What is Paragraph Cohesion?
Paragraph cohesion is a term that refers to the interconnectivity
between various sentences in a paragraph. The connectedness between the
sentences is used to advance ideas from the first paragraph (introduction) to
the last paragraph (conclusion).
What is the importance of paragraph cohesion in composition writing?
Paragraph cohesion enables the reader to follow the composition as the
ideas are presented in a logical sequence. The flow of ideas presented cohesively and logically results in an interesting read. This is as a
result of having paragraphs being made sentences to other sentences both before
and after.
How to write a cohesive paragraph
Arrange ideas in a clearly understandable order
If writing a story, report events in the order that they happened. If
the writing involves an argument, you may decide to present the most important
arguments first and end with the least important. Discursive writing, however,
may start with the least important points and end with the most important
points.
Certain words and phrases can be used to enhance a paragraph's cohesiveness. Such words and phrases may include:
- Repetition of ideas and phrases.
- Use of pronouns to refer back to nouns already mentioned
- Use of transitional words
Examples of transitional words include:
Transitional words used to compare-similarly, likewise, in a similar
manner
Transitional words used to contrast- or, on the other hand, although, in
contrast, though, nonetheless, but, yet, otherwise, etc
Transitional words used to refer to a place- beyond, nearby, here,
opposite, there, etc
Transitional words used to show consequences- consequently, thus, as a
result, thus, so, etc
Transitional words used to add examples- for example, for instance, in
the case of, such as, etc
Transitional words used to add information-in addition, and, moreover, furthermore,
also, again, etc
Transitional words used to repeat- as I have said, in other words, that
is, as has been noted, as we have seen, as we have already mentioned, as we
have discussed
Transitional words used to summarize-in a nutshell, to sum up, in short,
in brief, on the whole, in any event,
An example of a cohesive paragraph:
There are many reasons why students fail in English. First of all, some students have a negative attitude towards the subject. These students drift into daydreams the moment the teacher of English enters the class. They have convinced themselves that they cannot make it, so they do not even try. Others have the wrong idea that one does not have to study English. They, therefore, do not spend time studying the subject, and this leads to failure. Another group of students does not have a good background in English, and so these students find it difficult to follow classwork.
***the words in bold help in making the paragraph cohesive,