Persuasive writing: connect paragraphs logically

Quick Answer

Put the paragraphs in an order where each one answers a question the last one raised, and begin each with a sentence that points back before moving on. A connective such as "furthermore" does not make the link by itself. This workshop from Braintree Coaching Australia shows one three-paragraph argument before and after restructuring, with the same three reasons in both, and notes on every sentence that moved. It is written for Year 5–6 children practising for selective writing, and it is free with no sign-up.

Who is this workshop for?

It suits a Year 5 or Year 6 child whose persuasive writing has good reasons but reads like a list, and a parent who can feel that something is wrong without being able to say what. It also suits a Year 7 or Year 8 child who needs to see the idea laid out plainly.

The NSW Department of Education lists Writing as one of four sections of the Selective High School Placement Test: one open-response question in 30 minutes. The task type can vary, so persuasive writing is one kind to practise, not the only one. See the department's Selective practice tests page and our guide to the Selective writing test.

Both versions of the argument below were written by us as a teaching example. They are not a real child's work, and we have not given either version a mark. This page does not describe official marking criteria.

What makes paragraphs feel connected?

Three things, and none of them is a linking word.

1. Order. Each paragraph comes after the one it depends on. If you could swap two paragraphs and lose nothing, the order is not doing a job.
2. A pointing-back opening. The first sentence of a paragraph names something from the end of the one before, then turns to the new reason.
3. A repeated key term. One word or phrase runs through the argument so the reader can hear that it is one argument. Here it is "the trip".

You may have met the PEEL paragraph pattern (point, evidence, explain, link). It shapes inside a paragraph. This workshop is about the joins between paragraphs.

The argument before restructuring

Prompt: Should primary school children walk or ride to school instead of being driven?

Every reason is good and every paragraph is neat, yet the paragraphs could be shuffled without anyone noticing.

Primary school children should walk or ride to school whenever they can. Firstly, walking or riding means fewer cars at the school gate. With fewer cars pulling in and out, the street is calmer and safer for children, parents and neighbours.

Secondly, children who walk arrive awake and ready to learn. Ten minutes of fresh air and movement wakes up the body before the first bell. A child dropped at the gate has had none of that.

Furthermore, children who make the trip themselves learn road sense. Checking for driveways and waiting at crossings are skills a child can only learn by doing them. For all these reasons, primary school children should walk or ride to school whenever they can.

The three reasons are fewer cars, awake and ready to learn and road sense. The connectives count the paragraphs ("firstly", "secondly", "furthermore") but never say why one follows another.

The argument after restructuring, with notes

Same prompt, same three reasons, same sentences wherever possible. Only the order and the first sentence of each reason have moved.

Primary school children should walk or ride to school whenever they can. Children who walk arrive awake and ready to learn. Ten minutes of fresh air and movement wakes up the body before the first bell. A child dropped at the gate has had none of that.

The walk does more than wake children up: children who make the trip themselves also learn road sense. Checking for driveways and waiting at crossings are skills a child can only learn by doing them.

When more children make the trip themselves, there are fewer cars at the school gate. With fewer cars pulling in and out, the street is calmer and safer for children, parents and neighbours. For all these reasons, primary school children should walk or ride to school whenever they can.

What moved, and why

Note	What changed	Why
1	The "fewer cars" paragraph moved from first to last.	It depends on the other two. Cars only drop at the gate when children are not making the trip themselves, so the claim needs the reader to have already pictured children making it.
2	The "awake and ready to learn" paragraph moved from second to first.	It needs nothing before it. Its reason can be understood by anyone who has walked anywhere.
3	The "road sense" paragraph moved from third to second.	It builds on the walk itself: once the reader has pictured the walk, the next question is what else the child gets from it.
4	"Secondly, children who walk arrive awake and ready to learn." became "Children who walk arrive awake and ready to learn."	The connective was deleted. In its new place this sentence needs no signpost; it follows the position directly.
5	"Furthermore, children who make the trip themselves learn road sense." became "The walk does more than wake children up: children who make the trip themselves also learn road sense."	The opening now points back to what the last paragraph said ("wake children up") and then turns. It also introduces the key term "the trip".
6	"Firstly, walking or riding means fewer cars at the school gate." became "When more children make the trip themselves, there are fewer cars at the school gate."	The sentence now repeats "make the trip themselves" from the paragraph before, which shows that fewer cars is a result of the earlier reason and not a separate point.

Check the claim: what is the same

Every sentence is listed once. If any row said "new reason", the two versions would not be the same argument.

