

Let us illustrate the above devices with some examples.

Grammatical cohesion refers to the grammatical relations between text elements. In the following example, hands refer to workers. It refers to the use of a word that denotes part of something but which is used to refer to the whole of it for instance faces can be used to refer to people as in "I see many faces here". Meronymy is another way to achieve cohesion. cat) may create more cohesiveness between sentences and clauses. animal) to a corresponding subordinate term (i.e. The animal was very hungry and looked ill.” This refers to the use of a word that denotes a subcategory of a more general class. “ Old movies are boring, the new ones are much better.” Hyponymy This is often used to create links between the elements of a text. The serpent was probably hiding there for a long time.” AntonymyĪntonymy refers to the use of a word of opposite meaning. You can use a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word to achieve cohesion. Repetition creates cohesive ties within the text. Repeating words may contribute to cohesion. We can achieve cohesion through lexical cohesion by using these techniques: Writers connect sentences and ideas in their essays using both lexical and grammatical cohesive devices. There are two types of cohesion: lexical and grammatical. the words, phrases, clauses, and sentences) of a text stick together to form a whole. Cohesion is what makes the elements (e.g. To summarize, coherence refers to how the ideas of the text flow logically and make a text semantically meaningful as a whole. If the elements of a text are cohesive, they are united and work together or fit well together.


While coherence is related to the macro-level features of a text, cohesion is concerned with its micro-level - the words, the phrases, and the sentences and how they are connected to form a whole. What is cohesionĬohesion is commonly defined as the grammatical and lexical connections that tie a text together, contributing to its meaning (i.e. It is clear, consistent, and understandable.Ĭoherence is related to the macro-level features of a text which enable it to have a sense as a whole. If a text is coherent it is logically ordered and connected. We can describe a text as being coherent if it is semantically meaningful, that is if the ideas flow logically to produce an understandable entity. What is coherence?Ĭoherence refers to the quality of forming a unified consistent whole. In coherent essays, writers use grammatical and lexical cohesive techniques so that ideas can flow meaningfully and logically. In general, coherence and cohesion refer to how a text is structured so that the elements it is constituted of can stick together and contribute to a meaningful whole.
COHERENCE WORD HOW TO
Finally, we will look in detail at ways to improve cohesion and write a coherent essay.īefore illustrating how to write coherent essays, let us start with the definitions of coherence and cohesion and list the ways we can achieve cohesion in a coherent text.The structure of a coherent essay will also be discussed.We will see how a text can be cohesive but not coherent.Then, we will give examples of how a text can achieve cohesion.We will start with definitions of coherence and cohesion.We will be focusing on the five major points. We will be looking at how to write a coherent essay. This page will deal with the following points: We will look at these devices in more detail below. Examples of these cohesive devices are repetition, synonymy, antonymy, meronymy, substitutions, and anaphoric or cataphoric relations between sentences. To achieve coherence in an essay, writers use lexical and grammatical cohesive devices. In a coherent essay, the sentences and ideas flow smoothly and, as a result, the reader can follow the ideas developed without any issues. They communicate a meaningful message to a specific audience and maintain pertinence to the main focus. Use cohesive devices and signposting phrasesĬoherent essays are identified by relevance to the central topic. Stick to the purpose of the type of essay you're writing
