Five Ways to Create Flow in Your Writing -->

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Five Ways to Create Flow in Your Writing

32 comments
At the Writing Center, we often talk about the flow in writing. While it’s a small word, flow incorporates many parts of writing, which can make it difficult to define and complicated to achieve. Creating flow involves using logical connections between ideas, strong topic sentences to start paragraphs, transitions to link sentences, concise wording, and a varied sentence structure.

Good flow in writing is like a good road trip

One commonality between these parts of writing is that they make the reader’s job easier. And, that’s essentially what flow is: Techniques and characteristics of good writing that make the writing easy for the reader to navigate and understand. In this way, good flow is a lot like a good road trip.


An idea that doesn't fit in a paragraph is like road construction. It impedes your reader's progress.

Logical connections

If I was writing a paper about the advantages of online education, I might first discuss how online education can be useful to people who are working adults, as well as people who live in rural areas. But what if I then talked about how students are more engaged when they live on campus?

Wait, what?

This last idea doesn’t fit with my other two ideas, so my reader will have to pause and try to understand the connection, thus interrupting the flow. This idea that doesn’t fit is like road construction. Both the unconnected idea and the construction impede progress, and the reader, like a driver, must take extra time and effort to try to figure out a way to get around the construction. But, remove the road block—the idea that doesn’t fit—and driver/reader has smooth sailing.

Topic sentences serve as informational sign posts for readers.
Topic sentences

In academic writing, topic sentences are the first sentences of a paragraph that tell the reader the focus of the paragraph. See how I used a topic sentence for this paragraph? My first sentence clearly told you, as the reader, that I was going to discuss topic sentences in this paragraph. Topic sentences act as informational sign posts so readers can anticipate what’s coming up ahead.


Transitions are like bridges in your writing. They help guide the reader between sentences, show the reader how to easily get from one sentence to the next.
Transitions

Transitions create flow by linking ideas and sentences. Writers can create transitions in a couple of ways: (1) using words like additionally or however to begin sentences and (2) repeating key terms or phrases between sentences. Transitions are like bridges between roads. They help guide the reader between sentences, showing the reader how to easily get from one sentence to the next, just like a bridge can bring you from one side of the road to the other safely and easily.


Clear and concise wording helps create flow in your writing.

Clear, concise wording.

Clear and concise wording also creates flow. Take this sentence: Online education, which means education in an online format where you are not face-to-face with your teacher or classmates, can help a student become more proficient in their area of expertise or field, which in turn can also help a student show leadership skills and receive a promotion or recognition for his/her good work at their job.

Whew, that’s a long one. Note all the phrases and ideas stacked on top of one another that the reader must navigate. Instead, I could have easily said: Online education helps students become proficient in their field, which can result in recognition for students in the form of a promotion. Much clearer! This sentence has the same meaning as my previous sentence, but is more concise and easier to follow. Using concise and precise wording is like creating a direct route in a road trip. Instead of taking your reader through all the winding back roads and causing car sickness, you’re taking the reader on the most direct route to your ideas.

Variety in sentence structure helps create flow.

Varied wording and sentence structure

Avoiding repetition creates flow by getting readers interested in your ideas and in the way you talk about your ideas. Think taking a long road trip through flat, rural countryside. Without variety in scenery, the drive can become boring pretty quickly. Variety in scenery—like variety in sentence structure—makes the journey more interesting.

Take these sentences, for example: Online education is beneficial for many students. Online education benefits many students in rural areas. Online education benefits many students working full-time jobs. My sentence structure is the same in each sentence (a simple subject + verb construction), and I repeat the words online education, benefit, and many students. Here’s another version that varies the sentence structure and wording, and thus is more engaging: Online education is beneficial for many students. In particular, students in rural areas and those working full-time jobs can find online education convenient and useful.


As you write, remember to use logical connections; topic sentences; transitions; clear, concise writing; and varied wording and sentence structure. If you can master these aspects, then you’re on your way to creating flow in your writing!


