Coherence and Concision Week Six Coherence and Concision

Lesson Objectives Incorporate coherence into revision plan Tips (and practice) for concision Peer Review Assignment

Coherence “Coherence is an experience we create for ourselves as we make our own sense out of what we read” (First-Year Writing 197). Point: Readers create coherence “as [they] make [their] own sense of what [they] read” (First-Year Writing 197). Counterpoint: Authors must structure paper to create coherence for readers.

Coherence and Relevancy Sentences must relate to topic sentences: Background or context Points of sections and the whole Reasons supporting a point Evidence, fact, or supporting data Explanation of reasoning Consideration of other points of view

Coherence and Organization Chronological: Sense of time; Cause and Effect Coordinate: Importance; Complexity Logical: Generalization to Example, Premise to Conclusion, Assertion to Contradiction

Coherence and Subjects Keep your subjects clean! 1.a Resistance in Nevada against its use as a waste disposal site has been heated. 1.b Nevada HAS heatedly RESISTED its use as a waste disposal site. (First-Year Writing 203)

Subjects (More Practice) “Not until a resolution between Catholics and Protestants in regard to the authority of papal supremacy is reached will there be a start to a reconciliation between these two Christian religions.” Identify the sentence’s subject (key point), and rewrite the sentence to give it emphasis.

Subjects (More Practice) Among other public buildings in a certain town, which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, there is one anciently common to most towns, great or small: to wit, a workhouse; and in this workhouse was born; on a day and date which I need not trouble myself to repeat, inasmuch as it can be of no possible consequence to the reader, in this stage of the business at all events, the item of mortality whose name is prefixed to the head of this chapter. —Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist

Concision Concision is compression. It is also the elimination of redundancy. Delete meaningless words. kind of, actually, (in) particular, really, certain, basically

Concision Delete double words “The report was accurate and fair, and the house majority determined its validity and forthrightness.” Delete what readers can infer. terrible tragedy, future plans, various differences Redundant Categories: Prepositional phrases

Concision Replace a phrase with a word “Now 145 years after its publication, his words still ring true.” “Now 145 years later, his words still ring true. “Despite the fact that the data was checked, errors occurred.” “Even though the data were checked, errors occurred.

Concision Change negatives to affirmatives. “V8 is not only refreshing, but it is good for you to!” “V8 is refreshing and good for you!” “There is no possibility in regard to a reduction in the size of the federal deficit if reductions in federal spending are not introduced.” How would you switch this negative into an affirmative?

Concision Delete adjectives and adverbs. “Try deleting every adverb and every adjective before a noun, then restore only those that readers need to understand that passage” (First-Year Writing 213). “I am doing swimmingly well.” “Persistanly petulant pre-teens participate primarily in pre-modern plays.”

Metadiscourse Metadiscourse: Telling the reader what you are doing. Writer’s intention, directions to the reader, text’s structure “Born with an evil reputation”: Bret Harte’s “The Luck of Roaring Camp” The title’s cited section comes from Bret Harte’s recollection of “The Luck of Roaring Camp.”

Homework Monday, 2/23: Peer Reviews Wednesday, 2/26: First-Year: Ch. 7-8 (147-82) St. Martin’s: ch. 40-43 Copy of Draft 1.1, with personal revision notes Draft of Brief Assignment 4