Unity Coherence

8/13/2019 Unity Coherence

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UNITY AND

COHERENCE

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UNITY

1. A paragraph discusses oneand only onemain idea frombeginning to end.

-a new paragraph for a new main idea.

2. Every supporting sentence must directly explain or prove themain idea. Dont include irrelevant sentences.

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3. How to achieve Paragraph Uni ty?

- must have a single generalization as the focus of attention (topicsentence).

- control the content of every other sentence in the paragraph'sbody:

(a) it contains more specific information than the

topic sentence.(b) it maintains the same focus of attention as

the topic sentence.3


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Septimus Harding was my favourite character in the novelBarchester Towersby Anthony Trollope. This novel is part of theseries called the Chronicles of Barsetshire. Some of the qualitiesI valued most in him were his devotion to his daughter and his

generosity of spirit. Even though he believed that his daughterwas going to marry a man that Harding didnt admire, Hardingrespected his daughterschoice. Eleanor Bold was a very strongwilled woman. Also, he gave up a coveted position to another job

because the man had twelve children and needed the money.Barchester Towers, published in 1857, is about the prominent

citizens in a small city in England. Unfortunately, many othercharacters in the novel felt they could take advantage ofHardingsgentle nature.

Activity 1: This paragraph contains sentences that do not support

the topic and controlling idea expressed in the topic sentence.

Identify the sentences

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Confused Paragraph

Septimus Harding was my favourite character in the novel Barchester

Towers by Anthony Trollope. This novel is part of the series called the

Chronicles of Barsetshire. Some of the qualities I valued most in him were

his devotion to his daughter and his generosity of spirit. Even though he

believed that his daughter was going to marry a man that Harding didntadmire, Harding respected his daughters choice. Eleanor Bold was a very

strong willed woman. Also, he gave up a coveted position to another job

because the man had twelve children and needed the money. Barchester

Towers, published in 1857, is about the prominent citizens in a small city in

England. Unfortunately, many other characters in the novel felt they could

take advantage of Hardings gentle nature.

Unity Paragraph

Septimus Harding was my favourite character in the novel Barchester

Towers by Anthony Trollope. Some of the qualities I valued most in him

were his devotion to his daughter and his generosity of spirit. Even though

he believed that his daughter was going to marry a man that Harding didnt

admire, Harding respected his daughters choice. Also, he gave up acoveted position to another job because the man had twelve children and

needed the money. Unfortunately, many other characters in the novel felt

they could take advantage of Hardings gentle nature.

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COHERENCE

- Latin verb: Coheremeans hold together

- The movement from one sentence to the next must be logical

and smooth.

- No sudden jumps- Aids readers

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How to achieve Coherence?

1. Repeat key nouns

2. Use consistent pronouns

3. Use transition signals to link idea4. Arrange your ideas in logical order

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1. Repeat key nouns

- Repeat key nouns using the noun, pronouns or other

synonyms frequently in a paragraph.

- Remember, when the meaning is not clear, use thekey noun.

How?- In sentence B (the second of any two sentences),

repeat a word from sentence A.8


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Sentence A

Khairul and Farizul are both studying in UMT.

He stays with his friends at Kg Pak Tuyu.

Sentence B

Khairul and Farizul are both studying in UMT.

Khairul/Farizul stays with his friends at Kg Pak Tuyu.

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In the following passage about dolphins, replace some of the pronouns withappropriate singular or plural nouns.

Dolphins

Dolphins are interesting because they display almost humanbehaviour at times. For example, they display human emotions ofjoy and sadness. During training, when they do something correctly,they squeal excitedly and race towards their trainer. When theymake a mistake, however, they droop noticeably and mope aroundtheir pool. Furthermore, they help each other when they are introuble. If one is sick, it sends out a message, and others in the area

swim to help it. They push it to the surface of the water so that it canbreathe. They stay with it for days or weeks until it recovers or dies.They have also helped trapped or lost whales navigate their waysafely out to the open sea. They are so intelligent and helpful, infact, that the U.S. navy is training them to become underwater bomb

disposal experts.

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2. Use consistent pronouns

- When using pronouns, make sure you use the same personand number throughout your paragraph.

- Do not change from youto heor she

(change of person) OR from heto they(change or number).

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Example:A student who knows a few Latin and Greek

roots has an advantage over a student who doesntknow them.They can often guess the meaning of

unfamiliar words.

I like to eat when Peggy is in the backyard

becauseyoudon't have to worry about her getting

in the way. 12


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Read the paragraph. Choose the correct pronoun to complete each sentence.

On Sunday afternoon, my mother and I went to visit my grandfather.

I was looking forward to seeing (him / her) again. Unfortunately, my

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sister Diana and my father were unable to go because (they / he) had

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to work that weekend. My mother and I drove to my grandfathers

house. When (we / I) arrived, my aunt and grandfather greeted (us /

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we) at the door. (They / She) were very excited to see (us / it).

