English Language Writing Skills

By Danso Kwasi Nti Samuel (DAS). Study the complete course source, examine every model and practise alongside Professor Jarvis.

Course printed page 89 PDF page 95 of 505

For tables, matching columns, IPA and original formatting, open the course PDF above.

Student 5: Coherency means the flow of thoughts and ideas among the sentences in the

paragraph.

Teacher: Yes, it means every sentence in the paragraph must logically follow from the

preceding sentence. This can be achieved using good transitions. For instance, in the

paragraph about the causes of bush fires, transitions like "One major natural cause,"

"Human activities, however," and "Additionally" help maintain a logical and orderly flow of

ideas. Now, who can explain what paragraph completeness is?

Student 6: A paragraph is complete when it has supporting details that fully explain the

topic sentence and lead to the end of the paragraph's idea.

Teacher: Perfect. A complete paragraph leaves no loose ends and fully develops the main

idea. In the example about the cause of poverty in Ghana, the paragraph explains the lack of

access to quality education, its effects, and concludes with a solution. Lastly, let's discuss

paragraph consistency. What does it mean for a paragraph to be consistent?

Student 7: It means the topic sentence and the supporting details all agree and stay focused

on one main idea.

Teacher: Exactly. In the paragraph about illegal mining in Ghana, every sentence supports

the central idea of unemployment and poverty being the main cause. This ensures the

paragraph stays focused and doesn't deviate from the main point. Now, let's practice writing

a paragraph together. Choose a topic and apply these principles to ensure it has unity,

coherency, completeness, and consistency.