The Centre for English Teaching
at the University of Sydney
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Netiquette
Video:
Keep your video on if
possible. It would be so nice
to see your face so that we
can get to know you
Questions:
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Audio:
Mute to avoid sound issues.
To contribute to the
discussion, please click on
the ‘Unmute me’ button
Try to ask questions during the workshop. If you don’t
want to interrupt, please raise your hand & then type
the question in the public chat. I will respond when time
allows and as appropriate.
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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AWZa1Ad50UiVLW5i30qSLr1uQ96_cEWlNLgcAP3TWI/edit?usp=sharing
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Warmer – Task 1
What’s happening in this story? Use the QR
code to go to Padlet and write a sentence
for each scene.
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What will I learn today?
Learning Outcomes
• Plan and structure a text to create coherence
• Identify features of coherence and cohesion
• Use specific features to create a cohesive text
• Know which cohesive devices to use to convey a
logical flow of ideas in you academic writing
• Practice using deductive reasoning to structure a
text
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What are some of the words associated with
coherence and cohesion?
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What is coherence and cohesion in academic
writing?
Coherence means the connection of ideas at the idea
level, and cohesion means the connection of ideas at the
sentence level.
Coherence refers to the “rhetorical” aspects of your
writing, which include developing and supporting your
argument (e.g. thesis statement), synthesizing and
integrating readings, organizing and clarifying ideas.
One step to ensure coherence in your academic writing
is by spending time creating a concept map or essay plan
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How is coherence created?
By building a road map that’s easy to
follow
- use repetition of key terms or
synonyms
By ensuring the thesis or position
made in the introduction is
addressed throughout
- use topic sentences that reflect
the position or argument
By using clear transitions from
paragraph to paragraph
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How do we check if our writing is coherent?
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Now it’s your turn…..
Task 2:
You are going to read and
identify some of the
coherence features of a
sample essay.
Essay Title: Consider whether human
activity has made the world a better
place.
1. Look at the introduction to this essay
2. Highlight key terms repeated from
the title
3. Underline the thesis statement
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Now it’s your turn…..
Let’s look at the rest of this essay and see how these
ideas are repeated throughout with:
- Repetition of key terms or synonyms
- Use of topic sentences that reflect the position or
argument
- Using clear transitions from paragraph to paragraph
https://docs.google.com/document/d/16EazIRb8tfo8o1
w4_jFyBQ6ebVcbTljiv3yHCfKeHc0/edit?usp=sharing
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How is cohesion created in academic writing?
The cohesion of writing focuses on the
“grammatical” aspects of writing
Cohesion is also a very important
aspect of academic writing, because it
immediately affects the tone of your
writing.
Good cohesion is achieved through
the following five main features, each
of which is described in more detail
below:
1. repeated words/ideas
2. reference words
3. cohesive devices
(transition signals)
4. substitution
5. ellipsis
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What does it mean to repeat words/ideas?
1. Repeated words/ideas
One way to achieve cohesion is to repeat words, or to repeat ideas
using different words (synonyms). Study the following example.
Cohesion is an important feature of academic writing. It
can help ensure that your writing coheres or 'sticks
together', which will make it easier for the reader to follow
the main ideas in your essay or report. You can achieve
good cohesion by paying attention to five important
features. The first of these is repeated words. The
second key feature is reference words. The third one is
cohesive devices. The fourth is substitution. The
final important aspect is ellipsis.
In this example, the word cohesion is used several times, including
as a verb (coheres). It is important, in academic writing, to avoid too
much repetition, so using different word forms or synonyms is
common.
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What does it mean to repeat words/ideas?
Task 2
Find and highlight the key terms and their synonyms
repeated in this paragraph:
Gopalpur-on-Sea is a remote, relatively untouched location
with a pleasant summer climate. Therefore, tourists in large
numbers throng to this small town in the warm months for
holidaying. Finding suitable accommodation can be a problem
here, since the locale is small and the infrastructure is still
developing. However, that does not discourage the influx of
visitors each year.
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What are reference words?
2. Reference words are words which are used to refer to something
which is mentioned elsewhere in the text, usually in a preceding
sentence. The most common type is pronouns, such as 'it' or 'this'
or 'these'. Study the previous example again.
Cohesion is an important feature of academic writing. It can
help ensure that your writing coheres or 'sticks
together', which will make it easier for the reader to follow
the main ideas in your essay or report. You can achieve good
cohesion by paying attention to five important features. The
first of these is repeated words. The second key feature is
reference words. The third one is cohesive devices. The
fourth is substitution. The final important aspect is ellipsis.
The words it, which and these are reference words. The first two of
these, it and which, both refer to 'cohesion' used in the preceding
sentence. The final example, these and one, refers to 'important
features', again used in the sentence that precedes it.
