essay writing (unity and coherence)

Edi Brata, S.Pd.Edi Brata, S.Pd.Mathla’ul Anwar UniversityMathla’ul Anwar University

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What is Unity?Unity means single idea. In other words, unity in writing is the connection all ideas to a single topic. In an essay all ideas should relate to the thesis statement, and the supporting ideas in a main body paragraph should relate to the topic sentence. For example, if your essay is about the advantages of nuclear power, discuss only that. Do not discuss about the disadvantages.

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Keeping Unity in an Essay

One way to keep unity in an essay is to edit the outline for ideas that are not relevant to the thesis statement or topic sentence. Also, after you have written the essay, it is helpful to review the text and look for ideas that do not relate to the thesis statement or the topic sentence.


What is Coherence?Coherence is related to unity. Ideas that are arranged in a clear and logical way are coherent. The purpose of coherence is to make the readers can easily understand the main points.


How to Make Our Essay Coherence?

When organising your ideas, think about what type of organisation is the best for your topic or essay type. Here are some examples of types of writing and good ways to organise them


Type of Writing Type of Organisation

Chronology Order by time or order of events/ steps

Description Order by position, size, and shape of things

Classification Group of ideas and explain them in a logical order

Comparison/ Contrast Organise in point-by-point or block style

Argumentation/ persuasion/ cause effect

Order from least important to most important


Cohesive DevicesCohesive devices are words and phrases that connect sentences and paragraphs together, creating a smooth flow of ideas. Here are three kinds of cohesive devices that can be used:1.transition signals2.pronoun references3.repetion of key noun



Cohesive Devices (Transition Signals)Transition signals can be categorized into three groups by grammatical function. The three groups are:a.sentence connectors (including transition phrases and conjunctive adverbs) , b.clause connectors (including coordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions), and c.mixed group called others.



Cohesive Devices (Transition Signals)


Meaning/ Function

Sentence Connectors

Clause Connectors Others (Adjectives, Verbs, and Prepositions)Coordinators Subordinators

To introduce similar additional idea

alsobesidesfurthermorein additionmoreovertoo

andnor(“and not)

anotheran additional

To compare things alsolikewisesimilarlytoo

andboth ... andnot only ... but alsoneither ... nor

asjust as

as ... aslike/ alikejust likesimilar tobe alikebe similar

To introduce an opposite idea, and to contrast things

howeverin contrastinsteadin/ by comparisonneverthelessnonethelesson the other handon the contrarystill

butyet

althougheven thoughthoughwhereaswhile

despitein spite ofcompared to/ withbe different (from)be dissimilarbe unlikediffer (from)




Meaning/ Function

Sentence Connectors


To introduce an example

for examplefor instance

such asan example of

To emphasize in fact

To explain and restate

indeedthat is

To introduce an alternative

otherwise or ifunless

To signal chronological order

first, second, etc.first of allthen, nextnow, then, soonlast finallymeanwhilegraduallyafter thatsince then

afterasas soon asbeforesinceuntilwhenwhile

the first, the secondthe next, the last, the finalbefore lunchafter the warsince ....in the year ...




Meaning/ Function

Sentence Connectors


To indicate order of importance

above allfirst and foremostmore/ most importantly/ significantlyprimarily

a more importantthe most importantthe second most significantthe primaily

To introduce a cause or reason

for becausesinceas

result frombe the result ofdue tobecause ofthe effect ofthe consequence ofas a result ofas a consequence of

To introduce an effect or result

accordinglyas a resultas a consequenceconsequentlyhence, thustherefore

So result incausehave an effect onaffectthe cause ofthe reason for




Meaning/ Function

Sentence Connectors


To conclude all in all,in brief,in conclusion,in short,in summary,indeed,

It is clear that ...We can see that ...The evidence suggets that ...These examples show that ...


Cohesive Devices (Pronoun References)


Two sentences can be connected by the use of pronoun. A pronoun (he, she, it, they, etc.) takes the place of a noun (a person, place, thing, or idea) or noun phrase (several words that refer to a person, place, thing, or idea). Example:Gold has a lustrous beauty that is resistant to corrosion. Therefore, it is suitable for jewelry, coins, and ornamental puposes.

The pronoun it refers back to the subject, Gold, and connects the two sentence together.


Cohesive Devices (Repetition of Key Noun)


Another way to connect ideas in an essay is by repeating important words and phrases. This will help the reader remember the main ideas in the text.Example:Modern medicine focuses on illness. If a patient with a cough visits a modern doctor, then the doctor will give the patient a medicine to stop the cough. If the patient also has a fever, the doctor may give a different medicine to stop the fever. For every person with a cough, the doctor will probably recommend the same cough medicine. The philosophy of modern medicine is to stop problems like coughing and fever as quickly as possible.


Exercise


Zemach and Rumisek, 2005:83, 84, 85

References:


1. Oshima, Alice and Hogue, Ann. 1998. Writing Academic English. New York: Longman. (Page: 40-50)

2. Zemach, Dorothy E and Rumisek Lisa A. 2003. Academic Writing form Paragraph to Essay. Macmillan. (Page: 78-86)

Many of the materials are directly quoted.

essay writing (unity and coherence)

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