Link your ideas effectively
What does is it mean to link my ideas?
- Linking your ideas, also known as cohesion, means guiding your reader through your text by clearly indicating the logical relationship between your ideas.
- This can be done within a single paragraph, between two different paragraphs, and across a whole text.
What does cohesive writing look like?
The following paragraph uses several techniques for guiding the reader through the development of ideas within the paragraph. Check out the questions below for explanations of the techniques used in this paragraph.
Question: What are the causes of diabetes and how can they be managed?
Click on the number for the annotates on the left side.
[1] One factor that can cause diabetes is poor diet, which refers to excess consumption of sugar and fats, and insufficient consumption of fruits, vegetables, and grains (Edmund, 2019). Carrie (2020) argues that diabetes can be managed by eating a healthier diet, [2] such as increasing the intake of vegetables, and reducing the intake of processed foods that are high in sugar and salt. However, diabetes is not only caused by behavioural factors. Research shows that genes also play a key role in determining the onset of diabetes (Smith, 2020). As a result, Smith has argued that dietary changes may not be enough to manage diabetes, and instead advocates for gene therapy as a more effective solution. [3] In summary, it is clear that management of diabetes must take into account all possible causes.
[1] The topic sentence makes clear what the focus of the paragraph is and how it connects to the assignment question.
[2] Linking words and phrases show the reader how the ideas are connected.
[3] The concluding sentence summarises the main ideas as well as linking to the topic of the next section (how to manage diabetes).
How do I link my ideas more effectively?
Ask yourself the following questions to check whether you have linked ideas appropriately in your writing. Click on each arrow to see more information about each question.
Am I using linking words to connect my ideas?
Linking words show the reader the logical relationship between your ideas. In the above paragraph, some of the linking words and phrases include:
- Such as - to give an example of what is meant by a healthier diet,
- However - to indicate that the writer is introducing research that contradicts a previously presented idea,
- As a result - to demonstrate the effect that new research has had on diabetes treatments.
The type of assignment question that you are responding to will affect the types of logical relationships between your ideas, and therefore the types of linking words you use.
- A case study comparing and contrasting two different companies is likely to feature linking words such as similarly, likewise, by comparison, by contrast, and however.
- A scientific report may describe how an experiment was conducted by using transition signals indicating sequence, such as firstly, then, after, during, and finally.
Am I repeating key words regularly to connect my answer to the assignment question?
Frequent use of key words from the assignment question also helps ensure that you are answering the question. For example, notice how the key words from the following assignment question have been used regularly in this paragraph to make it clear how the question is being answered:
What are the causes of diabetes and how can they be managed?
One factor that can cause diabetes is poor diet, which refers to the consumption of sugar and fats that outweighs the consumption of fruits, vegetables, and grains (Edmund, 2019). Carrie (2020) argues that diabetes can be managed by eating a healthier diet, such as increasing the intake of wholegrains and vegetables, and reducing the intake of processed foods that are high in sugar and salt. However, diabetes is not only caused by behavioural factors. Research shows that genes also play a key role in determining the onset of diabetes (Smith, 2020). As a result, Smith has argued that dietary changes may not be enough to manage diabetes, and instead advocates for gene therapy as a more effective solution. In summary, it is clear that management of diabetes must take into account all possible causes.
Are my topic sentences linking ideas across different paragraphs?
You also need to show how the ideas in different paragraphs are linked to each other. This can be done by using key words from the assignment question in the topic sentence of each paragraph. A suitable topic sentence for a follow-up paragraph to the example above, also using key words (or synonyms), would be:
Another common reason that people become diabetic is lack of exercise.
Similarly, to show the reader that the second part of the question is also being adequately addressed, key words can again be used.
The most effective ways to manage diabetes are to make improvements to diet and increase the amount of exercise.
The next paragraph would do the same.
Another way of limiting the impact of diabetes is to conduct gene testing at a young age.
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