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Reading for a "story"

We are all familiar with the notion of a story in fictional writing. A story is typically a narrative, which can be either true or false, that relates to people and to events that they experience. It is usually designed to amuse and to interest, and most importantly, to engage the reader. Stories, at least well written ones, are not simply a lot of unrelated ideas. The people (or characters) in stories usually develop. So, too, do the events that happen, and it is that development that generally encourages readers to continue reading. Also, readers are more likely to find the development plausible if it is relatively easy to follow and if the ideas hang together well.

So, what do we mean by the notion of reading for a "story"?

What we are suggesting is that whenever you are preparing a piece of written work, you should keep in mind the features of a good story. Any piece of written work needs to be read as though it is a "story". You should read the drafts of your written work to establish whether, and how well they tell a story. In reading the drafts you should ask yourself whether the writing is engaging, whether the reader will be encouraged to continue reading, whether there is real development in the ideas, and importantly, whether that development is well planned and easy to follow.

So, how can you determine if your writing has a "story"? What exactly are we suggesting that you should be looking for in your writing, and how can you achieve it? We are recommending that you should strive to achieve coherence, cohesion, and the effective use of transition signals in your written work. We are suggesting that, to the extent that you successfully achieve each of those, your written work will be like a good "story". Readers of your written work will, in turn, find it engaging and be interested to continue reading it.

Coherence and cohesion in story writing

First, stories, or at least well written ones, express and develop their ideas coherently. Let’s consider what is meant by coherence and how it might be achieved.

1. Coherence refers to

• how consistent something is
• how the developing ideas are well sequenced
• how easy to follow something is

2. Coherence can be achieved by

• logically ordering your information within your paragraphs
• using information that helps to elaborate on the main idea

Now let’s consider an example. A good way to learn how to write coherently is to recognise coherence in the writing of others. The following paragraph is taken directly from an article written by S. Gosling, S. Jin Ko, T. Mannarelli, and M. Morris (2002), titled "A room with a cue: Personality judgments based on offices and bedrooms" in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(3), pp. 379-398. As you read the following paragraph by Gosling and co-authors try to identify where the writers have been consistent and have sequenced their ideas well.

• "People spend many of their waking hours in their personal living and work environments, and they often decorate these places. People choose colours, patterns, motifs, and décor that fit their own personal taste and aesthetic. To make these spaces their own, individuals may adorn them with self-directed identity claims — symbolic statements made by occupants for their own benefit, intended to reinforce their self-views. Many of these statements can make use of widely understood cultural symbols (e.g., a poster of Martin Luther King, university memorabilia), whereas other artefacts may have a more personal meaning (e.g., a pebble collected from a favourite beach). These latter objects can, nonetheless, convey a private message to an observer even if the exact meaning of such private artefacts is obscure; for example, the pebble could signify that the occupant is sentimental or values nature".

The Gosling et al paragraph is a good example of a coherent paragraph. Let’s see how the authors achieve coherence.

So, the main idea in this paragraph is that people adorn their personal spaces with objects of relevance, which the authors label, self-directed identity claims. The use of self-directed identity claims serves to reinforce the sense of self. It also conveys to others important messages about the self.

The developing ideas expressed by Gosling et al are very well sequenced. We can easily follow the development. The increasing elaboration of the principal idea in each new sentences means that the reader becomes engaged. As a result, we are encouraged to continue reading, to find out what is to follow.

Another important feature of a well written story is its cohesion. Coherence and cohesion generally go together, and they are similar in many ways. There are some important differences between them, however. So, it is useful to consider what cohesion refers to and how it might be achieved.

1. Cohesion refers to

• how united something is
• how well it hangs together

2. Cohesion can be obtained by

• providing a framework or schema for the reader
• elaborating on the issues in the same order that they are outlined in the schema
• using similar language to that used in the schema

and importantly, by

• selective use of connective words or phrases.

Consider the following example.

• "There are three major eating disorders, namely, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Anorexia nervosa refers to the deliberate and purposeful pursuit of a very thin body, the intense concern about body weight and shape, and the engagement in serious dieting and other activities in order to achieve an idealised thin body. The defining feature of bulimia nervosa is frequent recurrent binge eating, which, because of intense fear about weight gain, is followed by compensatory behaviour, such as induced vomiting or purging. As the name implies, a criterion of binge eating disorder is also binge eating, but in contrast to bulimia nervosa, binges are generally not followed by vomiting or purging."

