded (and/or boldfaced) to show how the writer created a coherent paragraph. Transition words have been underlined.ExerciseEchoes occur in long-distance communication because of the design of telephone networks. A typical long-distance phone connection contains two-wire segments on the ends, a four-wire connection in the center and a hybrid at each end to convert from two-wire transmission to four-wire transmission. Telephone companies use the two-wire segments to save money because two wires cost less than four. Each two-wire segment consists of the subscriber loop and possibly some portion of the local network. Over this segment, voice transmission is carried both directions over the same wire pair. The two voice transmissions are segregated on the four-wire section between the hybrids, and the hybrid network at each end should ensure that the speech signal from the distant customer is coupled into its two-wire port and none to its output port. However, because of impedance mismatches, the hybrid network allows some of the incoming signals to leak through into the output path and return to the talker as an echo.To reinforce this lesson, find a paragraph of your own that you think could be more coherent. (Look for a paragraph of at least five sentences.) Copy the original paragraph, and then offer a revision. Make sure that each sentence picks up where the other left off, and use transitions when appropriate.Submit the original and the revision.
Hint: To make sure each sentence picks up where the predecessor left off, stop at the end of each sentence and turn it into a question. For example, after, "Echoes occur in long-distance communication because of the design of telephone networks," you might ask, "How are telephone networks designed?" That should tip you off to your next sentence.
last
updated: 06.20.01
originally created: 03.21.01
SRB | blythes@ipfw.edu