Paragraph Coherence

What Is Paragraph Coherence?

Paragraph coherence means that the sentences in a paragraph flow smoothly and are clearly connected. A coherent paragraph is easy to read because the ideas are organized in a way that makes sense and each sentence builds on the one before it. Without coherence, even good ideas can feel confusing, random, or disconnected.

How Do We Make Paragraphs Coherent?

There are many ways to improve coherence, but three of the most powerful and common methods are:

1. Pronouns

Using pronouns like he, she, it, they, this, that, these, those helps avoid repetition and keeps the paragraph connected by referring back to earlier ideas.

Awesome List of Pronouns:

Type	Pronouns
Personal Pronouns Subjects	I, you, he, she, it, we, they
Personal Pronouns Objects	me, you, him, her, it, us, them
Possessive Pronouns Adjective Form (before noun)	my, your, his, her, its, our, their
Possessive Pronouns Independent Form	mine, yours, his, hers, its* (rare), ours, theirs
Reflexive Pronouns	myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves
Demonstrative Pronouns	this, that, these, those
Indefinite Pronouns People	anyone, anybody, someone, somebody, everyone, everybody, no one, nobody
Indefinite Pronouns Things	anything, something, everything, nothing
Indefinite Pronouns General	all, some, none, any, each, either, neither, one, both, few, many, several
Reciprocal Pronouns	each other, one another

2. Transition Signals

Words and phrases like however, therefore, for example, in addition, first, finally help guide the reader through your ideas. They show how each sentence relates to the one before.

Awesome List of Transition Signals:

Function	Transition Words & Phrases
1. Addition	and, also, in addition, moreover, furthermore, besides, not only that, what’s more, as well, too
2. Sequence / Time	first, firstly, second, secondly, third, thirdly, next, then, after that, later, eventually, finally, at last, meanwhile, in the meantime, soon, afterward, subsequently, now, at present
3. Example / Illustration	for example, for instance, such as, namely, to illustrate, in particular, specifically, including, as an illustration
4. Explanation / Clarification	in other words, that is (i.e.), to put it another way, namely, simply put, to clarify, in simpler terms, that is to say
5. Contrast	but, however, on the other hand, yet, nevertheless, nonetheless, still, in contrast, instead, although, even though, whereas, while, despite, in spite of
6. Comparison	similarly, likewise, in the same way, just as, equally, in a like manner
7. Cause and Effect	because, since, as, so, therefore, thus, consequently, as a result, for this reason, hence, accordingly
8. Purpose	so that, in order that, to, for the purpose of, with the intention of
9. Emphasis	in fact, indeed, especially, particularly, above all, most importantly, it is important to note, clearly, significantly
10. Condition	if, unless, provided that, in case, whether or not, even if, only if
11. Summary / Conclusion	in conclusion, to conclude, in summary, to summarize, in short, overall, to sum up, all in all, finally, as has been noted
12. Location / Spatial Order	above, below, beside, next to, in front of, behind, near, far, on the right, on the left, here, there, inside, outside, opposite, nearby

3. Repetition

Repeating key words or phrases helps the reader stay focused on the main topic. It makes the paragraph feel unified. Sometimes, key words or phrases are repeated with synonyms. For example, “Studying in a quiet place can help students concentrate better. A calm space makes it easier to focus on reading and writing tasks.”

Click the button to see an example of paragraph coherence.