Seeing coherence

Cohesion & Coherence.

This is one of the ways the writing is assessed: is the composition cohesive, is the composition coherent? (Cohesion is the noun, cohesive is the adjective; coherence is the noun, coherent is the adjective.) This is the focus on this post.

What is Cohesion & Coherence?

Cohesion and coherence aren't too difficult to explain. Cohesion refers to connectivity in a text. Coherence refers to how easy it is to understand the writing.

Cohesion & Coherence

"My favourite colour is blue. I like it because it is calming and it relaxes me. I often go outside in the summer and lie on the grass and look into the clear sky when I am stressed. For this reason, I'd have to say my favourite colour is blue."

Cohesive AND coherent: Blue > Relaxes > Clear Sky > Blue (Photos from Flickr)

This sentence is both coherent and cohesive, but let's focus on the cohesion first. I've highlighted the ways that each sentence is connected to the sentence before.

Cohesion with NO Coherence

Now, here is a sentence that has cohesion but is not coherent.

"My favourite colour is blue. Blue sports cars go very fast. Driving in this way is dangerous and can cause many car crashes. I had a car accident once and broke my leg. I was very sad because I had to miss a holiday in Europe because of the injury."

Cohesive NOT coherent: Blue > Sports Car > Fast Driving > Car Crashes > Broken Leg> Holiday in Europe (Photos from Flickr)

As you can see, there is plenty of cohesion here. The sentences connect clearly together but if you read the paragraph, it really makes no sense - I start talking about blue and I finish talking about a holiday in Europe. There is no coherence in this sentence.

Coherence with NO Cohesion

Now, let's take a look at a sentence that is coherent but not cohesive.

"My favourite colour is blue. I'm calm and relaxed. In the summer I lie on the grass and look up."

Coherent NOT cohesive: Blue - Calm & Relaxed - Looking Up (Photos from Flickr)

This is more difficult to understand but basically this lack of cohesion means a lack of sufficient connectors to join the ideas together. If I try hard I can understand what the person is saying: a short answer, an explanation, an example; however the sentences don't fit together.

Gordon. "What is Cohesion and Coherence (Cambridge Testing Explained." Understanding How We Learn: Observations, Opinions, Suggestions and Recommendations for Learners of English. 10 Aug. 2011. Web. 20 Aug. 2011.