Effective writing is always functional, and unambiguous. We’d rather read what’s immediately clear, instead of wasting time trying to understand the poorly-composed writing. Effective writing brings readers back and helps you build an audience.

Effective writing requires the right use of letters (spelling), the right words (vocabulary) and sentence construction (grammar). Yet too often, we forget about using paragraphs properly.

We all know what teachers say about them. Ultimately, each paragraph should have only one point, to help keep things clear. But the transition between these ideas is also important.

In other words, your paragraphs must present a smooth and clear flow to your readers. The point you establish in one paragraph must relate to the next. Here’s an example from the BBN’s beauty blog, Kikay Kits:

I remember way back in my last year in college when I had my internship at L’Oreal, they said that Keihl’s was coming to the Philippines, and I waited, and waited. Reading this entry from the FashPack fully lightened up my day as this luxury skin care brand is going to open shop this October at Greenbelt 5!

Let’s just hope that the prices are competitive that we don’t need to go to Hongkong to hoard Kiehl’s products, specially the cult favorite , the Kiehl’s Lip Balm!

Do you see how the paragraphs relate to each other? The first one covers a product’s availability, then its price. You can’t get more related than that.

Keeping a cohesive flow between your paragraphs makes reading them much easier and more enjoyable. The reader spends less time figuring out your message, and more time understanding it.

So, the next time your write an email, blog post, or even an essay, keep your paragraphs in mind. It’s all well and good if you know how to spell, use the right words, and get your tenses right. But are you aware of how your paragraphs relate to each other?