This study, designed to examine instructional clarity, focuses on two questions from the literature: (1) Is it necessary for a lesson to contain keys, links, framing statements, focusing moves, and examples in order for students to achieve and be motivated? and (2) What is the specific purpose of links and focusing moves in instruction? Subjects, 40 undergraduate teacher education students, were randomly assigned to 4 treatment groups: (1) a high instructional clarity group; (2) a low instructional clarity group; (3) a high clarity instruction minus links group; and (4) a high instructional clarity minus focusing moves group. Each group viewed a videotaped lesson specifically developed for this investigation; then students completed a questionnaire rating the instructor in each strategy. Results indicate: the instructional clarity variables were influential in changing students' motivation, conceptual achievement, and perception of clarity; focusing and links are necessary; links and focusing moves seem to have unique roles in the delivery of concepts; focusing moves seem to be more important than links in increasing student motivation; and links affect the achievement of students more than do focusing moves. The paper concludes with a discussion of further research needs and eight tables. (Contains 38 references.) (LL)