Coherence and Cohesion in Academic Writing

The video tutorial from EAP Foundation focuses on coherence and cohesion in academic writing, explaining their importance and how they are assessed in IELTS and TOEFL exams. It defines cohesion as the micro-level connection of words and sentences, achieved through methods like reference words, repeated words, transition signals, substitution, and ellipsis. Coherence is described as the macro-level organization and clarity of ideas. The tutorial emphasizes creating outlines and considering the audience to enhance coherence. It also reviews assessment criteria for IELTS and TOEFL, highlighting the need for logical organization, appropriate use of cohesive devices, and unity in writing.

• Cohesion: Relates to the micro-level of text, focusing on how words and sentences link together.
• Coherent: Refers to text that is logically ordered, connected, and clear, representing the overall picture when all pieces fit together.

"Cohesion relates to the micro-level of the text, that is, the words and sentences and how they join or link together."

• Explanation: Cohesion is about the connection and flow between individual elements within a text.

"Coherence in contrast relates to the macro level features of a text which help it to make sense as a whole."

• Explanation: Coherence focuses on the overall structure and logical flow of the entire text.

• Cohesion can be achieved through five main methods: reference words, repeated words or ideas, transition signals, substitution, and ellipsis.

"Good cohesion is achieved through the following five main methods: reference words, repeated words or ideas, transition signals, substitution and ellipsis."

• Explanation: These methods are essential tools for ensuring that writing is cohesive and easy to follow.

• Reference words are words that refer to something else in the text and do not make sense on their own.
• Examples include: this, these, that, those, it, they, them, he, she, which.

"What are reference words? Well, these are words which don't make sense on their own because they refer to something else in the text."

• Explanation: Reference words are crucial for linking ideas and maintaining cohesion within a text.

• Repetition of words or ideas helps to reinforce key concepts and maintain cohesion.
• Synonyms can be used to repeat ideas without redundancy.

"There are several examples of repeated words or ideas which I'll highlight now... cohesion, writing, essay or report, important features, key feature, important aspect."

• Explanation: Repetition and synonyms ensure that the main ideas are emphasized and clear to the reader.

• Transition signals indicate relationships between ideas and are also known as linking phrases or cohesive devices.
• Types include cause, effect, comparison, and contrast transitions.

"Transition signals are words or phrases which signal the relationships between ideas. They are also called linking phrases or signpost phrases or cohesive devices."

• Explanation: Transition signals guide the reader through the text by showing how different ideas are connected.

• Coherence and cohesion are important criteria in grading writing for exams like IELTS and TOEFL.
• Understanding and applying these concepts can improve writing scores.

"Finally, look at how the IELTS and TOEFL exams grade students writing for coherence and cohesion."

• Explanation: Mastery of coherence and cohesion is essential for success in academic English exams.

• Transition signals are used to give structure and clarity to writing by indicating relationships between ideas.
• Examples of transition types include those for showing importance, chronological order, lists, additions, and alternatives.
• Transition signals help in listing important features, such as using "1st," "2nd," "3rd," "4th," and "final."

"So here the transition signals are all related to giving a list of the five important features that help give good cohesion so we have 1st 2nd 3rd 4th and final."

• This quote highlights the use of transition signals to organize and emphasize the sequence of important features in writing.

• Substitution involves replacing earlier words with others to avoid repetition and enhance cohesion.
• It is similar to using reference words and helps maintain the flow of ideas.
• Examples include using "one" to substitute "graph" and "doing so" to replace "drinking alcohol before driving."

"Here the word one is an example of substitution because it substitutes for the word graph."

• This quote demonstrates how substitution is used to replace a noun with a pronoun to maintain cohesion without redundancy.

"Since doing so can seriously impair one's ability to drive safely."

• This quote illustrates how the phrase "doing so" substitutes for a longer phrase, enhancing sentence fluidity.

• Ellipses involve omitting words when their meaning is clear from the context, making writing more concise.
• This technique is used to avoid unnecessary repetition and maintain the reader's focus on the main ideas.

"The first graph shows a high calorie intake for 20 to 25 year-olds, a lower intake for 25 to 30 year-olds, and a very low intake for those over 30."

• This quote shows how specific words can be omitted without losing the intended meaning, simplifying the sentence structure.

• Coherence refers to the logical organization and progression of ideas in a text, ensuring clarity and ease of understanding.
• Achieving coherence can be challenging due to the multitude of ways ideas can be organized and interpreted.
• To improve coherence, ideas must be well-organized and easily understood by the reader.

"Coherence relates to the organization and the progression of ideas in a text. It also relates to how clear and easy the ideas are to understand."

• This quote defines coherence and emphasizes its importance in making writing comprehensible and logically structured.

• Creating an outline before writing helps organize ideas and ensures logical progression.
• An outline typically includes a thesis statement, topic sentences, supporting ideas, details, reasons, examples, facts, and statistics.
• Even a brief outline can significantly enhance the coherence of the final written product.

"One way to help with the organization of ideas is to create an outline before writing."

• This quote suggests using an outline as a foundational tool for organizing ideas, which is crucial for achieving coherence.

