How to make your writing flow from one sentence to the next
When writing doesn't flow, the problem is usually a missing link: a sentence starts somewhere new and the reader can't see how it follows. This guide shows how to make those links visible.
Why it matters
Readers fill gaps by guessing the relationship. When they guess wrong, or can't guess, the argument reads like a list of separate claims.
What you can do
Name the relationship
Add a word that says how the ideas relate: but, because, so, for example, as a result.
Ask yourself: How does this sentence relate to the one before: does it contrast, explain, give an example, or follow from it? Can the reader tell?
Show an example
BeforeSales rose in March. The company cut its forecast.
AfterSales rose in March. Even so, the company cut its forecast.
Start with what the reader already knows
Open the sentence with an idea from the previous sentence, then add the new information.
Ask yourself: What does this sentence share with the previous one? Does the shared idea come first?
Show an example
BeforeThe city built a new bridge. Traffic downtown fell by a third after the opening.
AfterThe city built a new bridge. Once it opened, traffic downtown fell by a third.
Point back with a summary phrase
Use this or that with a noun to name the previous idea before building on it.
Ask yourself: Could you name the previous idea in two or three words, and start from there?
Show an example
BeforeSchools moved classes online. Attendance became harder to track.
AfterSchools moved classes online. That shift made attendance harder to track.
Add the missing step
If the jump between two sentences is large, add a sentence that bridges it.
Ask yourself: If you explained this jump out loud, what would you say in between?
Show an example
BeforeRents doubled in five years. Teachers are leaving the district.
AfterRents doubled in five years. Most teachers' salaries did not. Many are now leaving the district.
When to leave it as it is
You are deliberately starting a new topic and a heading or paragraph break already signals the turn.
See it in a real text
Prosemetry raises this in paragraph 6 of Assessing Eukaryotic Biodiversity in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary through Environmental DNA Metabarcoding by Natalie A. Sawaya and colleagues. Open the sample at that paragraph to see the note as a writer would, read-only.
See it in your own draft
Prosemetry reads your Word document and marks the passages where this happens, so you know where to look. It doesn’t rewrite anything; the revising stays yours. Free to try, no account needed.
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