"Flow" refers to the logical progression or thread that guides the reader through your work. This will depend on your assignment and may vary from a "narrative" that leads your reader through your discussion, to taking a stronger stance with a line of reasoning that builds a case. Often that stance gets stronger as you move up the academic levels and you develop "your voice".
- Clarity - there is no short cut to this - you need to read and digest the information so you are clear what you want to say. This sets the agenda for everything else - the structure, evidence to include, line of reasoning.
- Plan - organise your information into key points and subsidiary points. Essays generally start with a broad topic and then narrow down.
- Use paragraphing (see Structure above) to ensure a clear structure. You can use a reverse outline approach to check this. You should be able to sum up each paragraph in a couple of words. This will give you an outline of what you have written about. Is it in the best order?
- Check your paragraph coherence. Is everything in there relevant to the key point of that paragraph or have you gone off topic?
- Signpost your reader - use major signposts to direct the reader and linking words to develop flow and make your thinking clearer.
Take a look at the video below for an overview of constructing a persuasive argument
