Broken Family
Coherence – means “holding together”. A paragraph is coherent when its major parts are all close joined together. It is considered as the continuity between as well as within the paragraph. It is very important to arrange and link the sentences between the paragraphs to be able to make the readers follow the thought or the idea that want to be implied. . Careful selection and arrangement of sentences so that they lead up to one idea (which is also known as the principle of unity) becomes more effective when the logical relationship between sentences is made clear.
The writer should take pains to indicate the steps of the progress or forward movement which is involved in the idea of development. The principal means of achieving coherence is found in the arrangement of sentences to show a clear sequence of ideas, and in the use of structural devices to show the logical connection between sentences. There are two general ways of obtaining coherence in a paragraph. The first one is by the order in which the sentences are arranged. The second one is by structural devices such as transitional words and phrases, reference of pronouns and repetition of keywords.
A. Order of sequence- arrangement of materials within a paragraph depends upon the nature of the subject itself and upon the purpose of the writer. All writing that aims to communicate ideas demands a logical arrangement and connection, but the kind of logic and connection depends upon the different materials and purposes. The problem of coherence is to arranged the sentences in a definite orderly sequence. 1. Descriptive details a. Order of place- arrangement in a spatial scheme. Details correspond to their actual position and progress in space. b. Order of outstanding feature- choosing a detail from which one works out and around. c. Order of relative importance- selecting detail that will make the greatest impression and then centering the description around it by reinforcing it with the rest of the details that will create the desired effect. 2. Narrative details- chronological order Events are arranged in a temporal scheme; one sentence follows another in the order of their succession of time. 3. Logical order- inductive method and deductive method In the logical order, materials are arranged in an order determined by reasoning. The writer may use the inductive method.
It is done by starting the statement with more particular detail going to and supporting the general statement. And the deductive method. It is done by establishing a general statement moving to the more particular details that explain the general statement itself. B. Structural device Coherence in the paragraph has to do with the mechanical expression of the relationship between sentences, with the signs that indicate the connections between related units. These signs of continuity must be expressed in a clear, fluid movement that should make the course of the writer’s thought easy to follow.
There are three general ways of doing this. 1. Transitional words and phrases Conjunction and conjunctional words and phrases make clear the connection between sentences. The writer should carefully study the exact relation of successive ideas in order to use these expressions accurately. 2. Reference of pronouns The forward movement of ideas is carried by pronouns and synonyms if the reference to their antecedents is clear. 3. Key words Significant words and phrases that are repeated several times in the paragraph make an idea or aspects of an idea stand out prominently.
