Does my paper flow? Tips for creating a well-structured essay.

by Jessica Diaz

A sure way to improve your paper is to strengthen the way you present your argument. Whether you only have a thesis statement or already have a fully-written essay, these tips can help your paper flow logically from start to finish.

Going from a thesis statement to a first outline

Break down your thesis statement

No matter what you are arguing, your thesis can be broken down into smaller points that need to be backed up with evidence. These claims can often be used to create a ready outline for the rest of your paper, and help you check that you are including all the evidence you should have.

Take the following thesis statement:

Despite the similarities between the documentaries Blackfish and The Cove , the use of excessive anthropomorphism in Blackfish allowed it to achieve more tangible success for animal rights movements, illustrating the need for animal rights documentaries to appeal to human emotion.

We can break the thesis down into everything that needs to be supported:

Despite the similarities between the documentaries Blackfish and The Cove , the use of excessive anthropomorphism in Blackfish allowed it to achieve more tangible success for animal rights movements , illustrating the need for animal rights documentaries to appeal to human emotion .

In the paper, we have to (1) explain and support the similarities between the two documentaries, (2) provide support for excessive anthropomorphism in Blackfish , (3) show that Blackfish achieved more tangible success than The Cove , and (4) demonstrate the importance of human emotion in animal documentaries.

Already, we have four main points that can serve as the backbone for an essay outline, and they are already in an order that makes some intuitive sense for building up the argument.

It is likely that you will need to rearrange, expand, or further break down the outline. For example, in this case we would probably need to add a paragraph that explains anthropomorphism. We also might want to move the section on differences in animal rights success earlier so that it contrasts with the similarities between the films. However, having this starting structure and identifying the main sections of the paper can allow you to go ahead and start writing!

Checking that your argument builds

Reverse outline

While writing, it is often hard to take a step back and assess whether your paper makes sense or reads well. Creating a reverse outline can help you get a zoomed-out picture of what you wrote and helps you see if any paragraphs or ideas need to be rearranged.

To create a reverse outline, go through your paper paragraph-by-paragraph. For each one, read it and summarize the main point of the paragraph in 3-5 words. In most cases, this should align closely with the topic sentence of that paragraph. Once you have gone through the entire paper, you should end up with a list of phrases that, when read in order, walk through your argument.

Does the order make sense? Are the ideas that should go together actually next to each other? Without the extra clutter, the reverse outline helps you answer these questions while looking at your entire structure at once.

Each line of your reverse outline should build on the last one, meaning none of them should make sense in isolation (except the first one). Try pretending you don’t know anything about this topic and read one of your paragraph phrases at random (or read it to someone else!). Does it make sense, or does it need more context? Do the paragraphs that go before it give the context it needs?

The reverse outline method and the line of thinking detailed above help put you in the mind of your reader. Your reader will only encounter your ideas in the order that you give it to them, so it is important to take this step back to make sure that order is the right one.

Quick Links

  • Schedule an Appointment
  • English Grammar and Language Tutor
  • Harvard Guide to Using Sources
  • Departmental Writing Fellows
  • Writing Advice: The Harvard Writing Tutor Blog

Welcome to the Barker Underground!

The official blog of the Harvard Writing Center. Check back for writing advice from tutors past and present.

The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

What this handout is about

This handout will explain what flow is, discuss how it works, and offer strategies to improve the flow of your writing.

What is flow?

Writing that “flows” is easy to read smoothly from beginning to end. Readers don’t have to stop, double back, reread, or work hard to find connections between ideas. Writers have structured the text so that it’s clear and easy to follow. But how do you make your writing flow? Pay attention to coherence and cohesion.

Coherence—global flow

Coherence, or global flow, means that ideas are sequenced logically at the higher levels: paragraphs, sections, and chapters. Readers can move easily from one major idea to the next without confusing jumps in the writer’s train of thought. There’s no single way to organize ideas, but there are common organizational patterns, including (but not limited to):

  • Chronological (e.g., a history or a step-by-step process)
  • Grouping similar ideas (e.g., advantages / disadvantages; causes / effects)
  • Moving from large to small (e.g., national to local) or vice versa (local to national)
  • Assertion, evidence, reasoning (e.g., an argument essay)
  • Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion (e.g., lab reports)

More than a single organizational strategy can be present in a single draft, with one pattern for the draft as a whole and another pattern within sections or paragraphs of that draft. Take a look at some examples:

Assignment: Describe how domestic and international travel has changed over the last two centuries.

