KK-ENBIYM Academic & Professional Communicaton in English

Laura Muukkonen, Susanna Rauramaa, Kaisla Huvinen

Developing Cohesion

1. Within sentences (e.g. parallelism, end-focus)

2. Between sentences (e.g. adverbial links)
3. Paragraphing (e.g. topic sentences, paragraph structure)
4. Sections (signposting, meta-text in transitions, overviews, summaries and conclusions)

Read and consider the notes below and answer the questions where highlighted. Upload your
worksheet to Moodle by the deadline when ready (one copy per group).

1. Focus & Sentence Organization

The beginning and ending of a sentence are the most emphatic positions, and, of these two, the
more emphatic position is the ending. When you want to call attention to information, put it
first or last in the sentence. The information in the middle will be de-emphasized.

Compare the three versions of the following sentence, and think in each case what the focus of
the sentence is, and in what circumstances a writer would use that word order:

1. Education remains the most important single means of economic advancement, in spite of its
shortcomings.
2. In spite of its shortcomings, education remains the most important single means of economic
advancement.
3. Education remains, in spite of its shortcomings, the most important single means of economic
advancement
Which of the sentences above would you use if you wanted to emphasize the topic of education and
its positive aspects but de-empaphasize the shortcomings? Why?

We’d use the last one, since according to the text, the information in the middle is the least
emphasized. The writer is honest and straightforward about the shortcomings, which makes the
reader think that the shortcomings are insignificant compared to the benefits.

2. Parallelism

In grammar, parallelism, also known as parallel structure or parallel construction, is a balance within
one or more sentences of similar phrases or clauses that have the same grammatical structure.
Parallelism improves readability and makes texts easier to process, as it gives a sense of information
belonging together. Consider the following example:

The aims of the project were to develop alternative methods, evaluating their applicability and to
optimize the methods for use in the laboratory.

The middle aim uses a different verb form from the aims on either side, leading to a lack of balance and
making the middle aim somehow distinct. The balance could be created as follows:

• The aims of the project were to develop alternative methods, to evaluate their applicability and
to optimize the methods for use in the laboratory.

What changes would you make to the following sentence to develop parallelism?

• The next stages of the study included collecting samples, analysing metal concentrations and
statistical analysis.

The next stages of the study included collecting samples and analysing statistics and metal
concentrations.

3. Flow

Read the text below. Highlight the words or phrases that you think connect the sentences and develop
the flow of information

Lasers have found widespread application in medicine. For example, they play an important role in the
treatment of eye disease and the prevention of blindness. The eye is ideally suited for laser surgery
because most of the tissue is transparent. Because of this transparency, the frequency and focus of the
laser beam can be adjusted according to the absorption of the tissue so that the beam “cuts” inside the
eye with minimal damage to the surrounding tissue – even the tissue between the laser and the incision.
Lasers are also more effective than other methods in treating some causes of blindness. However, the
interaction between laser light and eye tissue is not fully understood.
Examples of linking words and phrases

Suboridinators Sentence Connectors Phrase Linkers

Addition Furthermore, in addition, In addition to

moreover
Adversative Although, even However, nevertheless Despite, in spite of
though, despite the
fact that

Cause and Effect Because, since Therefore, as a result, Because of, due to, as a
consequently, hence, result of
thus
Clarification In other words, that is,
i.e.
Contrast While, whereas In contrast, however, on unlike
the other hand,
conversely
Illustration For example, for instance

Intensification On the contrary, as a

matter of fact, in fact

Logical Links & Transitional Words

Study the following passages. What is the relationship between the sentences in each passage?

a. Contrast and comparison

5. General and specific
6. Sequence of time
7. Enumerated sequence, and
8. Cause and effect.
Highlight the words (if any) that indicate the relationship.

1. During the 1950s the expanding industries of the north required large numbers of unskilled workers.
As a result, many migrant workers arrived from the economically depressed southern provinces in
search of work and improved living standards. Cause and effect

2. Draining of swamp land is an important factor in the fight against malaria. The drainage of the Pontine
marshes in the 1930s virtually eliminated the incidence of the disease.

-general and spesific information: The first paragraph tells the reader something, and the other one
gives an example.

3. Coal-fired power stations are relatively safe but emit large amounts of carbon dioxide and other
polluting agents into the atmosphere. Nuclear-generated power, on the other hand, is clean, but can, if
things go wrong, lead to disastrous consequences.

-Contrast and comparison

4. In the 1940s, farmers were encouraged to use DDT and artificial fertilizers to eliminate pests, enhance
soil fertility and hence increase crop yields. In the 1960s, it became apparent that the use of chemicals in
agriculture was causing serious damage to soils, plant and human life, and this led to the banning of DDT
in many countries and the search for more environmentally friendly fertilizers. Sequence of time

This + summary word

Another way to maintain flow is to use this/these + a noun to join ideas together. Consider the following
example:

1. In recent years, the number of students applying to Ph.D. programs has remained constant. This
situation has resulted in intense competition for admission.
 Why do you think the pronoun this is used? How would the meaning change if that is used
instead?
Pronoun “this” indicates that the cause of the intense competition is the number of students applying,
whereas the pronoun “that” would implicate that the constant levels of applicants is the reason to
intense competition.

