Paragraph Cohesion

PROCEDURAL

English›Grammar & Punctuation|Ages 10—11|ID: mt_hjtbA3g-Nn

Link ideas across paragraphs using a wider range of cohesive devices including word repetition, grammatical connections such as adverbials, and ellipsis to create coherent extended texts

Mastery Evidence

Use adverbials such as 'on the other hand' and 'as a consequence' to connect paragraphs
Apply ellipsis to avoid repetition while maintaining clarity across sentences
Create cohesion by repeating key words or using synonyms to link ideas between paragraphs

Assessment Prompt

“When [child] writes a long piece across several paragraphs, do the sections feel connected — with repeated key words, linking phrases, and occasional gaps (ellipsis) used deliberately to hold the whole text together?”

Curriculum Standards1 alignment

Eng.App2.Y6.Text.1The national curriculum in England

Cohesive devices

Linking ideas across paragraphs using a wider range of cohesive devices: repetition of a word or phrase, grammatical connections [for example, the use of adverbials such as on the other hand, in contrast, or as a consequence], and ellipsis

English · Key Stage 2

Prerequisites2

Cohesion within paragraphs
hardAges 9—11
Linking paragraphs with adverbials
hardAges 9—11

Show full prerequisite tree

Cohesion within paragraphs hard
Extended cohesive devices builds on cohesion within paragraphs
- Pronouns for clarity soft
  Pronoun cohesion is a key cohesive device; prior work on choosing pronouns for clarity feeds directly into paragraph-level cohesion
  - Pronouns hard
    Pronoun cohesion and reflexive pronouns build on basic pronoun usage
    - Building sentences soft
      Sentence concept supports understanding pronoun function
    - Basic Nouns & Verbs hard
      Must know what nouns are before replacing them with pronouns
- Organising Writing into Paragraphs hard
  Cohesion within paragraphs requires paragraphing knowledge; learners must organise text into paragraphs before learning to build cohesion within them
  - Building Writing Stamina hard
    Paragraph organisation requires writing for different purposes
    - Joining Letters soft
      Joined handwriting supports sustained writing stamina
      - Forming Capital Letters soft
        Capital letter formation supports correct sizing in joined writing
        
        Sitting and holding a pencil hard
        Master lowercase formation before capitals
      - Sitting and holding a pencil hard
        Joining letters builds on Y1 lowercase letter formation
    - Expressing Feelings with Words soft
      Writing about real events draws on the ability to put feelings into words — the SEL skill of expressing emotions verbally before encoding them in written form
      - Triggers and Causes of Feelings soft
        Expressing feelings in words benefits from understanding triggers
        
        Feelings Change and Differ soft
        Identifying triggers benefits from knowing feelings change
        
        Naming Basic Emotions soft
        Understanding feelings change benefits from naming basic emotions
      - Simple Calming Strategies soft
        Expressing feelings in words benefits from calming down first
        
        Naming Basic Emotions soft
        Calming strategies benefit from naming the emotion you're trying to manage
        
        Words for Big Feelings hard
        Calming strategies (calm, breathe, settle) rely on knowing this vocabulary to name and apply the techniques
    - Writing to inform soft
      Informative writing skills support writing for different purposes
      - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
        Informative writing requires knowing 'genre', 'audience', 'purpose', and 'detail' as concepts
      - Saying Sentences Before Writing Them hard
        Oral rehearsal precedes informative writing
        
        Describing Aloud soft
        Oral description supports oral rehearsal
        
        Expressing & Justifying Opinions soft
        Oral expression skills support understanding formality in speech
        
        Group discussions soft
        Conversational skills support oral description
        
        Listening and responding hard
        Listening and responding foundational to conversation
        
        Exploring Ideas Through Talk soft
        Conversational skills provide foundation for evaluating viewpoints
        
        Feeling of not understanding soft
        Using talk to explore ideas and speculate requires noticing what you don't yet understand — the comprehension-monitoring habit in a spoken register
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
        
