Coherence, generally, is the contextual appearance of the utterances in the text. More specifically, it is the contextual fitness of in the text that contributes in understanding the meaning or message.
Coherence is achieved when sentences and ideas are connected and flow together smoothly. An essay without coherence can inhibit a reader’s ability to understand the ideas and main points of the essay.
Decide on an order for your sentences that will best develop the paragraph’s main idea. Your supporting sentences are raw materials. They will not make sense to a reader unless they are put in order.
Coherence focuses on the organization of the writing which includes how paragraphs are developed through patterns. As follows:
Cause and effect: If narration offers a sequence of events, cause/effect essays offer an explanation about why that sequence matters.
Description: The purpose of description is to recreate, invent, or visually present a person, place, event, or action so that the reader can picture that which is being described.
Process: Analyzing a process can also be thought of as “how-to” instruction.
Analogy: An analogy is something that shows how two things are alike, but with the ultimate goal of making a point about this comparison.
Narration: The purpose of narration is to tell a story or relate an event.
Problem/Solution: This type of academic writing has two equally important tasks: clearly identifying a problem, and then providing a logical, practical solution for that problem.
IMPORTANT TO NOTE: Coherence focuses on how sentences within a text are sequenced in an orderly manner which cause them to relate to each other and adhere to the development pattern the text is using.
SAMPLE QUESTION
Read the passages below, and then choose the best answer to the question.
(1) The rise in personal debt in recent years is due largely to aggressive and unwarranted hustling by credit-card companies. (2) Between 1990 and 1996, credit card debt doubled. (3) Today it is still rising. (4) Credit cards with interest rates reaching nearly 20 percent are a remarkably lucrative part of the loan business. (5) Debtors pay an average of $1,000 a year in interest and fees alone, money that could instead have been used for a college or retirement fund. (6)Using subtle tactics to tempt unwary consumers to borrow, credit-card companies have led consumers to hold more cards and to fork over a bigger and bigger fraction of their income to the companies.
How does sentence 5 relate to the main idea of the paragraph?
A. Sentence 5 contradicts the main idea of the paragraph
B. Sentence 5 elaborates the main idea of the paragraph
C. Sentence 5 negates the main idea of the paragraph
D. Sentence 5 emphasizes the main idea of the paragraph
EXPLANATION
The main idea of the paragraph:
The rise in personal debt in recent years is due largely to aggressive and unwarranted hustling by credit-card companies.
Supporting details:
(2) Between 1990 and 1996, credit card debt doubled. (3) Today it is still rising. (4) Credit cards with interest rates reaching nearly 20 percent are a remarkably lucrative part of the loan business. (5) Debtors pay an average of $1,000 a year in interest and fees alone, money that could instead have been used for a college or retirement fund. (6)Using subtle tactics to tempt unwary consumers to borrow, credit-card companies have led consumers to hold more cards and to fork over a bigger and bigger fraction of their income to the companies.
Sentence 5 explains how debtors are affected by the rise in personal debt caused by credit card companies. They are affected by having to pay average of $1,000 a year in interest and fees alone which would make them struggle to afford other things like college or retirement fund.
How does sentence 5 relate to the main idea of the paragraph?
A. Sentence 5 contradicts the main idea of the paragraph
B. Sentence 5 elaborates the main idea of the paragraph
C. Sentence 5 negates the main idea of the paragraph
D. Sentence 5 emphasizes the main idea of the paragraph
Coherence, generally, is the contextual appearance of the utterances in the text. More specifically, it is the contextual fitness of in the text that contributes in understanding the meaning or message.
Coherence is achieved when sentences and ideas are connected and flow together smoothly. An essay without coherence can inhibit a reader’s ability to understand the ideas and main points of the essay.
Decide on an order for your sentences that will best develop the paragraph’s main idea. Your supporting sentences are raw materials. They will not make sense to a reader unless they are put in order.
Coherence focuses on the organization of the writing which includes how paragraphs are developed through patterns. As follows:
Cause and effect: If narration offers a sequence of events, cause/effect essays offer an explanation about why that sequence matters.
Description: The purpose of description is to recreate, invent, or visually present a person, place, event, or action so that the reader can picture that which is being described.
Process: Analyzing a process can also be thought of as “how-to” instruction.
Analogy: An analogy is something that shows how two things are alike, but with the ultimate goal of making a point about this comparison.
Narration: The purpose of narration is to tell a story or relate an event.
Problem/Solution: This type of academic writing has two equally important tasks: clearly identifying a problem, and then providing a logical, practical solution for that problem.
IMPORTANT TO NOTE: Coherence focuses on how sentences within a text are sequenced in an orderly manner which cause them to relate to each other and adhere to the development pattern the text is using.
SAMPLE QUESTION
Read the passages below, and then choose the best answer to the question.
(1) The rise in personal debt in recent years is due largely to aggressive and unwarranted hustling by credit-card companies. (2) Between 1990 and 1996, credit card debt doubled. (3) Today it is still rising. (4) Credit cards with interest rates reaching nearly 20 percent are a remarkably lucrative part of the loan business. (5) Debtors pay an average of $1,000 a year in interest and fees alone, money that could instead have been used for a college or retirement fund. (6)Using subtle tactics to tempt unwary consumers to borrow, credit-card companies have led consumers to hold more cards and to fork over a bigger and bigger fraction of their income to the companies.
How does sentence 5 relate to the main idea of the paragraph?
A. Sentence 5 contradicts the main idea of the paragraph
B. Sentence 5 elaborates the main idea of the paragraph
C. Sentence 5 negates the main idea of the paragraph
D. Sentence 5 emphasizes the main idea of the paragraph
EXPLANATION
The main idea of the paragraph:
The rise in personal debt in recent years is due largely to aggressive and unwarranted hustling by credit-card companies.
Supporting details:
(2) Between 1990 and 1996, credit card debt doubled. (3) Today it is still rising. (4) Credit cards with interest rates reaching nearly 20 percent are a remarkably lucrative part of the loan business. (5) Debtors pay an average of $1,000 a year in interest and fees alone, money that could instead have been used for a college or retirement fund. (6)Using subtle tactics to tempt unwary consumers to borrow, credit-card companies have led consumers to hold more cards and to fork over a bigger and bigger fraction of their income to the companies.
Sentence 5 explains how debtors are affected by the rise in personal debt caused by credit card companies. They are affected by having to pay average of $1,000 a year in interest and fees alone which would make them struggle to afford other things like college or retirement fund.
How does sentence 5 relate to the main idea of the paragraph?
A. Sentence 5 contradicts the main idea of the paragraph
B. Sentence 5 elaborates the main idea of the paragraph
C. Sentence 5 negates the main idea of the paragraph
D. Sentence 5 emphasizes the main idea of the paragraph