Coherence in literature refers to the consistent connections between ideas and/or events that allows the readers to make sense of the narrative. Along with cohesion, which is the flow of sentences and paragraphs that holds a text together, they make the text accessible and clear. Coherence is about how the author develops the argument, and coherence is about the gramatical aspects.
One of the tools used to make sure the text is coherent is the repetition and cross-referencing of a key term or phrase throughout the text. Another tool is the use of transitional words to connect one sentence to another, such as "in addition", "then" or "but".
