Sentence-to-sentence Transitions
PROGRAM: “IN A WORD”
EPISODE: SENTENCE-TO-SENTENCE TRANSITIONS
[5 TO 10 SEC OF MUSIC]
[FADE MUSIC]
I’m Candace Schaefer with “In a Word,” your weekly communication tip.
Have you ever read something that had impeccable grammar but was painfully confusing? Good writers know that they have to guide readers through their logic, making the connections between their ideas clear and easy to follow.
Think of the piece you’re writing as a quilt. The individual squares of a quilt are beautiful works of art.
But without stitching those individual pieces together, there’s no quilt, just a bunch of pretty but disjointed squares. Similarly, you can write 100 immaculate sentences, but they won’t mean much if you don’t show readers how those sentences relate to one another.
Stitching your sentences together is sometimes as simple as adding a single transition word.
For instance, to show that two sentences present contrasting ideas, you might add “however” to show that contrast: “I missed the first mid-town bus; however, I was able to catch a later bus and made it to work on time.” Or, to demonstrate cause and effect, you might use the word “therefore.” You could also use the word “ergo,” but then people will just think you are showing off.
You don’t always have to put the transition word or phrase at the beginning of the sentence, however. Transitions can also be used in the middle of a sentence or at the end.
Another way to make connections between ideas is to use a pronoun to refer back to an idea you’ve already stated. For example, it’s common to use the pronoun “this” to refer to an idea or concept you’ve discussed before. If you’ve discussed several ideas, though, readers might get confused about what “this” refers to. If it’s not clear, just put a noun or noun phrase back in the sentence.
Here’s an example where the meaning of “this” is a little murky: “More Americans than ever watched the World Cup, often over long lunch breaks. I hope this marks a change in our culture.” In that example, it’s not entirely clear if “this” refers to Americans watching soccer or taking long lunches. You can clear up the confusion by using “this” to modify a noun or noun phrase: “I hope this interest in soccer marks a change in our culture.”
Another strategy for moving from one idea to the next is to use old information to introduce new information. For example, if you’ve been discussing the role of heredity in heart disease but want to move on to another cause, you could begin the new sentence by saying, “In addition to heredity, a person’s diet can also affect their heart health.” Start by referring to the old information, in this case heredity, before introducing the new topic. That way readers will see how the new idea relates to the previous one.
So, as you revise your writing, don’t be a square! Look for ways to stitch your ideas together; in the process, you’ll be turning random scraps of sentences into a full quilt of information.
This has been “In a Word,” a program made possible by the Texas A&M University Writing Center and a production of KAMU FM on the campus of Texas A&M University. For more writing and speaking tips, visit our website at writingcenter.tamu.edu. I’m Candace Schaefer, helping you make every word count.
[5 TO 10 SEC OF MUSIC]
EPISODE: SENTENCE-TO-SENTENCE TRANSITIONS
[5 TO 10 SEC OF MUSIC]
[FADE MUSIC]
I’m Candace Schaefer with “In a Word,” your weekly communication tip.
Have you ever read something that had impeccable grammar but was painfully confusing? Good writers know that they have to guide readers through their logic, making the connections between their ideas clear and easy to follow.
Think of the piece you’re writing as a quilt. The individual squares of a quilt are beautiful works of art.
But without stitching those individual pieces together, there’s no quilt, just a bunch of pretty but disjointed squares. Similarly, you can write 100 immaculate sentences, but they won’t mean much if you don’t show readers how those sentences relate to one another.
Stitching your sentences together is sometimes as simple as adding a single transition word.
For instance, to show that two sentences present contrasting ideas, you might add “however” to show that contrast: “I missed the first mid-town bus; however, I was able to catch a later bus and made it to work on time.” Or, to demonstrate cause and effect, you might use the word “therefore.” You could also use the word “ergo,” but then people will just think you are showing off.
You don’t always have to put the transition word or phrase at the beginning of the sentence, however. Transitions can also be used in the middle of a sentence or at the end.
Another way to make connections between ideas is to use a pronoun to refer back to an idea you’ve already stated. For example, it’s common to use the pronoun “this” to refer to an idea or concept you’ve discussed before. If you’ve discussed several ideas, though, readers might get confused about what “this” refers to. If it’s not clear, just put a noun or noun phrase back in the sentence.
Here’s an example where the meaning of “this” is a little murky: “More Americans than ever watched the World Cup, often over long lunch breaks. I hope this marks a change in our culture.” In that example, it’s not entirely clear if “this” refers to Americans watching soccer or taking long lunches. You can clear up the confusion by using “this” to modify a noun or noun phrase: “I hope this interest in soccer marks a change in our culture.”
Another strategy for moving from one idea to the next is to use old information to introduce new information. For example, if you’ve been discussing the role of heredity in heart disease but want to move on to another cause, you could begin the new sentence by saying, “In addition to heredity, a person’s diet can also affect their heart health.” Start by referring to the old information, in this case heredity, before introducing the new topic. That way readers will see how the new idea relates to the previous one.
So, as you revise your writing, don’t be a square! Look for ways to stitch your ideas together; in the process, you’ll be turning random scraps of sentences into a full quilt of information.
This has been “In a Word,” a program made possible by the Texas A&M University Writing Center and a production of KAMU FM on the campus of Texas A&M University. For more writing and speaking tips, visit our website at writingcenter.tamu.edu. I’m Candace Schaefer, helping you make every word count.
[5 TO 10 SEC OF MUSIC]