Use moves as a planning layer
A rhetorical move is a communicative action such as defining a problem, positioning prior work, reporting a procedure, interpreting a finding, or limiting a conclusion. It is larger than a transition word and smaller than a whole section. Several sentences may realise one move, and one sentence may connect two moves when the relationship remains clear.
Move labels help diagnose drafts. A literature review that lists studies but never compares them lacks synthesis. An introduction that announces importance but never specifies an unresolved issue lacks a defensible gap. A discussion that repeats results without explaining their relation to the question lacks interpretation.
Build a sequence that earns the claim
Define the topic, population, or problem at the scope the paper can support.
Group evidence by concept, method, result, or disagreement rather than by citation alone.
State what remains unknown, inconsistent, untested, or poorly bounded.
Connect the research aim and design to the issue that was established.
Explain what the findings support and what design or evidence leaves uncertain.
Test the joins between moves
Most coherence problems occur at boundaries. The evidence reviewed may not justify the stated gap. The aim may not answer the gap. The result may not support the interpretation. The conclusion may broaden the population, outcome, or causal force. Read the final sentence of one move beside the first sentence of the next and state the logical link in plain language.
Do not force every paper into one template. Disciplinary conventions, study design, and genre shape which moves are expected and how visible they should be. Use the Phrase Explorer to compare patterns only after choosing the move and its evidence constraints.