Unity and Coherence

in Essay
Content
 Essay?
 Structure of an Essay
 Brevity
 Unity
 Support
 Coherence
 Activity
Essay
 “Prose composition with a focused subject of discussion"
or a "long, systematic discourse".

 An essay is a short piece of writing which is often written

from an author's personal point of view.

 Essays have become part of formal education.

 Subject or course requirement
 Admission essay in selecting applicants
Essay as a Pedagogical Tool
 Academic essays, which may be called "papers", are
usually more formal than literary ones.
 Logical and factual
 “I” is discouraged

 Literature Review (for longer academic essays)

 a short summary analysis of what has previously been written
on a topic
Essay as a Pedagogical Tool
 Most academic institutions will require that all substantial
facts, quotations, and other porting material used in an
essay be referenced in a Bibliography or References.

 This scholarly convention allows others (whether teachers

or fellow scholars) to understand the basis of the facts and
quotations used to support the essay's argument, and
thereby help to evaluate to what extent the argument is
supported by evidence, and to evaluate the quality of that
evidence.
Plagiarism
 Academic dishonesty or academic fraud

 Essay mill or “ghost writing” service

 Universities and colleges may investigate papers

suspected to be from an essay mill by using Internet
plagiarism detection software, which compares essays
against a database of known essay mill essays and by
orally testing students on the contents of their papers.
General Structure of an Essay
 Introduction
 Thesis
 Body
 Conclusion
Introduction
 The introduction acquaints the reader with the topic.

 Try to make your introduction interesting, engaging, and

original.
 Give a startling example or statistic
 Tell a story
 Use a relevant quotation
 Ask a pointed question

Doesn’t have to be written first…

Thesis
 What point am I attempting to make in this essay?

 Must be found in the early part of the essay, at least before

you develop your body paragraphs.

 May be stated or implied.

 Should be clear and specific!

Body
 The purpose of a body paragraph is to develop and prove
the thesis.

 Each body paragraph should make just one point that

clearly develops and supports the thesis.

 In the same way that you have a thesis to indicate the

point of the essay, you should have a topic sentence for
each body paragraph.
Body
 To develop body paragraphs…
 Provide details and explanation
 Give vivid examples
 Cite statistics where appropriate
 Include research as necessary
 Be descriptive

Each body paragraph should be unified independently  connect

the paragraphs together and relate them to the thesis

Unity & Coherence (referencing key words and using transitional

devices)
Conclusion
 The purpose of the conclusion is to bring the essay to a
satisfying close.

 Avoid bringing up a new point in your conclusion and

avoid lengthy and excessive summary.

 The most successful conclusions are thoughtful and

reflective.
Conclusion
 What have I learned from having written this essay?

 What are the implications or consequences of my thesis?

 What is the last impression with which I want to leave my

audience?
Characteristics of an Effective Essay
 Brevity
 Unity
 Support
 Coherence
Brevity
 To write concisely to communicate one’s message
 Specific, descriptive and easily understandable words

 Wordiness (in the near future, despite the fact that, etc)
 Redundancy (new innovation, the month of October, etc.)
 Tautology (going in or going out?)
 Empty Words (basically, which was, who is, the fact that, etc.)
 Passive Voice (by phrase)
Try this!
 With regard to  About
 As of the present time  Now
 The color blue  Blue
 Utilization of  Use of
 Came to the conclusion  Concluded
 The other alternative to  Alternative to
 The class was taught by  I taught the class.
me.  The accountant scolded
 The laborer is being the laborer.
scolded by the accountant.
Unity
 Unity in writing means that all material is clearly relevant
to an essay's main point (thesis). Any paragraphs that are
off-topic or that lead you, the writer, away from your
thesis will lead your audience away from your point as
well.

 Just as all paragraphs within an essay must directly

support the thesis, all material within each paragraph must
support the one main idea of that paragraph.
 Philip Randolph, the great African-American champion of labor
and civil rights, led confrontations with three very popular
presidents. Mr. Randolph called for a march on Washington by
thousands of African-Americans on July 1, 1941, if President
Roosevelt would not take action to end discrimination in defense
industries during World War II. Mr. Randolph was born in
Florida. After much delay, the president met with Randolph and
one week later, opened many defense jobs to black workers. A
few years later, in 1948, Mr. Randolph threatened mass civil
disobedience if President Truman did not end segregation against
African-Americans in the military. On July 25, Truman approved
the order that integrated the armed services. The last
confrontation was with John F. Kennedy, who sought to stop the
1963 civil rights March on Washington. The march featured the
Reverend Martin Luther King's unforgettable "I Have a Dream"
speech.
Support
 The substance of any essay consists of its support--the
specific statements that clarify and back up the thesis
statement of the paper.

