Lesson video

Hi, I'm Mr. Buckingham and thank you so much for joining me for today's lesson.

We're going to cover some really useful knowledge in this lesson and I'm going to be here to help you the whole way through.

So let's make a start.

Today's lesson is called Exploring Cohesive Devices in Non-Chronological Reports and it comes from our unit called Pandas or Antarctic Animals, Non-Chronological Reports.

If you're taking part in this lesson, you're working towards writing a report about pandas.

By the end of today's lesson, we'll be able to identify cohesive devices used in a non-chronological report about a shark.

Now, cohesive devices are a great way of making our writing really sound professional and authoritative in a way that makes our reader really believe we know our stuff about what we're talking about.

So in this lesson we'll learn about what we mean by cohesive devices and we'll practise writing some examples based on a non-chronological report about a basking shark.

Now if you haven't read that report yet, you can find it in the additional materials for this lesson.

Here are our keywords for today's lesson.

My turn, your turn.

Text cohesion.

Compound sentence.

Complex sentence.

And fronted adverbial.

Well done.

Now, text cohesion is how a text flows to maintain the interest of a reader and to achieve its purpose, to do what it's supposed to do.

A compound sentence, as many of you all know, is composed of two or more main clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction.

A complex sentence is a sentence formed of at least one main clause and a subordinate clause.

And a fronted adverbial is a sentence starter followed by a comma.

If it was removed, the rest of the sentence would still make sense.

Here's our lesson outline for today.

We're going to start off by looking at compound sentences as a cohesive device, then we'll move on to looking at complex sentences, and finally fronted adverbials.

Let's get to it.

Now, a non-chronological report includes a range of different sentence types in order to improve its text cohesion, the way that the text flows and works coherently.

So here's an example of what we could write in an non-chronological report.

See what you think of this paragraph.

It says, "Basking sharks often bask at the surface of the water.

They can dive to depths of 1,000 metres.

Basking sharks are usually solitary.

They have been known to gather in groups of over 1,000 individuals." Now probably you noticed that this paragraph has poor text cohesion.

It's almost just a list of facts, isn't it? We're not showing our reader anything about how those facts relate to one another, how they connect together, so the text doesn't flow.

We could write the same information like this.

We could say, "Although basking sharks often bask at the surface of the water, they can dive to depth to 1,000 metres." Can you see we've taken those two sentences and linked them together to show the contrast between them using that word, although? Then we've done this.

We've said, "These immense creatures are usually solitary, but they have been known to gather in groups of over 1,000 individuals." Again, we've taken two facts, but we know that they're linked, so we've connected them together using, in this case, but, again, to show the contrast between them.

And notice how in this sentence instead of just saying basking sharks again at the start, we've said "these immense creatures" as a different expanded noun phrase.

So, this paragraph has improved text cohesion.

We've shown the connections between the pieces of information to make it easier for our reader, the audience, to understand how the pieces of information relate to one another.

And that shows improved text cohesion.

Now one type of sentence that improves text cohesion is a compound sentence.

For example, "Basking sharks need to be protected by law, or they may become extinct." So like all compound sentences, this is made up of two or more sometimes main clauses joined by a coordinated conjunction.

So here we've got a main clause, "Basking sharks need to be protected by law." That could be a sentence on its own.

Then we've got a coordinating conjunction, or.

The other coordinating conjunctions are and and but.

And then we've got another main clause, "They may become extinct." Again, that could be a sentence on its own.

So we've got two main clauses joined together by that coordinating conjunction in the middle.

And the coordinating conjunctions and, but, and or connect main clauses to make compound sentences, as we've just seen.

Another example would be this, "These enormous beasts are completely harmless and they pose no real threat to humans." Two main clauses joined by and.

We can do the same with but.

During the winter, basking sharks a very seldom scene, but in summer, they can be spotted in waters around the United Kingdom.

So we've taken again, two main clauses that could be sentences on their own and we've joined them together to create a compound sentence.

And this improves text cohesion because it shows us the connection between those two pieces of information that are linked.

So, can you find a compound sentence in the extract below and decide how does it help improve text cohesion? Pause the video and decide.

Well done.

Good job.

Hopefully you spotted that coordinating conjunction, and, in this sentence.

It says this, "Incredibly, the basking shark's liver makes up a quarter of its entire weight," which could be a complete sentence.

