The problem
Something students, in fact all writers, perhaps especially lawyers, often struggle with is the flow of their text. We work with arguments, ideas and concepts that develop as we systematically work our way through the material. As we think about and write, we are continuously building a mental reference framework which guides us through the complex maize we call law and, more specifically, our argument. We might not always be aware thereof, but this framework makes our thought and writing much clearer to us than to, say, a reader of our work. Our poor readers, who are not privy to this mental goldmine, need to be taken by the hand and led through our writing to make sense of things.
To our reader, a well-structured piece of writing is like finding something in a familiar area. A poorly structured piece of writing is like attempting to find something in an unfamiliar area, when your map uses unknown conventions and representations and where everyone speaks an unfamiliar language. When finding the logic in our writing means marks for us, we could all agree that we want to aid our readers as far as possible.
A solution
Two things can be done to improve your flow. One is to group things by their respective units,[1] the second is to use your first sentence to tie things together. Grouping means keeping like things together and finishing one part of your discussion before moving to the next.[2]
Regarding the first sentence in a paragraph: By doing this, you present the most important part of your paragraph first to provide the reader with a snapshot of the argument or points you wish to make. The longer you delay this, the longer your reader struggles to grasp where your writing is headed and this can lead to frustration. Your heading itself is an important tool which can help your reader grasp the main arguments you will make. Headings used in conjunction with good introductory sentences ease the reading of your work, makes it memorable and even delights your reader where you have made the effort to create compelling substantive arguments. If you have subheadings (e.g. 2 1 and 2 2), then present a short overview of the direction for those under your main heading (e.g. 2). You then do not need to repeat yourself under your subheadings since the reader already understands how those fit into the bigger scheme.
In summation, focus on the bigger picture of your writing and remember that your reader needs your help to find their way through your text and that they know only what you tell them.
– Piet Kotzé
[1] B Royal The little red writing book (2004) 29.
[2] 29.
