writing: 5 easy ways to make your paragraphs flow

5 Easy Ways To Make Paragraphs Flow

Copyright © 2008-2009 Teppei Suzuki 1 ScientificWritingGuide.com

“5 Easy Ways To Make Your Paragraphs Flow Even If You Are Not A Natural Writer” Have you ever been frustrated by seeing an awkward transition

from a paragraph to the next paragraph in your own writing and

not knowing how to fix it? I myself really wanted t o know how

to fix it and how to make paragraphs flow naturally . Finally,

here are 5 easy ways I want to share with you. I’m not a natural

writer, but these 5 techniques do work for me and I think they

will work for you. Here they are:

#1: Use Bridge Words

Using a bridge word can sometimes help you to creat e a natural

transition. What is a bridge word exactly? A bridge word is a

word that appears both in the last sentence of a pa ragraph and

in the first sentence of the next paragraph.

Here is an example:

…Together, these changes strengthen the synaptic

connections the neurons.

If glutamate produces a strong enough response or

excitation in a neuron, the nerve impulse can pass along to

the next neuron and the next…(C&EN, Sept 3, page 10 , 2007)

The last sentence of one paragraph ends with “…Toge ther, these

changes strengthen the synaptic connections the neu rons.” Then,

the first sentence of the next sentence starts with “If

glutamate produces a strong enough response or exci tation in

a neuron, the nerve impulse can pass along to the n ext neuron



and the next…” See? Using a bridge word neuron gives a natural

transition here. So next time you write, spend a li ttle time

in considering whether or not you can use a bridge word in your

writing.

#2: Use A Topic Sentence Per Paragraph

Using a topic sentence in a paragraph is an effecti ve way to

make your writing clear and strong. Once you determ ine which

sentence is your topic sentence, the function of th e rest of

the sentences is to support that topic sentence. Th is is

important. If a particular sentence doesn’t seem to support your

topic sentence, that means that particular sentence can be

eliminated from your paragraph. By doing this, you eliminate

side issues. However, this doesn’t mean you have to use topic

sentences all the time. If you break a long paragra ph into two

or three ones, they might not have a topic sentence . Shorter

paragraphs may have no topic sentence; longer parag raph may have

two topic sentences. But in general, you include on e topic

sentence in a paragraph, while you may break this r ule

occasionally.

#3: Use Short Paragraphs

It is a good idea to use short paragraphs occasiona lly. Why?

Because it gives your reader a short break. Ongoing long

paragraphs tend to be overwhelming and boring. On t he other hand,

people are pleased to read a short paragraph if it is concisely

packed. Also, effective use of short paragraphs cre ates rhythm

in your writing. And that’s a good thing.

#4: Avoid Side Issues



Don’t try to include everything. “An article is not everything

that’s true. It’s every important thing that’s true ,” said Gary

Provost. And that’s true. Your reader can be distra cted by side

issues; because, like it or not, the reader is not so tolerant

as you might assume. So eliminating side issues is crucial to

make your writing flow. If you find any sentence th at doesn’t

support a topic sentence, it is a good idea to cros s it off.

By the same token, if you find any paragraph that i s not directly

linked to your main points, you can eliminate that paragraph

completely. In other words, don’t include it in the first place.

#5: Make Your Writing Move Towards Only One

Direction, Paragraph By Paragraph

It is wise to avoid long transitions because long t ransitions

tend to distract your reader. Paragraph by paragrap h, the

logical progression of your writing should help you r reader to

walk towards only one direction (i.e., your main po ints), and

not hold them back. To put it simply, organize your writing in

a straightforward way.

An effective way is to pick up your topic sentences , outline

them, and see how your writing is organized. If you are like

me, you will have to reorganize the structure of yo ur writing.

That’s fine. Then, to create natural transitions be tween

paragraphs, you can use transition phrases such as, “However,”

“On the other hand,” “Another reason is,” “In addit ion to,” “To

understand this,” “For instance,” and so on. You ca n also use

bridge words as I talked about earlier.

By Teppei Suzuki, Ph.D.

writing: 5 easy ways to make your paragraphs flow

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