Compare two short passages.
Public transport reduces dependence on private cars. This reduction in car use can lower congestion.
And:
Congestion can be lowered by reductions in car use. Public transport reduces dependence on private cars.
Both contain similar ideas.
The first is easier to follow because sentence two begins from information already active in the reader’s mind.
Good information flow often moves from given information to new information.
What is “given” information?
Given information is material the reader can already identify from earlier text, the shared situation or common knowledge.
It provides a landing point.
What is “new” information?
New information is what the sentence adds.
It advances the paragraph.
A useful pattern is:
given → new
Then the new information can become the given starting point of the next sentence.
A chain example
The school introduced a digital homework system. The system allowed teachers to return feedback more quickly. Faster feedback helped students correct errors before the next assignment.
Each sentence begins from something established and adds something new.
The paragraph advances without sudden jumps.
This is different from merely repeating words
The writer may repeat a noun, use a pronoun, a synonym or a summarising phrase.
digital homework system → the system → faster feedback
The important point is continuity of meaning.
Why students produce “jumping” paragraphs
Every sentence introduces a fresh noun or idea:
Technology helps learning. Motivation is important. Teachers need training. Phones can distract students.
All four ideas may belong to education.
The reader still has to infer the route.
Topic similarity is not enough.
The sentence beginning is powerful
Readers use the beginning to orient themselves.
If a sentence begins with a completely new concept, the reader has to rebuild the frame.
If it begins from an established concept, the reader can attach the new information more easily.
The sentence ending often carries emphasis
New or important information frequently appears later in a clause.
The main problem with the proposal is its dependence on unreliable data.
The sentence leads the reader towards the important new point.
This is not a rigid law, but it is a useful default.
Information flow improves paragraph cohesion
Connectors such as however or therefore can signal logic.
Given–new structure gives the reader a referential route.
Both can work together.
Reference phrases are useful bridges
Instead of:
This shows…
write:
This contrast shows…
This reduction shows…
This behaviour suggests…
The noun tells the reader how to classify the previous information.
Given–new structure helps complex explanations
Science:
Water evaporates from the surface. This water vapour rises and cools. The cooling can cause condensation.
History:
The government raised taxes. The higher tax burden increased resentment. This resentment later contributed to protest.
The same language mechanism carries different subject knowledge.
Do not force every sentence into one pattern
Writers sometimes begin with new information for emphasis, contrast or narrative surprise.
The useful principle is not a mechanical rule.
It is a reader-aware default:
when clarity matters, begin from a stable point before adding complexity.
A practical revision method
For each sentence, mark:
G — what the reader already knows.
N — what the sentence adds.
Then ask:
Does the next sentence connect to the previous N?
If not, is the jump intentional?
Parent-friendly practice
Take three sentences from a textbook and ask:
What information repeats?
What is new?
How does sentence two know sentence one exists?
This turns flow into something visible.
Hilary Mantel as a high-level lens
One broad lesson from controlled long-form prose is that information arrives in a managed sequence. The reader is oriented before the next detail gains weight.
The lesson is sequencing and perspective, not imitation.
AI and information flow
AI can produce paragraphs that are grammatically smooth but conceptually jumpy.
A useful audit is:
For each sentence, identify what it takes from the previous sentence and what it adds.
Sentences with no recoverable link may signal drift.
Connections eduKateAI can learn
given information → stable reference point → new information
new information at sentence N → possible given information at sentence N+1
information ordering → reader working-memory cost
AI paragraph → given/new audit → detect jumps
The public principle is that sentence order is a reader-interface decision. Good prose helps new information attach to something already known.
Related eduKateSG resources
Research basis
This article draws on current discourse and information-structure research, cohesion guidance and reader-processing principles.