The Basics of Paragraphs and Transitions

Transcription

1 Key 2 The Basics of Paragraphs and Transiions Wha Is a Paragraph? How Long Should a Paragraph Be? How Do I Fix Bad Paragraphs? How Do I Go from Here o There? WHAT Is A PARAGRAPH? Ponder he following: 1. All paragraphs don' have a Big Picure (someimes called he opic senence). 2. The opic senence doesn' have o come a he beginning of he paragraph. 3. All paragraphs don' have sub-poins. 4. A paragraph can be as shor or as long as you wan. In oher words, a paragraph can be jus abou whaever you wan i o be. So wha is a paragraph? I's a collecion of words abou one opic. Tha's no a bad definiion-excep ha i also defines a novel, insurance policy, sonne, and billboard ad. Neverheless, you'll be hard pressed o find a beer definiion because paragraphs are fluid shapes ha vary in conen and lengh according o wha's needed. Paragraphs hus can be as shor (like a fragmen" or a senence) or as long as you wan. (Faulkner wroe paragraphs ha go on for fify pages, bu you should probably keep yours shorer.) In is classic form, a paragraph is a mini-essay, wih a mini-big Picure and mini-main Sub-poins. Wheher you call he main senence a Big picure 27

2 or opic senence, his senence funcions like he Big Picure ha conrols he overall shape of yo~r projec. In oher words, in is classic form, each paragra~h has a conrolling senence and sub-poin senences o suppor he conrol!mg senence (jus like in his paragraph: wih he boldfaced Big Picure/ OpICsenence).. Here'~ a paragraph ha you saw in Key 1. I's a radiional paragraph WI~ a OpICsenence and hree suppor senences (boldface idenifies he OpICsenence; numbers mark he suppor senences): l~ona.rd Bernsein's musical Wes Side Sory has enjoyed growing populariy since Is 1957 Broadway premiere. (1) In 1961, Hollywood produced a movie ha w~n many ~c.ademy Awards and saw huge box office success.(2) Fo.llowmghe oriqincl cas album, a number of recordings, from full orchesral sures o Muzak arrangemens, were released, inroducing he lisening public o Bernsein's ~usic. (3) And local heaer groups around he world, from high school and n~lghborhood drama clubs o professional companies, have presened Wes Side Sory o enhusiasic audiences. Noe ha you begin.wih a saemen ha previews he paragraph. The reader learns ha Wes Side Sory has been growing more popular since he 1957 Broadway premiere. Now i's ime o provide examples o back up ha saemen: Topic Senence Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 This srucure looks no differen from he Big Picure srucure ha we examined in Key 1: Big Picure Main Sub-poin 1 Main Sub-poin 2 Main Sub-poin 3. Remember ha wih he Big Picure srucure, you're never limied o Jus hree Main Sub-poins. If you're wriing a book, you'll wan as many Main Sub-poins as you have chapers. And wihin each chaper, you'll have subpoins o suppor your Main Sub-fains.... Likewise, a paragraph doesn have o limi Iself o hree examples. You can wrie as few or as many as you wish. Procrasinaion is a deadly disease. (1) For years, I've suffered from aacks of i. (2) Despie my bes inenions, despie my dayd~eams of glory,. despie hree-c.m. fears ha my life is going nowhere, I sill pu off ackling wha my hear ells me o do. (3) I weed he garden, poin he bahroom, figure nex monh's bills, ake he dog for a second walk, read a bad novel-in shor, come up wih ime-killers ha seal days and nighs from wha I should.be. doing. (4) Jus as cancer can seal years from our lives, so con procrasinaion. No all paragraphs work by opic senence/example. Some paragraphs unpack a sory ha moves from he Big Picure hrough a series of senences ha develop he Big Picure: The srucure here sill follows a Big Picure overview ha conrols he paragraph ("Procrasinaion is a deadly disease").., Ye senence 1 isn' really an example of how procrasinaion behaves as a deadly disease. Raher, i funcions as background. Senence 2 elaboraes he opic by elling how he speaker pus off wha his hear knows he should be doing. Senence 3 offers forms of procrasinaion. Senence 4 sums up he paragraph by circling back o he words" deadly disease" o show how procrasinaion, like cancer, can shoren our ime o do wha we wan mos o do. The only real r example" senence is 4. I's he one senen~e ~a demo~sraes how procrasinaion acs as a deadly disease (as he ~lg PIcure/oP.IC senence claims). Senences I, 2, and 3 hover around he opic, expand on I, push i in various direcions. These hree senences play variaions on he heme of he Big Picure/opic senence. Some paragraphs presen a Big Picure/opic senence followed by examples. Ohers, as we've jus seen, work by playing variaions on he heme: one relaed senence ha leads o anoher relaed senence ha leads o anoher... Here's a second illusraion of he heme and variaions paragraph: 28 KEY 2 THE BASICS OF PARAGRAPHS AND TRANSITIONS 29