"And because it is filled with oil, it helps the sharks stay buoyant." We had two main clauses that could be sentences on their own connected by that coordinating conjunction, and.

So how does this help text cohesion? Well, like we said, if this wasn't a compound sentence, it could be two separate sentences and then we'd have an interruption, wouldn't we, to the flow of the text and we wouldn't be showing the connection between those two pieces of information.

So using a compound sentence means these linked sentences can flow together more smoothly and our reader can see that there's a connection between them.

Really well done if you came up with a similar idea and you spotted that compound sentence in that passage.

Good job.

So, as we've seen, we can combine pieces of information together to create compound sentences to improve text cohesion.

Here's an example.

Here's two separate pieces of information.

"The shark's teeth are not used for feeding.

They are incredibly sharp." So here we've got a contrast, haven't we? They don't use their teeth for feeding, but the teeth are still very sharp.

So we can connect those two pieces of information in a compound sentence to improve test cohesion.

And because it's a contrast we can use the coordinating conjunction, but.

It would look like this.

"The shark's teeth are not used for feeding, but they're incredibly sharp." We've improved text cohesion by showing our reader the connection between those two pieces of information in a compound sentence.

Here's another example.

"Basking sharks can grow up to 12 metres.

They weigh up to six tonnes." Well that's not a contrast here is there? We are building on the first piece of information.

So we could join these using and.

"Basking sharks can grow up to 12 metres and they weigh up to six tonnes." So we've connected the pieces of information together, connected those two complete sentences together to make a compound sentence.

And finally, we could do this.

"Basking sharks can migrate.

They can stay in one place all year." Well this is showing us an option, isn't it, that the basking sharks have? So we're gonna use or here.

"Basking sharks can migrate, or they can stay in one place all year." Again, using the compound sentence with that coordinated conjunction connects the pieces of information and that improves our text cohesion.

So, can you choose an appropriate coordinating conduction, and, but, or or, to combine A and B below into a compound sentence? And you might want to change some words as well.

Pause the video and have a careful think.

Good job, hopefully you noticed that these two pieces of information are contrasting, aren't they? They have all these teeth, but they pose no threat to us.

So, I already said it, I'm gonna use the coordinating conjunction, but.

I could say this.

"Basking sharks have around 1,500 teeth arranged into many rows, but they pose no real threat to humans." Now notice how I've used they instead of basking sharks.

It would be strange to repeat basking sharks in the second part of that sentence, so I've changed it to the pronoun they instead.

So what have we done? Well, using that compound sentence adds to our text cohesion, now the reader sees the connection between those two pieces of information, and so just using that pronoun they to avoid repeating basking sharks.

That repetition would interrupt our sentence, it would make it confusing for the reader, so using they adds to text cohesion as well.

Really good job if you came up with a similar compound sentence.

Good work.

So let's do our first task for this lesson.

I'm going to show you some pairs of sentences.

I want you to combine each pair of sentences into a compound sentence to improve the text cohesion.

And you might want to change some other words too, like we did with they in the last example.

So, here are your three pairs of sentences and here are your three coordinating conjunctions.

Can you make from each pair a compound sentence using the appropriate coordinating conjunction? Pause the video and have a try.

Fantastic effort.

Well done.

So here are the sentences combined to create compound sentences.

For the first one I would say, "The basking shark is considered an endangered species and hunting this immense fish is now banned many places." Can you see how I've said "this immense fish" as my expanded noun phrase there as well? For the second one I've said, "The basking shark filters 2,000 tonnes of water per hour, but it does not suck the water in." Those show a contrast, so I used but.

And notice how here I've used it as a pronoun instead of just saying the basking shark again.

And finally I've said, "There will need to be progress in tackling climate change, or the basking shark may lose its main food source." So or helps us to show, doesn't it, options and things like that.

So it's showing, again, the connection between those two pieces of information in a compound sentence.

So as we've said, combining the sentences like this improves our text cohesion and makes the writing more coherent.

It's easier to understand how these pieces of information relate to each other.

Brilliant job if you've managed to connect those sentences up and improve your text cohesion.

Good work.

So we've talked about how compound sentences can improve text cohesion.

Now let's talk about how complex sentences can do the same thing.