Sentence (start)	Before	After	Change
Primary school children should walk or ride…	Paragraph 1, first	Paragraph 1, first	None
…fewer cars at the school gate.	Paragraph 1	Paragraph 3	Order and link (Note 6)
With fewer cars pulling in and out…	Paragraph 1	Paragraph 3	Order only
…children who walk arrive awake and ready to learn.	Paragraph 2	Paragraph 1	Order and connective deleted (Note 4)
Ten minutes of fresh air and movement…	Paragraph 2	Paragraph 1	Order only
A child dropped at the gate…	Paragraph 2	Paragraph 1	Order only
…children who make the trip themselves… road sense.	Paragraph 3	Paragraph 2	Order and link (Note 5)
Checking for driveways and waiting at crossings…	Paragraph 3	Paragraph 2	Order only
For all these reasons…	Paragraph 3, last	Paragraph 3, last	None

Nine sentences in each version. Six are unchanged word for word. Three have a new first clause. None adds a reason, an example or a fact.

What mistake patterns should we look for?

Pattern	Looks like	Why it fails	Fix to try
The shopping list of reasons	Three good reasons in any order, each in its own paragraph, as in the "before" version	Nothing says why one follows another, so the reader has to do the joining	Ask "which reason does this one need?" and reorder
Connective stuffing	"Firstly… Secondly… Furthermore… Moreover… In addition…" at the start of every sentence	The word signals "another point" and does not say how it relates	Delete the connective and write a sentence that names the last idea
A conclusion that introduces a new reason	"For all these reasons… Also, walking saves families money."	The reader meets a reason with no paragraph to explain it	Move it to a body paragraph or cut it; the conclusion only gathers what is already there
A body paragraph that repeats the introduction	A second paragraph that again says "children should walk to school because it is good for them"	It restates the position and adds nothing	Replace with the one reason and the one example that belong to this paragraph

Can my child put five paragraphs in order?

Five paragraphs is a size for practice, not a rule for the test. Give your child the paragraphs below, cut apart or labelled A to E, and ask them to put them in the order of one argument. They should say, for each join, how the next paragraph points back.

Topic: Every primary school should begin the day with ten minutes of quiet reading.

Paragraph A. A settled class can read for longer, and that is the second benefit. Children who are not distracted by noise can stay with one book for a little longer each week. Reading stamina is built like any other, by adding a little each day.

Paragraph B. A settled room, longer reading and finished books all begin with the same ten quiet minutes. That is why every primary school should start the day with a book.

Paragraph C. Every primary school should begin the day with ten minutes of quiet reading. It settles the room, builds the stamina to read for longer, and helps children finish books they have chosen themselves.

Paragraph D. Children who can read for longer are the ones who finish books, and finishing matters most when the book was their own choice. A child who picks the story, reads it each morning and reaches the last page learns that reading is something they do for themselves.

Paragraph E. Quiet reading settles the room before the first lesson. Children arrive from buses, car parks and playgrounds still full of noise, and ten minutes with a book gives that energy somewhere to go. By the time the teacher begins, the class is ready to listen.

Model order and reasoning

Order: C, E, A, D, B.

Step	Paragraph	Why it goes here
1	C	It states the position and names three benefits in a sequence: settles, longer, finished. A reader needs that promise before any reason.
2	E	It argues the first benefit named in C ("settles the room") and needs nothing else.
3	A	It opens with "a settled class", which points back to E, and argues the second benefit ("read for longer").
4	D	It opens with "children who can read for longer", which points back to A, and argues the third benefit ("finish books").
5	B	It gathers all three benefits in one sentence and adds none. That only makes sense once all three have been argued.

Why not swap A and E? Paragraph A says "a settled class", which only has meaning once E has argued that the class settles. Why not put B earlier? It names "finished books" before D has explained them.

If your child finds a different order they can defend by pointing at the joins, listen to the argument. One defensible order is what we are aiming for; if you find a second, tell us.

What should we do after this workshop?

• Take a piece of your child's own writing that reads like a list. Cut the paragraphs apart and ask which one needs which. Then rewrite only the first sentence of each paragraph.
• For openings, see the persuasive opening workshop.
• For prompts to practise with, use the Selective writing prompts.
• For how the writing section works and how to pace it, read the NSW Selective writing test guide.
• If you are weighing up feedback options, our page on AI and teacher marking explains what each kind of feedback can and cannot tell you.
• The free mock tests need a free classroom account.
• For a structured set of writing tasks with feedback, see what the Selective writing course includes and check how responses are assessed before buying.

Sources and review

Official source (checked 2026-10-15): NSW Department of Education, Selective High School practice tests: the Writing section is one open-response question in 30 minutes.

Where the examples came from: both versions of the argument, the five paragraphs and every note are original Braintree Coaching Australia teaching examples written for this page. None is a real child's response and none has been marked against official criteria.

Author: James Rush, content writer, Braintree Coaching Australia.

Review status: a named teacher review has not yet been recorded for this workshop, and the model order of the five paragraphs has not yet been confirmed by an independent reader. If you think a note is wrong or unclear, please tell us.

Last updated: 2026-10-15.