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Think about TV ads. Analyze. Ask questions. |
Consider these ideas for your own compositions. |
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THE PARTS COHERENT?
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ARE
YOUR PARTS COHERENT?
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Coherence means that the parts are well put together. Most ads that you see are coherent, simply because they are the end product of a long process, composed by good writers, and carefully checked before release. Rarely do you see a poorly made ad from a national advertiser. (Sometimes local ads are poorly crafted.) Seldom do you even notice the coherence of effective ads because the flow is so smooth that the craft doesn't call attention to itself. Art is more coherent and has "less waste" than everyday reality which is filled with randomness, repetition, with bits and fragments which never cohere. Whether you see stories or ads on TV, you're seeing shaped, planned, crafted, ordered, and purposeful productions. To analyze details of cohesion, look for obvious pointer phrases used to emphasize things: "first, next, finally, then, most important." Note also the common cue words, those various conjunctions and prepositions which link ideas together: "and, but, because, since, for example." Sometimes ads can omit all transitions and still be very clear and effective. For example, a typical "good times" ad for a soft drink might show 50 quick-cut scenes (smiling faces, beach fun, lovers, sunsets, pets, and kids) without any transitions, then simply end with the product's name or picture. Induction (a series of examples leading to a "conclusion") is the basic frame structure here. Such an ad can effectively convey its message if the images are well chosen. Such an ad could also be further analyzed in various ways: as using the "association" technique, or as an attention-getter, a "feel good" ad, a "soft sell" and so on. Individual ads also can cohere, or fit into, a wider context as a smaller part of an ad campaign. For example, an automaker may target many different audiences, using many different kinds of ads, within an overall campaign.
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Coherence means that the parts are well put together.
As a writer, your job is to organize ideas well and to provide clear and easy cues so the reader can easily understand the relationship of the various ideas. Unlike ads, written by experts, many compositions written by novice writers are not coherent, and not well put together. Rambling off topic, or side-tracking, is a common fault, especially in poorly planned or hastily written essays. Incoherence is primarily a problem of overall structure and design. It can be remedied by planning and outlining. Paragraphs should be coherent both within themselves and among themselves. Another major cause of incoherent writing is the temptation to "use" all the research you've done or all the ideas you've had. Many people hate to throw away anything, so they keep adding odds and ends which are somewhat, but not quite, related to their topic. To a lesser degree, coherence problems can be caused by the omission or the careless misuse of cue words. These prepositions and conjunctions function as the vital directional signals which link ideas together. Pay more attention to them, especially in the revision process. Coherence in long works (research papers, books) is a special problem even for very experienced writers who may spend weeks or months writing, a few hours a day. During such a long period, writers can lose focus, waver, and vary. Pronouns can change, verb tenses shift. Sometimes writers use different tones toward the reader, or attitudes toward the subject. These items need to be checked during a final revision. For coherence, you need a strong structure, clear topic sentences, obvious transitionals, and precise cue words.
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| | Welcome | Purpose | Audience | Limits | Structure | Attention | Confidence | Explicit | Implicit | Response| Omission | |