Now another sentence type that improves text cohesion is a complex sentence, which is made up of a main clause and a subordinate clause.

And I'm sure you remember that a main clause is a group of words that contains a verb and makes complete sense on its own.

And a subordinate clause is a group of words that contains a verb but does not make complete sense on its own.

Now there are several different types of complex sentences, each with a different type of subordinate clause.

So let's review those different types of complex sentences really quickly.

A non-finite complex sentence has a non-finite -ing subordinate clause, and that starts with a verb in its -ing form.

For instance, consuming, using, or allowing could be words that start a non-finite -ing clause.

We'll look at that more in detail in a moment.

And adverbial complex sentence has an adverbial subordinate clause, which starts with a subordinating conjunction like because, so that, although, or even though, and there's many more subordinating conjunctions we could use as well.

And a relative complex sentence has a relative subordinate clause that starts with a relative pronoun.

And relative pronouns are words like who, which, and whose.

So we can see that what determines what type of complex sentence we're looking at is the type of subordinate clause that it contains and what determines what type of subordinate clause we have is the type of word that starts it.

So a non-finite -ing subordinate clause starts with a verb in its -ing form, an adverbial subordinate clause starts with a subordinating conjunction, and a relative subordinate clause starts with a relative pronoun.

So we've got to look out for those types of words at the start to know what subordinate clause we're looking at and that tells us what type of complex sentence we're using.

So let's zoom in now on those adverbial complex sentences.

This is a great way of joining two ideas together into one sentence to improve our text cohesion.

And like we just said, an adverbial complex sentence has a main clause and an adverbial subordinate clause that starts with a subordinating conjunction, a word like as, although, or since.

So here's an example.

"Because these creatures are tiny, they must consume them in vast numbers." Here we've got our adverbial clause starting with the subordinating conjunction because.

I know this is a subordinate clause, because it wouldn't make complete sense in its own.

I know it's an adverbial subordinate clause because it starts with a subordinating conjunction, in this case because.

And then we have our main clause, "They must consume them in vast numbers." That could be a complete sentence on its own.

Here are some more examples.

"Even though basking sharks rely heavily on zooplankton for their nutrition, they also sometimes eat very small fish." I know the section in green is an adverbial subordinate clause because it starts with a subordinating conjunction even though.

Here's another one.

"As the temperature of the water increases, the zooplankton population is affected." Here we've used the subordinating conjunction as to start to our adverbial subordinate clause, and we've got a main clause, "The zooplankton population is affected as well." So remember, if we're making an adverbial complex sentence, we've taken an adverbial subordinate clause starting with a subordinating conjunction and we've joined it to a main clause to make the complex sentence.

And that's a way of improving our text cohesion.

So let's practise that skill.

Can you find the adverbial subordinate clause in each of these adverbial complex sentences? And remember, you'll know where it is because it will start with a subordinating conjunction.

Pause the video and have a go.

Well done, great effort.

Let's take a look.

So in A it would be, because it is often caught accidentally by fishermen," starting with the subordinating conjunction because.

In B it would be, "While the water passes out through the shark's gills untouched," starting with while.

And in C it would be, "Although they often bask at the surface of the water to obtain heat from the sun," starting with although.

Now in each of these three cases, the adverbial subordinate clause is at the start of the sentence.

So we can actually call it a type of fronted adverbial.

It's a fronted adverbial clause.

And notice how each time here, because that subordinate clause, that adverbial subordinate clause, is at the start of the sentence, it's followed by a comma and then we have the main clause after it.

Really well done if you spotted those three adverbial subordinate clauses, good job.

Now we've talked about adverbial complex sentences, let's talk now about relative complex sentences.

Remember, in a relative complex sentence the subordinate clause is a relative subordinate clause and it starts with a relative pronoun like who, which, or whose.

For example, "Basking sharks have a like grey body, which is lighter on top, and a large dorsal thin on their backs." Here we've got the relative clause, "which is lighter on top." So notice that that relative clause interrupts a complete sentence and it comes after a noun phrase to give more detail about it.

So we could have this complete sentence, "Basking sharks have a light grey body and a large dorsal fin on their backs." But after "light grey body," that noun phrase, we've interrupted this complete sentence with our relative clause, "which is lighter on top," to give more detail about that body.

So there's the relative clause starting in this case with the relative pronoun which.

Here's another example.

