Writing Flow: How to Make Your Writing Flow

Writing flow refers to the pace, cadence, or rhythm of a piece of writing. Good writing flow allows a reader to ease into the text without expending much mental energy—it has a natural feel that makes reading a breeze. Texts without good flow feel choppy and lack cohesion. The best way to establish good writing flow is to focus on word choice, varied sentence structure, and ensure solid coherence between your main points.

Good writing flow results from care and attention at both the sentence and paragraph levels. Consider these tips to improve the flow of a piece of writing:

• Ensure that paragraphs have a clear organizational structure. Solid paragraph structure is crucial in academic writing. The first sentence of every body paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that tells the reader the paragraph's main point. Specific examples should then support the topic sentence. If necessary, end the paragraph with a transition sentence leading to the proceeding paragraph. Learn how to write a perfect paragraph.
• Link sentences with pronouns. Clear pronoun references can create cohesion in your writing. Pronouns like “he,” “she,” “it,” and “they” refer to previously mentioned nouns (aka antecedents). For example, “The writing center provides helpful tools for first-time writers. It can also help experienced writers overcome writer’s block.” In this case, the pronoun “it” helps these two sentences flow together. Learn more about pronoun-antecedent agreement.
• Use transition words. Transition words—known as “signposts”—create a coherent train of thought by signaling to the reader that the next sentence is in some way related to the previous sentence. Some common signposts include “for example,“ “furthermore,” “therefore,” “however,” and “as a result.” Make sure that not every sentence begins with the same transition word. For example, if you start one sentence with “therefore,” use another word when starting the following sentences. Learn more about how to use transition words.
• Use varied sentence lengths. A combination of short and long sentences gives a piece of writing rhythm. In fiction writing, short sentences create forward movement. In academic writing, varied sentence lengths improve the flow of information by making the text easy to digest.
• Use varied sentence structures. Break up the monotony of a text by using different types of sentence structures. Good sentence flow makes use of simple, compound, and complex sentences. Simple sentences have a single independent clause: “I chopped the carrots.“ Compound sentences have two or more independent clauses: “I chopped the carrots, and Karen peeled the potatoes.“ Complex sentence structures have a single independent clause and one or more dependent clauses: “I added the vegetables to the pot after the water came to a boil.” Learn more about how to vary sentence structure in your writing.

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