Primary pattern: chronological Additional pattern: grouping

Travel in the 19th century: Domestic travel. International travel. Travel in the 20th century: Domestic travel. International travel.

Assignment: “Analyze the contribution of support services to student success.”

Primary pattern: Assertion, evidence Additional patterns: various

(Assertion) Students who actively use support services have a better college experience (Chronological) Story of first-year student’s difficult experience in college (Grouping) Social and psychological reasons students may avoid using resources (Evidence) Research on academic resources and academic performance (Evidence) Research on self-care resources and student well-being (Chronological) Story of student’s much-improved second-year experience in college

Even though there are various patterns, there’s also a certain logic and consistency. If your readers can follow your organization and understand how you’re connecting your ideas, they will likely feel as though the essay “flows.”

You can also preview your organization through signposting. This strategy involves giving your readers a roadmap before they delve into the body of your paper, and it’s typically found near the beginning of a shorter essay or at the end of the first section of a longer work, such as a thesis. It may look something like this:

“This paper examines the value of using resources in university settings. The first section describes the experience of a first-year student at a top-tier university who did not use resources. The following section describes possible reasons for not using them. It then describes the types of resources available and surveys the research on the benefits of using these resources. The essay concludes with an analysis of how the student’s experience changed after taking advantage of the available support.”

Analyzing coherence

Try these two strategies to analyze the flow of your draft at the global level.

Reverse outlining

A reverse outline allows you to see how you have organized your topics based on what you actually wrote, rather than what you planned to write. After making the reverse outline, you can analyze the order of your ideas. To learn more about reverse outlining, you can watch our demo of this strategy , or read our Reorganizing Drafts handout for a more in-depth explanation. Some questions to consider:

  • How am I ordering ideas? Can I describe the pattern?
  • Why are the ideas presented in this order? Would they make more sense if I reorder them?
  • What effect does the order of ideas have on my readers?
  • How would reordering the information affect my paper?

Color coding

You can use color coding to group similar ideas or ideas that are connected in various ways. After sorting your ideas into differently colored groups, figure out how these ideas relate to one another, both within color groups and between color groups. For example, how do blue ideas relate to one another? How does this blue idea connect to this yellow idea? We have a short color coding demo that illustrates using the strategy before you draft. The reverse outlining demo above illustrates this strategy applied to an existing draft.

Cohesion—local flow

Cohesion, or local flow, means that the ideas are connected clearly at the sentence level. With clear connections between sentences, readers can move smoothly from one sentence to the next without stopping, doubling back, or trying to make sense of the text. Fortunately, writers can enhance cohesion with the following sentence-level strategies.

Known-to-new sequencing

Readers can process familiar (“known”) information more quickly than unfamiliar (“new”) information. When familiar information appears at the beginning of sentences, readers can concentrate their attention on new information in later parts of the sentence. In other words, sequencing information from “known to new” can help enhance the flow.

The paragraphs below illustrate this sequencing. They both contain the same information, but notice where the known and new information is located in each version.

1. The compact fluorescent bulb has become the standard bulb for household lamps. Until recently, most people used incandescent bulbs in their lamps. Heating a tungsten filament until it glows, throwing off light, is how this type of bulb operates. Unfortunately, approximately 90% of the energy used to produce the light is wasted by heating the filament.

2. The compact fluorescent bulb has become the standard bulb for household lamps. Until recently, most lamps used incandescent bulbs. This type of bulb operates by heating a tungsten filament until it glows, throwing off light. Unfortunately, heating the filament wastes approximately 90% of the energy used to produce the light.

The second version flows better because it follows the known-to-new strategy. In the second paragraph, notice how “household lamps” appears in the “new” position (the end of the sentence), and in the next sentence, “most lamps” appears in the “known” position (or beginning of the sentence). Similarly, “incandescent bulbs” appears for the first time in the “new” position, and then “this type of bulb” appears in the “known” position of the next sentence, and so on.

