Textual coherence and cohesion are two important concepts for a better textual understanding and for the best writing of writing works in any area.
The cohesion basically treats the existing grammatical relationships between the words, sentences and phrases to ensure proper sequencing of events. The consistency , in turn, addresses the logical relationship between ideas, situations or events, relying sometimes on formal mechanisms, grammar or lexical nature, and shared knowledge among users of the Portuguese language.
Specific definition [ edit | edit source code ]
- Cohesion
It is the connection that links elements in the text (words, sentences, periods, paragraphs), creating a harmony between them.
Example:
Gabriel studies. Gabriel works. (this example is not cohesive, as it does not establish a connection) Gabriel studies and works. (Correcting the example, it is now cohesive as we add the ” e” ).
- Coherence
Coherence is the property of the text that allows meaning to be built from it, establishing a relationship between its parts and between the text itself and the situation of its occurrence. Example:
That boy doesn’t like football and, therefore, keeps calling his friends to play (incoherence, because those who don’t like a sport avoid playing it).
Football fanatic, Aziz Abdallar’s father forces his son to play. But that boy doesn’t like football and, therefore, keeps asking his friends to play. Thus, he can stay in a corner while friends play, and the racket they make gives the father the false impression that the child is having fun (coherence reestablished by adding information or context, thus becoming coherent for readers / listeners) .
