Answers and an explanation for each question appear once you add this activity to your own library.

⏱️ 12 Mins • C1 Grammar

Information Structure

How to arrange words so your sentences flow naturally and guide the reader's attention.

📌 How to use this lesson

For Teachers

Set 12 minutes for silent reading and quick pair checks. Have students justify their word order aloud during the answer review.

For Learners

Read the 4 patterns below and observe which parts are underlined. Complete the 12 tasks in order, looking at the one-word hints when stuck.

Core Patterns: Making Sentences Flow

4 Rules

Old information first, new information last

Pattern: "A jar of milk is left on the shelf. The milk slowly turns sour."

Sentences connect together like a chain. Always begin with what the reader already knows from the line before. Save the fresh detail for the very end.

• Cabbage leaves are packed into a crock. The cabbage begins to ferment after a few days.

• Salt draws water out of vegetables. This liquid turns into a salty brine.

Keep the main topic as the subject

Pattern: "Soya beans are soaked overnight. The soaked beans are then boiled for hours."

Keep talking about the same topic by making it the subject of the next sentence. Use the passive form so you do not change focus to a new person or tool.

• Jars are washed with boiling water. The clean jars are then sterilised in a hot oven.

• Fruit is sliced into thin strips. The strips are dehydrated by warm circulating air.

Put heavy details at the end

Pattern: "Tiny bubbles rise to the top of the tank, where they burst and release a sharp smell."

Readers do not like to wait a long time to see the main action. Keep your opening subject short and simple. Move long descriptions and extra clauses to the end.

• Wild yeast feeds on natural sugars, creating tiny carbon dioxide bubbles that lift the dough.

• Most bacteria grow badly in strong vinegar, which makes the food too sour for them to live in.

Highlight one key detail with "It is... that..."

Pattern: "It was the jar, not the lid, that cracked in the cold."

Put a bright spotlight on one special fact or contrast. Start with It is or It was, name the key piece, and add that. The rest stays short and known.

• It is high acidity that prevents food spoilage during the winter months.

• It was a friendly microbe, not chemical powder, that gave the cheese its tangy flavour.

A clean editorial illustration of glass fermentation crocks and jars with pickles, brine, bubbling yeast and vinegar on

In food science, describing a sequence clearly depends on linking each step to the next.

Practice Arena

12 questions organized from straightforward choices to active rewriting and message editing.

Part 1 • Choose the natural continuation (Easy)

Question 1

Pick the second sentence that links smoothly to the first.

"Fresh cucumbers are placed into a spiced brine solution. [hint: (chain)]"

____ A crunchy pickle develops from these cucumbers over several weeks. ____ These cucumbers slowly turn into a crisp pickle over several weeks. ____ Over several weeks, people watch a crisp pickle develop from them.

Question 2

Which sentence places the long information in the easiest place to read?

[hint: (wait)]

____ It surprises many cooks that a microscopic microbe can stop dangerous food spoilage without heat. ____ That a microscopic microbe can stop dangerous food spoilage without heat surprises many cooks. ____ A microscopic microbe that can stop dangerous food spoilage without heat surprising many cooks is common.

Question 3

Someone thinks baking soda raises sourdough bread. Choose the sentence that puts strong focus on the real cause.

[hint: (focus)]

____ It is wild yeast, not baking soda, who causes the dough to rise so high. ____ That causes the dough to rise so high is wild yeast, not soda. ____ It is wild yeast, not baking soda, that causes the dough to rise so high.

Part 2 • Rewrite to keep the topic as subject (Medium)

Question 4

Rewrite the second sentence in the passive voice so it starts with the brine. Keep the agent at the end.

[hint: (subject)]

The cellar master mixes a salty brine.

A wooden pump circulates the brine through the barrels.

Write only the new second sentence:

____ (Type the rewritten sentence...)

Question 5

Rewrite the second sentence in the passive voice so it starts with the figs. Keep the agent at the end.

[hint: (topic)]

Workers cut fresh figs into halves.

A solar cabinet dehydrates the figs in two days.

Write only the new second sentence:

____ (Type the rewritten sentence...)

Question 6

Rewrite the second sentence in the passive voice so it starts with the bottles. Keep the agent at the end.

[hint: (passive)]

The assistant washes forty glass bottles.

Pressurised steam sterilises the bottles in ten minutes.

Write only the new second sentence:

____ (Type the rewritten sentence...)

Part 3 • Complete the structure (Medium-Hard)

Question 7

Fill in the two opening words to focus attention on acidity as the real protection.

[hint: (focus)]

____ high acidity that guards the pickled vegetables against rapid spoilage.

Question 8

Fill in the single linking word that pushes the long descriptive clause to the end.

[hint: (end)]

The cellar worker pours raw apple juice into seasoned vinegar, ____ is rich in the acetic acid needed to preserve the fruit.

Question 9

Type one pointing word to start the second sentence with known information.

[hint: (known)]

The baker blends sourdough starter with warm rye flour.

____ mixture begins to ferment vigorously within four hours.

Part 4 • Fix awkward messages to a friend (Hard)

Question 10

Sam's second sentence starts with new information and ends with something we already know. Choose the natural fix.

[hint: (old)]

S Sam

"Hey! I started a jar of sauerkraut yesterday. A lot of bubbles are already rising in the sauerkraut."

____ A lot of bubbles, the sauerkraut already has them. ____ The sauerkraut already has a lot of bubbles rising in it. ____ Already, a lot of bubbles are rising in the sauerkraut.

Question 11

Dana's subject is very long, so the reader waits for the verb. Choose the clearest fix.

[hint: (long)]

D Dana

"Hey! The dill pickles that my grandmother made last autumn and kept in the cold cellar all winter are finally ready."

____ The dill pickles that my grandmother made last autumn and kept in the cold cellar all winter they are finally ready. ____ The dill pickles, that my grandmother made last autumn and kept in the cold cellar all winter, are finally ready. ____ The dill pickles are finally ready. My grandmother made them last autumn and kept them in the cold cellar all winter.

Question 12

Lee wants to put clear focus on the vinegar, not the container, as the reason for the bad taste. Choose the cleanest fix.

[hint: (cleft)]

L Lee

"We thought the clay pot ruined the batch, but the cheap vinegar caused that sharp bitter taste, not the pot!"

____ ...but it was the cheap vinegar, not the pot, that caused that sharp bitter taste! ____ ...but it was the cheap vinegar what caused that sharp bitter taste, not the pot! ____ ...but the pot was not what caused that sharp bitter taste, but the cheap vinegar was!

Why This Works

When you put what the reader already knows at the start, use the passive to keep the topic in place, push heavy phrases to the end, and use "It is... that..." for sharp focus, your writing becomes easy and pleasurable to read.

Information Structure

Information Structure

📌 How to use this lesson

Core Patterns: Making Sentences Flow

Old information first, new information last

Keep the main topic as the subject

Put heavy details at the end

Highlight one key detail with "It is... that..."

Practice Arena

Why This Works

Related lessons

Class activity: Corner Jar Sentence Surgery

IELTS Speaking: Fermentation and Preservation

Vocabulary: Fermentation and Food Preservation

IELTS Writing Task 1: Food Preservation Process

Inversion and Cleft Sentences

Mixed Conditionals: Past Condition, Present Result