Copywriting
Tactic

Bind Sentences With Connective Words

Connective words maintain the flow of mental imagery.

And

Overview

“Coherence markers” bind sentences together:

  • Additive: and, or
  • Temporal: then, next
  • Adversative: but, though
  • Causal: because, so

Without them, sentences remain disconnected from each other.

Researchers compared two ads for Dove:

  • No Markers: Your skin’s natural oils keep it silky and supple. As you age, it becomes less elastic and the production of oil slows down. Aging can cause dull, dehydrated skin.
  • Coherence Markers: Your skin’s natural oils keep it silky and supple. But as you age, your skin becomes less elastic and the production of oil slows down. That is why aging can cause dull, dehydrated skin.

Readers preferred the second version (Kamalski, 2007).

Causal markers (because, so) are especially persuasive because they signal justification. Many people operate on autopilot – subconsciously, they look for words like “because” to determine whether a behavior is justified (Langer, Blank, & Chanowitz, 1978).

  • Kamalski, J. (2007). Coherence Marking, Comprehension and Persuasion on the processing and representations of discourse (Doctoral dissertation, Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics).
  • Langer, E. J., Blank, A., & Chanowitz, B. (1978). The mindlessness of ostensibly thoughtful action: The role of" placebic" information in interpersonal interaction. Journal of personality and social psychology, 36(6), 635.