How Can I Improve the Transition between Sentences in my Paragraphs?

We can improve transitions between sentences by integrating what is called an "old–new pattern"—a pattern of nouns that links sentences in a paragraph by putting the information already presented in a paragraph—the "old" information—at the beginning of the sentence and placing new information—that which the reader has not yet read about—at the end of the sentence. The old–new pattern improves the flow of the narrative in a paragraph. The pattern also helps the reader to work through the paragraph, moving from familiar to new information.

Importance of the Old/New Pattern

Why is this important? Why use the old/new pattern in our writing? Well, if we as writers are going to write for our audience and put the readers' needs as our priority and focus on helping the reader to consume the information and follow through with the purpose for which our writing is intended, then we must present information simply and in a way that the reader can work through easily, effectively, and efficiently.

In addition, this pattern reflects how we learn. We review information that we already know and establish that strong foundation and then we build on that with new information.

Readers must be able to work through the text without having to make an effort to read. If they need to stop reading during the process to figure out poorly presented and choppy text that does not transition well, they will lose motivation, especially in online documents, and move to another source for that information.

Instruction for Old/New Pattern

The first sentence of a paragraph is all "new"—that is, the writer has not presented that information yet to the reader. The second paragraph then needs to begin with a noun—a person, place, thing, or idea—that the writer presented in the second sentence and then link that to new information. The third sentence then begins with any noun that was presented in the first two sentences, and so on. This creates a flow of information, much like the links of a chain, that connects the sentences to each other and allows the reader to progress through the paragraph with the movement of the topics, the subjects.

I encourage my students to begin learning how to write with the old/new pattern by labeling each noun with a letter of the alphabet. So, the first noun in the first sentence of a paragraph is "A," the second is "B," and so on. Then, in the second sentence, consider the first noun: have you presented that noun, that topic, before? If so, then label it with the same letter you used in the first sentence; if not, then you need to rewrite the sentence to integrate the old–new pattern in that sentence. Rewrite to begin with information you have already presented and then move to information to which the reader has not yet been exposed.

For example, in this previous paragraph, note that I used "I," "students,""old/new pattern," "noun," "letter," and "alphabet" in the first sentence. I then began the next sentences with "noun," a word I'd already introduced in the first sentence. In the second sentence, I introduced "sentence," and I began the third sentence with reference to the "second sentence." Thus, I linked my sentences by beginning them with nouns (a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea) that I introduced earlier in the paragraph.

By using the old/new pattern, writers create a better flow and help their readers to transition more easily from sentence to sentence and thought to thought.