Writing coherence refers to how well sentences and paragraphs are organized into an understandable whole. From the reader's point of view, the train of thought must be connected, easy to follow, and make sense.

All good writing is structured. The structure changes according to the domain of the writing, but when an author consistently follows a plan, the reader can clearly follow what the author intends to share or to prove. Avoid including details that take the reader away from this plan and lead to confusion.

To know how to improve writing coherency, is is helpful to examine examples of poor writing coherency.

Incoherent Paragraph Writing Model

Snow creates problems. Streets need shoveling. Snowplows cannot always access streets. Driveways are hard to clear. Many communities leave the expense of clearing snow up to the homeowner. Building up dangerously high on a roof, it can break roof framing. Snow may seem harmless. It can damage houses. Snow is always potentially hazardous. It can endanger people.

Now, study the same paragraph content written with good writing coherency.

Coherent Revision Writing Model

Snow creates two problems for homeowners. First, it requires shoveling to keep driveways and streets clear, but snowplows cannot always access them. Furthermore, many communities leave the expense of clearing snow up to the homeowner; thus some homeowners cannot afford the expense of hiring a snowplow. Second, snow may seem harmless, yet it is not. Snow can build up dangerously high on a roof and break roof framing. Always potentially hazardous, snow can damage houses and endanger those who live in them.

So what makes the second paragraph so much better than the first? What lessons can be derived to improve writing coherency?

1. Reorder words and/or sentences and repeat key words to make better connections.

2. Use effective transitions ("First," "Furthermore," "thus," "Second," "yet" in the model above to connect together thoughts that do not directly flow together.

3. Follow a predictable paragraph structure: topic sentence-major details-minor details.

Mark Pennington is an educational author, presenter, reading specialist, and middle school teacher. Mark is committed to differentiated instruction for the diverse needs of today's remedial reading students. Visit Mark's website at http://www.penningtonpublishing.com to check out his free writing coherency teacher resources and books: Teaching Reading Strategies, Teaching Essay Strategies, Teaching Grammar and Mechanics, and Teaching Spelling and Vocabulary.