A text can be grammatical sentence by sentence and still feel scattered. Coherence is the quality by which a discourse hangs together as a meaningful whole for its audience, through logical relations, shared knowledge, and consistent perspective.

Coherence is partly created by the writer or speaker and partly constructed by the interpreter. Causal links, temporal order, and thematic continuity support it. When coherence fails, readers complain that a text “jumps around” even if local cohesion devices are present.

Teachers of writing target coherence when they ask for clearer transitions and stronger overall structure. Discourse psychologists study how readers build mental models of situations described in text. Coherence remains a pragmatic and cognitive achievement, not only a formal property of sentences.

• Meaningful overall connectedness of a discourse
• Depends on logic, knowledge, and perspective
• Distinct from but supported by cohesion devices
• Central concern in writing instruction and discourse study