You can help create coherence in your paragraphs by creating logical bridges and verbal bridges. A topic sentence is a sentence that indicates in a general way what idea or thesis the paragraph is going to deal with. Although not all paragraphs have clear-cut topic sentences, and despite the fact that topic sentences can occur anywhere in the paragraph as the first sentence, the last sentence, or somewhere in the middle , an easy way to make sure your reader understands the topic of the paragraph is to put your topic sentence near the beginning of the paragraph.
This is a good general rule for less experienced writers, although it is not the only way to do it. Regardless of whether you include an explicit topic sentence or not, you should be able to easily summarize what the paragraph is about. The topic which is introduced by the topic sentence should be discussed fully and adequately.
Again, this varies from paragraph to paragraph, depending on the author's purpose, but writers should be wary of paragraphs that only have two or three sentences. It's a pretty good bet that the paragraph is not fully developed if it is that short. Two very important elements of paragraphing are signposts and transitions.
Signposts are internal aids to assist readers; they usually consist of several sentences or a paragraph outlining what the article has covered and where the article will be going. Transitions are usually one or several sentences that "transition" from one idea to the next. In front of the tiny pupil of the eye they put , on Mount Palomar, a great monocle inches in diameter, and with it see times farther into the depths of space.
Or , if we want to see distant happenings on earth, they use some of the previously wasted electromagnetic waves to carry television images which they re-create as light by whipping tiny crystals on a screen with electrons in a vacuum. Or they can bring happenings of long ago and far away as colored motion pictures, by arranging silver atoms and color-absorbing molecules to force light waves into the patterns of original reality.
Or if we want to see into the center of a steel casting or the chest of an injured child, they send the information on a beam of penetrating short-wave X rays, and then convert it back into images we can see on a screen or photograph. In a coherent paragraph, each sentence relates clearly to the topic sentence or controlling idea, but there is more to coherence than this. If a paragraph is coherent, each sentence flows smoothly into the next without obvious shifts or jumps.
A coherent paragraph also highlights the ties between old information and new information to make the structure of ideas or arguments clear to the reader. If you have written a very long paragraph, one that fills a double-spaced typed page, for example, you should check it carefully to see if it should start a new paragraph where the original paragraph wanders from its controlling idea. On the other hand, if a paragraph is very short only one or two sentences, perhaps , you may need to develop its controlling idea more thoroughly, or combine it with another paragraph.
A number of other techniques that you can use to establish coherence in paragraphs are described below. Repeat key words or phrases. Particularly in paragraphs in which you define or identify an important idea or theory, be consistent in how you refer to it. This consistency and repetition will bind the paragraph together and help your reader understand your definition or description. Create parallel structures.
Parallel structures are created by constructing two or more phrases or sentences that have the same grammatical structure and use the same parts of speech. By creating parallel structures you make your sentences clearer and easier to read. Expanding: Stating at great length or more comprehensively an idea or assertion already expressed.
Analyzing: Breaking an assertion down into its constituent parts in order to clarify or evaluate it. Defining: Stating the meaning of a word or words previously or subsequently used. Describing: Naming one or more features of an object or concept, to help the reader imagine it precisely or understand it fully. Exemplifying: Giving an illustration of what is meant by a previous statement or giving a concrete instance that will help make the point credible. Comparing and constrasting: Examining objects alongside each other for the purpose of clarifying their features, evaluating them or noting differences and similarities.
Narrating: Telling a story describing an event or series of events.
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