Cohesion is achieved in this paragraph by the use of a framework or schema. The first or opening sentence tells the reader what will be the focus of the paragraph, but it does more than that. The first sentence identifies the components of the idea as well as the order in which they are to be elaborated on. An opening sentence that is deliberately used as a framework or schema helps to give the sense of "a story". It makes the readers’ task easier. A framework is a very useful device that enhances cohesion in our written work.

A framework or schema is a useful writing strategy not only in essay writing, but also in laboratory reports and empirical research papers, where the notion of "a story" is equally important. At the broadest level, cohesion in scientific report writing is achieved by the use of the framework or structure that identifies the separate sections, Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion. Within-section cohesion is also important, however, and it can be achieved by using a framework or schema as an opening sentence in each key paragraph, or as the first paragraph at the beginning of each new section. The following is an example of such a framework for an account of the results of a multi-component study of marital relations in parents and among their offspring.

• "The study reported here draws on interviews with a national sample of married individuals in 1980 and their married offspring in 1997. We used these data to answer five questions: (a) Does parents' marital quality predict offspring's marital quality? (b) Does the association between parents' and offspring's marital quality persist when we control for a variety of parental characteristics that might produce a spurious association? (c) What processes mediate the intergenerational transmission of marital quality? (d) Which aspects of the parents' marriage are most influential for offspring? and (e) Are offspring's marriages affected by shifts in parents' marital quality?

The Results section would then proceed to outline the results of the study as they relate to each of the five questions, doing so in the same order as they are presented at the outset.

Having done that, the Results section could then provide another above framework or schema paragraph that specifies the two ways in which their interrelations are examined. The Results would then proceed to present the findings concerning the interrelations, doing so in the same order as was identified in the framework.

You have almost certainly recognised that coherence and cohesion are similar to each other. If a piece of written work is coherent, its coherence will contribute to the sense of cohesiveness, and the cohesiveness of a piece of written work will enhance its coherence. Neither one alone is sufficient. Both are important for creating a good "story."

The importance of transition signals

A specific strategy that enhances the sense of "story" in any piece of written work is the effective use of connective words and phrases to help the reader follow the argument. Such words and phrases help the reader to transition from one idea to the next, and make the ideas flow smoothly. Let’s go back to the example above.

• "Many of these statements can make use of widely understood cultural symbols (e.g., a poster of Martin Luther King, university memorabilia), whereas other artefacts may have a more personal meaning (e.g., a pebble collected from a favourite beach)".

The word "whereas" signals to the reader that cultural symbols differ from symbols that have personal meaning. In other words, "whereas" links the ideas that are expressed in the sentence, but it links them in a particular way. They are contrasted against each other. The writers link them by highlighting what is different about them.

These and similar connective words and phrases are often referred to as transition signals. There are several types of transition signals. All transition signals serve to connect the ideas expressed within a sentence, or between two sentences. The type of connection, however, differs one to another. On the following page are some of the most frequently used transition signals and their specific functions.

If the purpose is to indicate sequence or to logically divide an idea, the following are useful:

Source: The Learning Centre, UNSW

Below is another paragraph from the Gosling et al (2002) article, which we have modified to incorporate some specific examples of transition signals (which are in bold).

• In addition to reinforcing their self-views, occupants can adorn their personal space with symbols that have shared meanings. Such statements are not always directly interpretable. By displaying such symbols, however, occupants may be hoping to communicate specific attitudes or values to others. For example, the occupant of an office who has frequent client visits might display awards or qualifications in an attempt to reinforce his or her status. Some adornments might be sincere and intended to convey truthful messages about what the individual is really like. On the other hand, other things placed around the room may be strategic, even deceptive statements intended to portray the individual in a certain light. For instance, the occupant of a dorm room may be motivated to decorate his or her space with posters of rock stars and hip movies to be seen as cool by potential visitors. Nevertheless, all such adornments are intended to tell others how they would like to be regarded.

We have re-written the paragraph to deliberately highlight the effective use of transition signals. It is important to recognise that transition signals are not simply connecting or joining words or phrases. They connect or join adjacent ideas in specific ways.

Having considered how to achieve coherence and cohesion in your written work, and how to use transition signals effectively, you are ready to carefully review the draft you have prepared of your piece of written work. An important stage in the process of preparing a good draft is to read for a "story". In doing so, you will be more likely to produce a final version that is engaging, that the reader really wants to read.

• Now try this activity on using transition signals: transition signals activity

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Last updated September 12, 2016
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