Text flow: Coherence and cohesion

When discussing the ‘flow’ of a text, we often use the interrelated terms coherence and cohesion. Coherence refers to how the information is organised in a text so that the reader can make sense of it, and cohesion – a word meaning ‘the act of gluing together’ – is achieved through the strategies the writer employs to show the relationship between ideas in the text. In the examples on these pages, we try to show how one paragraph can display both coherence and cohesion.

Read about the following principles and strategies:

• Unity: One thought = one paragraph
• The general-to-specific principle
• Use of linking words and phrases
• Topic sentences
• The given-to-new principle
• Use of 'this', 'these' and 'such' + a noun
• Use of pronouns with a clear reference
• Repetition of key words and phrases
• Parallel structures