在英文写作当中，我们经常听到老师强调文章的Cohesion，即连贯性。那到底什么是Cohesion呢？我们又如何在日常论文写作做到语意连贯呢？今天我们就带大家一起来看一下。在正式开始介绍之前，我们一起先来看两个例子。

The effects of the Global Financial Crisis were first felt in 2007. Stock markets fell sharply around the world. Australia has experienced a period of relative economic prosperity since 2007. Good business practices lessened the effect of the Global Financial Crisis. There has been a surge in mining investment.

The effects of the Global Financial Crisis were first felt in 2007 as a result of a sharp fall in Stock markets around the world. However, Australia has experienced a period of relative economic prosperity in the same period. This can partly be attributed to good business practices as well as a surge in mining investment, which have lessened the effect of the economic downturn.

相比之下，第二段文本提供了更多的信息，同时表达也更为准确。而读完第一段文本之后，你可能会有以下的问题：是否是股市崩盘导致了全球金融危机？还是说正好相反？第三句句子是否与第一句自相矛盾？第三句句子中的Good business practices是只限于澳大利亚地区，还是包括世界其他地区？采矿投资的增加与之前的信息又有什么关系呢？

之所以第一段话会让人觉得表达得不清楚，是因为第一段话缺少了Cohesion，不同的想法之间的联系不够清楚，而第二段话运用了一些Cohesive Devices，即衔接的方法，来解决了这些问题。Cohesive Devices，衔接方法，指的是可以将文本的不同部分联系起来的单词和表达方式。比如因果关系、时间先后关系以及比较和对比关系。

除此之外，第一段文本读起来也有些重复。Cohesive devices不仅可以减少重复，而且可以用更少的词语补充更多有用的信息，同时很好地连接文本。

下面我们为大家详细介绍如何做到文章语意连贯。

论文修改如何提高Cohesion: 向前指代

我们需要在写作当中明确指出文章讨论的对象和内容，但是，经常重复相同的短语或者单词使文章读起来非常乏味。 所以，我们需要用到cohesive devices来帮助我们指代文本。 比如：

人称代词：it, he, she, his, her, they, their etc.

指示代词：this, that, these, those

冠词：a, the

副词：previously, subsequently

举例：The Australian prime minister has called an early election. The date was selected to coincide with the start of the Olympic Games. This decision was based on the views of his ministerial advisors, who predicted that voter confidence in the government’s policies would be strong at this time. As previously mentioned, decisions on the timing of elections are based on predictions of voter confidence in the existing government.

解析：在这段话里面，the date指的是an early election, this decision指代的是澳大利亚总理发起了提前选举这项决定；his 指代的是澳大利亚总理；this time指的是奥运会的开幕；而‘As previously mentioned’ 指的是前面所提到的所有关于election的信息。

论文修改如何提高Cohesion： 向后指代

我们经常使用一些单词和短语来提示读者新的信息。这有助于文章的内容从一个点顺利过渡到另一点。这样的单词和短语包括： the following, as follows, below, next, subsequently。

举例：The following dates have been proposed for the forthcoming election: September 8, September 15 and 3 October.

The results of the analysis of voter confidence are shown in Table 1 below.

The next issue to be discussed is the influence of the media on voter confidence in the government.

论文修改如何提高Cohesion：避免重复

为了强调文本中的某一部分，我们有时会重复相同的单词或短语。但是为了避免过多的重复，我们应该选择具有相似含义的单词和短语，即近义词。

举例：‘The government’s election campaign commenced with a media blitz outlining a series of election promises. This beginning to the campaign sparked numerous media commentaries.’

解析：在整两句话中，我们都提到了campaign这个词，但是第二句句子，我们用beginning代替了commenced，不仅增加了表达的多样性，同时保持了话题的一致。