How to meet reader expectation at the paragraph level

12 min read

What's discussed in this post

• What is cohesion and why is it important?
• What is the known-new contract and how does it apply to paragraphs?
• The 3 paragraph patterns
• The repeated topic paragraph pattern
• The known-new paragraph pattern
• The information paragraph pattern
• Quick tips
• Further study

​What is cohesion and why is it important?

Cohesion refers to how sentences connect to create a natural flow and a unified whole. It’s all about reader expectation. Reader expectation is set through the opening sentence, and reader expectation is met by making every subsequent sentence in that paragraph the result of that opening sentence as well as the preceding sentence, paragraph, etc.

When reader expectation is not met, the narrative may read awkwardly, causing the reader’s concentration to break briefly or the reader to backtrack to glean meaning out of what they just read. This disrupts the reader’s immersion and gives them the opportunity to put down your book! No one wants that.

This guide explains how to meet reader expectation at the paragraph level with the known-new contract, so you can revise your writing for cohesion with confidence.

​What is the known-new contract and how does it apply to paragraphs?

As explained in my post, “How to meet reader expectation at the sentence level,” the known-new contract is how the reader learns new information: by connecting it to what they already know. If you struggle with meeting the known-new contract, your sentences may provide only new information consecutively, creating a choppy, disconnected flow.

At the paragraph level, the known-new contract begins with the opening sentence. Reader expectation is set in that first sentence because it tells the reader what is coming.  Essentially, the first sentence of every paragraph acts as a topic sentence, and the sentences that follow act like subtopics or supporting details. ​

Additionally, every sentence after the first sentence should be directly affected by the sentence before it. Therefore, reader expectation is met when the sentences that follow stick to the topic introduced in the first sentence, and the sentences have new information relating to that topic and the sentence before it.

The 3 paragraph patterns

​There are 3 paragraph patterns that every writer should be aware of:

1. The repeated topic pattern
2. The known-new paragraph pattern
3. The information pattern

Let's take a look at each pattern with examples.

​The repeated topic paragraph pattern

As inferred in the name of the pattern, the repeated topic paragraph pattern takes full advantage of repetition as a cohesive tool. The topic presented in the first sentence becomes the known information for the full paragraph, and this known information regularly remains in the subject position, although the phrasing of the subject may change to synonyms, related words, or pronouns to create variety.

This paragraph pattern works for:

• Following the action, thoughts, and emotions of a single character
• Descriptions
• Reflective, self-examining, or character-processing paragraphs

Examples

I have a speech prepared—Charlotte and I rehearsed over coffee this morning—and I recite it. It involves a little bit of groveling, a little bit of flattery, some self-deprecation, and a fair amount of regret. It ends with a concession: “Though it isn’t what I envisioned for the room, it is a beautiful piece of furniture for such an important scene, and I’m sure that it will have mass appeal without sacrificing style.” – Pg. 89, Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

Here, LaCour introduces the topic of “a speech” that the narrator has prepared, and then uses the repeated pronoun “It” to refer back to the topic, the speech, while adding supporting detail to create depth to the speech without us having to hear it all. The pronoun “it” doesn’t have any other meaning until the direct speech quote. Not only is it a prime example of the repeated topic paragraph pattern, but it’s also a great example of balancing showing and telling with description. (If you want to study description, I highly recommend Everything Leads to You!)

She lit her first cigarette on the walk home, the click-hiss-exhale an instant sort of soothing. Hannah held her hand out and examined the way the thing looked between her fingers. She’d never been a big smoker, before. But without the drinking, she needed something else to latch onto. Her writing was the healthy version of that. The smoking, not so good. But it worked, as a way not to drink. — Pg. 115-116, This Is What It Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow

Like LaCour, Barrow uses a repeated pronoun and its antecedent to move the reader through this paragraph. Unlike the LaCour example, the topic of this paragraph—Hannah’s relationship to smoking—is not stated outright, but it is no less clear through her lighting the cigarette and the act of smoking instantly soothing her. Barrow then uses not only a repeated pronoun and its antecedent (Hannah, she, her) but also related words (cigarette, click-hiss-exhale, the thing, a big smoker, something, that, the smoking, it, a way not to drink). 

