We’re kicking off the New Year with simple tricks and heuristics that are guaranteed to improve your writing and help you develop a sharper sense of style. But, unlike the confusing and sometimes counterintuitive rules of traditional style guides, this series offers a refreshing and relevant take on writing readable texts of all kinds.
Writing a coherent text is about defining your topic and connecting the arguments.
Crafting compelling sentences — by stringing together the right words — is only part of the equation. In order to create a coherent text, a writer must also be able to string these sentences together in such a way that the reader can follow that writer’s logic.
To do this, you must first have a clear topic in mind and an outline that follows the flow of your ideas. This doesn’t mean that your outline has to be laid out in the traditional style, however, with letters, numbers and Roman numerals. Rather, all you need is something that creates clear arcs of coherence — or, points of connection from one sentence or passage to the next.
Writers develop coherence by creating transitions between sentences or paragraphs that make it clear that they are interconnected. This is called coherence relation.
One way to make clear how your sentences or paragraphs relate to one another is by using the right connecting words. Whether you want to show…
…a similarity (with words like “similarly” or “likewise”),
…a contrast (by introducing arguments with “in contrast” or “on the other hand”),
…an elaboration (by saying “moreover” or “in other words”),
…or an explanation (by using words like “because” or “as”),
…the right connecting word makes all the difference.
A coherent text is intelligently designed and uses these connections to create an arc of coherence that keeps track of your ideas and perspectives.
It’s your job as a writer to make sure that the reader understands your subject from the very beginning. As such, it helps to keep the phrase “Don’t bury the lead” in the back of your mind as you write. After all, you don’t want to leave your reader wondering what your piece is about.
The same principle applies to your own point of view: Readers should know early on what your stance is on a topic or what you want to say about it.
Until tomorrow…
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