Effective Paragraphs - Unity, Support, Coherence... Part 1

Unity

To achieve unity is to have all the details in your paper related to the single point expressed in the topic sentence, the first sentence. Each time you think of something to put in, ask yourself whether it relates to your main point. If if does not, leave it out. For example, if you were writing about a certain job as the worst job you ever had and then spent a couple of sentences talking about the interesting people you met there, you would be missing the first and most essential base of good writing.

To check a paragraph for unity, ask yourself these questions:

1. Is there a clear, single point in the first sentence of the paragraph?
2. Is all the evidence on target in support of the opening point?

Support

The second base of effective writing, support, provides specific examples that illustrate the main point of a paragraph. Readers want to see and judge for ourselves whether a writer is making a valid point about a subject, but without specific details we cannot do so. After realizing the importance of specific supporting details, one student writer revised a paper she had done on a restaurant job as the worst job she ever had. In the revised paper, instead of talking about “unsanitary conditions in the kitchen,” she referred to such specifics as “green mold on the bacon” and “ants in the potato salad.” All your paragraphs should include many vivid details! Using ample support will help you communicate more clearly and effectively in your writing.

To check a paragraph for support, ask yourself these questions:

1. Is there specific evidence to support the opening point?
2. Is there enough specific evidence?

Coherence

Once you have determined that a paragraph is unified and supported, check to see if the writer has a clear and consistent way of organizing the material. The third base of effective writing is coherence. The supporting ideas and sentences in a composition must be organized in a consistent way so that they cohere, or “stick together.” Key techniques for tying material together are choosing a clear method of organization (such as time order or emphatic order) and using transitions and other connecting words as signposts.

To check a paragraph for coherence, ask yourself these questions:

1. Does the paragraph have a clear method of organization?
2. Are transitions and other connecting words used to tie the material
together?

Sentence Skills

Errors in grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, mechanics, and even formatting can detract greatly from your writing; the fourth base, sentence skills, requires that you identify, fix, and avoid these types of mistakes. Error-free sentences allow readers to focus on the content of a paragraph as a whole. Poor grammar and sentence skills can be merely distracting, or they can change the meaning of a sentence entirely; they also lessen a writer’s credibility. For instance, a potential employer might think, “If he can’t spell the word political, does he really have an interest in working on my campaign?”