Workshop 5: Sentence and Paragraph Construction: Mastering Cohesion and Coherence

Tasks:

1.  Write a short story or personal narrative in English, focusing on character development, plot, and setting.

2. Analyze the elements that make a compelling narrative.

  1. Paragraph Editing Exercise:

    • Provide students with a paragraph that lacks cohesion and coherence. Include sentences with unclear connections, abrupt transitions, or irrelevant details.
    • Ask students to edit the paragraph by:
      • Rearranging sentences to improve logical flow.
      • Adding transitional phrases or words (e.g., however, consequently) where necessary.
      • Removing irrelevant information to improve focus.
    • Encourage them to analyze how their edits enhance the overall coherence of the paragraph.

  2. Sentence Combination Activity:

    • Present students with a set of related sentences that lack cohesion.
    • Ask students to combine these sentences into cohesive paragraphs by:
      • Identifying key ideas and determining the appropriate order for presenting these ideas.
      • Using appropriate transition words or phrases to link ideas smoothly (e.g., therefore, in addition).
      • Ensuring that each sentence logically follows from the previous one.
    • Have students discuss their choices and justify why certain transitions were used over others.

  3. Peer Review and Feedback:

    • Organize students into pairs or small groups.
    • Assign each group member a short paragraph they have written on a specific topic.
    • Instruct them to read each other's paragraphs and provide constructive feedback focused on cohesion and coherence.
    • Encourage students to:
      • Highlight areas where the connection between ideas is unclear or where transitions could be improved.
      • Suggest alternative sentence structures or transitional phrases to enhance clarity and flow.
      • Discuss how the paragraph could be reorganized to better develop the main idea.
    • After receiving feedback, have students revise their paragraphs based on the suggestions provided and reflect on the improvements made.

These tasks not only enhance students' understanding of cohesion and coherence but also provide practical opportunities for them to apply these concepts in their own writing and in providing constructive feedback to their peers.