In this example, the new information in one sentence appeared in the known position of the very next sentence, but that isn’t always the case. Once the new information has been introduced in the later part of a sentence, it becomes known and can occupy the beginning part of any subsequent sentence.

Transitional expressions

Transitions indicate the logical relationships between ideas—relationships like similarity, contrast, addition, cause and effect, or exemplification. For an in-depth look at how to use transitions effectively, take a look at our transitions handout . For an explanation of the subtle differences between transitional expressions, see our transitions (ESL) handout .

Clear pronoun reference

Flow can be interrupted when pronoun reference is unclear. Pronouns are words like he, she, it, they, which, and this. We use these words to substitute for nouns that have been mentioned earlier. We call these nouns “antecedents.” For example,

Clear reference: Active listening strategies help you learn. They focus your attention on important lecture content.

It’s clear that “strategies” is the antecedent for “they” because it’s the only noun that comes before the pronoun. When there’s more than one possible antecedent, the choice may be less clear, and the cohesion won’t be as strong. Take a look at the example below.

Unclear reference: I went by the bookstore earlier and bought some textbooks and notebooks for my classes, but I’m going to have to return them because I bought the wrong ones.

Here, “them” could refer to two antecedents: the textbooks or the notebooks. It’s unclear which of these purchases needs to be returned, so your reader may have to pause to try to figure it out, thus interrupting the flow of the reading experience. Generally, this problem can be fixed by either adding another noun, or rephrasing the sentence. Let’s try both strategies by adding a noun and breaking the sentence in two.

Clear reference: I went by the bookstore earlier and bought some textbooks and notebooks for my classes. I’m going to have to return the textbooks because I bought the wrong ones.

Now, it is clear what needs to be returned.

A common cause of confusion in a text is the use of “which.” Look at this example:

Unclear reference: I’ve begun spending more time in the library and have been getting more sleep , which has resulted in an improvement in my test scores.

Does “which” here refer to spending more time in the library, getting more sleep, or both? Again, let’s solve this by splitting it into two sentences and changing our wording:

Clear reference: I’ve begun spending more of my free time in the library and have been getting more sleep. These habits have resulted in an improvement in my test scores.

Here’s another example of “which” being used in a sentence. In this sentence, “which” only has one antecedent, the roommate’s habit of staying up late, so it is clear why the writer is having difficulties sleeping.

Clear reference: My new roommate tends to stay up late, which has made it hard for me to get enough sleep.

This/these + summary noun

Another way to clarify the reference of pronouns like “this” or “these” is to add a summary noun. Look at this example:

The school board put forth a motion to remove the school vending machines and a motion to move detention to the weekend instead of after school. This created backlash from students and parents.

In the sentence above, “this” is vague, and could be referring to a number of things. It could refer to:

  • The removal of vending machines
  • The moving of detention
  • Both motions

We can make this sentence more clear by adding something called a “summary noun,” like so:

The school board put forth a motion to remove the school vending machines, and a motion to move detention to the weekend instead of after school. These motions created backlash from students and parents.

By adding “motions,” the sentence can now only refer to both motions, rather than either individually.

Parallel structure

Parallel structure means using the same grammatical structure for things that come in sets. The similarity creates a rhythm that helps the writing flow.

Not parallel: walking, talked, and chewing gum

Parallel: walking, talking, and chewing gum

Not parallel: teenagers…people in their thirties…octogenarians

Parallel: people in their teens…people in their thirties…people in their eighties

Not parallel: To perform at your peak, you will need to get enough sleep each night, read the material and prepare questions before class every day, and be eating nutritious, well-balanced meals.

Parallel: To perform at your peak, you will need to get enough sleep each night, read the material and prepare questions before class every day, and eat nutritious, well-balanced meals.

Getting to the verb

Academic writers often disguise actions as things, making those things the subject of the sentence.

