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Hey Reader,

WTF is cohesion, you ask?

Well, even if you didn’t, pretend you did because cohesion is one of the most important writing principles to learn. And one of the hardest edits to make.

Cohesion = flow.

Specifically, the flow between your sentences and paragraphs.

It comes from the verb “cohere,” which literally means “to stick together.”

If your sentences don’t stick together, your content will have friction. And friction is the death of an engaged reading experience.

But there’s no science to stickiness. It’s part frameworks, part feel, and a whole lotta practice, which is what makes it so hard to learn and even harder to edit.

You know me, though.

I love a good challenge.

So today, let’s unpack cohesion and see if we can put the fun in cohesion (I also love a good rhyme).

Cohesion tip #1:Every sentence must drive the narrative forward

When you walk, you put one foot in front of the other to move forward.

Duh.

Well, your sentences need to follow the same pattern. Because if you don’t forward the narrative, your reader is standing still. And standing still is boring.

Duh.

Except, so many people mess this up. They repeat themselves, go off on an unplanned tangent, make a clever metaphor that no one understands, or insert a cliché absolutely no one asked for.

If you do this, readers will walk in another direction. Their feet still work! It’s just your writing that doesn’t.

Burn.

So, how do you make sure each sentence drives the narrative forward?

Let’s look at an example.

Bad cohesion: People should do more volunteer work. I do it all the time. People don’t ask me about it enough. Especially not about that one time I spent all day on the beach. There was so much trash, but we cleaned it all up! Volunteer work is the gift that keeps on giving. It warms your heart and soul.

You can feel that, right? It’s an uncomfortable read. I’m not quite sure where the author is going. They didn’t tell us why we should do more volunteering, just that we should. Then they started a personal story but didn’t finish it. And then it was a cliched mess at the end.

We’re left with more questions than answers.

Good cohesion: People should do more volunteer work. It’s a great way to give back to the community, meet new people, learn new skills, and have fun. I’ve volunteered on many projects over the past decade, but my favorite experience was the day I spent on a beach in Vietnam. Hundreds of people showed up to clean the trash that’d piled up. We got through most of it, which is insane given how much plastic there was in the first place (which is a huge problem I won’t go into here). But we did it—we cleared the beach. And I made some great friends in the process. My heart felt as full as the dozens of trash bags I’d filled.

Omg, what a difference! You feel that, right? It’s smooth. There are details, but nothing is repeated. Every sentence moves the narrative to the next until we reach a happy ending.

Cohesion tip #2: Transitions are queen

Cohesion is all about connection, and transitions are the ultimate connectors.

To get meta, the conjunction “And” was my transition just now.

Without transitions, your writing is nearly impossible to follow.

But there are so many transitions to choose from. Which ones do you go with? And when?

Enter: Frameworks!

Here are some frameworks I made up just for this newsletter to help you structure your writing with some great transitions.

(If you ever reference the But Sandwich, I expect you to name me)

The But Sandwich

• Claim
• But
• So
• If

For example:

I love writing newsletters.

But they’re time-consuming.

So, I batch research, writing, and editing on different days to avoid overwhelm.

If you struggle like me, try it out. It’s zapped all stress from the process.

The Cautionary Tale

• For
• Yeah
• Before
• Consider

For example:

For as long as I can remember, good writing mattered.

Yeah, it takes time and hard work. All good things do.

Before you let a robot do it for you, consider this:

Less reps —> less strength

Are you prepared to suffer the consequences?

The X vs Y

• X, but Y
• Still
• So

For example:

Entrepreneurship is thrilling but risky.

Still, I wouldn’t trade setting my schedule and answering to me, myself, and I for anything.

So, cheers to a lifetime of self-reporting, self-doubt, and self-love.

It’s a rollercoaster, but at least I own the ride.

See? When you write with transitions in mind, it’s harder to repeat yourself or go off on a tangent.

Cohesion tip #3: One idea per paragraph or post

Notice how, in the examples above, I’m talking about one idea in each.

Never, ever, ever have more than one idea in a paragraph.

And never have more than one idea per post.

