UNITY &

COHERENCE
A good paragraph has both
unity & coherence
What is Unity?
Unity in a paragraph means that the
entire paragraph should focus on one
single idea.
The supporting details should explain the
main idea.
The concluding sentence should end the
paragraph with the same idea.
Thus, aunified paragraph presents a
thought, supports it with adequate details
and completes it with a conclusion*.
What is Coherence?

Coherence means establishing a relationship

between the ideas presented in a paragraph.
It brings about a rationale in thearrangementof
the ideas which are introduced either in
thechronological orderor in the order of
importance.
Besides, transitions that compare, contrast,
illustrate, add or show cause and effect build
logical bridges.
The ideas, thus expressed in the paragraph, flow
smoothly from one to the other in a logical
sequence.
This helps the reader to understand the
paragraph.
 How to create good
paragraph & essay ?
1)Unity
2)Order
3)Coherence
4)Completeness
 Element#1:Unity
Start with the topic sentence.

Everyothersentence supports this one

idea with information that points back to
it, or explains it!
The paragraph is unified around that
one idea.
 Example:NoUnity
The start of this paragraph is incorrect:
"Sunday is my favorite day, because I can
watch football with my dad. There are other
sports on other days to watch on TV."

The second sentence detours from the

main topic: how watching football with dad
makes Sunday your favorite day.
Don'tincludeunrelateddetails
Sentences like these don't relate to the
main idea in the topic sentence:
"There are other sports on other days to
watch on TV.

OR

"Some days my dad doesn't make it home from

work until after I'm in bed."
 ExampleofUnity
This is a better start to the paragraph:
"Sunday is my favorite day, because I can
watch football with my dad. He spends the
whole day watching football on TV with me,
since he doesn't have to work that day."

The second sentence elaborates on the

main topic. This is a unified start.
 Element#2:Order
You can order your supporting sentences in
different ways:

1. by chronology: the order of events in time

2. by importance: the order of most to least
important, or least to most important
3. by logic: the order that makes the most
sense based on the topic
Besides, essays need order
too
You can organize an essay using :
Cause and Effect order
Problem-Solution order
Order of importance
Pro-Con order
*among others
 Whyisorderimportant?
Random sentences cause confusion.

Without organization of your sentences, it's

hard to tell what your main idea is.

Order helps you make your point, and

helps the reader follow along from one idea
to the next one, until you prove your
conclusion.
Element#3:Coherence

This is how you make your writing

understandable to the reader.

You make your paragraph coherent by

connecting ideas to one another.
 COHERENCE achieved by

1. Repeating key nouns

2. Using consistent pronouns
3. Using appropriate transition
signals
 1.Repetition of Key Nouns
The easiest way to achieve
coherence is to repeat key nouns
frequently in your paragraph.
Eg: Key nouns are not repeated below.
"Sunday is my favorite day,
because I can watch football
with my dad. There are other
sports on other days to
watch on TV."
 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)
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Another important characteristic of gold is its
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 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.
Element#4:Completeness
For a complete paragraph, you need
enough information to support the main
idea, or prove your thesis.

If all sentences clearly and thoroughly

support the main idea, the paragraph is
complete.
A complete paragraph has
1. Topicsentence: an interesting subject
and its controlling idea
2.Supportingsentences: usually at least
three, to develop the main idea thoroughly
3.Concludingsentence: to summarize the
main idea and reinforce the topic sentence
The End