3 I like acion movies because hey kick. h.. ie hinking. You don' have o ho k i yohu.n'd e gu. Acion movies require lili In In e rm s of a h h s IpS off a skyscraper ledge or a muan h k car case or w en a guy movies are abou feeling-no he hi k' ac s up a pock of Cub Scous. Acion oher hand, when you read yo n n~ you do when you read, On he passage-even a passage ~ih u can p~ own he?ook and reflec on he ime o reflec, You're on a rolle~ ccar ~ as,~. B~ acion,?"oviesdon' give you Acion movies are roller coaser ridoe~ser'~ ~ a lass l, he movie ends, hrills ha slam your somach b f r WI e s,ame ups and downs and wild e ore you can hink abou how scared you are. This paragraph presens a basic hem C. viscerally raher han inellecually) ha d e II.e., ha acho~ movies hi you logic ha ies he paragraph ogeh ' h e~e ~ps afer he firs senence. The vide various ways of resaing h his e ogre of hel_lle:the senences proa erne and developmg i. Bu sicking slavishly o he rule can lead ' rnous paragraphs ha swallow up h f you ino a booby rap-enor-. ree or our pages Yo 'II " paragrap~ IS abou one opic!", u argue, Bu my And indeed i may be. So use common you're exploring will demand se I sense. If you see ha he opic whale-sized paragraph-ake i vera hages-ha you'll end up wriing one poins. Youwan o end up wf~~ on e~eader and paragraph-break a sub- Remember, oo, ha every pa~o ~r ~:: paragraphs a p~ge. may find yourself seing up a' gr p y no have a OpICsenence. You OpICsenence ha 'II ence for several, relaed paragraphs: WI serve as he opic sen- 30 KEY 2 Paragraphs in general seem o follow one of wo roues: 1. Tradiional srucures-like opic senence/examples 2. Looser srucures-like heme and variaions Whichever srucure you graphs: b use, remem er he basic rule abou all para- Useone opic per paragraph. PARAGRAPHONE: PARAGRAPHTWO: The weigh and meaning of he Big Picure/opic senence are carried from one paragraph o he nex. Bu, again, ake piy on your reader. If you ravel oo far from he opic senence, reinroduce i so he reader doesn' forge he Big Picure, Topic senences serve as road signs o keep he reader focused on he highway. Here's anoher good rule of humb: You esablish he Big Picure for a opic ha needs subsanial exploraion. You coninue exploring he opic bu break here o make life easier for he reader. PARAGRAPHTHREE: You coninue o explore. PARAGRAPHFOUR: And here you wrap up he opic. You're sill referring o he Big Picure in Paragraph One. Use paragraphs like hose you see in your model. How LONG SHOULD A PARAGRAPHBE? A paragraph should be as long as he model callsfor: Paragraphs develop heir maerial according o he rules of he genre. Paragraphs in a research paper will no doub ake longer o unfold han paragraphs in adverising copy. If you're wriing a business leer, wrie paragraphs ha look like business-leer paragraphs. Tha means (for a one-page leer) ha you begin and end wih shor paragraphs (one or wo senences for each) bu ha he middle paragraph-your Developmen secion-deserves hree o five senences because here you're elaboraing he main idea. A good model will show you how o use paragraphs. I will show you when o use long paragraphs, when o use shor paragraphs, when o wrie paragraphs wih a Big Picure, and when o wrie classicparagraphs ha no only begin wih a Big Picure bu also include supporing sub-poin senences, A good model can be an aricle in a magazine ha you admire. Or a good leer by somebody in your office.or a sample essay ha your professor hands ou. Or a book by your favorie wrier. We devise paragraphs according o he genre ha our model belongs o. The word genre means he kind of wriing ha he model represens. Novels form a genre (hey're a work of he imaginaion, beween 100pages and 1000 pages). Novels separae ino sub-genres: romance, wesern, mainsream, THE BASICS OF PARAGRAPHS AND TRANSITIONS 31