Editor's Note: In 2016, we expanded Beth's discussion of flow in academic writing. Our Instructors and Editors expanded on each one of these strategies in a full-length blog post. So, if you'd like more insight and instruction on any of these five categories, check out our Writing Center Greatest Hits Update: 5 Flow. Follow this link to access the expanded, in-depth discussion on increasing your writing's flow today!

Image of Beth Nastachowski




Writing Instructor and Coordinator of Webinar Writing Instruction Beth Oyler writes about literature in her spare time and enjoys contemplating the possibilities writing creates.

32 comments :

  1. Hi Beth,

    I just got this email from you. I will read this info concerning flow. I am on the 60 version and frankly almost about to give up. I just want this prospectus to go through and I have never in years of paper writing ever been through all of this.

    I appreciate your insight but I would like, as I am running out of funds, to finalize this prospectus and get on with the literature review.

    Thank you for corresponding with me so that I can achieve that.

    Russ

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  2. Hi, Russ, thanks for the note! I hope my feedback is helpful for you, and I encourage you to e-mail us at writingsupport@waldenu.edu. I'd be happy to chat more specifically about your writing and help you move forward with your draft, okay? Thank you! -Beth

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  3. Hello Beth,
    I have been on the prospectus so long that a middle school student had gone to high school, college, and headed to medical school. How is the best way to write a Background Literature? write what lit says about the topic, or what researches that had used the intervention being proposed did?

    Thank you

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  4. Very helpful and simple advice...thanks alot...i want to try :)

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  5. We hope you will give these tips a try, Ayatollah. Let us know how it goes!

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  6. I like how you gave examples and pictures.

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  7. This article is creative and helpful. Thanks!

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  8. Thanks to all of our commentors. 'Creating Flow' is one of the topics we get asked about the most here in the Walden U Writing Center. Keep your eyes open this summer for an entire series of blog posts dedicated to that fickle art of Flow :)

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  9. I am writing my prospectus now and looking for a good Sample. Also, I just saw in the writing center that they do not review Prospectus or any parts of the dissertation? Now I'm freaking out. LOL. Help. Maggie

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    Replies
    1. Hi there! Thanks so much for your comment. :) You can find a few examples of successful prospectus documents here (http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/doctoralcapstoneresources/phdpppa/prospectus).

      You're right that the Writing Center does not review prospectus or dissertation documents; however, there are a number of resources available to students at this stage in their program!

      See this page (http://academicanswers.waldenu.edu/faq/73271) to learn about these resources.

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  10. Thank you! This was very helpful!

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    1. You are so welcome, Jane. I'm so glad to hear that this was helpful. Thank YOU for your kind note. :) Have a great week!

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  11. That is amazing tips!
    Any idea to write summarize from passages ?
    Mostly, it's not logical (that what my native speaker friend told me).
    Thanks
    tazzy_cmu@hotmail.com

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    1. Hello, Worawit!

      Glad you found these tips helpful! Here is a link to our page on summarizing: http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/evidence/summary

      You might also want to review the information on paraphrasing linked on the sidebar of that page!

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  12. Thank you for sharing like this information. This is the most easy way of learning. This helps me to get some idea regarding this and helps me to bring a creative thought.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Robin! We are glad you find our blog useful!

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  13. We're glad our blog post was helpful for you, Gregor Renk!

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  14. Great, this one is really helpful for me

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  15. Thanks a lot, this was so much helpful for me.

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  16. Do you have to be a Walden student to use the writing center helps.

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    Replies
    1. You do not need to be a Walden student to access our website - academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter - but some of the resources are restricted to Walden students.

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  17. I just want this prospectus to go through and I have never in years of paper writing ever been through all of this.
    I appreciate all five awesome steps

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    Replies
    1. Most people writing a prospectus have never written one before! Your effort is going to pay off. Keep going! We're here to support you!

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  18. Thank you for the five ways to create flow. I will apply them to my writing!

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  19. Thanx for sharing such a great idea I will learn it so that I am able to write better essays and paragraphs and so that I am able to finish my assignments on time as well.

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    1. So glad you found this post helpfu, Dravid! Thanks for commenting!

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