 Support is not general; it is specific.

 It can come from many sources: statistics, facts,

quotations, names, dates and examples.
Support (general)
 Our run-down city block was made special by a lot called
The Community Garden. The lot was planted with all
sorts of plants, vegetables, and flowers. There was a path
curving through it. We went there to think. The
Community Garden made our block special. Though our
neighborhood was known as "tough," no one ever
vandalized the garden.
 Our run-down city block was made special by a once-
vacant lot called The Community Garden. I'm not sure
who first had the idea, but the thin soil had been fertilized,
raked, and planted with a surprising assortment of
vegetables and flowers. Anyone interested in gardening
could tend green pepper plants, string beans, fresh
herbs, even corn. Others planted flowers, which changed
with the seasons--tall red dahlias, white and purple iris,
and taxi-yellow marigolds to discourage the insects. A
narrow path curved gracefully among the plants, paved
with bricks no doubt left over from the building that once
stood here. The Community Garden was our pride, the
place we went to think and to be still. Though our
neighborhood was known as "tough," no one ever
vandalized the garden.
Coherence
 Literally, the word means "to stick together.“

 Coherence in writing means that all the ideas in a

paragraph flow smoothly from one sentence to the next
sentence.

 With coherence, the reader has an easy time understanding

the ideas that you wish to express.
 My hometown is famous for several amazing natural features. 
First, it is noted for the Wheaton River, which is very wide and
beautiful. On either side of this river, which is 175 feet wide, are
many willow trees which have long branches that can move
gracefully in the wind.  In autumn the leaves of these trees fall
and cover the riverbanks like golden snow.  Second, on the other
side of the town is Wheaton Hill, which is unusual because it is
very steep.  Even though it is steep, climbing this hill is not
dangerous, because there are some firm rocks along the sides that
can be used as stairs.  There are no trees around this hill, so it
stands clearly against the sky and can be seen from many miles
away.  The third amazing feature is the Big Old Tree. This tree
stands two hundred feet tall and is probably about six hundred
years old.  These three landmarks are truly amazing and make
my hometown a famous place.
Transitional Devices
 Addition: in addition, as a result, moreover, furthermore,
consequently, hence, otherwise, so, then, therefore, thus,
etc.

 Sequence: to begin with, at first, first, first of all, second,

third, finally, in conclusion, later on, next, respectively, for
the time being, meanwhile, for now, etc.

 Illustration: for example, for instance, for one, for

another, in illustration, etc.
Transitional Devices
 Consequence: as a result, consequently, otherwise,
therefore, resultantly, accordingly, thus, etc.

 Summary: all things considered, briefly, in any case,

finally, all things said, in summary, in the final analysis, to
sum up, all in all, by and large, in any event, in final
consideration, in conclusion, etc.

 Generalization: for the most part, generally speaking, in

general, ordinarily, usually, customarily, normally, as a
rule, as usual, by and large, more often than not, mostly,
rarely, etc.
Transitional Devices
 Contrast and comparison: conversely, on the one hand,
on the other hand, likewise, similarly, instead, on the
contrary, contrarily, to the contrary, rather, yet, by the
same token, to the contrary, etc.

 Concession: be that as it may, however, in any event,

nevertheless, still, notwithstanding, despite, in spite of,
although, in any case, even so, at any rate, etc
Transitional Devices
 Restatement: in essence, in other words, namely, that is,
that is to say, etc.

 Diversion: incidentally, by the way, by the by,

parenthetically, while we’re on the subject, lest I forget,
etc.
Questions for Applying Unity, Support
and Coherence
 Unity (think of unity as the overall skeletal structure of
your essay):
 Is there a clear thesis statement that gives the topic of my paper
and my idea about that topic?
 Is all the material in the paper relevant to my thesis?
 Is all the material in each paragraph relevant to the topic
sentence of the paragraph?
Questions for Applying Unity, Support
and Coherence
 Support (think of support as the "meat" of your essay):
 Is there specific evidence that supports my main point?
 Is there enough specific evidence for each point?
Questions for Applying Unity, Support
and Coherence
 Coherence (think of coherence as what connects the meat
of your essay to its skeleton):
 Does my essay have a clear method of organization?
 Do I use transitions and other connecting words or phrases to
move smoothly from one paragraph to the next?
 Do I use transitions and other connecting words or phrases to
tie sentences and key ideas together within the paragraphs?