College Composition / Unit 16 CMP 0391 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Repairing Coherence
The idea
Repairing coherence means finding where readers lose the thread and restoring the connection.
In practice
Work in order. First, read the passage and mark every place where you pause to ask how one sentence relates to the next. Second, at each mark, decide whether the problem is order, a missing transition, or a wrong one. Third, if a sentence depends on information that comes later, move it. Fourth, if the relationship is right but unstated, add a transition that names it. Fifth, if a transition names the wrong relationship, replace it. Sixth, check paragraph openings for bridges to the previous paragraph. Seventh, reread the whole passage for flow.
Where people slip
Adding transitions everywhere is not a repair. A passage with a transition on every sentence feels mechanical; add them where a relationship is unclear, and let well-ordered sentences connect on their own.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it · Sources for College Composition