At this point in the writing process, you now have a main argument, plenty of supporting textual evidence, and a strategy for organizing your paper. These are all positive things, but even organized papers with great ideas can be unclear or unconvincing if their individual paragraphs seem choppy and unconnected. This section will outline some strategies for transitioning between paragraphs and ideas in order to make you paper flow smoothly and to maintain the momentum of your argument.
Transition words are words or phrases used in the topic sentence of a paragraph that give the reader clues about the paragraph logically relates to the rest of the paper. According to Professor Robert Matz, it is important for students to familiarize themselves with a variety of transition words that reveal different types of logical relationships.
If you are beginning a paragraph that continues the argument of the previous paragraph or makes a similar point, consider starting the topic sentence of the paragraph with words such as “likewise,” “in addition,” “similarly,” “furthermore,” “also,” or “moreover.”
To begin a paragraph that contradicts or qualifies the previous paragraph, consider “although,” “yet,” “but,” “on the one hand,” “on the other hand,” or “however.”
To show cause, consider starting topic sentences with “Because [idea from previous paragraph], [idea for new paragraph]. E.g. Because Iago wishes to conceal his own social transgressions, he deflects criticism from himself by pointing out Desdemona’s trangressions.”
When you wrote your introductory paragraph, you utilized certain keywords in articulating your thesis statement. According to Professor Matz, one way to transition smoothly between paragraphs is to start each paragraph with a topic sentence containing the keywords used in your thesis. Using the same keywords throughout the paper can strengthen its coherence by reminding the reader that each of your points relates back to your main argument.
For instance, if you were writing a paper on Othello, your thesis statement might be “While Iago accuses Desdemona of transgressive behavior, this accusation actually masks and acts as a means of drawing attention away from Iago’s social transgressions.” The keyword in this thesis would be “transgression,” so a good topic sentence for one of the paragraphs in the body of your essay might be “Iago frequently accuses Desdemona of committing gender transgressions.”
Many people feel uncomfortable with the idea of repeating the same words over and over again in their paper. Professor Matz acknowledges repeating the same words sentence to sentence can sound awkward, but says that using the same words throughout the course of a paper makes it easier to follow the argument. He also cautions students to resist the urge to automatically reach for a thesaurus: “Many students might think they needed to consult a thesaurus to find words like ‘sin’ or ‘crime’ to replace ‘trangression.’ However, these words often have slightly different contexts than the original keyword. In this case, ‘sin’ has a religious connotation and ‘crime’ has a legal connotation. By using these words as alternatives to “transgression,” the writer inadvertently changes his or her argument throughout the paper.”
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