A method includes, in one aspect, performing a read operation on a wordline of a memory device, wherein the wordline comprises a plurality of cells that are expected to be in a first state; based on the read operation, identifying one or more of the plurality of cells that are determined to be in a second state that differs from the first state; encoding data using information pertaining to the identified cells to generate a codeword comprising a plurality of bits to be written to the wordline, with at least one of the plurality of bits, which are to be written to at least one of the identified cells, having a value corresponding to the second state; and writing the generated codeword to the wordline.