Which of these summary words would be most appropriate in the following sentence? Why are the
others not appropriate?

a. decline, b. reduction, c. improvement, d. decrease, e. drop

According to a recent survey, 26% of all American adults, down from 38% thirty years ago, now smoke.
This DECREASE can be partly attributed to the mounting evidence linking smoking and fatal diseases,
such as cancer.
Decline would indicate that the number of smokers has lessened steadily over the years. Since we don’t
know how the change has happened, we cannot say wherther it has been quick or slow.
Reduction would be a fitting term if the survey was about how many cigarettes one smokes a day and
the number of cigs per day had lessened.
Improvement, to our ears, sounds like something good has increased and not like something bad –like
smoking- has decreased.
Drop would indicate that the change was sudden – overnight or something, but not in the span of 30
years.
Therefore, decrease was the term we chose, since it best describes the change of the amount of people
who smoke in America. It is neutral and simply mediates that the amount of people who smoke has
lessened without commenting on how or how quickly it happened.

4. What is a paragraph?

“A paragraph is one or more sentences focusing on a single subtopic or idea that serves as a visual
signal, helping readers to see divisions within the larger whole. Without paragraphs, texts would be
harder to read.”

One single information unit that extends or clarifies the idea presented by a topic sentence. Presents
the subtopics the whole text or a section is made of.

New Paragraphs

Begin a new paragraph Combine paragraphs

To mark off the introduction and the To clarify the text’s organization
conclusion To connect closely related ideas
To signal a shift to a new idea To bind text together if it looks too choppy.
To indicate an important shift in time/place
To emphasize a point
To highlight a contrast
To provide readers with a needed pause
To break up text that looks too dense.

What is a good way to organize a paragraph?

1. Open the paragraph with a thesis or topic sentence, which presents the main point of the
paragraph (a one-sentence summary of what to expect) or the general direction of the discussion. The
point should be clear; all sentences must relate to it. Sometimes it follows a transitional sentence linking
the paragraph to earlier material, and occasionally it is withheld until the end of the paragraph.

2. Develop the main point! Though an occasional short paragraph is fine, particularly if it functions as a
transition or emphasizes a point, a series of brief paragraphs suggests inadequate development. You
may need to define, explain, indicate distinctions, give examples, details, etc.
3. Employ a clear organizational scheme. The following sentence(s) logically carry forth the discussion:
chronological, whole-part, general-specific, problem-solution, cause-effect, more-less important. So,
choose a suitable pattern of organization; remember logical sequentiality: examples & illustrations,
narration, description, process, comparison & contrast, analogy, cause & effect, classification & division,
definition.

In the following paragraph, can you find examples of the following, which contribute to the
development of cohesion?

• repeated or restated terms

• pronouns
• links between sentences
• parallel structures

The ancient Egyptians were masters of preserving dead people’s bodies by making mummies of them.
Basically, mummification consisted of removing the internal organs, applying natural preservatives
inside and out, and then wrapping the body in layers of bandages. And the process was remarkably
effective. Indeed, mummies several thousand years old have been discovered nearly intact. Their skin,
hair, teeth, finger- and toenails, and facial features are still evident. Their diseases in life, such as
smallpox, arthritis, and nutritional deficiencies, are still diagnosable. Even their fatal afflictions are still
apparent: a middle-aged king died from a blow on the head; a child king died from polio.

(Michael Rosenbaum, Lost Arts of the Egyptians)

EXTRA WORK

In 1-4 below, can you join the short sentences to make a single sentence?

1. He has a sore back, because he spends a lot of time sitting.

2. The teacher entered the classroom where the students met her and had some questions, which
she answered.

3. The student ate too little, and she worked too hard for weeks on end until she became ill so she
had to stay at home.

4. The new treatment is very effective, but it costs a lot and it is not available in Finland.
PARAGRAPHING
(http://mrcoward.com/slcusd/paragraph.html)

Listed below are facts about the American writer, humourist, entrepreneur, publisher, and
lecturer Mark Twain. They are not in logical order, and they are all written in short, choppy
sentences. Read over the list of facts. Decide how the facts should be the ordered or grouped
and organised into separate paragraphs (two or three).
When you are ready, write out the resulting paragraphs, indenting and punctuating as needed.
You may add and subtract words as you see fit, and combine the facts into single sentences, but
make sure all the facts are included.

15 Mark Twain died in 1910 when Halley’s comet appeared.

7 He wrote Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. These are based on his boyhood in Hannibal,
Missouri, along the Mississippi River.
1 His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens.
2 He was born in 1835 when Halley’s comet appeared.
12 He became famous as a humourist later in life.
9 Roughing It is based on his trip to the Nevada silver mines.
6 One of his early jobs was a pilot on a Mississippi steamboat.
10 His pen name came from a call the river pilots used to indicate the depth of water.
5 When he was younger, he was a newspaperman and travelled to other parts of the world.
8 Innocents Abroad is based on his travels in Europe.
13 He went on many lecture tours later in his life.
11 Two other books he wrote are A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court and The Prince
and the Pauper.
3 He was born in Missouri, in the heart of America.
4 But, he made his permanent home in the East.
14 People still quote things he said.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in Missouri, the heart of America in 1835 when Halley’s
comet appeared. Based on his boyhood in Hannibal, Missouri, along the Mississippi river he
wrote the books Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. But, he made his permanent home in the
East.

When he was younger, he was a newspaperman and travelled to other parts of the world.
Roughing It is based on his trip to the Nevada silver mines and Innocents Abroad is based on his
travels in Europe.

Another one of his early jobs was a pilot on a Mississippi steamboat. His pen name, Mark
Twain, came from a call the river pilots used to indicate the depth of water. Two other books he
wrote are A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court and The Prince and the Pauper.

Later in life he became famous as a humourist. He went on many lecture tours and people still
quote things he said. Mark Twain died in 1910 when Halley’s comet appeared.