1. Ms. Greene TRANSITIONS

2. Introduction Coherence and clarity are a must in writing. Think of coherence as taking your readers by the hand and guiding them through your essay, just as if your are a tour guide leading tourists into an unknown culture. Like a tour guide, you are very familiar with your topic, but the tourist readers are not. You must carefully guide them to understanding and knowledge of your topic analysis. By using the following transitional techniques you will be able to make your ideas clear.

3. How to make your essay coherent To have a clear essay, you must use the following techniques: Transitional Words and Phrases Echo Transitions Repetition of Key Words Repetition of Sentence Structure LET’S LOOK AT EACH OF THESE TECHNIQUES

4. Transitional Words and Phrases The first way to guide your reader is through Transitional words and phrases. Transitional words and phrases are the sign posts that indicate how one idea is related to the next. Transitional words and phrases clearly provide an expectation of what is to come. What do these transitional phrases suggest? For example Furthermore On the other hand By contrast

5. Transitional Words and Phrases To continue to a new point Next, second, third, besides, further, finally To make an addition to a point Too, moreover, in addition, for example, such as, that is, as an illustration, for instance, furthermore To show cause and effect Therefore, consequently, as a result, accordingly, then, thus, so, hence To show similarity Too, similarly, in the same way, likewise, also To show contrast But, still, on the other hand, nevertheless, however, conversely, notwithstanding, yet To emphasize or restate Again, namely, in other words, finally, especially, without doubt, indeed, in short, in brief, primarily, chiefly, as a matter of fact, no doubt To conclude a point Finally, in conclusion, to summarize, to sum up, in sum

6. Echo Transitions To add clear, hand-holding coherence of writing for your reader you must supplement the transitional phrases with an echo of the preceding paragraph and/or of your topic. To do this, USE A TRANSITIONAL WORD OR PHRASE and then ECHO YOUR SUBJECT from the paragraph before or the sentence before.

7. Repetition of Key Words Another technique to use to provide clarity in the tour of your essay is to repeat key words. Key words are those words that are required by the prompt Or words that you have defined to answer the prompt. They could be a literary term, an idea, or device. Most often, key words will be what the prompt asks you to do or a word you have defined while answering the prompt. It can be a metaphor you have set up in answering the prompt (for example, my tour guide idea). Use the key words in each of your paragraphs.

8. Repetition of Sentence Structure Another way to lead your reader through your paper is through your structure. Oftentimes, this is part of the essay structure itself, but also it relates to your sentence structure. While you need to vary your sentences to keep the essay interesting, it is the return to the repeated sentence structure that makes the essay clear. By having a clear structure, your reader feels confident that you know your subject and they have faith in your guidance through the essay. Readers feel secure in following your lead. Parallel structure is an important way to guide your reader. When listing with parallel structure, remember to start each item by using the same part of speech. Also think of parallel construction in terms of 3s—three nouns, three adjectives, three prepositional phrases.

9. Example: Excerpt from Literature and the Writing Process When writing essays, your ideas should be arranged in a clear sequence that is easy to follow. Ask yourself, will your readers experience any confusion when a new idea comes up? If so, you need stronger connections between sentences or between paragraphs—transitions that indicate how one idea is related to the next. For example, when you see the words “for example,” you know what to expect. When you see “furthermore” opening a paragraph, your mind gets ready for some addition to the previous point. By contrast, when your see phrases like “on the other hand” or “by contrast,” you are prepared for something different from the previous point.

10. Example: Excerpt from Literature and the Writing Process To be more coherent, these transitional phrases can be supplemented by more subtle echo transitions that repeat the main idea of the essay (in this paragraph, the words “transitional phrases” above echo the main idea of the preceding paragraphs and the pronoun “these” refers to and echoes the examples in the preceding paragraph) Another technique that increases coherence of writing is the repetition of key terms and structures. In the paragraph you are reading the key terms are forms of the words “transition,” “echo,” “refer,’ and “repeat.” In addition, parallel ideas are presented in parallel ways.

11. Techniques for Achieving Coherence 1. A clearly sequenced flow of ideas 2. Transitional terms 3. Echo transitions 4. Repetition of key terms 5. Repetition of sentence structures