PARAGRAPH
WRITING:
UNITY & COHERENCE
OBJECTIVES
To revise paragraphs to increase
unity & coherence.
To be able to use transitions
effectively.
Good Paragraphs have both unity
& coherence
UNITY
A paragraph has unity when the connection
between the main idea & the supporting
sentences is clear.
COHERENCE
A paragraph has coherence when its
sentences relate to each other.
Ideas are organized logically and should flow
naturally from one to another.
"Do not confuse unity and coherence.
Coherence involves the clear movement of
thought from sentence to sentence or
paragraph to paragraph; unity means staying
on the topic by staying within the focus.
(Lee Brandon and Kelly Brandon, Paragraphs and Essays With
Integrated Readings, 12th ed. Wadsworth, 2012)
UNITY achieved by
discussing only one idea in a
paragraph.
always staying on the topic in
your supporting sentences.
i) Read the paragraphs below and locate the Topic
sentence.
ii) Circle the Topic & underline the Controlling
idea.
Paragraph
1 breaks the rule of
Iii) There is one sentence
that
unity.Find
it &sports
crossare
it out.
Daredevil
becoming popular. Young
people especially are increasingly willing to
risk their lives while mountain biking, bungee
jumping, or high-speed skateboarding. Soccer
is also popular in the United States now,
although football is still more popular. One of
the riskiest new sports is sky surfing, in which
people jump out of airplanes with boards
attached to their feet. Sky surfing rivals
skydiving and bungee jumping for the amount
of thrills-and risks.
ANSWER
I.
II.
III.
Daredevil sports are becoming popular.
Daredevil sports are becoming popular.
Soccer is also popular in the United States
now, although football is still more popular.
Paragraph 2
Teachers should take steps to prevent students from cheating on
exams. To begin with, teachers should stop reusing old tests. Even a
test that has been used once is soon known on the student grapevine.
Students will check with their friends to find out, for example, what was
on Dr. Thompson's biology final last term. They may even manage to get
all the answers correct and in the correct sequence for careless Dr.
Thompsons test. Teachers should also take some common sense
precautions at test time. They should make students separate
themselves--by at least one seat--during an exam, and they should
watch the class closely. The best place for the teacher to sit is in the
rear of the room, so that a student is never sure if the teacher is looking
at him or her. Last of all, teachers must make it clear to students that
there will be stiff penalties for cheating. One of the problems with our
school systems is a lack of discipline. Anyone caught cheating should
immediately receive a zero for the exam. A person even suspected of
cheating should be forced to take an alternative exam in the teacher's
office. Because cheating is unfair to honest students, it should not be
tolerated.
ANSWER
i) Teachers should take steps to prevent students
from cheating on exams.
ii) Teachers should take steps to prevent students
from cheating on exams.
iii) One of the problems with our school systems is
a lack of discipline
i) Read the paragraph below and locate the Topic
sentence.
ii) Circle the Topic & underline the Controlling idea.
Iii) There are 2 sentences that break the rule of unity.
Find them &
cross them
California
is aout.
state with every type of geography.It
has mountains where you can enjoy the winter
sports of sking,snowboarding,and snowshoeing.It
has deserts where temperatures can reach 110F
(43C) in the summer.It has beaches where you
can surf,swim and fish.It has forests where the
worlds tallest trees grow.Finally,it has farmlands
where a lot of the nations fruits and vegetables
grow.California also has Hollywood and
Disneyland,which are world-famous centres of
entertainment.California is a popular place to
live,so many peolple move there every year.Indeed
California has it all: deserts, beaches, and farms.
ANSWER
California is a state with every type of
geography.
ii. California is a state with every type of
geography.
iii. California also has Hollywood and
--Disneyland,which are world-famous
centres of entertainment.
--California is a popular place to live,so
many peolple move there every year.Indeed
i.
COHERENCE achieved by
1. Repeating key nouns
2. Using consistent pronouns
3. Using appropriate transition
signals
4. Arranging ideas in a logical
order
1.Repeation of Key
Nouns
The easiest way to achieve
coherence is to repeat key nouns
frequently in your paragraph.
E.g. You can fool some of the people all
of the time, and all of the people some of
the time, but you cannot fool all of the
people all of the time. Abraham Lincoln
2. Use consistent
Pronouns
When using pronouns, make sure the
same person and number is used
throughout the paragraph.
Dont change from you or he or she
(change of person)
or from he to they (change of number)
or from we to I (change in person and
number)
Refer to the paragraph in the
next slide. How many times are
the following key nouns and
pronouns repeated?
1. Gold
2. It
3. Its
In this paragraph nouns are repeated to
achieve coherence. Circle the word gold
and all the pronouns that refer to it.
Gold, a precious metal ,is prized for two important
characteristics. First of all ,gold has a lustrous beauty
that is resistant to corrosion. Therefore, it is suitable for
jewellery, coins, and ornamental purposes. Gold never
needs to be polished and will retain its beauty forever.
Another important characteristic of gold is its
usefulness to industry and science. For many years, it
has been used in hundreds of industrial applications,
such as photography and dentistry. The most recent
use of gold is in astronauts suits. Astronauts use goldplated heat shields for protection when they go outside
spaceships in space. In conclusion, gold is treasured
not only for its beauty but also for its utility.
ANSWER
You should have circled the noun gold 7
times
The pronoun it twice
The pronoun its 4 times
3. Use Transition signals
Such as first, finally and however, or
phrases such as in conclusion, on the
other hand, and as a result among
many others
Transition signals give a paragraph
coherence because they guide your
reader from one idea to the next.
Note: Refer to supplementary handouts
(Transitions Chart) more information on
how transitions are used.