        Building sentences hard
        Need to understand sentences for oral rehearsal
        
        Writing Process Vocabulary hard
        Oral composition requires vocabulary like 'compose', 'sentence', and 'sequence' to participate meaningfully in the exercise
    - Simple Stories with Beginning and Ending hard
      Writing about real events builds on narrative writing skills
      - Rote counting to 100 soft
        Sequencing events in narrative writing draws on the ordinal/sequential thinking developed through counting
        
        One-to-one counting hard
        One-to-one correspondence requires knowing the number name sequence
      - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
        Writing simple narratives requires 'narrative', 'sequence', 'beginning', 'middle', 'ending' as shared vocabulary
      - Saying Sentences Before Writing Them hard
        Oral rehearsal precedes written narrative
        
        Describing Aloud soft
        Oral description supports oral rehearsal
        
        Expressing & Justifying Opinions soft
        Oral expression skills support understanding formality in speech
        
        Group discussions soft
        Conversational skills support oral description
        
        Listening and responding hard
        Listening and responding foundational to conversation
        
        Exploring Ideas Through Talk soft
        Conversational skills provide foundation for evaluating viewpoints
        
        Feeling of not understanding soft
        Using talk to explore ideas and speculate requires noticing what you don't yet understand — the comprehension-monitoring habit in a spoken register
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
        
        Building sentences hard
        Need to understand sentences for oral rehearsal
        
        Writing Process Vocabulary hard
        Oral composition requires vocabulary like 'compose', 'sentence', and 'sequence' to participate meaningfully in the exercise
      - Characters, settings, and events soft
        Story elements from reading inform writing
        
        Listening to Texts Read Aloud hard
        Need to engage with stories before identifying elements
      - Sitting and holding a pencil soft
        Handwriting needed for written narrative
    - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
      Writing for different purposes requires the vocabulary of purpose, genre, recount, and instruction
  - Simple Stories with Beginning and Ending hard
    Organising paragraphs requires narrative writing ability
    - Rote counting to 100 soft
      Sequencing events in narrative writing draws on the ordinal/sequential thinking developed through counting
      - One-to-one counting hard
        One-to-one correspondence requires knowing the number name sequence
    - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
      Writing simple narratives requires 'narrative', 'sequence', 'beginning', 'middle', 'ending' as shared vocabulary
    - Saying Sentences Before Writing Them hard
      Oral rehearsal precedes written narrative
      - Describing Aloud soft
        Oral description supports oral rehearsal
        
        Expressing & Justifying Opinions soft
        Oral expression skills support understanding formality in speech
        
        Group discussions soft
        Conversational skills support oral description
        
        Listening and responding hard
        Listening and responding foundational to conversation
        
        Exploring Ideas Through Talk soft
        Conversational skills provide foundation for evaluating viewpoints
        
        Feeling of not understanding soft
        Using talk to explore ideas and speculate requires noticing what you don't yet understand — the comprehension-monitoring habit in a spoken register
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
      - Building sentences hard
        Need to understand sentences for oral rehearsal
      - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
        Oral composition requires vocabulary like 'compose', 'sentence', and 'sequence' to participate meaningfully in the exercise
    - Characters, settings, and events soft
      Story elements from reading inform writing
      - Listening to Texts Read Aloud hard
        Need to engage with stories before identifying elements
    - Sitting and holding a pencil soft
      Handwriting needed for written narrative
  - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
    Organising into paragraphs requires 'paragraph', 'heading', 'theme', and 'organisation' as named concepts
Linking paragraphs with adverbials hard
Extended cohesive devices builds on basic paragraph linking
- Fronted Adverbials and Commas soft
  Fronted adverbials are one of the key mechanisms for linking paragraphs (e.g. Meanwhile, Later that day)
  - Commas in lists soft
    Comma after fronted adverbial extends comma usage introduced for lists
    - Building sentences soft
      Understanding sentences supports knowing where to place commas
    - Starting and Ending Sentences hard
      Must know basic punctuation before learning comma usage
      - Building sentences hard
        Must understand sentences before punctuating them
  - Expressing Time, Place and Cause hard
    Fronted adverbials build on understanding conjunctions, adverbs, and prepositions to express time and cause
    - Prepositions hard
      Using prepositions for time/cause builds on Y1 prepositions
      - Listening and responding soft
        Listening and responding supports learning prepositions
    - Subordinate clauses hard
      Time/cause conjunctions extend Y2 subordination/co-ordination
      - Listening and responding soft
        Listening skills support understanding complex sentence structures
      - Building sentences hard
        Must understand sentences before combining clauses
      - Four Types of Sentences soft
        Understanding sentence types supports creating complex sentences
        
