Creating logical flow
We create flow by giving readers what they expect, when they expect it!
Here are some common patterns:
1. What before why
Tell me what you did before you tell me why you did it. Give me context before you give me new facts.
Because of time constraints,
We chose this method because of time constraints.
2. General to specific
Set up a question in the reader's mind, then answer that question.
By the 1960s scientists had grown sufficiently frustrated by how little they understood of the Earth's interior that they decided to try to do something about it. (Q: What did they do?)
Specifically, they got the idea to drill through the ocean floor [...] to the Moho discontinuity and to extract a piece of the Earth's mantle for examination at leisure. (Q: Why did they do that?)
The thinking was that if they could understand the nature of the rocks inside the Earth, they might begin to understand how they interacted, and thus possibly be able to predict earthquakes and other unwelcome events.
From: A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.
3. Chronological order
In informative writing, readers expect to hear stories told in chronological order: first we did this, then we did that.
Make the numbers tell the same story as the words: if you say "reduce", then the readers will expect to see the numbers go down as they read from left to right!
A recent Pew Research Center analysis reported that from 1965 to 2011, fathers reduced the number of hours they devoted to paid work
A recent Pew Research Center analysis reported that from 1965 to 2011, fathers reduced the number of hours they devoted to paid work from 42 to about 37 each week on average and increased the number of hours they devoted to childcare each week from 2.5 to 7.
Think about grouping the results by age (youngest to oldest) rather than by a result that has no pattern.
In an extensive review investigating these determinants, the only determinant for children 4 to 9 years old was gender. The only determinants for children 10 to 13 years old were self-efficacy and prior physical activity. The only determinant for adolescents 14 to 18 years old was self-efficacy.