"This little-known creature, which is found in the waters of the United Kingdom, is one member of a group of sharks called mackerel sharks." So here we've used which again as our relative pronoun to start that relative clause.

Notice how again, this relative clause has interrupted a complete sentence, "This little known creature is one member of a group of sharks called mackerel sharks." Could be a complete sentence.

We've interrupted it with a relative clause.

Here, one more example.

"The shark, whose body can grow 12 metres in length, is now very rare." Here we've used the relative pronoun whose after that noun phrase, "the shark," and it's interrupting a complete sentence, "The shark is now very rare," to give more detail about that noun phrase.

So, in each case our relative clause, a relative subordinate clause, starts with a relative pronoun.

The final type of complex sentence we talked about is a non-finite complex sentence.

And this includes a non-finite -ing clause, a type of subordinate clause that starts with a verb in its -ing form.

Here's an example, it's in green here.

"Instead, they feed passively, moving through the water open-mouthed and allowing it to pass through their gills." Notice that word moving starting that non-finite -ing clause.

It's a verb in its -ing form, moving.

So here we've got our main clause, "Instead they feed passively." And then this is the non-finite -ing clause, a type of subordinate clause starting with a verb in its -ing form.

So that non-finite -ing clause is always demarcated or shown by a comma.

Notice I've got a comma in front of the word moving there.

Here's another example.

"In the last century, they were hunted for their liver oil," comma, "resulting in as many as 100,000 deaths." There's that word resulting, a verb in its -ing form to start the -ing clause.

Then we've got, "These sharks are an endangered species," comma, "meaning they're at serious risk of extinction." Here we've used meaning as our -ing word starting that non-finite -ing subordinate clause.

So these non-finite complex sentences are yet another way of improving our text cohesion by connecting information together.

So, I wonder if you can identify an adverbial clause, a relative clause, and a non-finite -ing clause in the complex sentence below.

So this sentence actually contains all three types of subordinate clause in addition to a main clause.

I wonder if you can spot all three types.

Pause the video and really think carefully about this one.

Well done, great effort.

Let's have a look.

So the adverbial clause starts with the subordinating injunction.

So this is "as they swim through the ocean," starting with as.

The relative clause will start with a relative pronoun.

So that's going to be, "which or a metre wide," starting with which.

And the non-finite -ing clause will start with a verb in its -ing form, in this case travelling.

So the clause would be, "travelling at speeds of two miles per hour." And maybe you spotted that the rest of the sentence is a main clause.

It would just be, "They leave their mouths open." And those three types of subordinate clause have been added to that sentence to make it a complex sentence in several different ways.

Amazing job if you managed to spot those three types of subordinate clause.

Great work.

So let's do our second task for this lesson.

I'd like you to use your knowledge about basking sharks to complete each type of complex sentence using the given words as your base.

So here are your starters, you've got your sentences almost done for you.

I want you to complete the sentences in the three different ways using your knowledge about basking sharks.

So you should end up with one adverbial complex sentence with an adverbial clause, one relative complex sentence with a relative clause, and one non-finite -ing complex sentence with a non-finite -ing clause.

Pause the video and see if you can complete those sentences.

Have a go.

Great job, well done.

Now, here are some example complex sentences.

Yours might look different to mine, but hopefully you've got the same kind of idea and your sentences are structured in the same way.

For the first one I said, "Even though basking sharks appear threatening, they are almost completely harmless to humans." So we've got our adverbial clause first in this sentence, and then the main clause.

For my relative complex sentence I've written, "The basking shark, which is the second largest fish in the world, can reach 12 metres in length." There I've got a relative clause, "which is the second largest fish in the world," interrupting the main clause, "The basking shark can reach 12 metres in length." And finally, for my non-finite -ing complex sentence I've said, "Basking sharks feed with their mouths open, filtering water to feed on thousands of tiny zooplankton each day." So there the non-finite -ing clause starts with that -ing verb, filtering.

Really well done if you've managed to create three complex sentences in the same way.

Great work.

Okay, so so far we've looked at two different ways of improving cohesion in our work.

We've looked at compound sentences and complex sentences.

Now let's look at our final cohesive device, which is fronted adverbials.

So we can also improve text cohesion by using a range of fronted adverbials in our writing.

