Unity and Coherence
  

Worksheet Objective:
To learn how to write a paragraph with unity and coherence.

This worksheet is one of many worksheets that covers paragraph organization; when you complete this one, move on to the next. Be sure to do the Paragraph Organization Quiz at the end of all the worksheets.



Unity and Coherence
Every paragraph should have both unity and coherence. Unity means that each sentence in the paragraph supports the main idea as stated in the topic sentence. Coherence means that all sentences in the paragraph relate to each other and flow logically from one to the next. Irrelevant details or disorganized ideas make a paragraph seem sloppy and confusing.

If a paragraph lacks unity and coherence, you should do the following:
     • remove any sentence that does not support the topic sentence
     • rewrite the paragraph by adding details that do support the topic sentence
     • rearrange the order of some sentences within the paragraph or move them to another paragraph

Take a look at the following paragraph, then write down what you think you should do to make the sentence more united and coherent.
     A lot of people want to own their own homes, but owning can be expensive and stressful. Repairs can be costly, and you need to come up with a down payment. Repair companies can be unreliable. Our teenaged babysitter is pretty unreliable, too. All told, home ownership can be worrisome and costly. Property taxes are another hidden expense.

Now take a look at the corrections we made to create more unity and coherence within the paragraph.
     A lot of people want to own their own homes, but owning can be expensive and stressful. First, you need to come up with a down payment. Repairs can be costly, and repair companies can be unreliable. Our teenaged babysitter is pretty unreliable, too. Property taxes are another hidden expense. All told, home ownership can be worrisome and costly.

Notice how the second paragraph flows from one point to another more easily and how every sentence in the paragraph supports the topic sentence (did we really need to know that the babysitter is unreliable???).


Here's some practice for you.
In Questions 13-15, each paragraph may have a sentence that doesn't belong; put a checkmark in front of the sentence that can be removed. If no sentence should be removed, put a checkmark in the box at the end of the paragraph.

13.   Dolores must learn to be more assertive in her job. She always lets people tell her what to do. She earns a decent salary. For this reason, she has earned the nickname "Dolores the Doormat."
        (no sentence needs to be removed)
   
14.    Chicago's weather is unpredictable. Within a week, temperatures may vary by as much as forty degrees. Sometimes, the wind will shift and the temperature will drop twenty degrees in an hour. People always say that if you don't like Chicago weather, wait a day and it will change.      (no sentence needs to be removed)
   
15.   All young children should be vaccinated against whooping cough. Another name for the disease is pertussis. The disease is bacterial in nature, causing a peculiar-sounding cough. You should avoid coughing on other people because it is extremely contagious.      (no sentence needs to be removed)
   
  Put a check mark next to the sentence that could be used in the following paragraph. Then indicate where you would place the sentence in the paragraph.
16.   (1) We have been having problems with sales reports. (2) Some sales team members have been turning them in late or incomplete. (3) Sales reports must be in your Team Folder each Thursday by 4:00. (4) Inform your team leader if you have an unavoidable delay in turning in your reports.
      a. The promotion list is in the sales team office.
      b. Others have not been turning sales reports in at all.
      c. The sales team incentive program starts Friday.
The sentence would be best be placed after Sentence
   
  Questions 17-20 refer to the following passage
  (1) The whooping crane, with its noisy songs and distinctive dances, has always fascinated observers. (2) Whooping cough, the common name for pertussis, was named after the sound the whooping crane makes. (3) This elegant, white, five-foot-tall bird is the largest native North American fowl. (4) In flight, whooping cranes have wingspans of over seven feet. (5) People travel miles to view these lovely creatures.
     (6) In 1941, however, the whooping crane was nearly extinct. (7) Then, with federal assistance, a program was begun to rescue the species. (8) Today, there are almost 400 surviving "whoopers." (9) Thanks to scientist-inventors, eggs were hatched in incubators made to look like female whooping cranes. (10) In order to teach "whooping behavior" to young chicks, biologists dressed up like whooping cranes, waddled into marshes with the chicks, and pecked and scratched for food.
     (11). If efforts to save the crane continue to succeed, these fascinating birds may be removed from the endangered species list soon. (12) Most wild animals don't get such personal attention. (13). The cranes' survival will be a natural success story.
   
 

17. Which revision should be made to the first paragraph?

18. Which revision should be made to the second paragraph?

19. Which revision should be made to Sentence 12?

20. Which revision should be made to Sentence 13

 

Answers: 13. She earns a decent salary.; 14. no sentence needs to be removed; 15. Another name for the disease is pertussis.; 16. b, after Sentence 2; 17. (c); 18. (d); 19. (b); 20. (e)   

 

Resources:
Cambridge Exercise Books: Paragraphs. (1998). Cambridge Adult Education, Simon and Schuster: Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Frechette, Ellen Carley; Collins, Tim. (2002). GED: Language Arts, Writing. McGraw-Hill Contemporary: Lincolnwood, IL.

GED: Language Arts, Writing. (2002). Steck-Vaughn Company: Austin, TX.

Pre-GED: Language Arts, Writing. (2002). McGraw-Hill Contemporary: Lincolnwood, IL

Rubin, Betsy; Fiene, Pat. (1991). Exercising Your English: Book 3. Contemporary Books: Chicago, IL