Logical Structure and Discourse Cohesion
Logical structure and discourse cohesion
This item tests paragraph ordering (段落整序), sentence insertion, and connector choice. You are not asked what the text means so much as how each sentence depends on the ones around it.
Cohesion signals
- Reference chains: this / these / such a / the former / the latter / its must point backwards. A sentence containing them cannot open a paragraph unless the referent is already clear.
- Connectors mark the relation, not the topic: however / nevertheless (contrast), therefore / thus / as a result (consequence), for instance / to illustrate (example), in fact / indeed (strengthening), by contrast / on the other hand (paired contrast), admittedly (concession).
- Given-new order: familiar information comes first, new information last; the end of one sentence often becomes the beginning of the next.
- Lexical chains: repeated or synonymous nouns (scientists → researchers → they) hold a paragraph together; a sudden switch of vocabulary usually signals a misplaced sentence.
- Definition–example–comment is the commonest internal order; a sentence beginning For example cannot precede the general claim it illustrates.
Worked example
Order these: (A) Such tools were once limited to laboratories. (B) Cheap sensors now let farmers monitor soil moisture from a phone. (C) This shift has changed how water is priced in dry regions. (D) But the data they produce is only as good as the model that reads it. Reasoning: (B) introduces the topic with full nouns and no pronouns, so it comes first. (A) contains Such tools, which must follow the mention of sensors, so it comes second. (C) This shift summarises B + A, so it comes third. (D) But marks a limitation, which naturally closes the paragraph. Order: B → A → C → D.
Traps
- Chaining sentences by topic similarity while ignoring the connector's logical direction.
- Opening a paragraph with However or This, with nothing to refer to.
- Placing an example sentence before its general claim.
- Overlooking singular/plural in pronouns (this view vs these views) as an ordering clue.