        Building sentences hard
        Must understand what a sentence is before learning sentence types
        
        Starting and Ending Sentences hard
        Must know basic sentence punctuation before varying it by type
        
        Building sentences hard
        Must understand sentences before punctuating them
      - Joining Words with 'And' hard
        Must be able to join with 'and' before learning subordination and other co-ordinating conjunctions
        
        Building sentences hard
        Must understand sentences before joining them
- Cohesion within paragraphs hard
  Linking across paragraphs builds on within-paragraph cohesion; learners must achieve cohesion within paragraphs before linking between them
  - Pronouns for clarity soft
    Pronoun cohesion is a key cohesive device; prior work on choosing pronouns for clarity feeds directly into paragraph-level cohesion
    - Pronouns hard
      Pronoun cohesion and reflexive pronouns build on basic pronoun usage
      - Building sentences soft
        Sentence concept supports understanding pronoun function
      - Basic Nouns & Verbs hard
        Must know what nouns are before replacing them with pronouns
  - Organising Writing into Paragraphs hard
    Cohesion within paragraphs requires paragraphing knowledge; learners must organise text into paragraphs before learning to build cohesion within them
    - Building Writing Stamina hard
      Paragraph organisation requires writing for different purposes
      - Joining Letters soft
        Joined handwriting supports sustained writing stamina
        
        Forming Capital Letters soft
        Capital letter formation supports correct sizing in joined writing
        
        Sitting and holding a pencil hard
        Master lowercase formation before capitals
        
        Sitting and holding a pencil hard
        Joining letters builds on Y1 lowercase letter formation
      - Expressing Feelings with Words soft
        Writing about real events draws on the ability to put feelings into words — the SEL skill of expressing emotions verbally before encoding them in written form
        
        Triggers and Causes of Feelings soft
        Expressing feelings in words benefits from understanding triggers
        
        Feelings Change and Differ soft
        Identifying triggers benefits from knowing feelings change
        
        Naming Basic Emotions soft
        Understanding feelings change benefits from naming basic emotions
        
        Simple Calming Strategies soft
        Expressing feelings in words benefits from calming down first
        
        Naming Basic Emotions soft
        Calming strategies benefit from naming the emotion you're trying to manage
        
        Words for Big Feelings hard
        Calming strategies (calm, breathe, settle) rely on knowing this vocabulary to name and apply the techniques
      - Writing to inform soft
        Informative writing skills support writing for different purposes
        
        Writing Process Vocabulary hard
        Informative writing requires knowing 'genre', 'audience', 'purpose', and 'detail' as concepts
        
        Saying Sentences Before Writing Them hard
        Oral rehearsal precedes informative writing
        
        Describing Aloud soft
        Oral description supports oral rehearsal
        
        Expressing & Justifying Opinions soft
        Oral expression skills support understanding formality in speech
        
        Group discussions soft
        Conversational skills support oral description
        
        Listening and responding hard
        Listening and responding foundational to conversation
        
