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Unit 1. coherence

COHERENCE means «reasonable connection» — «an orderly relationship between parts». It's the quality that makes the difference between a set of UNconnected phrases or clauses, on the one hand, and a simple, compound or complex sentence, on the other hand (see Unit 2 of the Appendix [Section V of Part II] on Compound and Complex Sentence Patterns). It also makes the difference between a set of UNconnected sentences and a PARAGRAPH (which is a set of CONNECTED sentences). Finally, the same quality — COHERENCE — makes the difference between a set of UNconnected paragraphs and a TEXT.

The writer makes his sentences, paragraphs and text coherent by using various cues and signals that establish the «orderly relationship» between the various parts of his sentences, between the various sentences in his paragraphs, and between the various paragraphs in his text. It is the job of the reader to follow these cues and signals and understand the relationships.

 

CUES ANDSIGNALS USED TO ESTABLISH COHERENCE

1. Grammatical Signals such as conjunctions (Section V of Part II Unit 4; the position of a given word in the sentence (Section V, Unit 2); and grammatically meaningful word endings (Word Power [Part I] Section X, Unit IE).

2. Punctuation Signals (Section V of Part II, Unit 3).

3. Visual Cues such as paragraph indentation.

4. Verbal Cues such as repeated words (to emphasize connections).

5. Pronouns (to refer backwards and forwards instead of simply repeating words).

6. Various Other Verbal Cues (Section V of part II, Unit 6).

A. Which of these two «sentences» makes some kind of sense (and why)? (How can a sentence make «sense» without being logical?)

a. Sleep green colorless furiously ideas.

b. Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

B. The sentences that make up a coherent paragraph must be grammatically and logically connected. What makes the «paragraph» below incoherent?

People love music. There are carbon granules in the telephone receiver. Although the Japanese people are remarkable. Her dog was killed. In the southern part of Jordan there is a place of unique historical interest.

C. Now consider the paragraph below:

Cecil, the aardvark, was a strange pet. Because of his exotic eating habits, he was able to rid the house of insects. What he devoured most often were the little dark ants. He was often seen routing these out with his long ugly snout. Granted, his snout made him an excellent exterminator. However, it also made him an unusual household pet.

List the features that make this a coherent paragraph.

 

D. Below is another example of a COHERENT parapraph. The various devices used by the writer to establish coherence have been clearly marked, and they include the following:

1. Pronouns. The «we» in sentence 5 hooks back not only to «higher animals» but to the readers themselves, referred to in the first sentence with «our».

2. Summary nouns and pronouns. The «this» in sentence 6 pulls together the entire paragraph by referring to «experiment» and «play» in sentence 5 and to the «process of learning» in sentence 1. Sometimes a summary noun will do this job. For example, sentence 6 might have read: «Perhaps the nature of trial run is what gives. .»

3. Repeated words. «Scientist», «learning», and «errors» reappear.

4. Repeated stems. Bronowski used «an experiment» (the noun) followed by «experiments» (the verb).

5. Rewording of the same idea. A «harmless trial run» is later redefined as a «setting in which errors are not fatal».

6. Punctuation. Colons usually tell us that an explanation, an example or a list follows. Semicolons connect two main clauses that generally are closely related.

7. Parallel construction. The grammatically parallel construction of «the scientist experiments and the cub plays» (sentence 5) emphasizes the parallel connection Bronowski wishes to make.

Cues and Signals Used to Establish Coherence

D: A passage with many word and phrase cues

Source: Jacob Bronowski. The Common Sense of Science (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1953).

 

3.1 In the following paragraph the cues and signals that establish coherence have been underlined. Study each one and decide what type of coherence device it is. (Refer to the list of devices preceding the Bronowski text above).

Rescue dogs are often specially trained to work in areas where a bomb or earthquake has buried people in debris. Their job is to locate where the persons are buried so that rescuers can dig them out before they suffocate or die of other injuries. Since the dog must guide rescuers to the spot, he must be willing to sit and bark until help comes. As a result some dogs, including collies, shepherds, airedales, and, in fact, most working breeds, can be trained for rescue; others can't. Spaniels, setters, and some hounds, for example, refuse to bark once they have found their person. Although they would bark at home if someome came to the door, these hunting breeds have been selectively bred not to bark while working because it would scare the game.

3.2 Reorder the sentences below so that they form a coherent paragraph.*

__ a. But because many new summer workers don't know how to move large trees, the best ways to handle the equipment, handle the trucks, or the large plants, their job is much harder.

__ b. Yet Timmerman does little to help summer employees in these areas.

__ c. Or at least it shouldn't be.

__ d. Timmerman Landscape Co. Inc. is a local nursery that has recently moved into doing landscaping.

__ e. There is a waiting list for these jobs because the pay is good and the work is outdoors but not as heavy as construction work.

__ f. They have a year-round staff of around ten people, but in the summer they hire a lot of summer help to meet peak summer workloads.

__ g. Most of the summer help are college students.

* (Key: a-6; b-7; c-5; d-1; e-4; f-2; g-3)

2. What features of each sentence help you determine its position in the paragraph?

 


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