In order to communicate the central idea of your paper clearly to the reader, your writing be coherent. The American Heritage College Dictionary defines "coherence" as "a logical, orderly, and aesthetically consistent relationship of parts." (The word comes from "cohere," which means "to stick or hold together in a mass that resists separation" and "to cause to form a united, orderly, and aesthetically consistent whole.") Prof. Sockett notes that the first thing he looks at is coherence and the second neat editing.

The best way to check an essay for coherence is to see whether key words from the thesis or synonyms for these key words have been repeated in topic sentences throughout the paper. You should also examine transitions from paragraph to paragraph. For further information on coherence and transitions, see Writing Resources for advice on transitions. (For advice on paragraph structure, see paragraphs.)

Remember, for every assignment, it's a good idea to go back and check the basics: introduction, thesis, transitions, topic sentences in each paragraph, and conclusion.