This change is called “nominalization” (“changing a verb to a noun”). It can be a useful strategy, but it can lead to excessively long subjects, pushing the verb far away from the beginning of the sentence. When there are too many words before the verb, the connection between the verb and the subject may not be clear. Readers may have to look backward in the sentence to find the subject, interrupting the flow of their reading.

Look at this example:

Student government’s recent decision to increase the rental fee on spaces that student groups reserve in the Union for regular meetings or special events, especially during high demand periods of the semester like homecoming week or the Week of Welcome but not during low-demand periods like midterm or finals week, elicited a response from several groups that were concerned about the potential impact of the change on their budgets.

“Student government’s decision…elicited a response.” There are 50 words before the verb “elicited” in this sentence! Compare this revision:

Student government recently decided to increase the rental fee on spaces that student groups reserve in the Union for regular meetings or special events, especially during high demand periods of the semester like homecoming week or the Week of Welcome but not during low-demand periods like midterm or finals week. This decision elicited a response from several groups that were concerned about the potential impact of the change on their budgets.

By changing the thing “decision” into the action “decided,” we’ve created a sentence with just two words before the verb, so it’s very clear who did what. We’ve also split the longer sentence into two, keeping the verb “elicited” and adding “this decision.”

Look for nouns that have underlying actions and try turning them into verbs near the beginning of your sentence: decision–>decide; emergence–>emerge; notification–>notify; description–>describe; etc.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Ruszkiewicz, John J., Christy Friend, Daniel Seward, and Maxine Hairston. 2010. The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers , 9th ed. Boston: Pearson Education.

Towson University. n.d. “Pronoun Reference.” Online Writing Support. https://webapps.towson.edu/ows/proref.htm .

Williams, Joseph, and Joseph Bizup. 2017. Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace , 12th ed. Boston: Pearson.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Make a Gift

The Write Practice

5 Smooth Tricks to Make Your Writing Flow

by Joslyn Chase | 0 comments

You craft your story, scene by scene and sentence by sentence, stringing one word to the next with loving care. But what if, when your reader picks it up, the whole thing falls apart?

5 Smooth Tricks to Make Your Writing Flow

You don’t want that happening. Continuity is the thread that stitches your story into a coherent package, holding it together and making it a pleasure to read. So how do you make your writing flow?

Writing Flow: It’s All About the Transitions

As writers, we spend a lot of time trying to get our words just right. We learn how to put together effective sentences and arrange them in paragraphs. We learn how to construct a scene with all the necessary elements to hold a reader’s attention.

We learn how to create each piece of the story, but very little consideration goes toward the points of transition between those pieces. And that’s where lies the greatest risk of your reader putting down the book and walking away.

In Elizabeth George’s wonderful book Write Away , there’s a chapter titled, “Knowledge is Power, Technique is Glory.” Here’s a bit of wisdom I culled from that chapter:

“Once you have the hang of writing paragraphs that are cohesive, you’re ready to think about how to link them together so as to create a seamless narrative. This is a large part of what will propel a reader through your story, and you affect this propulsion by bridging together paragraphs, scenes, events, or actions. Bridging through the creation of transitions maintains the narrative’s smooth flow.”

She then presents a series of paragraphs from Deception on His Mind , and shows how they link together from the last sentence of one paragraph to the first sentence of the next, making the writing flow smoothly. She adds, “When you write with an awareness of bridges and transitions, you create an experience for the reader that is seductive and mysterious.”

Transitions provide both sentence level cohesion, as well as the glue needed to hold things together on the paragraph level.

A Look at the Micro

Let’s start by examining some ways to transition from sentence to sentence or paragraph to paragraph. In the Elizabeth George example I mentioned above, she goes on to explain that the ending sentence of one paragraph is either directly related to the first sentence of the next paragraph, or acts as a prompt.

For example, if you end a paragraph like this: “Mary wasn’t sure how she felt about Brian’s leaving.” Then it’s natural to begin the next paragraph by explaining Mary’s ambivalence: “On the one hand, she would miss him terribly. On the other hand…”

This example is rather obvious, but it makes the point. Lead the reader along a logical sequence of narrative thought, and they’ll happily go with the flow. It sounds like a no-brainer, but it’s surprising how often writers lose the thread without realizing it.

