Name the logical relationship
Put two sentences side by side and the reader assumes a connection; if you don't name it, they have to guess — so say "because," "but," "therefore" out loud.
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Set two statements next to each other and the reader will assume there is a logical relationship between them — it's how comprehension works, what linguists call Grice's maxims. The catch: if you don't spell out which relationship, the reader has to invent one, and smart readers feel stupid when your logic is actually sound but invisible.
How it works
Make the connective explicit. Between any two ideas there is a relation — cause, consequence, contrast, condition, concession — and a small word that names it: because, therefore, but, however, although, if, when. "We tested the system. It failed." leaves the reader to guess. "We tested the system, but it failed completely" hands them the relationship for free. The same move works inside the sentence: keep a clear subject-and-verb core, express the real action as a verb rather than a buried noun, and link your cores with these connectors instead of stacking clauses and hoping.
Why it matters
Readers don't complain that you dropped a connector; they say your writing is "confusing" or "hard to follow," and they blame themselves or you without ever naming the cause. Every relationship you leave implicit is a small tax on attention — enough of them and a reader with sound material still quits. Naming the relationship is most of what people mean when they call prose "clear" and "logical."
Try it
- Find two adjacent sentences and ask what the relationship is — cause, contrast, condition? Then put the word in.
- If a sentence runs more than eight words before its main verb, rebuild it around a clear subject-verb core.
- Turn buried actions ("made a decision") back into verbs ("decided"), then join your cores with because / but / so / although.
Common pitfalls
Over-signposting — sprinkling "moreover" and "furthermore" where no real relationship exists, which is just noise in a cardigan. Connectors earn their place only when they name a relationship the reader would otherwise have to guess at.
When you present two items side by side, readers automatically assume that there's some logical relationship between them.
WILLIAM · 7 FIRST-DRAFT MISTAKES · 2025
An unnamed relationship is a bill you hand the reader to pay.
Drawn from
- William, 7 First-Draft Mistakes I Fix All the Time (Writer Science, 2025).
- Joseph M. Williams, Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace — logical connection and sentence cohesion.
- Related: Characters as subjects, actions as verbs, Chain old information to new.
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