SFL/METU
Dept. of B.E.
WHO 5
November 2016
INTERMEDIATE GROUP
(Student’s Copy)
Unity & Coherence
OBJECTIVE:
 raise awareness about unity and coherence.
A. WRITING SKILL INPUT
I. UNITY
In addition to a clear topic sentence and adequate support, a good paragraph must have unity. A paragraph
has unity when all of the supporting sentences relate to the main topic and develop the controlling idea.
In order to achieve unity, you must make sure that you do not include any information that is not relevant to
the main point stated in the topic sentence. Any sentence that does not support the topic is considered
irrelevant and should be eliminated.
Example:
The sentences underlined in the paragraph are irrelevant sentences since they are not related to the main
topic.
People spend their weekends in different ways. Some enjoy going to the mountains to hike, to ski, or just to
relax. Water skiing is more difficult than snow skiing. Others prefer going to the beach to enjoy the seashore
activities and to get a suntan. Some of these people work very hard during the week. Still others like to relax
by staying home and reading a good book.
TASK 1. Read the following topic sentences and choose the irrelevant sentence that does NOT support the
topic.
1. Topic sentence: It is interesting to visit foreign countries.
a) You can meet new people there.
c) You can search for a cheap hotel.
b) You can eat different kinds of food there.
d) You can see the way other people live.
2. Topic sentence: There is a lot to do in New York City.
a) There are many museums to see.
c) The restaurants are interesting.
b) New York City is famous for its theatres.
d) The subways are clean.
3. Topic sentence: People prefer small cars for a number of reasons.
a) They are too small.
c) They are cheaper to buy.
b) They are easier to park.
d) They use less gas than big cars.
4. Topic sentence: People spend their free time in different ways.
a)
b)
c)
d)
A lot of people spend their free time going to movies.
Some people say that they don’t have free time.
Many people enjoy sports.
Quite a few people prefer to listen to music.
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TASK 2. Each paragraph below has ONE irrelevant sentence. Find them and write the number of the
sentences in the blanks provided.
1. I) There are three reasons why businesses go bankrupt. II) Bankruptcy of a business affects communities
negatively. III) Firstly, using old equipment that is not efficient causes losses in time and money.
IV)These losses may eventually lead to bankruptcy. V) Secondly, depending too much on one main
customer may lead to bankruptcy. VI) If this main customer decides to drop the business, the business
could be affected negatively. VII) Lastly, managing businesses poorly may cause them to go bankrupt.
VIII) Poor management includes bad planning, cash flow problems and not dealing with debts properly.
IX) Overall, using old equipment, depending too much on one customer and poor management are the
major causes of bankruptcy.
The sentence that is irrelevant is ______.
2. I) Business plans are tools that have vital benefits. II) The first benefit of a business plan is that it serves
as a map which will take the business from today to how the business will be in a few years’ time. III) In
other words, business plans show the investors the future of their money. IV) The second benefit of
making a business plan is that the objectives for that business can be set. V) These objectives can be
helpful in keeping the business and executives focused and on track. VI) Finally, business plans are
beneficial in that they enable the business evaluate its progress. VII) Progress evaluation is used in many
areas of life. VIII) In conclusion, every business should have a business plan.
The sentence that is irrelevant is _______.
TASK 3. Put the following sentences into the right order so that it becomes a well-organized
paragraph. There are two irrelevant sentences.
____ a) The construction of an extensive underground system linking the city center to its suburbs would
ease the traffic load in the city.
____ b) For example, four people living in Ümitköy and working in the city center can form a group and
get one car owner to drive the other three to work on certain days of the week.
____ c) The traffic problem in big cities can be solved by building rapid transport systems and by car pools.
____ d) Then, people who live in the suburbs and work in the cities will travel to work a lot more quickly
and safely, without causing or suffering a traffic jam.
____ e) To sum up, the traffic problem in cities can be solved with the joint efforts of the citizens and the
municipalities.
____ f) The construction of underground systems often takes a long time and costs a lot.
____ g) Car pooling, an arrangement in which car owners take turns driving their cars to work and back
home, is also effective in easing the traffic load in big cities.
____ h) Car pooling, however, is not a common practice as people go to work at different hours of the day.
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II. COHERENCE
Another element of a good paragraph is coherence. The Latin verb “cohere” means “hold together”. In order
to have coherence in writing, the sentences must hold together. That is, the movement from one sentence to
the next should be logical and smooth. A coherent paragraph is made up of sentences that have been ordered
according to a certain order (e.g. chronological, spatial, or logical order). In order to have coherence, you
need:
* a clear plan of arrangement
* repetition of key words, using synonymous words and pronouns
* transitions to connect your ideas
1. Arrangement
To achieve coherence, sentences in a paragraph should be arranged in some kind of logical order. The three
types of ordering are chronological (time), spatial, and logical order. The way you choose to arrange your
information depends on the kind of paragraph you are writing. For example, if you are explaining a sequence
of events or writing about a life of a person, the order of the paragraph should be chronological. If you are
describing a place or an object, you can start describing it from left to right or from top to bottom. This kind
of ordering is called spatial order. Logical order refers to an analytical or a sensible way that something
occurs.
2. Repetition of Key Words
A good paragraph has links which help to tie it together. To link the ideas in a paragraph and to achieve
coherence, key words or synonymous words can be repeated in several sentences. Pronouns (this, that, these,
those, he, she, it, etc.) can also be used to refer to nouns in previous sentences.
e.g.
The ancient Egyptians were the masters of keeping dead people’s bodies by making mummies of them.
Mummification means removing the internal organs, applying natural preservatives inside and out, and then
wrapping the body in layers of bandages. This process was remarkably effective when preserving dead people’s
bodies.
e.g.
When scientific experiments do not work out well, the scientific community tries them again. Those experiments
that are tried the second time usually work out better.
3. Transitions
Transitions (and, but, also, because, although, etc.) are signals that show the connection between one idea
and the next. They are important because they guide the reader through a paragraph.
While writing a paragraph, you can also use enumeration to introduce the major supporting ideas.
Enumeration is a useful tool in arranging supporting sentences in a logical and cohesive manner. The topic
sentence usually contains the enumerator which shows a general class, and in the rest of the paragraph, this
general class is broken down into its parts by listing signals.
Example:
There are three kinds of materials that can be found in a good library. First, there are books on all subjects
in English and in many other languages. These books are … Second, there are reference books, which
include encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies and atlases. These can only be used in the library and
… Third, there are periodicals. These include magazines and newspapers, and they are filed alphabetically
on shelves. Like reference books, periodicals …
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In this paragraph, ‘kinds’ is the enumerator, and the listing signals are ‘First’, ‘Second’ and ‘Third’.
Enumerators are useful tools that help the reader to follow your flow of ideas more easily. You can use the
following enumerators with the listing signals in your writing:
The first
kind
The second
characteristic
The third
reason
The final
cause
---------------effect
One
(dis)advantage
Another
difference
Yet another
similarity
The final
solution
is
noun
(social activities)
noun phrase (the social activities that METU offers)
that + sentence (that METU offers a variety of social activities)
First / Firstly / First of all / To begin with,
sentence (METU offers a variety of social activities.)
Second / Secondly / Then / Next,
Third / Thirdly / Then / Next,
Finally,
References:
 DBE Materials Archive, METU
 Hogue, L. (2008). First Steps in Academic Writing. Pearson Education, Inc: NY.
 Atikoğlu, D. & Tankut, P. (2006). Basics of Writing. METU
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