Active Voice Coherence Conciseness Parallel Structure Precise Words Sentence Rhythm Strong Verbs Unity   UMD Composition Department Copyright 1999   Main page

Coherence Introduction Coherence comes from "cohese," which literally means "to glue together." Good writers "glue together" or "chain" their ideas. They supply words that remind readers of the main idea, tell them how each idea fits with the main idea, and show how supporting ideas fit with each other. Without coherence, readers "jerk" from one thought to another. With coherence, they read smoothly from one sentence to another. Writers use the known-new contract, transitional words and phrases, and repeated ideas to achieve coherence. Transitional words are the easiest to understand, so let's start there. Next  Go to Exercises