Coherence

Coherence

Coherence is one of the two qualities that give a written or spoken text unity and purpose. Coherence refers to the general sense that a text makes sense through the organisation of its content. In writing, it is provided by a clear and understood structuring of paragraphs and sentences in writing.

When you're checking your paragraph, look for these:

• Logic: does your text follow a logical path? If your logic was used in another situation, would the outcome be the same?
• Organization: is your paragraph ordered in a way which would make sense to your reader? Does it follow a pattern: a, b, c; first, second, third; smallest to largest; most important to least important?
• Paragraph unity: do your paragraphs work together, or do they look like they come from different texts?
• Sentence cohesion: do your sentences follow grammatically correct patterns? Do they transition smoothly?
• Consistency: is everything the same throughout the text? Do all your points support your thesis? Have you changed tone or verb tense or point of view?
• Concise: have you written exactly what you mean? Are there any extra words which can be removed?