Five Techniques for Stitching Together the Small Pieces

How  exactly do you transition smoothly from one sentence to the next? From one paragraph, one idea, even one word to the next?

Try these five techniques to smooth out your story and create beautiful writing flow in every line.

1. Repetition/Overlap

This technique is exactly what it sounds like: repeat the same idea at the end of one section and the beginning of the next.

Here's an example in a paragraph:

[A long paragraph, ending with . . .] In the morning, things would look brighter. But morning brought a sullen storm that matched Kelsey’s depression.

And here's an example in dialogue:

“You’re just looking for someone to take the blame.” “I’m looking for someone who deserves the blame.”

2. Matching sentence structure

This works well for connecting short, snappy pieces at the end of a longer piece.

She’d win. He knew it. She always did.

Note how I gave that last sentence an extra punch by giving it its own paragraph.

“Get out.” “You first.” “You wish.”

3. Turn it around

Finish a sentence or paragraph with one side of the coin, then flip it over to begin the next.

Here's an example:

[A paragraph ending with this sentence . . .] The difficulty arose because Tara didn’t understand what drew her to Steve. With Mark, the attraction had been all too apparent.

And another example:

Peggy would find another job. She’d contact the agency, submit her resume, and— [A new paragraph detailing the explanation might begin here.] And miss every moment of this.

4. Stimulus and response

Again, this stimulus and response, also known as cause and effect , business sounds as if it should go without saying. But it’s a trouble spot for a lot of writers and a powerful tool to have in your toolbox, so give it a little attention.

Mike tossed the car keys to Sarah. [stimulus] She reached out a hand to snag them, [response] but they bounced off her forearm and hit the pavement, skittering into the gutter.

5. Sequel pattern

In his book Scene & Structure , Jack M. Bickham introduces a dandy way to create the thread of continuity we’ve been discussing. He calls it “Scene and Sequel.” It’s a lot more complex than I can get into here, but I wanted to point out the pattern he uses for his sequels: Emotion—thought—decision—action.

After an action scene, the character will have an emotional response, which will lead to thoughts about the action and response, which will leave her with a decision to be made. That decision will lead to another action, and so it begins again.

This is an organizational pattern that is highly effective.

Big Picture Mechanics

We’ve looked at some techniques for achieving continuity and writing flow in the small spaces of your story. Let’s touch on some things you can do to create a sense of unity throughout your entire story.

1. Consistent details

By this, I mean using details that weave a consistent thread throughout the story, especially in terms of tone and atmosphere.

Think about the imagery and language you’re using and stay true to the overall picture you want to portray. Like an architect who designs his buildings to fit the environment and plans the landscaping to suit the building so that a harmonious whole is created.

2. Unify around theme

In my article on immersing your reader in the setting of your story , I talked about using a central element or symbol to bind the moving pieces of your story into a coherent whole.

I used the example of a river. Establish the importance of the river early on. You don’t have to state this—simply describe it in significant detail, and your reader will sense its substance.

Then refer back to the river at certain points and that river becomes the thematic ribbon running through your story.

3. Character traits or features

This is similar to #2, but centers on the attributes of your characters. For instance, you might have a character who walks with a cane and that cane comes into play, symbolically and physically, throughout the story.

The imagery creates a flow of ideas that offer cohesion.

4. Setup and payoff

Keeping up a running sequence of setups and payoffs creates continuity, propelling your reader forward.

Little efforts that pay off big

By learning how to achieve continuity in your writing, you magnify your efforts into something magnificent. This is the type of synergy Aristotle had in mind when he coined the phrase: “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

Continuity is a powerful thing.

Are you aware of continuity and writing flow when you read a book?  Tell us about it in the comments .

You probably already use many of these methods without even thinking about it. But as my mentor always tells me, being aware of a technique gives your subconscious permission to use it.

So, let’s focus on awareness and write a scene of at least six paragraphs woven together with a thread of continuity. Remember to use at least two or three of the techniques discussed in the article to increase your awareness of them.

If you’d like to use a prompt, choose one of these:

Two strangers meet at a birthday party.

