Don’t forget cohesion!

When writing a text, one should always pay attention to the articulation and progression of ideas, in order to construct sentences, periods, and paragraphs that make sense in relation to one another and bring clarity and fluidity to the text. This is what we call textual cohesion .

Cohesion is built in several ways. In this regard, two ways of establishing it stand out: through sequential cohesion and referential cohesion.

Sequential cohesion occurs through argumentative operators, that is, words or expressions that operate between sentences and paragraphs in order to give sequence or progression to ideas. We can mention adversative operators (but, however, nevertheless, nonetheless, yet, on the other hand, etc.), affirmative operators (yes, certainly, undoubtedly, surely, etc.), explanatory or conclusive operators (therefore, thus, in this way, for this reason, in short, because, since, given that, etc.), additive operators (in addition, furthermore, moreover, also, not only… but also, etc.), and purpose operators (in order to, so that, with the aim of, etc.), among others. There is an enormous variety of these elements; therefore, the greater the diversity of argumentative operators in a text, the more cohesive it will be.

Referential cohesion, in turn, is related to the use of syntactic figures and certain grammatical forms that connect and create interactions and references among words, clauses, and different parts of the text. To illustrate this, let us look at some cases of referential cohesion.

1) Anaphora – Textual references that refer back to elements previously expressed in the text.

Luísa estava triste. Ela tirou uma nota ruim na prova de matemática.

• The subject pronoun “Ela” refers back to the proper noun “Luísa”.

A tempestade causou um longo congestionamento. Isso é um problema recorrente em São Paulo.

• The demonstrative pronoun “Isso” refers back to the situation described in the previous sentence.

2) Cataphora – When the referent appears after the cohesive element.

A mãe o chamou: “Zeca, vai se atrasar para a escola!”.

• The oblique pronoun “o” introduces the proper noun “Zeca” presented afterward.

 Este é o maior medo de Helena: não ter para onde voltar.

• The demonstrative pronoun “Este” refers to the situation presented next.

3) Substitution – When a term with cohesive value is used in place of another element or other elements in the text.

O menino chorou. O garoto fazia birra quando a mãe o obrigava a comer verduras, mas era uma criança calma normalmente.

• The noun “menino” is referred back to by the terms “garoto” and “criança”. This avoids repetition of the noun.

4) Repetition or reiteration – A term is repeated to construct and maintain a system of references within the text.

O piloto de Fórmula 1 Lewis Hamilton conquistou sua 98ª vitória na carreira ao vencer o GP da Espanha. Hamilton detém o recorde de maior número de corridas vencidas na categoria.

• Repeating the name serves to reinforce his action.

5) Ellipsis and zeugma – In the case of ellipsis, the term is omitted from a statement and is understood from the context. When zeugma occurs, the omitted term  appeared earlier in the statement and is removed to avoid repetition.

Gigi andava distraída, cabeça na lua. (ellipsis)

• If we reconstruct the sentence with the omitted elements, it reads as follows: Gigi andava distraída, com a cabeça no mundo da

Eu falo espanhol. A Roberta, inglês. (zeugma)

• If we reconstruct the sentence with the omitted elements, we obtain the following construction: Eu falo A Roberta fala inglês.

Always remember that textual proofreading is not limited to checking spelling. 😉