COHERENCE, TRANSITIONS, & TYPES OF PARAGRAPHSWeek 5

COHERENCE Sentences are sensibly organized so the reader can

easily follow your thoughts Strategies for Writing Coherently

1. Be Clear—eliminate wordiness and avoid overly long and complicated sentences

2. Guide the Reader—use transitional expressions, use pronouns and synonyms for words you’ve already used, repeat key words and phrases, and use parallel structure

3. Put Your Thoughts in Order—arrange information so that “first things come first”

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES Chronological Order— “Time Order”

Tell events in the order they occurred Use for narratives and describing steps in a process

Spatial Order— “Where Things Are in Relation to Other Things” Provide details in an orderly way (left to right, top to bottom,

near to far, etc.) Use for descriptions of people, places, and objects

Order of Importance— “Degree of Importance” Provide details in order of increasing or decreasing importance Use for persuasive writing

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES

Logical Order— “Grouping Based on Similarities” Give information in the order readers need to know it Use logic to determine which details to group together or where to

provide definitions or background information

General-Specific Order— “Triangle Structure” Make a general (broad) statement first, then include specifics that

support the generalization

Give specific details first and end with a generalization that grows out of the details

IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENT

Improve the paragraph for exercise 5.1 by putting its details into a clear spatial order.

Make up details as necessary.

Add transitional expressions.

Reorder information.

Combine sentences.

Write your revised paragraph in your notebook.

TRANSITIONAL WORDS & EXPRESSIONS

One way to improve coherence is to use words that indicate a TRANSITION from one idea to the next.

You use different transitions depending on how you have organized your information

Look at Handout 5.2 When would you use the word however? What words would you use to transition from the cause to the effect? What expression would you use if you were explaining how

something is different from something you’ve already described?

IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENT

Use the notes on the next slide to write a unified, coherent, well-developed paragraph.

You do not need to use all of the information. Be sure to include a clear topic sentence.

IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENTPericles (495-429 B.C.)Great leader of city-state of Athens during its Golden Age (460-430 B.C.)A nobleman; wealthy; well-likedSupported democracy

People making decisions for themselves Assembly of thousands of Athenian men met many times a year; voted on city’s

business

Activities: Built up navy, trade by sea Hired best artists to create new buildings Encouraged scientists, philosophers

Died in 429 B.C. during war that Sparta (another city-state) started with Athens

TYPES OF PARAGRAPHS

DESCRIPTIVE WRITINGThe purpose for writing is to tell about a person, emotion, animal, place, or objectSensory details appeal to the reader’s five sense (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell)Sensory details create a main impression, or moodSpatial order presents the sensory details in order from left to right, top to bottom, near to far, or inside to outside

DESCRIPTIVE WRITINGJust below the bare, rocky summit, we unexpectedly came upon a swimming-pool-sized pond. It was gray-green and tucked in amongst the weathered and gently rounded gray and green-gray boulders and jagged slabs of stone. We sat for a moment and rested. Moist clouds had enveloped the mountain, and we could see no more than a few hundred yards distant in any direction. The icy water had a clean, fresh, invigorating taste. Our deep breaths were rewarded with the bracing, moist mountain air, which was sweetened by the faint fragrance of the last of the pines just a few feet below us. And it was quiet up there above the timber line, completely quiet. Only the occasional harsh sounds of the hawks circling overhead intruded on the eerie silence.

TYPES OF PARAGRAPHS

NARRATIVE WRITINGThe purpose for writing is to tell how to do something or to recount a story (fictional or true)The story or process is broken down into its most critical steps or eventsChronological order relates the events in the order in which they occurredChronological order explains steps in a process in the order in which each step is done

NARRATIVE WRITING—SHERMAN ALEXIE

I wander the streets with a regular crew—my teammates, my defenders, my posse. It’s Rose of Sharon, Junior, and me. We matter to each other if we don’t matter to anybody else. Rose of Sharon is a big woman, about seven feet tall if you’re measuring over-all effect and about five feet tall if you’re only talking about the physical. She’s a Yakama Indian of the Wishram variety. Junior is a Colville, but there are about a hundred and ninety-nine tribes that make up the Colville, so he could be anything. He’s goodl-ooking, though, like he just stepped out of some “Don’t Litter the Earth” public-service advertisement. He’s got those great big cheekbones that are like planets, you know, with little moons orbiting them. He gets me jealous, jealous, and jealous. If you put Junior and me next to each other, he’s the Before Columbus Arrived Indian and I’m the After Columbus Arrived Indian. I am living proof of the horrible damage that colonialism has done to us Skins. But I’m not going to let you know how scared I sometimes get of history and its ways. I’m a strong man, and I know that silence is the best method of dealing with white folks.

TYPES OF PARAGRAPHS

EXPOSITORY WRITINGThe purpose for writing is to explain or informStructures include comparison-contrast, cause-effect, classification, or definitionMain Ideas are stated as early and as clearly as possibleFacts, examples, quotations, statistics, and definitions are used as supporting details that develop the main ideaLogical order is used to present details in a way that makes sense to the readerTransitions are used to help the reader follow your thinking

EXPOSITORY WRITING—NEWS STORYBy MATT PHIFER, ABC NewsMay 13, 2011

Funding for the arts and music in schools was thrust back into the limelight last Friday as the President's Committee on Arts and Humanities released a report urging educators to re-invest in arts education.Over an 18-month period, the committee gathered information from multiple studies and sources about the benefits of arts education and offered ways to bring the arts to underserved schools.Taking the findings of its report, PCAH is making five recommendations to create a well-rounded K-12 education in American schools. They include building "collaborations among different approaches" for teaching the arts, expanding "in-school opportunities for teaching artists," and utilizing "federal and state policies to reinforce the place of arts in K-12 education."The committee's report also revealed two major themes. One theme is the diverse style of teaching the arts across the country due to "nonprofit community organizations, visionary school principals, private philanthropy, and parent groups."

TYPES OF PARAGRAPHS

PERSUASIVE WRITINGThe purpose for writing is to convince someone that your opinion is correct or to move someone to actionGet your reader’s attention in the first sentenceOpinion statements clearly express your view on the topicReason and evidence support your opinion (facts, examples, statistics, anecdotes, quotations, etc.)Details are arranged in Order of Importance—from most to least important (or reversed)Includes a call to action that tells the reader what you want them to do with the information you gave them

PERSUASIVE WRITING—SOPHIE BURNIEIKAStand up to bullies—Rindge Avenue Upper SchoolImagine walking down the hallway on your very first day of high school. You’re pushed into the lockers, your books are knocked out of your hand, and you're laying on the ground crying.“So what, it’s the first day. Everyone gets pushed around a little,” you say to yourself.The same thing happens the next day, and the next, and goes on throughout the year. By sophomore year, you’re known as the most unpopular kid in school. You get called all sorts of rude names and have more bruises than you can count. No one wants to be your friend and you feel like dying.What would you do?Over 50 percent of bullying is cyberbullying. Of course all bullying is bad, but cyber can sometimes be the worst.

WEEK 5 QUIZ

Write a paragraph for two of the topics suggested below:

1.A persuasive paragraph for or against grading students on report cards

2.A descriptive paragraph about your favorite place, book, or music

3.A narrative paragraph about an adventure, a contest, or a humorous event

4.An expository paragraph explaining the rules of a game or giving information about a career you are considering