• Reverse outlining is a technique used after writing to assess and improve the organization of ideas.
• It involves creating an outline from the completed text to identify areas for improvement in coherence and structure.

"Some writers like to create a reverse outline after writing."

• This quote introduces reverse outlining as a post-writing strategy to evaluate and enhance the coherence of a text.

• Coherence refers to the macro-level features of writing, ensuring that ideas are logically organized and connected.
• Topic sentences help paragraphs make sense, while a thesis statement and a summary ensure the entire essay is coherent.
• In structured writing like reports, aims and headings function similarly to maintain coherence.
• Unity is achieved when all ideas in a paragraph relate to the topic sentence, and all topic sentences relate to the thesis statement.

"Make sure that you have a clear thesis statement, topic sentences, and summary if it's an essay."

• A clear thesis statement, topic sentences, and summary are crucial for maintaining coherence in essays.

• Understanding the audience and their knowledge level is essential for effective communication in writing.
• The purpose of writing should be clear; for example, if the aim is to explain, the writing should not merely describe.
• Peer editing can help ensure that the writing is understandable, although it may not be feasible in all situations, such as exams.

"Consider the audience who will be reading what you're writing. What do they already know? What do they not know?"

• Tailoring content to the audience's knowledge level is crucial for effective communication.

• Peer editing involves having another person review the writing to ensure clarity and coherence.
• It is a practical approach to improve understanding, although not always possible in exam settings.

"Ask somebody else, for example, another student, to read through it and see if it makes sense. This is called peer editing."

• Peer editing is a valuable tool for assessing clarity and coherence in writing.

• The IELTS writing test assesses four areas: task achievement, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy.
• Coherence and cohesion are evaluated based on logical organization and appropriate use of cohesive devices.

"There are four areas that the IELTS writing test assesses: task achievement, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy."

• Understanding these criteria is essential for performing well in the IELTS writing test.

• Band 9 requires cohesion that attracts no attention and skillful paragraphing.
• Band 8 emphasizes logical sequencing of information and ideas, and appropriate paragraphing.
• Band 7 requires clear progression and appropriate use of cohesive devices, even if there is some under or overuse.

"Sequences information and ideas logically, manages all aspects of cohesion well, uses paragraph things sufficiently and appropriately."

• Logical sequencing, cohesion, and appropriate paragraphing are key components of higher band scores in IELTS.

• Cohesive devices, also known as transition signals, are crucial for maintaining cohesion in writing.
• These devices should be used appropriately to ensure clear progression and connection between ideas.

"It's important to have a range of cohesive devices, which remember is just a synonym for transition signals."

• Using a variety of cohesive devices appropriately ensures effective cohesion in writing.

• Coherence and cohesion are critical components of English writing, particularly in academic contexts like the IELTS and TOEFL exams.
• Coherence involves the logical organization of ideas, ensuring that all sentences relate to the main topic without digressing into unrelated areas.
• Cohesion refers to the connection of ideas within the text, achieved through the use of reference words, repeated words or ideas, transition signals, substitution, and ellipses.

"Ones in the right places and also important not to use too many or too few a common mistake for students learning English is to use too many transition signals."

• Excessive use of transition signals can clutter writing; balance is key for clarity and effectiveness.

• IELTS and TOEFL have distinct criteria for evaluating writing, focusing on coherence and cohesion among other aspects.
• IELTS criteria include the use of referencing, substitution, and transition signals to maintain cohesion.
• TOEFL criteria emphasize well-organized writing, unity, progression, and coherence, with a focus on avoiding redundancy and digression.

"These are the criteria for band 6... may not always use referencing clearly or appropriately."

• Band 6 in IELTS highlights the importance of clear and appropriate use of referencing to maintain cohesion.

"The maximum score on the TOEFL writing is 5... well-organized displays unity progression and coherence."

• TOEFL's top score requires writing that is well-organized, unified, and coherent, with clear progression of ideas.

• Strategies to enhance cohesion include using reference words, repeated words or ideas, transition signals, substitution, and ellipses.
• Improving coherence involves organizing ideas logically and ensuring clarity for the reader.
• Both IELTS and TOEFL assess these elements, although the specific criteria may differ in how they are detailed.

"In order to get a good score we need writing which is well-organized with no redundancy... unity which we talked about earlier which means having all of the sentences related to the topic sentence."

• Achieving high scores requires eliminating redundancy, maintaining unity, and ensuring all sentences support the main topic.

"In terms of cohesion the rubric is much simpler it just talks about connection of ideas... you need reference words repeated words or ideas transition signal substitution and ellipses."

• Cohesion involves connecting ideas through various linguistic tools, which are essential even if not explicitly mentioned in exam rubrics.

• The video provided definitions and strategies for improving coherence and cohesion in writing.
• It explained how the IELTS and TOEFL exams evaluate these aspects, offering insights into achieving better scores.
• The importance of organizing ideas and using linguistic tools to connect them was emphasized throughout.

"We saw ways to improve cohesion in your writing using reference words repeated words or ideas transition signals substitution and ellipsis."

• Effective writing requires a strategic use of language tools to ensure ideas are clearly and logically connected.