Coherence in your thesis

A text reads pleasantly when the relationship between sentences and paragraphs is clear. This creates a strong common thread. You uselinking and referring words such as 'this', 'that', and 'because of' to indicate these connections. For consistency, however, it is important to use such linking and referring words correctly. To help you, here is an overview of the most common linking words and their functions.

Without linking words, your text would not read smoothly. The relationship between sentences would not be clear, leaving the reader to interpret things themself. Moreover, there is a chance that the reader will misinterpret your sentences. You avoid this by using linking words to indicate the intended relationships between your sentences. This is why linking words are an important part of academic language use.

The following sentence shows how without signal words, things can go wrong:

Plants grow on the savannah. Sometimes it rains.

It is not clear whether these are isolated facts, or whether there is a connection between the rain and the plants on the savannah. Several interpretations are possible:

• Plants grow on the savannah because it rains sometimes.

• Plants grow on the savannah, despite the occasional rain. 

• Plants grow on the savannah when it rains. 

By using connecting words, the relationship between those sentences is clear at first glance. 

You should use linking words not only between sentences, but also to mark connections between paragraphs. By starting your paragraph with the connecting word 'moreover', for example, your reader knows that the following text complements the earlier text.

In theses, certain connecting words are particularly common. Below, we list the most important linking words and their functions.

Reason

• This television programme was taken off the air in 2010, as the subject matter was controversial at the time.
• An experiment was chosen because it was the best way to measure the effect of manipulation.
• A focus group was set up for this study. Indeed, it turned out that people make interesting statements in conversation with each other.
• I enjoyed working on this thesis, so I hope you enjoy reading it.

Cause-effect

• Temperatures have risen because of the greenhouse effect.
• A pre-test was conducted before the study so that any ambiguities could be removed from the study.
• The sample is small, so the results are not generalisable.
• Because of low wages, many employees are unwilling to work overtime.
• As a result, work is often left unfinished.

Opposition

• The pre-test suggested that... However, subsequent research showed that...
• Patients do say they are satisfied with the conversation with their doctor, but see areas for improvement in overall communication in hospitals.
• The sample was not representative. Nevertheless, we chose to include the results.
• Although more and more is known about the disease, very little research has been done on its long-term effects.
• Contrary to results from previous research, this study shows that...
• While steps have been taken to increase reliability, the results are not fully reliable.

Examples

• The handbook elaborates on the protocol and includes, for example, information on what to do in case of emergencies.
• The survey began with seven questions on demographic characteristics, such as participants' age and gender.
• Academic language has different rules than informal written language. For instance, it is compulsory in academic texts to include a source citation.
• Participants answered questions about their family situation and place of residence, among other things.

Enumeration

• This study consisted of a literature review and field research.
• To define this term, both previous research and opinions of subjects were considered.
• Previous research by Jansen shows that... Also, this study shows that...
• Smoking deteriorates the quality of your lungs. Moreover, research shows that smoking increases a person's risk of certain diseases.
• Scheduling social media posts automatically is more efficient than posting manually. Moreover, it allows for working ahead.
• First, the survey shows that... Second...

Chronological link or sequence

• First, participants completed a general questionnaire. Then they answered specific questions on the topic.
• After the data were collected, they were analysed with SPSS.
• When the effects of the epidemic became clear, responsive measures were quickly taken.
• Before addressing the roadmap, the next section discusses previous research findings.

Condition

• When managers give their employees more compliments, employees feel more engaged at work.
• Each completed survey was included in the study unless responses were missing.
• Participants had a chance to win a gift voucher, provided they had completed the survey in full.

Summary

• Eating more fruit is good for one’s health. So, it is important to promote eating fruit.
• In short: this study shows that the company is not yet ready for full automation.
• In summary, the literature review shows that there is no single clear definition of 'happiness'.

Besides these linking words, there are also reference words. With these, you indicate a connection between sentences. Reference words are words with which you refer back to a part of the previous sentence. Examples are 'that', 'this', 'what', 'there', 'through', 'by', 'because of' or 'of which'. 

With reference words, you avoid repetition. For example, the sentences below read less comfortably without a referent because they repeat the phrase 'seven questions' twice in a row.

Without reference: The survey consisted of seven questions. The seven questions were taken from Pietersen's survey.

By reference: The survey consisted of seven questions that were taken from Pietersen's survey.

Note: avoid ambiguity

Do you use a reference word? Then always be sure to check that it is clear which part of the sentence or phrase the referent refers to. Otherwise, the reader may misinterpret the sentence. In the following sentence, for example, the reference is not clear:

Unclear reference: The study was conducted partly in Amsterdam and partly in Rotterdam. There, the subjects were interviewed by the researcher.

In this example, it is not clear whether all subjects were interviewed in both Amsterdam and Rotterdam, or either place. It is therefore better to phrase this sentence as follows:

Clearer text: The researcher interviewed half of the subjects in Amsterdam and half in Rotterdam.

Do you doubt whether all connections in your thesis are properly indicated, and whether your formulations are clear? We would be happy to check this for you. The editors of AthenaCheck are language experts and are happy to check your thesis for language, structure and a common thread.