Coherence Between Sentences

Importance of Coherence Between Sentences

What are some things that help your argument succeed?

For one, be sure you have a good argument. To achieve that, have a strong line of reasoning, use solid deduction, and don’t commit a logical fallacy. You want to provide a strong description and rhetorical analysis.

However, you also need people to understand your arguments. Your arguments will not be worth much if you can’t string them together in a presentable and easy-to-follow manner.

Enter coherence. You want coherence between sentences, coherence within sentences, and coherence within paragraphs. There are many levels of coherence, but for now, focus on coherence between sentences.

Methods to Achieve Coherence Between Sentences

To help you understand all that “coherence between sentences” entails, this topic has been split into three categories:

• Coherence between sentences using transitions

• Coherence between sentences using word placement

• Coherence between sentences using sentence structure

Fig. 1 - Achieve coherence with three skills.

Coherence Between Sentences Using Transitions

This is all about your ideas. Choose your sentence transition based on whether you are explaining an idea, supporting an idea, or starting a new idea.

In written media, these devices are words or phrases.

Explaining an Idea

If you explain an idea, you clarify its meaning. You explain an idea when you have more to say about it, and it can’t fit in a single sentence.

The transition word in this example is "also."

Here are some strong transitions words and phrases that explain:

1. Also

2. In so doing

3. In other words

4. Additionally

5. Specifically

6. Critically

7. To break that down

8. More than that

Supporting an Idea

You support an idea when you provide evidence or an example. You are not continuing to state the argument or starting a new argument; you are providing the logic behind your argument.

This sentence provides evidence that “this reserve needs to be established.” It’s also the beginning of a discussion about the (fictional) black-bellied wombats, a fact made clear by the transition word “because.”

Here are some transitions that help support your arguments.

1. Because

2. For example

3. For instance

4. In support

5. Actually

6. To substantiate

7. Provides proof

8. Provides evidence

Starting a new Idea

You start a new idea when you want to move on to a different argument. This usually occurs after you have supported your last argument or contention.

This sentence uses “however” to transition from the last topic (wombats) to a new topic. This new topic addresses an opponent’s argument regarding the forestry industry.

You start new ideas with pivot words. Here are some of them.

1. However

2. On a related note

3. Regarding (something else)

4. Although

5. Additionally

6. To look at another side

7. Looking at a different angle

8. That said

Remember, understanding and variety in transitions is only one part of coherence between sentences.

Coherence Between Sentences Using Word Placement

This kind of coherence is about being natural and grammatical. In the following example, look at how “additionally” is used in three different ways.

1. Additionally, you need a life preserver.
2. You additionally need a life preserver.
3. You need a life preserver, additionally.

All of these sentences mean the same thing, but depending on your prior and upcoming sentences, one might sound more natural and more varied.

Say that the prior sentence is, “You need to be sober to pilot the boat.”

Which of the three sentences from above would best follow such a sentence?

The answer is probably the first sentence because it begins with a different word than “you.”

Now imagine the prior sentence is, "Out on the lake, you need to be sober to pilot the boat.”

Now, which one is best?

Probably the middle one, “You additionally need a life preserver.” The prior sentence begins with a prepositional phrase and a comma, so it would be nice to see a clear sentence follow it.

When constructing sentences in your essays or on a timed test, place your transition words (and other helping words) in varied places.

Don’t worry. This takes practice! There will be more opportunities to practice your coherence later on.

Coherence Between Sentences Using Sentence Structure

Finally, you want to create coherence between sentences by varying your sentence structure. This adds variety and fluency to your essay or answer.

For instance, you can follow a simple sentence with a compound sentence.

“Sentence types” is a rich topic, so to master sentence structure, you should study simple sentences, compound sentences, complex sentences, and compound-complex sentences. Learning about clauses, punctuation, and phrases will also help you create coherent sentences and paragraphs.

Fig. 2 - Use sentence structure to make your sentences smooth and engaging.

Coherence Between Sentences Examples

Using what you’ve learned and read, try turning these clusters of simple sentences into more coherent ones. Combine them as you see fit! An example of how you might have achieved coherence follows each practice session.

Practice #1

You need to look at the research results. You can see they indicate a change. You need to look at the precedent set by prior research. You can see they indicate a similar change.

Here is one way you might blend these sentences coherently.

Don’t add “fluff” when making your sentences coherent, but don’t hesitate to elaborate on your ideas in a conversational tone.

Practice #2

The character has a hard time. The character has a hard time in Calcutta. The character then has a good time. The character has a good time in Albany. The character has different company in each place. The company the character has changes how the character feels.

Here is one way you might blend these sentences coherently.

Practice #3

Opponents might not support a new wilderness reserve. Opponents might consider it a waste of resources. Opponents might not realize what resources are. Opponents might not realize we have resources. Opponents might not realize we can use these resources responsibly.

Here is one way you might blend these sentences coherently.

Use a variety of vocabulary to engage your readers!

Difference Between Coherence Within Sentences and Coherence Between Sentences

That said, you practiced making coherent sentences in the previous section. As you probably saw, “coherence between sentences” and “coherence within sentences” are not perfectly distinct concepts. The same idea and words can be a single sentence or multiple sentences, depending on how you choose to write them.

When working in levels of coherence, don’t worry too much about the technicalities of each level. The levels work together toward the same goal. With practice and study, you will find that many aspects of rhetoric blend together in this way.

Fig. 3 - Blendrhetorical strategies to create coherence.