TOPICAL PROGRESSION We have seen that writers need to keep the topic of discussion clearly in focus if they want to create a text which flows onwards smoothly and logically. Moreover, writers also need to be aware of the way in which topics change and move on through a paragraph in English academic writing. The development of topics through a paragraph or longer pieces of text is called topical progression. Topical progression creates 'bridges' from one part of your text to the next. Sometimes, the topic is the same from one sentence to the next, but the topic changes usually at some point as the writer's message progresses and the "story" moves on. There are 4 basic patterns that writers can use to create a focus and develop topics in English texts. However, the patterns found in academic writing are rarely as simple as presented in the following page! Normally, texts are a mixture of the four patterns. Click here to take a look at the 4 patterns:

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