What is the difference between cohesion and coherence?
E.g. Cara loves to cook dinner for her husband Carl. The dinner that she likes cooking the most is lasagna. Lasagna is a very popular dish in Italy. Italians are also known for their heavy accents. Accents can tell you where in the world people come from. There are over 7 billion people on earth.
In this example we can see the clear link between each sentence, even though there is no set topic/theme in the paragraph. This is cohesion. Cohesion can be evident without coherence.
Coherence is when the theme or the main idea of the essay or writing piece is understandable.
E.g. There are different types of nouns in the English language. There are proper nouns which are the names of people or places, such as Tamara or North Korea. There are abstract nouns which are used to describe things that aren’t physical, such as emotions. There are collective nouns which are used to describe groups of things, such as a flock of birds.
In this example, the main theme of the paragraph, types of nouns, is constant and understandable.
Cohesion literally means that individual elements of a group are close together. Cohesion often refers to this effect occurring in some area, small or large.
For example, four dots around a particular crossing of lines in a larger pattern might be cohesion.
Cohesion also works figuratively through thematic similarity (similarity using types) and thematic differences.
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Coherence is a pattern in the overall TOTAL structure, often expressed in a list of all the main parts. For example, if the overall pattern has four main rectangles, that is a coherent description, because if we describe each rectangle individually and add them together, we might have a description of the overall pattern.
Coherence can be figurative if the overall pattern is a metaphor or convenience for describing something abstract. For example, if Democrats are various parts of a donkey, or if the branches of government are represented by an eagle.
However, a coherent description of a work of art would have to account for the composition of the work of art contextualized within the history of art. Whatever it is that permits understanding everything about it is the coherent description. And, of course, sometimes this may not be possible, which is why coherent knowledge is often considered one of philosophy's great unfinished projects.
However, I have attempted an objective coherent system on Quora using bounded Cartesian coordinates sort of like the four rectangles:
Cohesion. If something holds together, it is cohesive. Example: A drop of water is made up of molecules that stick together. They are cohesive. The water clings to pine needles.
In writing, the ideas are all linked logically to prove your thesis. Often these ideas are joined with the help of cohesive devices or links. Example: words like: firstly, secondly, next, however, often, further, etc.
Coherence. If something is coherent, you can understand it, it makes sense. To be coherent something must be clearly stated or explained, the ideas not all jumbled.
Anything Donald TRump says is incoherent, because he keeps mixing all kinds of ideas together & nothing makes sense. You don’t have a clue what he is trying to tell you. He rambles on without making any sense.
Example: He is talking about some emergency declaration:
“It’s been signed many times before. It’s been signed by other presidents. From 1977 or so, it gave the presidents the power. There’s rarely been a problem. They sign it; nobody cares. I guess they weren’t very exciting. But nobody cares. They sign it for far less important things in some cases.” (Google: Quote from Vanity Fair: National Emergency)
(If you can figure out what he’s trying to say, you’re doing better than I am!)
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