And, as you might know, fronted adverbials are single words, phrases, or clauses placed at the start of a sentence and followed by a comma.

And they often link sentences together.

Here are some examples of sentences that start with fronted adverbials.

"Incredibly, these vast creatures can grow up to 12 metres in length and they can weigh up to six tonnes." There, incredibly is the fronted adverbial.

We could say, "As a result, they leave their meter-wide mouths open as they swim through the ocean." Or we could say, "Although basking sharks are usually solitary, they have been known to gather in groups of over 1,000." In each of these cases, these are front fronted adverbials starting the sentence.

Notice how each one is followed by a comma.

We could remove those fronted adverbials and we'd still have a complete sentence after the comma.

So "incredibly" is a fronted adverbial word, "as a result" is a fronted adverbial phrase, and "although basking sharks are usually solitary" is a fronted adverbial clause.

And that last example is just like the complex sentences we looked at in the last part of our lesson.

So, "although basing sharks are usually solitary" is an adverbial clause, it's a fronted adverbial clause because it's at the start of a sentence.

Now, in a non-chronological report, we might see some different types of fronted adverbial being used, and we're gonna talk about three of them today.

We might see a formal fronted adverbial, and there are two types of these.

Some of them show and.

So these all build on something that's already been said.

We could use in addition to this, as well as this, also, furthermore, moreover, building onto this.

So each of these will start a sentence and it will build on the sentence that came before.

It's saying more about the same thing.

So they build on a point from the sentence that came before.

The other type of formal fronted adverbial is showing but.

So it's showing a contrast.

So that would be fronted adverbials like however, despite this, on the contrary, in contrast to this.

So instead of building on this same point, it's making a contrast, it's showing a difference between this sentence and the one that follows it.

So here, these introduce a contrasting idea to the previous sentence, to the sentence that came before.

So I wonder if you can match each sentence to the one that would follow it, starting with a formal fronted adverbial.

And some of these show and, and some of them show but, but which ones match together to show sentences that could come one after the other? Pause the video and have a go.

Well done, good job.

So for A we would say, "Basking sharks can grow up to 12 metres.

In addition, they can weigh up to six tonnes." Now these are still two separate sentences, aren't they? But we're using that fronted adverbial in the second sentence to show that this is an and situation, we're building on that first fact.

B would be, "Basking sharks have around 1,500 teeth.

However, they do not use them for eating with." So this is showing but, it's showing a contrast between the first sentence and the second.

And C would be, "Many countries have banned the hunting of basking sharks." Full stop.

"Despite this, many sharks are still killed accidentally." So again, we are showing a contrast between these two pieces of information.

Really well done if you matched those up correctly.

Now another type of fronted adverbial we might see in an non-chronological report is a fronted adverbial of cause.

And again, these can help link two sentences together.

Now remember, the sentences will stay separate, but we're showing the connection between them.

So, these would be fronted adverbials like consequently, therefore, due to this, as a result of this.

So these show us the link between a cause and its effect.

Let me show you.

I could say this, "Basking sharks were hunted." That would be the cause.

What's the effect of that? "Hunting them is now banned." So we've got the effect.

The cause is followed by the effect.

So here's an example of using a fronted adverbial of cause to show that.

"In the last century, the sharks were hunted for the liver oil, resulting in as many as 100,000 deaths.

As a result, in the 1990s, many countries banned the hunting of basking sharks." Here, the first sentence tells us the cause, and the second sentence tells us the effect, starting with that fronted adverbial of cause.

And again, that could be fronted adverbials like consequently, or therefore, or due to this, or as a result of this.

Each of them is showing the effect that follows the cause.

So in the same way as we just did, can you match up each sentence to the one that would follow it starting with a fronted adverbial of cause? Pause the video and have a try.

Okay, let's take a look.

For A we would say, "Climate change may affect zooplankton." Full stop.

"Consequently, basking sharks may lose their food source." For B, "Basking sharks need to eat thousands of tiny zooplankton.

Therefore, they filter huge volumes of water as they swim." For C, "Many countries are banned hunting of basking sharks.

As a result of this basking shark numbers are rising again." They are still two separate sentences, but the second one shows us the effect of the first one starting with our fronted adverbial of cause.

Now the final type of fronted adverbial we'll look at today is a viewpoint fronted adverbial.

