Just as sentences need to be skillfully linked together to form coherent paragraphs, so paragraphs need to be linked with equal skill to form coherent larger units. Many of the techniques outlined in the previous subsection can also be used to ensure that the message or argument in a piece of writing flows on from one paragraph to the next.LinkersThe same linking words that indicate that one sentence has a logical, temporal, or spatial connection with the next can also be used to express similar relationships between paragraphs, as the following examples (with underlined linkers) demonstrate:… In short, everything was prepared, and the organizers were satisfied that they had made plans to deal with any contingency.
But the one thing they apparently had not foreseen was that members of the public would object to paying $30 for admission…. … The rescue services, accordingly, called off their search of the area immediately around the crash site and concentrated their efforts on the river valley below.
Meanwhile, in the cave where they had taken shelter from the blizzard, the small band of survivors was gradually growing weaker…. … and in the very center of the village stood the church, an imposing Gothic edifice with a tall tower and a pair of wooden doors, carved with the figures of St. Peter and St. Paul, that faced out across the main square.
Directly opposite the church, on the other side of the square, the café Georges Dandin sprawled along the sidewalk…. It is also possible to build into your text introductory or linking phrases designed to create a framework into which subsequent paragraphs will fit. For example:I will describe the process in four steps. First … Second … Third … Fourth … There are four different aspects of this problem … First … Second … Third … Fourth … To begin with … I will then … There are also phrases that usefully indicate the way your argument proceeds from one paragraph to the next. For example:Another factor to be taken into account is …
As I/we have already stated/mentioned/shown …
As I/we have shown in the previous paragraph …
As I/we shall now show/demonstrate/prove …
I/we can best illustrate this point by means of an example …
I/we shall now move on to discuss …
I/we shall now turn my/our attention to …
Let us now consider …
On the basis of what has been said before …
The next step/stage is to …
Turning now to … Such phrases indicate to the reader that you are following a planned route and are fully in control of your material.Perhaps the most important means of linking paragraphs together, however, is a rather more subtle one.CuesThe best way of ensuring continuity between paragraphs is to write so that the following paragraph picks up a cue from the preceding one and carries it forward. The cue usually takes the form of a word or phrase that occurs toward the end of the earlier paragraph and is either used in the introduction to the following paragraph or, indeed, plays a key role throughout that paragraph.Here are some examples. The words that serve as cues to the succeeding paragraph are underlined:… In their final report, the investigators restated their initial finding that the crash was caused by pilot error, and the case was officially closed.
Colleagues of the pilot, Captain Higgins, were far from convinced by this verdict, however. They pointed to his unblemished 20-year record of service and immediately began to press for the case to be reopened…. … Economic factors aside, agriculture in South Africa is mainly determined, as one would expect, by the country's climate, and, in particular, by the time of year during which rain can be most confidently expected. On climatic grounds, therefore, the country is divided into two distinct regions.
The southern part of the country has a Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and cold, wet winters. It is known as the winter rainfall area and produces soft fruits of European origin, particularly apples and grapes…. It was suggested in an earlier subsection that the reuse of key words was a useful way of giving internal coherence to a paragraph. The technique recommended here for linking paragraphs is essentially an extension of that technique. It depends again on the writer being alert to the words that he or she is using and either seizing opportunities that occur in the natural course of composition to link one paragraph to another or reworking the beginning and end of existing paragraphs during revision to ensure that language and, consequently, thought appear to flow across the gap that is left on the page. It would not be wrong to start the second paragraph of the first of the examples given above like this, for instance:… In their final report, the investigators restated their initial finding that the crash was caused by pilot error, and the case was officially closed. Colleagues of Captain Higgins were far from convinced by this verdict, however. They pointed to his unblemished 20-year record of service and immediately began to press for the case to be further investigated…. It would not be wrong, but it would be a missed opportunity.Always try to think across the paragraph gap. Always be aware as you bring one paragraph to an end that another paragraph is about to begin, and try to cue in the new paragraph from the old. Always be sensitive to the words you are using, for you will often find when you are looking for a way to start a new paragraph that the inspiration will lie in something you have just written. If you can link sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph effectively, you will be well on the way to becoming a good writer.
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