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3. Use transition signals to link idea

- Expressions such asfirst, finally, and howeverorphrases such as in conclusion, on the other hand, and

as a result.

- Different types of transition signals;

each is punctuated differently.

- Tells the reader when you are giving the similar idea,opposite idea, an example, a result, or a conclusion.14


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- Identity.Indicates sameness. that is, that is to say, in otherwords, ...

- Opposition.Indicates a contrast. but, yet, however, nevertheless,still, though, although, whereas, in contrast, rather, ...

- Addition.Indicates continuation. and, too, also, furthermore,moreover, in addition, besides, in the same way, again, another,

similarly, a similar, the same, ...

- Cause and effect.therefore, so, consequently, as a consequence,thus, as a result, hence, it follows that, because, since, for, ...

- Indefinites.Indicates a logical connection of an unspecifiedtype. in fact, indeed, now, ...

- Etc.

Transition Signals

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Combine the following sentences to create coherence by using

transitions from the box.

1. I want to study in Italy for a year to learn about art. I enrolled in Italian classes.

I want to study in Italy for a year to learn about art. Therefore, I enrolled in

Italian classes.

1. Learning a foreign language takes a lot of patience and effort. It helps to have

a good ear.2. The college student was told to revise her essay a third time. She has made

great progress with her writing skills.

3. John Steinbeck, a famous American author, wrote many books concerning the

human condition. His novel The Grapes of Wrathdealt with the problems of

the Great Depression.

4. Academic writing requires a knowledge of standard grammar, sophisticatedvocabulary, and proper organization. Electronic text messages use

abbreviations, symbols and slang.

5. Nowadays research is often done on the Internet. Important information was

stored on special film called microfiche.

In contrast nevertheless previously therefore for example moreover

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4. Arrange your ideas in logical order

- Arrange the sentences in some kind of logical order.

- Some common kinds of logical order in English:

i. Chronological order = order by time

-sequence of events or steps in a process.

ii. Logical division of ideas= a topic is divided

into parts, each is discussed separately.

iii.Comparison/contrast=similarities/differences

between two or more items are discussed. 17


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Example:

My hometown is famous for several amazing naturalfeatures. First, it is noted for the Wheaton River, which is verywide and beautiful. On either side of this river, which is 175 feetwide, are many willow trees which have long branches that canmove gracefully in the wind. In autumn the leaves of thesetrees

fall and cover the riverbanks like golden snow. Second, on theother side of the town is Wheaton Hill, which is unusual becauseit is very steep. Even though it is steep, climbing thishill is notdangerous, because there are some firm rocks along the sides thatcan be used as stairs. There are no trees around thishill, so itstands clearly against the sky and can be seen from many milesaway. The third amazing featureis the Big Old Tree. This treestands two hundred feet tall and is probably about six hundredyears old. These three landmarksare truly amazing and make

my hometown a famous place.

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Discussion:

- First, Second,and The third amazing feature=major connectors.

- Major connectors help organize the main parts of

your paragraph.

- Parag. consists of 3 main parts:

(1) a part about the Wheaton River,

(2) a part about Wheaton Hill,

(3) a part about the Big Old Tree

- provide coherence in a paragraph

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- What about "thesetrees" and "thishill?

minor connectors

- provide coherence to a paragraph by connecting sentenceswithineach of the main part of your paragraph.

- That is, when you write about your main points, you can use

minor connectors to link your details to each main point.

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5. Using Parallel Forms

Make sure all items in a list have the same grammatical

form.

- I like playing tennis, swimming and to dance. (Incorrect)

- I like playing tennis, swimming and dancing. (Correct)

- She cooked dinner, set the table, and the flowers were

arranged. (Incorrect)

- She cooked dinner, set the table, and arranged theflowers. (Correct)

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Rewrite the following sentences to correct the nonparallel forms.

At the age of twenty, I started to write plays, taking acting

lessons, and produce shows.At the age of twenty, I started to write plays, take acting

lessons, and produce shows.

1. As a teenager, I reported on school events, editing articles for

the high school newspaper, and published some of mystories.

2. Some of the rewards of being an author are learn abouthistorical events, researching the lives of famous people, anddiscovering facts about yourself.

3. Attending workshops on writing has taught me to receive

criticism, became a more focused writer, and taking morerisks.

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In a nutshell..

1. A good paragraph should have both unity and coherence.

2. Unity is achieved by;

- discussing only one idea in a paragraph

- always staying on the topic in your

supporting sentence

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3. There are different types of transition signals used to linksentences with particular logical relationships.

4. Coherence is achieved by:

- Repeating key nouns

- Using consistent pronouns

- Using transition signals to link idea

- Arranging the ideas in logical order

- Using parallel forms

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Unity Coherence