Editing for Cohesion

Overview

Lesson 15 of 30 in Exploring Speculative Perspectives. Students revise a speculative-fiction paragraph for clarity and flow, focusing on topic sentences, logical sequencing, cohesive devices, pronoun reference and purposeful links between ideas.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• identify features that make a paragraph cohesive and easy to follow
• revise a draft by improving its topic sentence, sequencing and supporting details
• select cohesive devices suited to the relationship between ideas
• explain how editing choices affect a reader’s understanding of a speculative perspective

Success criteria

• I can identify the main idea and purpose of a paragraph.
• I can arrange sentences so ideas develop logically.
• I can use cohesive devices accurately and avoid unclear pronoun references.
• I can explain at least two changes I made and why they improve the paragraph.

Curriculum links

• Creating and editing imaginative texts for intended audiences and purposes.
• Organising ideas into coherent paragraphs with appropriate sequencing.
• Using cohesive devices, including conjunctions, connectives, pronouns and repeated or related vocabulary.
• Reviewing and refining language choices, sentence structure, spelling and punctuation for clarity and effect.

Lesson structure (70 minutes)

1. 0–7 minutes – Hook: When does a paragraph ‘flow’? Open with the opening hook and scrambled paragraph. Display a short speculative paragraph in which sentences are out of order and pronoun references are unclear. Students read silently, then discuss with a partner: “What makes this difficult to follow?” Collect two or three observations.

2. 7–18 minutes – Explicit teaching: the cohesion toolkit Use the cohesion teaching slides to introduce four editing checks: a clear topic sentence, logical sentence order, cohesive devices, and precise references. Model revising a paragraph about a young person discovering that their town’s memories are being erased. Think aloud while adding a connective, replacing a vague “it”, and moving a sentence to improve progression.

3. 18–28 minutes – Guided analysis Distribute the cohesion editing worksheet. Students examine a model paragraph and annotate its topic sentence, supporting details, connectives and repeated or related vocabulary. Pause for whole-class checking using the guided analysis prompts. With ten students, invite each student to explain one editing decision rather than relying on volunteers.

4. 28–43 minutes – Collaborative paragraph repair In pairs, students complete the worksheet’s paragraph-repair task. They number scrambled sentences, insert or replace cohesive devices, and clarify pronoun references. Each pair must be prepared to justify one change using the frame: “We changed ___ because ___.” Circulate, prompting students to check whether every sentence connects to the paragraph’s main idea.

5. 43–58 minutes – Independent revision of own writing Students select a paragraph from their speculative-fiction draft or use the short draft supplied on the worksheet. They revise independently, using the four-question checklist on the independent editing instructions: What is my main idea? Does each sentence develop it? Are links between ideas clear? Can the reader identify what each pronoun refers to? Students underline one cohesive device and circle one sentence they substantially improved.

6. 58–66 minutes – Peer feedback conference Students exchange paragraphs with a partner. The reviewer reads once for meaning, then gives feedback on flow using two prompts from the peer-review section: “A place that flows clearly is…” and “A place that could connect more clearly is…”. Writers decide which suggestion to accept and make one final revision. Remind students that feedback should address clarity and cohesion, not rewrite the author’s ideas.

7. 66–70 minutes – Plenary and exit reflection Display the plenary questions. Students respond orally or in one sentence: “Which editing strategy made the biggest difference today?” and “How can cohesion help a reader understand a character’s perspective?” Collect the worksheets or photograph revised paragraphs for assessment.

Resources

• the complete lesson slide deck
• the cohesion editing worksheet
• Students’ speculative-fiction drafts
• Exercise books or devices
• Pens, highlighters and coloured pencils
• Board and markers
• Timer

Assessment

• Observe guided and pair work for students’ ability to identify topic sentences, logical order and cohesive devices.
• Review the revised paragraph for a clear main idea, connected supporting details, accurate references and effective sequencing.
• Use the peer-review response and plenary explanation as evidence that students can explain the purpose of their editing choices.

Differentiation

• Provide a colour-coded version of the model paragraph and a small bank of connectives such as however, therefore, meanwhile, because and as a result for students requiring support.
• Allow students with language, literacy or processing needs to revise a shorter paragraph, work with a trusted partner, use text-to-speech or dictate explanations.
• For EAL learners, explicitly contrast pronouns and repeated key nouns, and provide sentence frames: “This sentence connects because…” and “The reader understands ___ when I…”.
• Extend confident writers by asking them to vary cohesion deliberately, replacing repeated nouns with precise related vocabulary while maintaining clarity and the intended speculative tone.