Remember the trusty five-paragraph essay we learned in school?

It had one thesis, and everything tied back to it. Imagine trying to argue three theses at once!

Then you wouldn’t have a theses, you’d have a three-ses.

Paragraphs are generally structured like so:

• Topic sentence
• Supporting sentence(s)
• Takeaway

In school, our paragraphs needed to be six to eight sentences. In content writing, two to four sentences are plenty.

Let’s break down an example from earlier:

Topic: I love writing newsletters, but they’re time-consuming.

Supporting sentences: So, I batch research, writing, and editing on different days to avoid overwhelm.

Takeaway: If you struggle like me, try it out. It’s zapped all stress from the process.

In each sentence, I’m talking about writing newsletters. One idea.

If I were to add another paragraph, it would have to forward the narrative.

I’ve got tons of options for where I could take it. My go-to would be to dive deeper into HOW I get it done.

This way, I’m giving the reader the details they need to do it themselves. That adds deeper value and builds my authority because it proves I practice what I preach.

But I could also veer into storytelling instead.

In that case, maybe my next paragraph would dive deeper into the series of events that led me to batch create in the first place.

I could detail my struggle. Perhaps emphasize just how much time it was taking me each week. Maybe get a little vulnerable and share that my stress levels got so high I was losing sleep.

A story like this would allow me to connect with my audience more deeply. It wouldn’t necessarily help them become better batch creators, but it would help people in similar situations reconsider their process and maybe give mine a go.

It all depends on your goal for your content. What feelings do you want to evoke? And what actions do you want readers to take?

No matter my path, I’d need to tie it back to the main idea: I love writing newsletters, but they’re time-consuming.

Cohesion tip #4: Redundancy kills flow

Paragraphs full of redundancy make me want to stab my eyeball.

It’s painful to read because it makes it impossible to forward the narrative.

Here’s an example of redundancy:

The biggest downside of sitting all day is that it can cause health problems. People who sit all day are at serious risk for health problems.

GAHHH.

These sentences say the same thing.

Here are several options for how we can fix it:

• Option 1: If you sit all day, you’re at risk for developing serious health problems.
• Option 2: Sitting all day can lead to serious health problems.
• Option 3: Did you know sitting all day can ruin your health?

It doesn’t matter how you say it: say it once, then move the narrative forward.

Here’s what the next sentences could look like:

• Next sentence: It puts you at a higher risk for obesity, diabetes, and depression.
• And the next sentence: The good news is that incorporating activity isn’t as hard as you think.

All together now:

• Full paragraph: Sitting all day can lead to serious health problems. It puts you at a higher risk for obesity, diabetes, and depression. The good news is that incorporating activity isn’t as hard as you think.

Ah, cohesion. Feels good, right?

Let’s recap

Cohesion = flow at the paragraph and sentence level. Here’s how to get it:

• Make sure every sentence drives the narrative forward
• Use transitions
• Write one idea per post and one idea per paragraph
• Kill redundancy

But what about coherence? Wtf is that?

Coherence = how well ideas are organized.

It’s the big developmental picture.

Cohesion is more at the sentence level.

I’ll dive deeper into coherence in another issue :)

Catch you next Sunday!

Erica

PS! More help and learning...

1. ​Get on the waitlist for my course, Content Editing 101. Next month, I'm re-opening my best-selling editing course, Content Editing 101. It kills decision fatigue, allows you to finally feel confident when writing, and saves you hours of editing time.
2. ​Learn to Increase Your Close Rate: My Power Your Platform business partner, Kasey Jones, is running a workshop next Friday, February 23rd, to help you increase your close rate on sales calls. She's a sales pro, so if you're anything like me and need to up your sales call game, I'd register.
3. ​Join Power Your Platform. My free newsletter with Kasey Jones helps you grow your business via social. If you love this newsletter you'll love that one, too.
4. Work with me 1:1: Want me to audit your writing? I'll take a look at a selection of your work and tell you where I think there's room for improvement. Reply here to chat with me about this.

What'd you think of today's issue? Reply here and I'll reply back :)

Erica Schneider

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