Now, these are ways of the author signalling to the reader that certain facts are particularly interesting or important.

And this could be fronted adverbials like of significant interest, of particular interest, notably, interestingly, fascinatingly, amazingly, significantly, impressively.

So here are some examples.

"Amazingly, the shark's teeth, which are extremely sharp, are not used for feeding at all." There the author is trying to signal to us that this is really surprising.

We'd expect all those sharp teeth to be for ripping into flesh, but in fact they're not.

So it's amazing.

We could say, "Incredibly, the basking shark's liver makes up a quarter of its entire weight." The author's trying to show us that that's quite shocking.

Our own liver does not make a quarter of our weight, so this is a surprising, interesting fact.

So these different viewpoint fronted adverbials are ways of showing a different strength of feeling from the writer.

It shows whether the writer thinks this fact is surprising, or just interesting, or of particular interest.

So it's a way of the author flagging to the reader what they feel their viewpoint about the fact that's about to come.

So let's check our understanding.

Which fronted adverbial is best for joining each pair of sentences together to improve text cohesion? You've got two examples to try.

Pause the video and have a go.

Well done, good effort.

Let's look at the first one.

"Basking shark numbers are improving.

However, they are threatened by climate change." That's showing a contrast, isn't it? So we've used a formal fronted adverbial that shows us but.

So, however is one of those.

Let's look at the second one.

It says, "Basking sharks do not always stay at the water's surface." Blank, "they can dive to depths of 1,000 metres." So, this isn't showing cause and effect, so consequently won't work, and it doesn't show a contrast, so despite this won't work either.

This one must be impressively, a viewpoint fronted adverbial.

What that tells us is that the author thinks that it's impressive that the basking shark can dive so deep.

Really well done if you chose the correct one for both of those.

Good job.

So let's do our final task for this lesson.

I'm gonna show you some sentences which have a fronted adverbial missing or a gap where a fronted adverbial could go.

I'd like to choose an appropriate fronted adverbial to join each pair of sentences together to improve their text cohesion.

So here are the sentences with the gaps.

Notice how in each case we have a complete sentence, a full stop, then the gap where the fronted adverbial could go, followed by another complete sentence.

So the fronted adverbial is going to come at the start of that second sentence to show us what's the connection between these two complete sentences.

So pause the video and choose a appropriate fronted adverbial for each of those gaps.

Have a go.

Okay, let's take a look.

Now you might have used different fronted adverbials to me, but hopefully you've used one of the same type to show the connection between these different sentences.

So for A I've said, "Basking sharks must consume huge amounts of zooplankton.

As a result of this, they are often seen with their mouths open." So I used a fronted adverbial of cause to show that this is a cause and effect situation.

Hopefully you did too.

For B I've said, "Basking sharks can be seen around the UK.

However, they can travel thousands of miles when they migrate." So here I've used a formal fronted adverbial to show but, there's a contrast between these two sentences.

For C I've said, "The basking shark's liver is enormous.

Amazingly, it makes up a quarter of its entire body weight!" I used a viewpoint fronted adverbial to show that this is surprising or impressive, or I've said amazing that it's such a huge liver.

For D I've said, "Climate change is threatening the basking shark.

Consequently, the population is at risk in the years to come." This has caused and effect.

The cause is climate change, the effect is the population's at risk.

You could have used another fronted adverbial of cause as well.

And finally I said, "Shark liver oil has been used for perfume.

In addition to this, it has been used in lamps." So this is an and form of fronted adverbial.

We are building on that first point to say another thing that liver oil was used for.

So hopefully you got one of the same type.

Really well done in that task, great effort.

Okay, let's summarise our learning in today's lesson.

We learned that we can use a range of sentence types and sentence starters in a non-chronological report in order to improve our text cohesion, the way the text flows together.

We learned that compound sentences are composed of two or more main clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction.

We learned that complex sentences are composed of main clause joined to a subordinate clause and that there are several different types of complex sentence we can use to improve cohesion.

And we learned that fronted adverbials are sentence starters that can join pairs of sentences together to improve text cohesion.

But remember, in that case we maintain two separate sentences.

It's just that one will start with a fronted adverbial in some cases.

Really well done in today's lesson.

We've covered an awful lot of ground and I'm really impressed with how well you've kept up.

I'd love to see you again in a future lesson.

Goodbye.