Paragraph Cohesion
Link ideas across paragraphs using a wider range of cohesive devices including word repetition, grammatical connections such as adverbials, and ellipsis to create coherent extended texts
What a learner can do afterwards
- Use adverbials such as 'on the other hand' and 'as a consequence' to connect paragraphs
- Apply ellipsis to avoid repetition while maintaining clarity across sentences
- Create cohesion by repeating key words or using synonyms to link ideas between paragraphs
1 · Read
You already link paragraphs with time words like 'meanwhile' and 'later'. Now you will use contrast and cause words like 'however' and 'as a result', plus repeating key words and leaving out guessable words, which is called ellipsis.
Paragraph 1 ends: '...the whale surfaced near the boat.' Paragraph 2 begins: 'The huge creature dived again moments later.' No linking word is needed. 'The huge creature' is a synonym for 'the whale', so the reader carries the idea straight into the new paragraph.
Ellipsis has another job here: instead of the three dots, it means dropping words that would just repeat something already said. Instead of 'Maya packed her bag. Maya left the bag by the door,' you can write 'Maya packed her bag and left it by the door.' The meaning stays clear, but nothing is repeated for no reason.
Repeating a key word does not mean copying a whole sentence. 'The rain fell all night. The rain fell all night.' just tells the reader the same thing twice. Repeat only the word that carries the link, or swap it for a synonym. Small stand-in words like 'it', 'she' and 'they' work too: 'The boat rocked all night. It finally steadied at dawn.' Vary the tools so the writing does not sound dull.
Mix the three tools as your text moves on.
Extended writing stays joined together through repeated or swapped-in key words, well-chosen adverbials, and words left out because the reader already knows them.
The rewritten readings were written for this dataset.
More to read
Analyzing paragraph structure | Guided practice
Take a flat metal blade, a handle, and a wooden stick, and what you have is a pile of junk. But put those parts together in just the right way, and you have made a shovel. If one part is missing or attached wrong, you still have junk.
Writing works the same way. Writers carefully arrange their sentences to build strong paragraphs, and they arrange paragraphs to build a whole text. Every sentence has a job. One sentence might state the main idea. Another might give a detail or an example. A linking sentence can carry an idea from one paragraph into the next.
When you read, ask yourself what each sentence is doing. How does it connect to the sentence before it? When you write, do the same check. Repeat key words, or use words like also, however, and as a result, so your reader can follow your thinking from one idea to the next.
Analyzing informational text structure | Guided practice
If you have ever done a jigsaw puzzle, you know the pieces fit together perfectly to reveal one complete picture. Texts work in a very similar way. Writers carefully fit sentences and paragraphs together to build meaning.
Noticing how writers connect their ideas helps you understand tricky texts, and it also shows you how to make your own writing clear and logical.
So how can you figure out how sentences and paragraphs work together? Start by finding the main idea of each paragraph. Then look for the glue between paragraphs. Writers repeat important words, use synonyms, and add linking phrases like on the other hand or as a consequence to show how one paragraph leads to the next. Sometimes a writer even leaves words out on purpose when the meaning is already clear, so the writing does not repeat itself.
Help readers follow your thinking
Readers need to understand the connections between facts and ideas. Showing those connections is reasoning.
Build a paragraph around a main point. Support it with evidence, such as an example, a fact, or a useful detail. Then explain why the evidence supports your point. Writers sometimes miss this explanation, leaving readers to work out the connection themselves.
Connect paragraphs too. Reusing an important word or choosing a word with a similar meaning can help. Phrases such as as a result and on the other hand show how ideas relate. Remove repeated wording when readers can still understand the meaning.
After drafting, check how each idea leads into the next. Revise any missing connections so readers can follow your thinking throughout.
Connect the parts of an argument
An argument needs connected ideas that lead readers through your thinking.
Write a thesis: a sentence stating the claim you plan to defend. Choose a narrow, precise claim that you can support. Gather reasons and examples as evidence for it.
Arrange your ideas in an order readers can follow. Develop a single idea within each paragraph. As you finish a paragraph, help readers understand how the following paragraph connects. Phrases such as however and because of this can show that relationship.
Read the draft aloud before finishing. A sentence that seems to arrive unexpectedly may need a clearer link.
2 · Watch
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