4 mysery, and so on. Wihin sub-genres, here are furher genre separaions. Mysery novels break ino hard-boiled (ough-guy privae eyes), he cozy (amaeurs who sumble on a crime), he procedural (cops a work as hey unravel who done i), and so on. And wihin hose sub-sub-genres, he genre breaks down even farher. Each genre-from he business leer o he police procedural-ends o call for cerain kinds of paragraphing. Pick up a novel by popular wriers like Sephen King and Dean Koonz, and you'll discover ha heir paragraphs fall on he shor side. In fac hey love one-senence paragraphs. How come? The horror-novel genre, o which King and Koonz boh conribue many lively examples, uses shor paragraphs o pull he reader along. One-senence paragraphs lead you ~own he page like ugs on a leash. You can' ge away. You have o keep read mg. Your eyes burn-feverish wih he suspense. More~ver, we're all children of he TV age, presumably wih hiry-second aenion spans afer years of gazing a hiry-second commercials and music videos. Popular ficion also uses shor paragraphs because hey're easier o follow; modern readers seem o ge los inside long paragraphs-paragraphs h~ las for more.han a half page. So o respond o modern reading psychologies, popular wriers keep heir paragraphs shor. Anoher myh augh in grade school is ha we should never wrie onesenence paragraphs. Nonsense! I depends on he genre. End of discussion. How Do I FIX BAD PARAGRAPHS? Le's define as "bad" a paragraph ha doesn' do he ask expeced. Tha is, if he genre you're working in demands one kind of a paragraph and you wrie anohe.r, ~en ha's a "badyaragraph." A loosely srucured paragraph may work fine in a leer o a fnend bu look enirely ou of place in formal business correspo~d~n.c~.by he same oken, a personal essay (like a blog enry) may appear siff If I s consruced of nohing bu opic senence/example senences, whereas research essays are long srings of opic senences suppored by senences wih examples. "Good" and "bad," hen, exis largely in he eye of he genre. ',: If you're expeced o wrie a loosely srucured paragraph, you'll probably have no rouble since hese approximae how we alk: a bunch of senences circling around a opic, spinning ou variaions on some heme. The one problem you'll encouner is going oo far: leing he paragraph become oo loose. As you edi, remind yourself ha you may be aking a scenicjourney bu ha you don' have o sop a every ineresing locaion. Youcan' forge he journey's desinaion. Bu if you're expeced o wrie a radiional paragraph along he lines of opic senence and examples, hree major problems can derail you: Youunderdevelop Youoverdevelop Youforge he Big Picure Here's an underdeveloped paragraph: Wes Side Sory is liked by los of people. I's always been popular, from he movies o radio, Tv, and CDs. Also, i's presened a grea deal on sage. Fix such a paragraph by asking Who, Wha, When, Where, Why, and How quesions: l. Who wroe Wes Side Sory? (Leonard Bernsein) 2. Wha is Wes Side Sory? (Broadway musical) 3. When was i wrien? (1957) 4. Where was i premiered? (Broadway) 5. Why should I wrie abou i? (Toexplore is growing populariy) 6. How has i shown is growing populariy? (Through he movie, CDs, and sage performances) Providing he conex of he Big Picure (he who, wha, when, where, why, and how-wih pleny of examples) will fully develop he paragraph. Here's he overdeveloped version: 32 KEY2 THE BASICS OF PARAGRAPHSAND TRANSITIONS 33

