Transitions and coherence

1. Writing PromptWriting Prompt
Take the next few minutes and write about
the following:
What would you like your life to be like
in the year 2025? What steps are you
taking to make this happen?

2. CoherenceCoherence
Coherence in writing is the clear relationship between one sentence
and the next. Each sentence should lead to the next sentence.
Coherence is achieved through the logical ordering of the sentences
within the paragraphs and through the creation of smooth transitions
between the sentences and paragraphs.

3. CoherenceCoherence
Ask yourself…
1. Does this point unmistakably follow
from the previous idea?
2. Is this point really clear?
3. Should the ideas be ordered in a
different way?

4. Old New Contract
An effective way to create coherence in your writing
is to follow something called the old/new contract.
This “contract” asks that as a writer you begin your
sentences with something old—something that links
to what was previously stated—and then to end
with something new.
Adapted from the following book:
Ramage, John, John Bean, June Johnson. The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing. New York: Longman, 2003. Print.

5. Old New Contract
How do you connect old ideas to new ideas?
1. Repeat a key word
2. Use a pronoun to substitute for a key word
3. Summarize or restate an earlier concept.

6. Old New Contract
Which sentence follows the old/new contract?
Remember, this means that old information is
followed by new information.
1.College students have many responsibilities.
These responsibilities include attending class,
completing assignments, and maintaining a high
GPA, all of which are characteristics of successful
students.
2. College students have many responsibilities.
Attending class, completing assignments, and
maintaining a high GPA are characteristics of
successful students.

7. Old New Contract
Which sentence follows the old/new contract?
Remember, this means that old information is
followed by new information.
1.College students have many responsibilities.
These responsibilities include attending class,
completing assignments, and maintaining a high
GPA, all of which are characteristics of successful
students.
2. College students have many responsibilities.
Attending class, completing assignments, and
maintaining a high GPA are characteristics of
successful students.

8. Old New Contract
Exercise: Compare the two sample paragraphs.
1.Which paragraph is easier to understand?
2.Which paragraph follows the old/new contract?
3.Underline the key words, pronouns, or
restatements of earlier concepts in the paragraph
that follows the old/new contract.

9. Old New ContractOld/New Contract: Version Two
Another principle for writing coherent essays is the
old/new contract. The old/new contract asks writers to
begin sentences with something old—something that
links to what has gone on before—and then end
sentences with new information that advances their
argument. This principle creates an effect called
coherence, which is closely related to unity. Whereas
unity refers to the clear relationship between the body
of a paragraph and its topic sentence and between
the parts and the whole, coherence refers to the clear
relationship between one sentence and the next,
between part and part.
Adapted from the following book:
Ramage, John, John Bean, June Johnson. The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing. New York: Longman, 2003. Print.

10. Old/New Contract: Version oneOld/New Contract: Version one
An often-overlooked dimension of being good
fathers is play. From their children’s birth through
adolescence, fathers tend to emphasize play more
than caretaking. This may be troubling to egalitarian
feminists, and it would indeed be wise for most
fathers to spend more time caretaking. Although
caretaking is important, the father’s style of play
seems to have unusual significance as well. It is likely
to be both physically stimulating and exciting. Being
physically stimulating and exciting involves teamwork
that requires the competitive testing of physical and
mental skills with older children. This form of play
frequently resembles an apprenticeship or teaching
relationship: Come on, let me show you how.
Adapted from the following book:
Ramage, John, John Bean, June Johnson. The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing. New York: Longman, 2003. Print.

11. Revising your FreewriteRevising your Freewrite
Now that you’ve had practice with
revision for unity and coherence, take a
look at your free write and make sure
that your sentences are coherent, that
they follow the old/new contract!

12. SourcesSources
Fawcett, Susan and Alvin Sandberg. Grassroots with Readings. New York: Houghton Mifflin
1998. Print.
Neman, Beth. Teaching Students to Write. New York: Oxford Press, 1980. Print.
Ramage, John, John Bean, June Johnson. The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing. New York:
Longman, 2003. Print.