In the following paragraph, choose an
appropriate transition signal from those
listed after each blank.
Have you ever wondered how those big ocean
storms called hurricanes or typhoons get their
name? Who decides to name a hurricane Anne
or Barbara or Bill? The way hurricane and
typhoons are named has changed over the years,
and it is an interesting story. Originally, weather
forecasters described them by their position in
degrees of latitude and longitude 1. (in addition,
for example, since) typhoons might be called
21.20 north, 157.52 west
2.(Then, however ,moreover) this method was
confusing, because storms do not stay in the
same place 3.(thus ,therefore ,in brief) people
developed other ways to identify them. In the
Caribbean Sea, hurricanes were named after
the Catholic saints days 4.(thus, for example,
moreover) a hurricane that struck an island in
the Caribbean on Saint Anns Day was named
Santa Anna. A weather forecaster in
Australia used to name typhoons after
politicians whom he disliked 5.(because, for
example, however) he wanted to make
forecasts such as Typhoon Smith is on a very
destructive path or Typhoon Jones is very
weak and is not moving in any direction.
6.(In addition, Later, As a result) during World War
I, hurricanes and typhoons were named according
to the military alphabet: Able, Baker, Charlie etc. 7.
(then, later, furthermore) during World War II,
women' names began to be used 8.(so, therefore,
and) for the next thirty years ,weather forecasters
talked about Typhoon Alice and Hurricane
Betsy.9.(However, Then, In addition) in the 1970s,
the womens liberation movement came along and
forced weather forecasters to use mens names
too .10.(Thus, For example, Finally) since 1975, a
storm could be named Gertrude or George.11.
(In short, So, As a result) the way hurricanes and
typhoons are named has changed over the years
and will undoubtedly change again.
Example of a paragraph that uses
transitions to achieve coherence
To get the most out of reference books and
textbooks, a college student should carefully
follow several steps. First of all, she should
rapidly browse through each book to get a
general idea of the contents of the book.
Secondly, she should read the book
carefully for greater understanding and
formulate relevant questions in her mind as
she reads. After that, she should make
notes of the important points..
This paragraph lacks coherence..
Make the necessary changes.
A student who knows a few Latin and Greek
roots and prefixes has an advantage over as
student who does not know them. They can
often guess the meaning of new words. If, for
example, you know that the prefix omni
means all. you have a better chance of
guessing the meanings of words such as
omnibus, and omnipotent, and omnidirectional.
Furthermore a student who knows that the root
sci- comes from scire, to know can guess
that omniscient means all knowing
Note the changes made for
consistency
Students who know a few Latin and Greek roots
and prefixes have an advantage over students
who do not know them. They can often guess
the meaning of new words. If, for example,
students know that the prefix omni means
all. they have a better chance of guessing the
meanings of words such as omnibus, and
omnipotent, and omnidirectional. Furthermore
students who know that the root sci- comes
from scire, to know can guess that
omniscient means all knowing
Transition in Action
The next four slides contains a brief
essay that will take you on a
little journey. Transition markers
are provided but ideas are not.
Have fun!
The word ghost brings
fear to many people of all
ages. In other words,
_____________________.
However, for as many
people who shiver at the
thought, there are as
many who cannot seem to
get enough of this topic.
This essay presents
reasons why the idea of
ghosts has come to affect
us so significantly.
The idea of ghosts, to begin with, is
frightening. This could be because ghosts are
often pictured as terrifying figures with sharp
fangs, red eyes and long hair. They are also
portrayed as being fond of disturbing people
by doing things such as _________________.
As a result, many even complain of recurring
nightmares of these spectres that leave them
chilled to the bone even after waking up. One
would think that this only affects children but
____________. It could be summarised,
therefore, that ________________________.
Furthermore, the folk tales of most cultures are full
of ghosts and spirits. Although ______________
_______________, they still love to read and listen
to stories about them, especially around campfires
where stories are exchanged late into the night..
This is probably because ____________________.
This mystery that surrounds ghosts is actually what
interests people. They are curious about these
entities so ___________________.
It comes as no surprise, therefore, that curiousity
has _____________
In conclusion, while
the terror that lurks
around the
commonly accepted
ideas of ghosts
continues to terrify
people, the
mysterious nature of
ghosts keeps people
_____________.
The word ghost brings fear to many
people of all ages. In other words,
people are terrified of them. However,
for as many people who shiver at the
thought, there are as many who cannot
seem to get enough of this topic. This
essay presents reasons why the idea
of ghosts has come to affect us so
significantly.
The idea of ghosts, to begin with, is frightening.
This could be because ghosts are often pictured
as terrifying figures with sharp fangs, red eyes
and long hair. They are also portrayed as being
fond of disturbing people by doing things such as
making strange noises and doing their homework
for them
As a result, many even complain of recurring
nightmares of these spectres that leave them
chilled to the bone even after waking up. One
would think that this only affects children but
adults suffer the condition, too. It could be
summarised, therefore, that people of all ages
are affected by ghosts.
Furthermore, the folk tales of most cultures are full
of ghosts and spirits. Although people are afraid of
them,they still love to read and listen to stories about
them, especially around campfires where stories are
exchanged late into the night. This is probably
because they are captivated by the unknown.This
mystery that surrounds ghosts is actually what
interests people. They are curious about these
entities so they do not mind feeling scared.
It comes as no surprise, therefore, that curiousity
has brought so much attention to ghosts.
In conclusion, while
the terror that lurks
around the
commonly accepted
ideas of ghosts
continues to terrify
people, the
mysterious nature of
ghosts keeps people
coming back for
more.
