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马岳年 无锡市教研中心英语教研员；无锡市学科带头人，高级研修班优秀导师，无锡市教育学会比较教育专业委员会副理事长，无锡市教育学会中学外语教学专业委员会理事长，无锡市有突出贡献中青年专家；江苏省英语特级教师，江苏省“333工程”培养对象，江苏省教育学会外语教学专业教学委员会副秘书长；首届全国优秀青年外语教师，第三届全国中小学优秀外语教师，跨世纪园丁工程国家级骨干教师培养对象，教育部课程与教材发展中心（NCCT)认证专家组成员，国家基础教育实验中心外语教育研究中心学术委员会委员，中国教育学会外语教学专业委员会教学研究与教师教育指导委员会会员；江南大学兼职教授，苏州大学教育硕士生导师。
Any piece of good writing is a unity—unity within sentences and between paragraphs in terms of theme, sequence, transition and appropriateness. In other words, a good article is made up of a group of sentences and paragraphs that are developed around a central theme, arranged in a logical sequence, linked by transitional devices and expressed in appropriate words and phrases.
The following is an example, in which the sentences are relevant but they are not arranged in a right order. In other words, this piece lacks a logical sequence:
In the last thirty years or so, some places in the south of the country have developed their industries quickly. Whats more, the industrial development has caused serious pollution. The number of people there, however, has increased even faster. As a result, a lot of money is needed to stop the pollution there. Therefore, their life hasnt improved much.
From the above example we can see the importance of a thematic consistency and logical sequence in writing. However, they alone will not make good writing. Relevant sentences arranged in a logical order must be linked together by the right cohesive words and phrases. This is technically called cohesion. Let us see what happens if cohesion is absent in writing:
“In the last thirty years or so, some places in the south of the country have developed their industries quickly. The number of people there has increased even faster. Their life hasnt improved much. The industrial development has caused serious pollution. A lot of money is needed to stop the pollution there.”
Now let us see what this piece of writing will sound like to you if some cohesive or transitional devices are added:
“In the last thirty years or so, some places in the south of the country have developed their industries quickly. However, the number of people there has increased even faster. Therefore, their life hasnt improved much. Whats more, the industrial development has caused serious pollution. As a result, a lot of money is needed to stop the pollution there.”
The wonder of the transitional devices is clearly shown in the above passage. It makes a great difference with or without the above underlined words and phrases in the paragraph. With them, different layers of meaning are logically and smoothly related, and the relationship between them is clearly exhibited. That is a good piece of writing.
There is one more point that is not to be overlooked before unity of writing is achieved. That is, appropriateness, which is perhaps more difficult for us to handle. The true meaning of appropriateness is, “proper words in proper places.” In fact, “appropriateness” is not concerned with “right or wrong”; it is a matter of “good or bad” or “proper or improper”. Hence, the difficulty. In spite of this, we can still feel the difference if we just take a look at the following piece:
“In the past three decades or so, some places in the south of the motherland have expanded their industries speedily. Nonetheless, the figure of people there has boosted even faster. Consequently, their life hasnt improved a lot. Even worse, the industrial advancement has caused serious pollution. At last, a lot of money is required to eradicate the pollution there.”
Although the underlined words and phrases have similar denotations to those substituted, they are no longer the same in terms of register and connotations. For example, the word “motherland” is different from “country” in that the former involves “personal feelings and sense of belonging” while the latter chiefly concerns “area and government”. Therefore, “motherland” is not a proper word here. Words like “nonetheless, required, and eradicate” seem too formal in their context. Another case is the word “boost”, which has the connotation that you want something to increase because you think it is not enough, which is just the opposite in meaning that we want to express in the paragraph. It is therefore not very difficult to see that those underlined are out of place—they are inappropriate.
By now we can conclude that unity of writing comes from the combination of thematic consistency, logical sequence, proper cohesion and appropriateness of diction. The lack of any of them destroys the unity.
Any piece of good writing is a unity—unity within sentences and between paragraphs in terms of theme, sequence, transition and appropriateness. In other words, a good article is made up of a group of sentences and paragraphs that are developed around a central theme, arranged in a logical sequence, linked by transitional devices and expressed in appropriate words and phrases.
The following is an example, in which the sentences are relevant but they are not arranged in a right order. In other words, this piece lacks a logical sequence:
In the last thirty years or so, some places in the south of the country have developed their industries quickly. Whats more, the industrial development has caused serious pollution. The number of people there, however, has increased even faster. As a result, a lot of money is needed to stop the pollution there. Therefore, their life hasnt improved much.
From the above example we can see the importance of a thematic consistency and logical sequence in writing. However, they alone will not make good writing. Relevant sentences arranged in a logical order must be linked together by the right cohesive words and phrases. This is technically called cohesion. Let us see what happens if cohesion is absent in writing:
“In the last thirty years or so, some places in the south of the country have developed their industries quickly. The number of people there has increased even faster. Their life hasnt improved much. The industrial development has caused serious pollution. A lot of money is needed to stop the pollution there.”
Now let us see what this piece of writing will sound like to you if some cohesive or transitional devices are added:
“In the last thirty years or so, some places in the south of the country have developed their industries quickly. However, the number of people there has increased even faster. Therefore, their life hasnt improved much. Whats more, the industrial development has caused serious pollution. As a result, a lot of money is needed to stop the pollution there.”
The wonder of the transitional devices is clearly shown in the above passage. It makes a great difference with or without the above underlined words and phrases in the paragraph. With them, different layers of meaning are logically and smoothly related, and the relationship between them is clearly exhibited. That is a good piece of writing.
There is one more point that is not to be overlooked before unity of writing is achieved. That is, appropriateness, which is perhaps more difficult for us to handle. The true meaning of appropriateness is, “proper words in proper places.” In fact, “appropriateness” is not concerned with “right or wrong”; it is a matter of “good or bad” or “proper or improper”. Hence, the difficulty. In spite of this, we can still feel the difference if we just take a look at the following piece:
“In the past three decades or so, some places in the south of the motherland have expanded their industries speedily. Nonetheless, the figure of people there has boosted even faster. Consequently, their life hasnt improved a lot. Even worse, the industrial advancement has caused serious pollution. At last, a lot of money is required to eradicate the pollution there.”
Although the underlined words and phrases have similar denotations to those substituted, they are no longer the same in terms of register and connotations. For example, the word “motherland” is different from “country” in that the former involves “personal feelings and sense of belonging” while the latter chiefly concerns “area and government”. Therefore, “motherland” is not a proper word here. Words like “nonetheless, required, and eradicate” seem too formal in their context. Another case is the word “boost”, which has the connotation that you want something to increase because you think it is not enough, which is just the opposite in meaning that we want to express in the paragraph. It is therefore not very difficult to see that those underlined are out of place—they are inappropriate.
By now we can conclude that unity of writing comes from the combination of thematic consistency, logical sequence, proper cohesion and appropriateness of diction. The lack of any of them destroys the unity.