5-04 Cohesion

One of the primary goals of academic writing is to ensure that the reader can follow the ideas presented in the text with relative ease. In order to do so, there needs to be a logical structure within a text and a clear connection from one sentence to the next. This connection is commonly called cohesion, which means that each sentence within a paragraph is clearly related to the one before it and after it, and that each paragraph flows naturally into the next. Using cohesive devices within a paragraph, and thereby connecting ideas within a text, will help students write stronger essays. In addition, an understanding of cohesive devices will also help them to follow an academic text and make them stronger readers.

One of the simplest ways to have cohesive sentences is by repeating key words or using similar words throughout the text. Look again at the introduction to this lesson to see how the words clear, connect, and cohesion are repeated in different ways.