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
The lesson
You already know how to link paragraphs with words like 'however' and 'as a result'. Now you'll add two more tools: repeating key words (or swapping in a synonym) and leaving out words the reader can already guess, 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 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.
Strong writers mix all three tools: adverbials, repeated words or synonyms, and ellipsis. Using the same one every single time gets dull, so vary them as your text moves from paragraph to paragraph.
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.
Watch it
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.