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What are reference words?
Task 2
Find and highlight the reference words in this paragraph:
Gopalpur-on-Sea is a remote, relatively untouched village with
a pleasant summer climate. Therefore, tourists in large numbers
throng to this small town in the warm months for holidaying.
Finding suitable accommodation can be a problem here, since
the locale is small and the infrastructure is still developing.
However, that does not discourage the influx of visitors each
year.
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What are cohesive devices (transition signals)?
3. Cohesive devices, also called Transition signals or linking words,
are words or phrases which show the relationship between ideas.
There are many different types, but let’s explain start with looking at
the sequence markers.
• for example - used to give examples
• in contrast - used to show a contrasting or opposite idea
• first - used to show the first item in a list
• as a result - used to show a result or effect
Cohesion is an important feature of academic writing. It can help
ensure that your writing coheres or 'sticks together', which will
make it easier for the reader to follow the main ideas in your
essay or report. You can achieve good cohesion by paying
attention to five important features. The first of these is
repeated words. The second key feature is reference words.
The third one is cohesive devices. The fourth is substitution.
The final important aspect is ellipsis.
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Now it’s your turn…..
Task 3:
Let’s try the Kahoot
challenge!
How well do you
understand cohesive
devices?
(Kahoot.it)
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What other cohesive devices can I use?
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Now it’s your turn……
Task 4. Now work in groups to practice your
understanding of using simple cohesive devices. Use only
the words in brackets under each passage.
Example:
1. One of the most wonderful inventions of modern
times is television. It is now possible to sit in the
comfort of one’s home and watch on a screen events
which/that are happening hundreds of miles away. We
can also get entertainment from films, dances, plays and
sports
which/that are shown on the screen. It is
difficult to imagine what life would be like without
television.
[What, and, also, that, which]
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Answers
1. The methods of reading usually differ in accordance
with the contents of books, but all books should be read
with equal seriousness. Amusement is not the main
objective of reading because a good book, whether it is a
novel or a biography or a drama, always deals with some
aspect of knowledge and helps us to know life better. It
is therefore said that books are the best teachers.
[Therefore, because, but, whether, and, that]
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Answers
2. When we are young, we are naturally creative and we
let our minds run free. But as we are taught to follow
rules, our thinking narrows. However, in many areas of
our lives, creativity can be a matter of survival. For
instance, with more and more people opting for careers
and independence, we have to be more creative about
relationships to avoid conflicts. Creativity is not all that
mysterious. An important creative trait was well defined
by a scientist when he said, “Discovery consists of seeing
what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has
thought.”
[for instance, and, when, however, but]
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Answers
3. By the year 2030, one third of the world’s cropland
will have turned to dust. One million species will have
become extinct and hundreds of millions of people will
face starvation. All this is happening because our
civilization has kept on expanding on the assumption that
the world’s resources are limitless. However, merely
stopping growth is not the answer. What we need is
development that works in partnership with the
environment.
[that, by, however, what, because]
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What is substitution?
4. Substitution means using one or more words to replace one or
more words used earlier in the text. Grammatically, it is similar to
reference words, the main difference being that substitution is
usually limited to the clause which follows the word(s) being
substituted, whereas reference words can refer to something far
back in the text.
The most common words used for substitution are one, so, and
auxiliary verbs such as do, have and be. The following is an example.
Drinking alcohol before driving is illegal in many countries,
since doing so can seriously impair one's ability to drive safely.
In this sentence, the phrase 'doing so' substitutes for the phrase
'drinking alcohol before driving' which appears at the beginning of
the sentence.
Here is another example used in the ‘Cohesion is…’. paragraph
‘The third one is cohesive devices.’
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Which words represent substitution?
Task 5: Find the examples of substitution in this passage:
The human memory system is remarkably efficient, but it
is one that is extremely fallible. That being so, it makes
sense to take full advantage of memory aids to minimize
the disruption caused by such lapses. If external aids are
used, it is sensible to use them consistently and
systematically - always put appointments in your diary,
always add wanted items to a shopping list, and so on. If
you use internal aids such as mnemonics, you must be
prepared to invest a reasonable amount of time in
mastering them and practising them. In doing so,
mnemonics will become useful tools, but can only be
used when forged.
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Which words represent substitution?
Examples of substitution
The human memory system is remarkably efficient, but it is one that
is extremely fallible. That being so, it makes sense to take full
advantage of memory aids to minimize the disruption caused by
such lapses. If external aids are used, it is sensible to use them
consistently and systematically - always put appointments in your
diary, always add wanted items to a shopping list, and so on. If you
use internal aids such as mnemonics, you must be prepared to
invest a reasonable amount of time in mastering them and practising
them. In doing so, mnemonics will become useful tools, but can only
be used when forged.