        Exploring Ideas Through Talk soft
        Conversational skills provide foundation for evaluating viewpoints
        
        Feeling of not understanding soft
        Using talk to explore ideas and speculate requires noticing what you don't yet understand — the comprehension-monitoring habit in a spoken register
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
        
        Building sentences hard
        Need to understand sentences for oral rehearsal
        
        Writing Process Vocabulary hard
        Oral composition requires vocabulary like 'compose', 'sentence', and 'sequence' to participate meaningfully in the exercise
      - Simple Stories with Beginning and Ending hard
        Writing about real events builds on narrative writing skills
        
        Rote counting to 100 soft
        Sequencing events in narrative writing draws on the ordinal/sequential thinking developed through counting
        
        One-to-one counting hard
        One-to-one correspondence requires knowing the number name sequence
        
        Writing Process Vocabulary hard
        Writing simple narratives requires 'narrative', 'sequence', 'beginning', 'middle', 'ending' as shared vocabulary
        
        Saying Sentences Before Writing Them hard
        Oral rehearsal precedes written narrative
        
        Describing Aloud soft
        Oral description supports oral rehearsal
        
        Expressing & Justifying Opinions soft
        Oral expression skills support understanding formality in speech
        
        Group discussions soft
        Conversational skills support oral description
        
        Listening and responding hard
        Listening and responding foundational to conversation
        
        Exploring Ideas Through Talk soft
        Conversational skills provide foundation for evaluating viewpoints
        
        Feeling of not understanding soft
        Using talk to explore ideas and speculate requires noticing what you don't yet understand — the comprehension-monitoring habit in a spoken register
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
        
        Building sentences hard
        Need to understand sentences for oral rehearsal
        
        Writing Process Vocabulary hard
        Oral composition requires vocabulary like 'compose', 'sentence', and 'sequence' to participate meaningfully in the exercise
        
        Characters, settings, and events soft
        Story elements from reading inform writing
        
        Listening to Texts Read Aloud hard
        Need to engage with stories before identifying elements
        
        Sitting and holding a pencil soft
        Handwriting needed for written narrative
      - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
        Writing for different purposes requires the vocabulary of purpose, genre, recount, and instruction
    - Simple Stories with Beginning and Ending hard
      Organising paragraphs requires narrative writing ability
      - Rote counting to 100 soft
        Sequencing events in narrative writing draws on the ordinal/sequential thinking developed through counting
        
        One-to-one counting hard
        One-to-one correspondence requires knowing the number name sequence
      - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
        Writing simple narratives requires 'narrative', 'sequence', 'beginning', 'middle', 'ending' as shared vocabulary
      - Saying Sentences Before Writing Them hard
        Oral rehearsal precedes written narrative
        
        Describing Aloud soft
        Oral description supports oral rehearsal
        
        Expressing & Justifying Opinions soft
        Oral expression skills support understanding formality in speech
        
        Group discussions soft
        Conversational skills support oral description
        
        Listening and responding hard
        Listening and responding foundational to conversation
        
        Exploring Ideas Through Talk soft
        Conversational skills provide foundation for evaluating viewpoints
        
        Feeling of not understanding soft
        Using talk to explore ideas and speculate requires noticing what you don't yet understand — the comprehension-monitoring habit in a spoken register
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
        
        Building sentences hard
        Need to understand sentences for oral rehearsal
        
        Writing Process Vocabulary hard
        Oral composition requires vocabulary like 'compose', 'sentence', and 'sequence' to participate meaningfully in the exercise
      - Characters, settings, and events soft
        Story elements from reading inform writing
        
        Listening to Texts Read Aloud hard
        Need to engage with stories before identifying elements
      - Sitting and holding a pencil soft
        Handwriting needed for written narrative
    - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
      Organising into paragraphs requires 'paragraph', 'heading', 'theme', and 'organisation' as named concepts

Unlocks1

Cohesion and Transitions Across Writing
hardAges 11—14