Paragraph Unity and Coherence

What is a Paragraph?It's a group of sentences organized

around one central topic.

These sentences follow one clear path through the topic, without detours.

Use these four elements to create unified paragraphs that don't wander.

Elements that make for great paragraphs:

1. Unity2. Order3. Coherence4. Completeness

Element #1: Unity

Start with the topic sentence.

Every other sentence supports this one idea with information that points back to it, or explains

it!

The paragraph is unified around that one idea.

Don't include unrelated details Sentences like these don't relate to the main

idea in the topic sentence:

"There are other sports on other days to watch on TV."

OR"Some days my dad doesn't make it home from

work until after I'm in bed."

Example: No UnityThe start of this paragraph is incorrect:

"Sunday is my favorite day, because I can watch football with my dad. There are other

sports on other days to watch on TV."

The second sentence detours from the main topic: how watching football with dad makes

Sunday your favorite day.

Example of UnityThis is a better start to the paragraph:

"Sunday is my favorite day, because I can watch football with my dad. He spends the whole day watching football on TV with me, since he doesn't have to work that day."

The second sentence elaborates on the main topic. This is a unified start.

Element #2: OrderYou can order your supporting sentences in different ways:

1. by chronology: the order of events in time2. by importance: the order of most to least important, or least to most important3. by logic: the order that makes the most sense based on the topic

Why is order important?Random sentences cause confusion.

Without organization of your sentences, it's hard to tell what your main idea is.

Order helps you make your point, and helps the reader follow along from one idea to the next one, until you prove your conclusion.

What is the correct order of these sentences?•And if I'm really late, I even miss the school bus.

•If I forget to set my alarm, I get up late and rush through everything.

•As a result, I often have to gulp my breakfast.

•It's always much better if I remember to set the alarm, so I have more time to get ready.

•I also might rush out and forget my books.Can you see why order is important?

Element #3: CoherenceThis is how you make your writing

understandable to the reader.

You make your paragraph coherent by connecting ideas to one another.

Two Ways of Creating Coherence:

1. Use transition words to create bridges from one sentence to the next.2. Be consistent in using verb tenses and point of view.

This makes the paragraph work as a whole unit, with everything working together.

1. Types of Transition Words:

•words that show order:first, second, third

•words showing spatial relationships: above, below, beside

•words showing logical order: furthermore, in fact, in addition

2. Verb Tenses and Point of View:Verb tenses should all be consistently present

tense, or consistently past tense.

"Sunday used to be [past] my favorite day, because I could [past] watch football with my dad. He spends [present] the whole day watching football on TV with me, since he doesn't have to [present] work that day." This is not unified in tense!

2. Verb Tenses and Point of View:

Point of View: write from the point of view of the same person throughout the whole paragraph.

"Sunday is his favorite day, because he can watch football with his dad. I have lunch with my dad while we watch a game together."

Point of view changes from "he/his" to "I/my" in the second sentence -- not good!

Element #4: CompletenessFor a complete paragraph, you need enough information to support the main idea, or prove

your thesis.

If all sentences clearly and thoroughly support the main idea, the paragraph is complete.

Main parts of a Complete Paragraph1. Topic sentence: an interesting subject and its controlling idea2. Supporting sentences: usually at least three, to develop the main idea thoroughly3. Concluding sentence: to summarize the main idea and reinforce the topic sentence

Sample Paragraph with all 4 Elements:"Sunday is my favorite day because I spend the day watching football with my dad. On Sunday, unlike the other days of the week when he works, my dad spends the whole day with me watching football on TV. We even eat lunch together while watching. The highlight of the day is watching the Dolphins game. Dad and I get so excited, we yell and cheer together. On Sundays, I get to combine watching my favorite sport and spending time with my favorite person—what a great day!"

The End