Making Writing Flow
Understand that cohesion can be created by the intentional use of repetition, and the use of word associations.
Read this first
Cohesion is built with repeated words and related words. Used well, it is invisible.
Words you need
- Cohesion
- The way sentences hold together.
- Deliberate repetition
- Repeating a key word on purpose, for effect.
- Word association
- Words from the same family of meaning, like ship, deck, anchor.
- Referring word
- A word like this, they or such that points back.
Worked example
e.g. Improve the flow: The reef is dying. Coral bleaching is increasing. Tourism will suffer.
- Three sentences, no joins. The reader has to build the links.
- Tool one: a referring word. Point back to the last idea.
- The reef is dying. This bleaching is spreading fast.
- Tool two: word association. Keep the same field of meaning.
- Reef, coral and bleaching already belong together. Good.
- Tool three: deliberate repetition of the key word.
- The reef is dying, and as the reef dies, tourism dies with it.
- Read it aloud. The repetition should land like a drumbeat, not a stumble.
Refer back, stay in one word family, repeat on purpose.
Practice
Refer back, stay in the word family, repeat on purpose.
1Name a word that points back to a previous idea.with a picture
AnswerThis, that, these or such.
2Give three words from one family of meaning.with a picture
AnswerCourt, judge, verdict.
3The plan failed. It cost too much. Which word does the linking?with a hint
Need a hint?
Which word points back?
AnswerIt, referring to the plan.
4Why is accidental repetition different from deliberate repetition?with a hint
Need a hint?
Does the reader notice a pattern or a mistake?
AnswerDeliberate repetition builds rhythm. Accidental repetition reads as careless.
5Link these: The town flooded. Many families left.on your own
AnswerThe town flooded, and as a result many families left.
6Why can too many referring words confuse?on your own
AnswerThe reader loses track of what it or this points to.
Think about it
1
Why does a writer repeat a key word instead of finding a synonym?
One good answerRepetition keeps the idea in focus. Constant synonyms can read as fussy.
2
What happens if every sentence starts the same way?
One good answerThe rhythm flattens. Vary the openings while keeping the links.
Common mistakes
Repetition is always a fault.
Only when accidental. Deliberate repetition is one of the oldest tools there is.
Cohesion means adding connectives everywhere.
Referring words and word families often do it more quietly, and better.