Have you ever wondered why an article possibly yours is bad, even though everything is obviously good; the spealling, punctuations, etc, yet you still have this feeling that some thing is wrong somewhere but you just can’t see it. The truth is the wrongness you feel might be as a result of your article’s structural organization, this is one of the most common mistakes writers make, and the worst is, this mistake is not that obvious.
Any article that lacks proper organization lacks cohesion, if you work on your cohesion while writing you will write very good articles in the long run.
What is Article Cohesion?
Cohesion is the link between sentences and paragraph in an article. Cohesion in an article is generally achieved by means of connectives (cons) which are then used to reflect relationship between sentences.
This connectives are important because without them there won’t be cohesion in our write-ups.
Cohesion usings three-words cons
Cons or connectives can be classified into three broad categories- “AND, OR, BUT” you can call may them major conjuctions if you like. “And” indicates addition, “or” indicates alternative or choice while “but” indicates contrast or opposite. There are many connectives which express similar ideas as “and, or and but.” such connectives are usually listed under this three basic connectives.
As a writer what you should try to look-out for while writing is the function of a connective-whether it provides additional information, items in a list, e.t.c, or it expresses alternative view or choice, or it provides contrast to what has already been said. It is a recognition of such functions that will enable you to know the type of connective needed. Some examples are listed below for your guidance. You may need to study the functions of those connectives well.
AND, and the other connectives in this category are used to provide a list, to enumerate what is being said, to indicate addition in thought or idea, it also indicate similarity, transition from one stage to another in a sequence, to sum up, to show result, and to make inference. Some examples of where “and” should be used are listed below, you should try to note the function of each:
i. First, furthermore, one, two (enumeration)
ii. Also, again, moreover, in addition (addition)
iii. Equally, likewise, similarly (similarity)
iv. In conclusion, thus, in brief (summation).
2. OR and the other connectives in the same category are used to express an idea in another way (reformulation), to express an alternative to what has preceded (replacement). Some examples are
i. Instead, conversely, on the contrary (contrast)
ii. Besides, however, nonetheless, nevertheless.
3. BUT and the other connectives in the same category are used to express contrast with what has preceded and to express concession (indicating the unexpected, suprising nature of what is being said in view of what was said before. Examples are i. Beside, however. Nonetheless, nevertheless, although, in any case, at any rate. (concession)
ii. Instead, on the contrary, conversely (contrast)
This connectives can be applied while writing any article to give it a good structural and oganizational feel, if you are contrasting words in a sentence use the proper words for contrast, if you are enumerating, enumerate with the proper words, just make sure you use the proper connective words to connect your sentences and paragraph in your article.
Cohesion in our write-ups should not be taken lightly, remember we are writing for human readers not bots, humans are the most organized species on earth, so to help them appreciate that article especially if that article involves explaining difficult concept like the blogging God you need to use proper connectives as it makes your job a lot easier and simple.
