Cohesion

For readers to be able to understand writing, the information needs to be cohesive; it needs to stick together.

Writers have developed several strategies for making information cohere:◦ Repetition of key words and phrases◦ Using the known-new contract◦ Parallelism

Cohesion

Writers and readers depend on conventions, accepted ways of presenting written material

◦ Writers who are aware of writing conventions can use them to make reading easier for audiences

◦ Readers appreciate conventional writing strategies without always even being aware of them

◦ However, when these conventions are missing or misused, the reader will think the writing is “bad” or “awkward” even if they do not understand why

Cohesive Conventions

what they have read in the past◦ Just a title such as “Apes in Outer Space” will make some

readers assume the piece is science fiction

what they read in YOUR writing◦ So, if you title your piece, “Apes in Outer Space” and then

talk about the feeding and care of cats, obviously, you are not meeting reader expectations. The title, the first sentence, the first paragraph and so on set up reader expectations that a writer MUST meet. Everything must CONNECT.

Reader expectations come from two main places:

The repetition of key words and phrases in an essay strengthens cohesion in writing

You may have been told that repetition is a “bad” thing, and sometimes repetition becomes monotonous and/or annoying; however, the repetition of key words and phrases can be good, effective writing

Repetition

Even the English majors who have taken my classes have complained to me about being “marked down” for repeating words in essays written for other classes

And, even I mark “repetitive” in students’ essays, but I do so only if I feel the repetition is not doing anything to move the argument forward or to help strengthen cohesion

“Marked Down” for Repetition

Variety in wording IS important, so when an instructor NOTICES and marks the writing for overuse of certain words, the writing probably DOES sound repetitive

On the other hand, NOT REPEATING key ideas will lead to such comments as “lacks cohesion” or “seems disconnected” or “difficult to follow”

So, What Should You Do?

Writing is an art rather than a science, so there is no easy answer, no “perfect” number of allowed repetitions of a word

Kolln and Gray advise us◦ To aim for the middle ground◦ To remember that using synonyms IS a form of

repetition◦ To pay attention to feedback from your instructors

—it is most likely very accurate

Writing is an Art

Repeating important words and phrases, or using synonyms, is different from redundantly repeating information

To be “redundant” is to repeat information needlessly

“Repetition” is to repeat information needfully.

As you become more proficient as a writer, you will learn to balance repetition with variety

Repetition Versus Redundancy

Human beings understand information within the context of what they already know.

This reality is reflected in writing, with old information coming first and new information following

Writers use this understanding of how human beings comprehend information to make their works cohesive.

Known-New Contract

On a sentence level, writers can increase coherence by referring to “known” information in a new sentence. In other words, in some way repeat information in the old sentence and then move on to provide new information at the end of the sentence:

EX: My dog is old and dying. His impending death makes me feel sad and lonely.

In the second sentence, death refers to old information in the first sentence. The new information about my feelings appears at the end of the second sentence.

How do you use the known-new contract?

The known-new technique works on an essay level as well.

Referring to previous information such as the title, the introduction, the thesis, or the previous paragraph later in an essay tends to increase cohesion.

Known-new in an essay

As you may already have guessed, the known-new contract is closely related to repetition:◦ The writer mentions or refers to an old idea before

giving the new information

Known/New & Repetition

My daughter’s Siamese cat is hyper. I walk by her hiding place, and she attacks me. The back door opens. Out she dashes every time. Her 5-foot cat pole is the place she acts the most crazy by hanging from it upside down like a crazed monkey and peering at us with her wide blue eyes.

Confusing?

My daughter’s Siamese cat is hyper. She attacks my feet every time I walk by her hiding place. She dashes outside whenever the back door opens, almost falling off the edge of the balcony. And she attacks her 5-foot cat pole like a crazed monkey, often hanging upside down to peer at us with her wide blue eyes.

Better?

My daughter’s Siamese cat is hyper. She attacks my feet every time I walk by her hiding place. She dashes outside whenever the back door opens, almost falling off the edge of the balcony. And she attacks her 5-foot cat pole like a crazed monkey, often hanging upside down to peer at us with her wide blue eyes.

Old/New Info

The topic sentence tells us we are talking about a cat, so the pronoun “she” at the beginning of each sentence is “old” information.

Then the “new” information comes at the end, continually adding to our conception of the cat as “hyper” through each new example.

Analysis

Pronouns can provide a strong cohesive element in a paragraph. Remember, pronouns substitute for nouns. Further, the noun the pronoun refers to is called an antecedent.

noun/antecedent pronoun As John walked home, he enjoyed the cool

breeze.

Pronouns as cohesive ties

Just remember that for a pronoun to provide cohesion, the reader must be clearly aware to whom or to what the pronoun refers. You must use the noun before you can use the pronoun.

Simply sprinkling a paragraph with pronouns will not increase cohesion but will inspire CONFUSION.

Warning

Readers expect pronouns to substitute for nouns.

Therefore, if it does not refer to a specific noun or if the pronoun does not match the noun in number (either singular or plural), the reader frowns, scratches her head, and reaches for red ink.

For instance, what do you make of the word “it” in the previous sentence?

Weak use of pronouns

Weak: My roommate told me she has decided to drop out of school and look for a job. This has taken me completely by surprise, and I know it will shock her parents.◦ 1. This and it try to refer to the entire previous idea

rather than a specific noun. This pronoun use is confusing.

◦ 2. To repair, add a noun after the pronoun

Stronger: This decision of hers has taken me completely by surprise.

Weak Pronoun Use

When a grammatical structure is parallel, we are repeating a structure, a technique which is just as effective at promoting cohesion as repeating key words and phrases:

It can be a lonely place. It can be a place of discovery. It can be a wild place. And it can be an exciting place.*

Note: Repeating grammatical structures has a strong effect on readers. So use this technique, but don’t overdo it.

Parallelism=repetition

“You know, my friends, there comes a time when people get tired of being trampled over by the iron feet of oppression. . . . There comes a time, my friends, when people get tired of being thrown across the abyss of humiliation…. There comes a time when people get tired of being pushed out of the glittering sunlight of life’s July, and left standing amidst the piercing chill of an Alpine November”—Martin Luther King

The Dramatic Rhetorical Effect

Using parallel structures like King can be viewed as over-the-top drama

Such drama is appropriate in the voice of Martin Luther King but may NOT be appropriate in all of your work

Use this technique carefully, always considering context and audience

VERY Dramatic

Use repetition to help tie information together

Put old information first before moving to new information

Use parallel structures to increase cohesion Do not forget to be thoughtful about using

repetition and parallelism because both devices can be overdone

Sum Up: To Increase Cohesion