The known-new paragraph pattern

The known-new pattern allows the topic of the sentence to progressively change throughout the paragraph by using the new information in one sentence as the known information in the next. So, the information in the predicate becomes the subject of the next sentence, and each sentence after the topic sentence acts either as a subtopic of the first sentence, or a supporting detail of the sentence directly before it.
 
This type of paragraph pattern works for:

• Introducing a new setting (character walks into a room)
• Reflective, self-examining, or character-processing paragraphs
• Introducing a new character to a scene
• The cause and effect of two or more character’s actions
• The cause and effect of a setting on a character

Examples

I plop across from him, even as my phone buzzes with a text. Miach, letting me know he’s in the parking lot. It’s not that he’s afraid to come in, but after I told him about Becca’s mom, he got all quiet and told me he’d wait in the car from now on. — Pg. 187, Never Saw You Coming, Erin Hahn

Here, Hahn uses the known-new contract to introduce a new character to this scene. The predicate of the first sentence, even as my phone buzzes with a text, sets up the introduction and leaves the reader asking Who? The question is answered immediately as the subject of the next sentence: Micah. We then find out what Micah’s doing, what his motivations are, and why.

He’s left alone again, and pulls a hand through his curls as he gets closer to the band. It’s these three girls going hell for leather up there, and the music’s good, but what catches Elliot right away is the girl in the front, singing. — Pg 26, This Is What It Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow

​This is a short paragraph of 2 sentences and therefore highlights cohesion at the sentence level as well as paragraph level. Barrow uses the known-new contract to introduce multiple characters to the narrator’s life: he sees the band, and we find out who is in the band.

​The information paragraph pattern

In the information pattern, each sentence after the first sentence is a supporting detail of the topic. The supporting details act as subtopics, and they are all known information because they are in the same domain as the topic sentence. They are information that a reader expects as relevant.

This works for:

• Description
• Internal debate

Examples

I pull up in front of her house. The shutters in the front windows are closed; junk mail sticks out of the box by the door. A few small pots of pink flowers line the path to the door, surrounded by a bright green lawn. — Pg. 152, Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

See? I told you that you should read Everything Leads to You if you want to study description! LaCour uses the information pattern here to describe a character’s house. Each subject in the independent clauses that follow I pull up in front of her house is a subtopic: the shutters in the front windows, junk mail, a few small pots. Even though it’s all new information, it’s what the reader would expect to learn about a house, and therefore it acts as known information to them.

I sometimes wonder if he’s ruined me for anyone else. Which, admittedly, is pretty effed up. One, we’re days into our unofficial relationship. Slow your roll, Hennessey, and all that. And two, the entire idea that a single person has that much power over you, that they could ruin you forever, taint you and stain your existence with only a kiss, is disgusting. — Pg. 140, Never Saw You Coming, Erin Hahn.

Here, Hahn uses the information pattern for an introspective paragraph. The topic is the narrator wondering if he’s ruined her for anyone else and how effed up that is (Hahn uses a fragment here for dramatic effect, but the first two sentences are one idea). Each subject of the subsequent sentences act as subtopics staying in the domain of her explaining why that thought is effed up. 

Quick tips

• The first sentence of every paragraph is the topic sentence. Every sentence after the topic sentence should be affected by the sentence directly before it and related to the topic sentence in some way.
• Begin a new paragraph anytime the doer, speaker, time, place, or main idea changes.
• Limit the number of characters thinking, acting, and speaking to one.
• Cohesion is sometimes called coherence when referring to paragraphs. The concepts of cohesion/coherence also apply between paragraphs, scenes, and chapters.
• Use “Therefore” and “But” between sentences, paragraphs, scenes, and chapters to test for cohesion. If you find yourself using “and then,” the link might not be strong enough.

Further study

• "How to meet reader expectation at the sentence level"
• “Lesson Five: Cohesion and Coherence,” and “Lesson Eight: Global Coherence” in Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace, 12th edition, by Joseph M. Williams and Joseph Bizup
• “Chapter 9: Cohesion,” Rhetorical Grammar: Grammatical Choices, Rhetorical Effects, 8th Ed., Martha Kolln and Loretta Gray
• “To Paragraph or Not to Paragraph,” 5 Editor’s Tackle the 12 Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing, by C.S. Lakin (ed), with Linda S. Clare, Christy Distler, Robin Patchen, and Rachel Starr Thomson