Ch09 slides

• 1. Consider seven questions whenrevising your document for coherence: Have you left out anything in turning youroutline into a draft? Have you included all the elements yourreaders expect to see? Have you organized the document logically? Is the document persuasive? Chapter 9. Writing Coherent Documents 2012 by Bedford/St. Martins 1

2. Consider seven questions when revising your document for coherence (cont.): Do you come across as reliable, honest, andhelpful? Have you presented all the elementsconsistently? Is the emphasis appropriate throughout thedocument? Chapter 9. Writing Coherent Documents 2012 by Bedford/St. Martins 2 3. Follow four guidelineswhen revising headings: Avoid long noun strings. Be informative. Use a grammatical form appropriate to youraudience. Avoid back-to-back headings. Chapter 9. Writing Coherent Documents 2012 by Bedford/St. Martins 3 4. Turning paragraphs into listspresents four advantages: It forces you to look at the big picture. It forces you to examine the sequence. It forces you to create a helpful lead-in. It forces you to tighten and clarify your prose. Chapter 9. Writing Coherent Documents 2012 by Bedford/St. Martins 4 5. Study documents from other cultures to answer four questions: How does the writer make the informationaccessible? How does the writer show the relationshipamong types of information? How does the writer communicate theorganization of the document as a whole? How does the writer make transitions from onesubject to another? Chapter 9. Writing Coherent Documents 2012 by Bedford/St. Martins 5 6. There are two kinds of paragraphs: A body paragraph is a group of sentences (orsometimes a single sentence) that is completeand self-sufficient and that contributes to alarger discussion. A transitional paragraph helps readers movefrom one major point to another. Chapter 9. Writing Coherent Documents 2012 by Bedford/St. Martins 6 7. Most paragraphs contain two elements: The topic sentence summarizes or forecaststhe main point of the paragraph. The supporting information makes the topicsentence clear and convincing. Chapter 9. Writing Coherent Documents 2012 by Bedford/St. Martins 7 8. Avoid burying bad news in paragraphs: The most emphatic location is the topicsentence. The second most emphatic location is the end ofthe paragraph. The least emphatic location is the middle of theparagraph. Chapter 9. Writing Coherent Documents 2012 by Bedford/St. Martins 8 9. Supporting informationusually fulfills one of five roles: It defines a key term or idea included in the topicsentence. It provides examples or illustrations of thesituation described in the topic sentence. It identifies causes: factors that led to thesituation. It defines effects: implications of the situation. It supports the claim made in the topic sentence.Chapter 9. Writing Coherent Documents 2012 by Bedford/St. Martins 9 10. Follow three guidelines when dividing long paragraphs: Break the discussion at a logical place. Make the topic sentence a separateparagraph and break up the supportinginformation. Use a list. Chapter 9. Writing Coherent Documents 2012 by Bedford/St. Martins 10 11. Use three techniques to emphasize coherence: Add transitional words and phrases. Repeat key words. Use demonstrative pronouns followed bynouns. Chapter 9. Writing Coherent Documents 2012 by Bedford/St. Martins 11 12. Use transitional words and phrases:Chapter 9. Writing Coherent Documents 2012 by Bedford/St. Martins 12 13. Use two techniques to create a coherent design: Use headers and footers to enhancecoherence. Use typefaces to enhance coherence. Chapter 9. Writing Coherent Documents 2012 by Bedford/St. Martins 13 14. Headers and footers arecoherence devices. Source: U.S. Department of State, 2007 .Chapter 9. Writing Coherent Documents 2012 by Bedford/St. Martins 14