ACT Preparation / Unit 6 ACT 0521 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Fixing a Paragraph's Flow
The idea
To fix a paragraph that does not flow, work in four steps. First, check the order: does each sentence follow from the one before, with pointing words after what they point to? Second, check each transition against the relationship it claims. Third, remove transitions that only repeat a signal. Fourth, check that tense and person hold steady from first sentence to last.
In practice
Worked example, an invented paragraph: "We trained all spring for the regional meet. Therefore, the weather turned cold that day. Additionally, we run our best times anyway. However, we finished only third." Therefore claims the training caused the cold, which it did not, so it goes: "On the day, the weather turned cold." Additionally claims an added point, but running well despite the cold is a contrast: "Even so." And run slides into the present, so ran. Revised: "We trained all spring for the regional meet. On the day, the weather turned cold. Even so, we ran our best times. However, we finished only third."
Where people slip
Fixes interact: changing one transition can change what the next one must signal. Reread the whole paragraph after each change.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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