Discuss the techniques employed by writers to link ideas together.

Answers will vary. Careful writers use coherence techniques to keep receivers from experiencing abrupt changes in thought. Although the word coherence is used sometimes to mean "clarity" or "understandability," it is used to mean "cohesion." If writing or speaking is coherent, the sentences stick together; each sentence is in some way linked to the preceding sentences. Avoid abrupt changes in thought, and link each sentence to a preceding sentence.
The following techniques for linking sentences are common:
a. Repeat a word that was used in the preceding sentence.
b. Use a pronoun that represents a noun used in the preceding sentence.
c. Use connecting words.
Just as sentences within a paragraph must link, paragraphs within a document must also link. Unless a writer or speaker is careful, the move from one major topic to the next will seem abrupt. A good transition sentence can bridge the gap between the two topics by summing up the preceding topic and leading a receiver to expect the next topic.