VB037/3
Adapted from Fowler, Henrey Ramsey; Aaron, Jane E., and Janice Okoomian. The Little, Brown
Handbook. 10th ed. New York: Longman. 2007.
Paragraph coherence
It is important that your paragraphs are organized in a way which is easy to follow for your readers.
The organization of your paragraph shows the process of building up your argumentation, therefore
a well-organized paragraph is crucial for creating an effective text.
There are numerous ways of ensuring your paragraphs are organized in a logical way: by being
organized by space and/or time, using repetitions, being consistent, or using transitional words or
expressions.
Look at the paragraph below. Do you find the organization logical? What are the problems of the
paragraph?
1) Organization by space and time
- This kind of organization follows a person, an object or a place from one point to another in a
natural way (from left to right, from top to bottom, from near to far, etc.). Consider the
following:
VB037/3
Adapted from Fowler, Henrey Ramsey; Aaron, Jane E., and Janice Okoomian. The Little, Brown
Handbook. 10th ed. New York: Longman. 2007.
- A similar way of organizing a paragraph is chronologically – in order of their occurrence in
time.
2) Organization by emphasis
- Another common way of organizing a paragraph is to focus on emphasis, often moving from
a general example to more specific information.
3) Repeating or restating key words and phrases
- Sometimes just following a logical order of sentences in your paragraph is not enough. You
might want to connect the information contained within by using a few other techniques,
repetition/restatement being one of them.
VB037/3
Adapted from Fowler, Henrey Ramsey; Aaron, Jane E., and Janice Okoomian. The Little, Brown
Handbook. 10th ed. New York: Longman. 2007.
4) Consistency
- An oft ignored aspect of writing, being consistent is important for delivering information in a
coherent and clear manner. Failure to do so often confuses the readers, as it makes it unclear
what exactly you are referring to.
VB037/3
Adapted from Fowler, Henrey Ramsey; Aaron, Jane E., and Janice Okoomian. The Little, Brown
Handbook. 10th ed. New York: Longman. 2007.
5) Transitional expressions
- Specific words and phrases – transitional expressions – can help connecting sentences whose
relationship may not be instantly clear. Notice the differences in the following two versions
of the same text.
There are numerous transitional expressions you can use. The most common include:
To add or show sequence: again, also, and, and then, besides, finally, first, further, furthermore, in
addition, in the first place, last, moreover, next, second, still, too
To compare: also, in the same way, likewise, similarly,
To contrast: although, and yet, but, despite, even so, even though, however, in contrast, in spite of,
nevertheless, notwithstanding, on the contrary, on the other hand, regardless, still, though, yet
To give examples or intensity: after all, even, for example, for instance, in fact, it is true, of course, to
illustrate
To indicate place: above, adjacent to, below, elsewhere, here, near, nearby, on the other side,
opposite to,
VB037/3
Adapted from Fowler, Henrey Ramsey; Aaron, Jane E., and Janice Okoomian. The Little, Brown
Handbook. 10th ed. New York: Longman. 2007.
To indicate time: after a while, afterward, as long as, as soon as, at least, at that time, before, earlier,
formerly, immediately, in the meantime, lately, later, meanwhile, now presently, shortly, since, so
far, soon, subsequently, then, until, when
To repeat, summarize, or conclude: all in all, altogether, in brief, in conclusion, in other words, in
particular, in short, in simpler terms, in summary, on the whole, that is, therefore, to conclude, to put
it differently,
To show cause or effect: accordingly, as a result, because, consequently, for this purpose, hence,
otherwise, since, then, therefore, thus, to this end, with this object
Exercise: Rearrange the sentences in the paragraph below to form a well-organized and coherent
paragraph (begin with sentence 1).
(1) We hear complaints about the Postal Service all the time, but we should not forget what it
does right. (2) The total volume of mail delivered by the Postal Service each year makes up almost
half the total delivered in all the world. (3) Its 70,000 employees handle 140,000,000,000 pieces of
mail each year. (4) And when was the last time they failed to deliver yours? (5) In fact, on any given
day the Postal Service delivers almost as much mail as the rest of the world combined. (6) That huge
number means over 2,000,000 pieces per employee and over 560 pieces per man, woman, and child
in the country.
Exercise: using transitional expressions. Fill each blank with an appropriate transitional expression
(1) to contrast, (2) to intensify, and (3) to show effect.
All over the country, people are swimming, jogging, weightlifting, dancing, walking, playing
tennis—doing anything to keep fit. (1) __________ this school has consistently refused to construct
and equip a fitness center. The school has (2) ___________ refused to open existing athletic facilities
to all students, not just those playing organized sports. (3) ___________ students have no place to
exercise except in their rooms and on dangerous public roads.
Exercise: Write a coherent paragraph from the following information, combining and rewriting
sentences as necessary.
Topic sentence: Hypnosis is far superior to drugs for relieving tension.
Supporting information:
Hypnosis has none of the dangerous side effects of the drugs that relieve tension.
Tension-relieving drugs can cause weight loss or gain, illness, or even death.
Hypnosis is nonaddicting.
Most of the drugs that relieve tension do foster addiction.
Tension-relieving drugs are expensive.
Hypnosis is inexpensive even for people who have not mastered self-hypnosis.
VB037/3
Adapted from Fowler, Henrey Ramsey; Aaron, Jane E., and Janice Okoomian. The Little, Brown
Handbook. 10th ed. New York: Longman. 2007.
Exercise: Develop one of the following topic sentences into coherent paragraphs. Organize your
information by space, by time, or for emphasis, as you feel fit. Use repetition and restatement,
parallelism, consistency and transitional expressions to link sentences together.
1) The most interesting character in the book/movie was ___________.
2) What we as society should focus on is ___________.
3) The most odd/unusual building in town is the ___________.
4) Children should not have to worry about the future.
5) One of the most important experiences I had while growing up was ___________.