Chad goes to bed in the year 2020, and wakes up in 1849.

Barnaby’s hotel is going under and he has to let the staff go.

Write for fifteen minutes . When you’re finished, post your work in the Pro Practice Workshop , and be sure to provide feedback for your fellow writers!

' src=

Joslyn Chase

Any day where she can send readers to the edge of their seats, prickling with suspense and chewing their fingernails to the nub, is a good day for Joslyn. Pick up her latest thriller, Staccato Passage , an explosive read that will keep you turning pages to the end. No Rest: 14 Tales of Chilling Suspense , Joslyn's collection of short suspense, is available for free at joslynchase.com .

How to Write an Underdog Story Readers Will Cheer For

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Submit Comment

Join over 450,000 readers who are saying YES to practice. You’ll also get a free copy of our eBook 14 Prompts :

Popular Resources

Best Resources for Writers Book Writing Tips & Guides Creativity & Inspiration Tips Writing Prompts Grammar & Vocab Resources Best Book Writing Software ProWritingAid Review Writing Teacher Resources Publisher Rocket Review Scrivener Review Gifts for Writers

Books By Our Writers

Of Scales and Fur – Book Three: Celine

You've got it! Just us where to send your guide.

Enter your email to get our free 10-step guide to becoming a writer.

You've got it! Just us where to send your book.

Enter your first name and email to get our free book, 14 Prompts.

Want to Get Published?

Enter your email to get our free interactive checklist to writing and publishing a book.

Five Tips to Make Your Essay “Flow”

how do you make essay flow

Photo by “Maksym Yymchyk” on Unsplash.

This post was written by Sydney Nicholson, a second-year master’s student in the English Department.

Dear writer,

Have you ever wondered what it takes to make an essay “flow”? In my time as a writing center tutor, I’ve noticed that this is one of the most common questions our clients ask. It is my hope that this blog post will not only provide some clarity on what writers mean when they talk about flow but also provide you with a few tips and tricks that you can use to address this concern.

When we talk about flow, what we are really asking is whether the individual ideas in our essay come together to create a coherent whole. In other words, we want to know if our ideas “hang together” in a way that makes logical sense to the reader. In order to address our concerns about flow, it can be helpful to break this question down further and ask:

  • Does my essay have one clear goal?
  • Does each sentence in my paragraph support the point I want to make in that paragraph?
  • Does the paragraph that expresses those ideas support the point I am making in my essay as a whole?

Since you are familiar with the subject you are writing about, it can be challenging to address the flow of your essay. When you read through your essay, your brain knows why you are making each of your points and why those points are connected. Unfortunately, because those connections are apparent to you, you can forget to explain those connections to your reader. Effective writers use a number of tools to see their paper with new eyes and put themselves in the reader’s shoes. Here are five of my favorites:

  • Think of your thesis as a kind of itinerary for your paper

Tour guides give their clients an itinerary that tells them where the tour will end and what they will see along the way. An effective thesis is like an itinerary; it not only tells the reader what you are going to say but it also gives the reader a sense of how you are going to arrive at that conclusion. When you write a thesis that tells the writer how you will arrive at your end goal, you become a guide for your reader. You prepare them for each of your main topics so that they aren’t surprised or caught off guard when they come to a new section of your paper. Just as no one wants their tour guide to take them to The Haunted Mansion when they were expecting to visit Splash Mountain, no one wants to be caught off guard by a paper that took a turn they didn’t expect!

Here is an example of a thesis that only tells the reader where a paper will go: This paper argues that John Williams was inspired by Gustav Holst’s orchestral suit The Planets.

Here is an example of a thesis that tells the reader where the paper will go AND how the author will get there: This paper argues that John Williams was inspired by Gustav Holst’s orchestral suit The Planets by comparing the tonal patterns in “Mars: The Bringer of War” to the Imperial March.

  • Write topic sentences that are “mini-theses”

Pay particular attention to the first sentence of each of your paragraphs. These sentences are key to guiding your reading through your ideas and they can make or break the flow of your essay. When you write a topic sentence, you want it to do three things:

  • Tell the writer what they will know after reading that paragraph
  • Explain how that paragraph is related to the one that came before it
  • Use key words from the prompt to reassure your reader that this paragraph is responding to the central question of the paper

Here’s an example topic sentence: In addition to using religion as an active tool against nature, the four survivors also utilized religion to wield power over their inner conscience.

