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.
