Belinda Braunstein (bbraunstein@ucmerced.

edu) Saturday, 10/27/12

University of California, Merced ISAW Workshop Series

Teaching Coherence and Cohesion

Introduction
The analogy
Think of an essay as a jigsaw puzzle, and each paragraph a puzzle piece. The
image that the collected pieces form when together is the topic of the essay.
The pieces must fit together well, and they have to support the image.

Terms
Coherence: a sense of the whole (also called “global coherence” or “unity”)
Cohesion: a sense of flow (sentence to sentence, and paragraph to paragraph)

Confusion alert! Cohesion in this presentation is sometimes referred to as coherence or

local coherence in other sources. The definition used here is based on J. Williams’ text.

Coherence
What students need to know
All the sentences and paragraphs of an essay should add up to something, like the pieces of a jigsaw
puzzle creating a picture.

Techniques for teaching coherence

 Show an image of jigsaw puzzle to demonstrate how multiple pieces form a complete picture
 Provide a demonstration paragraph that has one sentence that obviously does not belong
 Provide a demonstration paragraph that has one sentence that is slightly tangential
 Provide a demonstration paragraph that has good cohesion but changes topics multiple times

Activity for students

After demonstrations, ask students to identify which sentences do not belong in example paragraphs
of increasing difficulty and have them explain the reasons the sentences do not belong. After this, ask
students to identify a paragraph that does not contribute to the coherence of an example essay related
to the topic of your class (literature, history, etc.) and explain the reason it doesn’t support coherence.

Questions for students about own writing

1. Take a careful look at your essay – either hard copy or online.
2. Identify the subject of every single paragraph. Write it directly on the essay, or on a separate
sheet of paper.
3. Do you go off-topic at all in any paragraph? Underline or highlight questionable sentences and get
another person’s opinion about them.
4. Does your essay have good coherence? Mark paragraphs that might need attention.

______________________
Belinda Braunstein (bbraunstein@ucmerced.edu) Saturday, 10/27/12
University of California, Merced ISAW Workshop Series

Cohesion
What students need to know
 Put old information before new information (old-new, old-new, old-new)
 Refer back to old info with pronouns and determiners (him, it, this, that, these, those)
 Connect sentences & ideas (e.g. However, Additionally, Because of these new policies, etc.)

Techniques for teaching cohesion

 Show an image of jigsaw puzzle—or use a real one—with one piece of a different design that fits
to demonstrate how an essay can have cohesion even if the piece doesn’t support the image
 Have students identify elements of cohesion in a cohesive paragraph, then between paragraphs
 Show two paragraphs with the same content – one cohesive and the other choppy; note why
 Provide a paragraph that smoothly goes off topic in an amusing way for comparison

Activity for practicing cohesion: Cohesive strip story

Group A: The phone rang in the middle of the night.
Group B: Feeling happy and a bit drunk, Ralph left the Halloween party and stumbled into his SUV.
Group C: As I entered class, I noticed that the new teacher had a large parrot on his shoulder.
Group D: It was a dark and stormy night.

1. Students get into groups. All students in a group have the same first sentence (see above).
2. Each student copies the first sentence (above) and then adds a sentence. Pass to left.
3. Each person adds two sentences and then passes to the left. Be sure the stories are cohesive!
4. When a student gets her own story back, she adds a final two sentences to create a good ending.
5. Students underline the cohesive elements of the story they began and finished. (*Important step)
6. When ready, each original writer reads the whole story aloud to the group.
7. Each group chooses their best story, or the one with the best cohesion. They explain their choice.

Note: The focus here is on cohesion, not coherence. Unlike an essay, the story may “wander.”

Questions for students about own writing

1. Underline all the cohesive devices in your essay.
2. Are they all the same type (e.g. transition words), or do you use a variety?
3. Is your essay “jumpy” at all? If so, make some changes now to give it better cohesion within
paragraphs and also between paragraphs. Have a classmate check your improvements.

Your notes/ideas/additions:

Source: Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace, 9th edition, by Joseph M. Williams (Pearson/Longman).