Identifying Controlling Ideas

Contents Key terms 1 General organization patterns 2 Linguistic devices for coherence 3

Key Terms Controlling idea The author’s most general statement Controls/limits 1 which ideas and information the author will include in the text 1 which ideas and information the author will include in the text 2 the selection of rhetorical devices 2 the selection of rhetorical devices Ideas Supporting ideas Relate to the controlling idea Are organized in reference to it 1 Are more specific than their controlling idea 2 Represent smaller parts of the entire subject and therefore relate to it

A well-written controlling idea  Behavioral psychology is not the same as cognitive psychology.  There are three types of barriers which inhibit good communication: physical, human, and semantic. [alert the reader to the nature of the two choices by means of key words and phrases]

An example of supporting ideas Human nonverbal communication  Types of nonverbal communication  Subtypes of each type  Differences or similarities between two types or subtypes  Effects of nonverbal communication on the communication process  Examples of nonverbal communication

Understanding general organization patterns Where is an author most likely to place a controlling idea in relation to his/her supporting idea? Think Where should you place your controlling idea when you write?

General organizational patterns Two main methods of arrangement Variations of the methods DeductionDeduction/Restatement InductionImplied controlling idea

Organizational pattern 1 Deduction  Announce the CI near the beginning of a text almost immediately  The supporting ideas that follow refer the reader back to an already known point of reference

General Specific Supporting Idea Controlling Idea

Example of Deduction In addition to the words which a speaker uses to convey meanings in a conversation, the hearer has to deal with certain kinds of nonverbal clues. The first kind is body movements… Intonation, too, influence…The facial expressions can show…The final kind…has to do with…physical distance.

Organizational pattern 2 Induction (final placement)  Start out by giving a mummer of major and/or minor supporting ideas  Proceed to a statement of the more general CI near the end of the text

Specific General Controlling idea Supporting idea

Example of Induction The way a speaker moves his body…adds to…verbal communication… Intonation, too, influences…Facial expressions are just as important…The hearer also has to interpret the way the speaker spaces himself…Thus, in addition to the verbal content of a spoken message, the hearer must take into account these four types of nonverbal communication.

Deduction vs. Induction Induction – most frequently used  When the subject matter is controversial  When the writer is trying to convince the reader to accept his/her conclusions Deduction – clearer than induction  Makes the organization of ideas more immediately apparent

Organizational pattern 3 Deduction/Restatement  Announce a controlling idea  Give several supporting ideas  Restate the CI in a slightly different form

General Specific General Controlling idea (Restatement) Supporting idea

Example of Deduction/Restatement In addition to the words which a speaker uses to convey meanings in a conversation, the hearer has to deal with certain kinds of nonverbal clues. The first is body movements… Intonation, too…The facial expressions…The final kind has to do with the way he spaces himself…Thus, these four types of nonverbal signals play a great role in creating the total content of a spoken message.

Organizational patterns 4 Implied controlling idea  The CI is never stated directly, but only implied.  The reader must synthesize all the supporting ideas and draw a conclusion.

Absence of Explicit Relationship Implied controlling idea Supporting idea

Example of Implied Controlling Idea Although a position or movement of the body does not by itself have a precise or universal meaning in a conversation…it gives fuller meaning to the speaker’s words. Intonation, too…The facial expression…And the way the speaker spaces himself from the hearer, in terms of physical distance, has meaning.

Deduction/ Restatement vs. Implied Controlling Idea Deduction/Restatement – clearer than “pure deduction”  Reinforce the controlling idea by placing it both at the beginning and at the end Implied Controlling Idea  Less frequent when to inform  More often used in short stories and novels

Textual coherence Techniques to remind the reader  how one part of a text is related or linked to another  how a text moves naturally from one idea to another Techniques can be used to link  parts of a sentence  different sentences  larger sections of a text

Coherence Device 1 synonyms  Substitute a synonymous word, phrase, or grammatical structure (cf. Example)cf. Example  To insure that an important idea or word is carried from one section of a text to another

Coherence Device 2 repetition  Repeat exactly  Repeat by using a related word form (cf. Example)cf. Example

Coherence Device 3 substitutes  To refer back to an idea announced in a previous sentence  Special kinds of repetition (cf. Example)cf. Example

Coherence Device 4 the  To identify certain nouns so that readers can follow a writer’s progression of ideas with a minimum of effort and conclusion  By words in the text or by the signaling that certain information is shared and understood by both the reader and the writer

1 A special adjective The + + noun The first kind is body movements. Special adjectives:  Superlative adj. (the most interesting topic)  Sequential adj. (the first category)  Spatial adj. (the top shelf, the middle seat)  Uniqueness adj. (the only survivor) Special adjective

2 The rule of “previous mention” + the + noun A speaker in a conversation uses certain kinds of nonverbal clues in a conversation. For example, the speaker uses certain body movements to convey meanings. Noun or synonym

3 A structure following the noun the + noun + The words which a speaker uses convey meaning. Relative clause or phrase

4 Implied by the situation in the text the + noun Intonation, too, influences the hearer’s perception of what is being said. Information in the text The hearer of a conversation

5 Implied by the nature of the noun the + noun A position or movement of the body does not have a universal meaning. Only possible interpretation The human body

6 General meaning the + noun Before the invention of the tape recorder, it was impossible to study conversations.  Plant and animal species (the lion/tomato)  Technological inventions (the atom bomb)  Professionals (the physicist, the musician)  Certain adjectives (the rich, the disabled) The entire class