This topic sentence uses the key words “religion” and “power” to prove that this paragraph relates back to the essay prompt which asked the writer to explain how Vasco da Gama and his crew used religion as a tool of power in the New World. Its first phrase briefly sums up the main idea of the previous paragraph and explains that this paragraph provides an additional example of how the four survivors used religious as a tool of power. Finally, the topic sentence clearly tells the reader what this paragraph is about when it states that four survivors utilized religion to wield power over their inner conscience.

  • Use a graphing activity to see how your sentences relate to one another

how do you make essay flow

Photo by “Andre Taissin” on Unsplash.

In an essay that has a coherent flow, each paragraph will have one central point. Within that paragraph, the individual sentences will work together to develop that idea. To see whether your sentences are working together to develop one concept, use this graphing activity. Here’s how it works:

  • Copy and paste your paragraph onto a blank page
  • Put each sentence on its own line.
  • Read through your paragraph sentence by sentence
  • When you see a sentence that further explains the sentence that came before it, press tab and indent it. When you see a sentence that isn’t connected to the idea that came before it, do not indent that sentence at all.

In a paragraph where all of the sentences hang together to form a coherent whole, you should notice that each sentence is indented a bit further than the last one. Here’s an example of a graphed paragraph from an advertisement analysis essay:

how do you make essay flow

The last sentence in your paragraph should “zoom out” and restate the main claim of the paragraph. Thus, it should be similar to your topic sentence. You can represent this similarity by keeping your concluding sentence flush to the left edge of the page.

  • Never assume that your reader will understand why you are connecting two thoughts together without your help.

If you make your reader guess why you include a quote or a particular piece of information they might guess incorrectly. You are the expert on this topic and it is your job to show the reader why the quote that you include or that really interesting piece of information about the Trojan Horse is actually connected to your main topic about the way that technology can become a tool for deception.

  • Read your paper aloud to a friend or schedule an appointment at the UWC:

Reading your paper out loud to a friend or writing consultant is a great way to make sure that the order of your essay makes sense to someone who isn’t familiar with your topic. If you would like to make an appointment at the Baylor University Writing Center to work on the flow of your essay, please come visit us on the second floor of the Moody Library or make an appointment online at www.baylor.mywconline.com

' src=

yifan_zhang1

One comment.

I really enjoyed this article, thank you for sharing useful information. Regards, David, author of the blog https://exampleessay.com/

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • Sites @ Baylor University

COMMENTS

  1. Does my paper flow? Tips for creating a well-structured essay.

    A sure way to improve your paper is to strengthen the way you present your argument. Whether you only have a thesis statement or already have a fully-written essay, these tips can help your paper flow logically from start to finish.

  2. Making Your Writing Flow - UAGC Writing Center

    Good academic writing should flow, which means it should be easy to read with ideas logically connected to one another from one sentence to the next. It should also have coherence between paragraphs so that the overall ideas within a paper build off one another in an organized way.

  3. Flow – The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at ...

    Writers have structured the text so that it’s clear and easy to follow. But how do you make your writing flow? Pay attention to coherence and cohesion. Coherence—global flow. Coherence, or global flow, means that ideas are sequenced logically at the higher levels: paragraphs, sections, and chapters.

  4. 5 Smooth Tricks to Make Your Writing Flow - The Write Practice

    How do you make your writing flow, so each line and idea leads smoothly into the next? These five techniques will give you the word-by-word secrets of flow.

  5. Writing Flow: How to Make Your Writing Flow - MasterClass

    A few simple writing tips can help you focus on flow and improve the overall quality of your writing.

  6. Five Tips to Make Your Essay “Flow” - Baylor University

    Pay particular attention to the first sentence of each of your paragraphs. These sentences are key to guiding your reading through your ideas and they can make or break the flow of your essay. When you write a topic sentence, you want it to do three things: Tell the writer what they will know after reading that paragraph