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What is ellipsis?
5. Ellipsis means leaving out one or more words, because the
meaning is clear from the context.
Below is the example passage again:
Cohesion is an important feature of academic writing. It
can help ensure that your writing coheres or 'sticks
together', which will make it easier for the reader to
follow the main ideas in your essay or report. You can
achieve good cohesion by paying attention to five
important features. The first of these is repeated words.
The second key feature is reference words. The third one
is transition signals. The fourth is substitution. The final
important aspect is ellipsis.
The phrase 'The fourth is’, refers to 'The fourth [important feature]
is’ but the words 'important feature' have been omitted.
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Can I identify ellipsis?
Task 6: Find the examples of ellipsis in this passage
There were, obviously, two interrelated reasons for
this, the first relating to Britain's economic and Imperial
difficulties, the second to the internal dissension in all
three parties. Others may have also been causal but were
not at any point verified
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Can I identify ellipsis?
Examples of ellipsis:
There were, obviously, two interrelated reasons for this,
the first relating to Britain's economic and Imperial
difficulties, the second to the internal dissension in all
three
parties. Others may have also been causal but were not
at any point verified
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Why do we need to write using deductive
structure?
Deductive structure:
In English academic writing, paragraphs and essays are
organised using deductive structure. Deductive structures
begin with a generalization and become more detailed as they
progress to a specific conclusion.
For example:
Generalisation: ‘All people are mortal.’
More specific: ‘Joe is a person.’
Specific conclusion: ‘Therefore, Joe is mortal.’
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Why do we need to write using deductive
structure?
The opposite to deductive is
inductive structure.
For example:
Specific conclusion: Joe is mortal.
Observation: Joe is a person.
Generalized statement: All people
are mortal.
If this were the structure of an
academic paragraph, the assessor
would immediately (and incorrectly)
assume that the paragraph topic
was “Joe”
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Why do we need to write using deductive
structure?
Another example:
Inductive Reasoning: My mother is Irish. She has blond
hair. Therefore, everyone from Ireland has blond hair.
Deductive Reasoning: My mother is Irish. Everyone from
Ireland has blond hair. Therefore, my mother has blond
hair.
Which one is more reliable?
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Why do we need to write using deductive
structure?
Deductive structure
You must learn to structure your paragraphs deductively because
it is expected in English academic writing.
When we see something that we do not expect, it takes some
time to make sense of what we are seeing.
If an essay marker is expecting to see a generalized statement at
the beginning of a paragraph indicating the topic of the
paragraph, but instead they see a specific idea which doesn’t
reflect the topic of the entire paragraph, there will be confusion.
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Now its your turn…..
Task 6: Look closely at the text.
“Depletion of ground water is going to have disastrous consequences for the future if
management plans are not implemented soon. The world’s water capital is being
steadily depleted. World-wide, people are using significantly more water than can be
replaced. Reserves of water are very large and people are using them without any
thought for the future. One-third of the world’s population depends on ground water.
Ground water has taken thousands of years to develop. Poor management of ground
water resources is a major issue all over the world.”
The topic of the paragraph is easy enough to understand: there is an issue with the use of
ground water around the world. However, there are two problems for the reader:
1.The only thing linking the sentences together is the word “water” – we
don’t know ‘how’ the sentences are linked in terms of their purpose or
function. In other words, the ‘argument’ seems to be a list of statements
without any logical progression.
2. This paragraph is written inductively (from specific to general), and this is
a problem because your lecturers / essay markers are expecting a
deductive structure.
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Task 6
Work with your group to rewrite the paragraph using what
you’ve learned today:
1. First, reorder the sentences to change from an inductive
style (specific to general) to a deductive style (general to
specific)
2. Then, rewrite parts of the sentences where necessary,
using what you have learned to improve the cohesion:
–
–
–
–
–
repeated words/ideas
reference words
cohesive devices (transition signals)
substitution
ellipsis
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Example of improved cohesion
Here is a sample rewritten paragraph with improved
cohesion
“Poor management of ground water resources is a major
issue all over the world. This is important because onethird of the world’s population depends on this ground
water, which has taken thousands of years to
develop. However, because these reserves of water are
very large, they are being used without any thought for
the future. The problem is that, world-wide, people are
using significantly more of this water than can be
replaced. As a result, the world’s water capital is being
steadily depleted, and this is going to have disastrous
consequences for the future if management plans are
not implemented soon.”
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Questions
Next Workshop 4:
What do I need to know about including
sources in my writing?
In this workshop you will learn the importance of
acknowledging others and how to refer to different
sources within your academic writing. You will
develop grammar skills to accurately integrate other
voices into your written texts and avoid plagiarism.
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