Maintaining Coherence and Cohesion
Coherence refers to maintaining a clear focus within paragraphs, making connections between paragraphs, and connecting
each paragraph to a central claim or thesis. Here are some ways to create coherence:
• Arrange paragraphs in a logical order
• End each paragraph with a sentence that not only wraps up the content of that paragraph but also
anticipates the content of the next paragraph
• Begin each paragraph with a sentence that not only forecasts the content of the paragraph but also links
to the thesis for the paper.
• Create cohesion/maintain connections between sentences
Cohesion means the connections between sentences. You can accomplish cohesion in three ways:
• by using pronouns that have clear antecedents,
• by using transit ion words or phrases that connect to what has gone before (e.g., moreover, furthermore,
afterwards, nevertheless, in conclusion, therefore, indeed), and
• by using the known information to introduce new information (e.g., “The results of Reef Check 1997, the
first comprehensive survey of the earth’s coral reefs, will be released today. The survey . . . .”), which is
known as the given-new contract.
The Given-New Contract:
Readers comprehend a text more easily when the writer organizes the content to introduce new
information only in the context of given information (i.e., information that is old, familiar, previously
introduced or commonly understood). The strategy of presenting given information before new
information can be applied at many levels of the text, but this handout focuses on the se ntence l evel.
The topic of a single paragra ph is often introduced explicitly by the first sentence (e.g., "This report
describes recent research on automobile suspension systems."). The topic, recent research on
automobile suspension systems, appears at the end of the introductory sentence because it is new to this
text. However, once the topic has been introduced, it becomes given information. New information can
be added to the same topic in additional sentences. In these sentences, the topic should appear early in
the sentence as the subject, and the new information should appear at the end of the sentence.
Here are three methods for using the given-new contract in p aragraphs (examples on reverse):
1. SAME SUBJECT STRATEGY. Sentences can elaborate on the topic, keeping the same subject (or
an appropriate substitution term, such as a pronoun).
2. TOPIC HAND-OFF STRATEGY. Sentences can elaborate on a subtopic introduced at the end of a
sentence about the main topic. Thus, each sentence ender may potentially be the "given" topic
in the subject of the next sentence.
3. PREVIE W AND SHIFT STRATEGY. Sentences can explicitly introduce a new topic, using an
appropriate transitional cue (e.g., "another related issue is whether...."). Or the paragraph can
start off with a topic sentence that lists (previews) the upcoming topics in the paragraph.
Tips
• If you tend to confuse cohesion and coherence, remember that cohesion refers to sentences, and there is an s in
the word cohesion. S = sentences.
• Cohesion can help create coherence because it allows a reader to follow the connection between sentences and
ideas. However, a piece of writing can be cohesive and still lack coherence. For example, perhaps sentences within
a paragraph maintain cohesion, but the connections between paragraphs are unclear. In other words, if each
sentence were a brick, you could arrange them so they fit together, but they still may not form a house.