5 Leonard Bernsein's musical Wes Side Sory has en;oyed growing populariy since is 1957 Broadway premiere, he same year ha Frank loesser, anoher composer of genius, brough ou his operaic deligh The Mos Happy Fella and Iowa's Own genius, Meredih Willson, le loose The Music Man on he Broadway sage. Wha an amazing year. (As a noe of ineres, one should add ha boh Loesser and Willson, unlike Bernsein, who worked wih lyricis Sephen Sondheim on his paricular show, wroe he words for heir brillian funes-if Uunes"is he righ wordl) As regards Wes Side Sory, in 1961, Hollywood produced a film ha won many Academy Awards and saw huge box office success-all of i, of course, highly deserved, especially in ligh of he compeing films from ha specacularly forgeable year. Followinghe original cos album (you'll recall i, I'm sure), a number of recordings, from full orchesral suies o Muzak arrangemens (and hese I'm sure you won'if you're lucky), were released, inroducing he lisening public o Bernsein's music. And local heaer groups around he world, from high school and neighborhood drama clubs o professional companies, have presened Wes Side Sory o enhusiasic audiences. These companies may vary in qualiy, bu here's no doub ha hey approach heir ask wih zeal and ardor for he moser's maserpiece-ond hank Godl one mus surely shou, for us liseners all. The boldface highlighs he overdeveloped addiions-which, hough essenially "relevan," sill cause oo many road sops along he way. The real issue here is he growing populariy of Wes Side Sory since is 1957 premiere. No more or less. The wrier gushes ou maerial ha may ineres him bu ha overwhelms he paragraph's lone mission: o provide examples for he Big Picure (he growing populariy of Wes Side Sory). The hird problem is o forge he Big Picure: Leonard Bernsein's musical Wes Side Sory has enjoyed growing populariy since is 1957 Broadway premiere. Tha year saw severoi landmark musicals presened on he Broodway sage. Despie he blandness of he 1950s, Broadway heaer managed o produce some of is fines work. Television, oo, was in is golden age, wih cuing edge hour dramas and comedy like The Honeymooners and I Love Lucy, no o menion he lae-nigh brilliance of alk-show hoss Seve Allen and his successor, jack Poor. In fac, one can argue ha he decade of he fifies gave us our bes TVprogramming. h has raveled from Bernsein o a final sen- Asonishingly, he paragra~ H did his happen? I's easy when you ence abou fifiestv programml~g. ow. I d ou of anoher idea and hen wrie by associaion-when one I~ea.rerruna~Xers from Wes Side Sory o h The chain of associaions w h li ano er...., h 1950so elevision in he 1950so e qua 1- Broadway musicals of 1957o e y of TV programming in he How do you fix he problem? ' Go back o he BigPicure, Each senence mus refer o 1, r wriing a radiionally srucured para- And remember, wheher you rei) a loosely srucured paragraph graph (opic. sen en ces and examp es or h B Picure. (heme and variaions), o keep your eye on e Ig How Do I Go FROM HERE TO THERE?.. m here o here a ransiion. We ofen hear Ediors call he device for gomg fro d siion"-boh of which can "I d ' flow" or "Younee a ran h commens like oes~. he nex. So how do you fix e mean ha you're jumping from one opic 0 problem?. ediors pracice a leas hree echniques for Professional wners and going from here o here: 1. Transiion* words and phrases 2. Repeaed key words 3. Common denominaors 1. Transiion Words and Phrases.. here is o use ordinary ransiions (see The firs echnique o go from here o!h her hand or a conjuncion* (like page 37).You plug in however or on e 0 and or bu} beween wo senences:. he hinking you do when you read. On Acion movies are abou feeling-no down he book and reflec on he oher hand, when you read, _y~ucanr p~ase. Bu acion movies don' give he passage-even a passage Wi a co c you ime o reflec. 34 KEY2 THE BASICS OF PARAGRAPHS AND TRANSITIONS 35

6 Or beween wo paragraphs: A lis of Transiion Words and Phrases I like acion movies because hey kick you in he gu. Acion movies require lile hinking. You don' have o hink in he mids of a car chase or when a guy slips off a skyscraper ledge or a muan hacks up a pack of Cub Scous. Acion movies are abou feeling-no he hinking you do when you read. On he oher hand, when you read, you can pu down he book and reflec on he passage-even a passage wih a car chose. Bu acion movies don' give you ime o reflec. You're on a roller coaser ride ha lass ill he movie ends. Acion movies are roller coaser rides, wih he some ups and downs and wild hrills ha slam your somach before you can hink abou how scared you are. However, because acion movies don' make you hink, hey don' las oo long in he memory. In he end, one acion movie is prey much like anoher-jus like one roller coaser ride prey much resembles anoher. All you can do o improve he ride is o add exra hills and curves. And in he end, all he rides-wheher in he movie heaer or a he fair-become one big blur. Depending on funcion, ordinary ransiion words and phrases fall ino a dozen caegories: TO SHOW ADDITION again also besides equally imporan finally firs, second, ec. furher furhermore [us as imporan moreover oo TO SHOW DETAILS especially in paricular namely specifically o enumerae TO SHOW ASSENT afer all a any rae a leas clearly neverheless of course sill ye TO SHOW EMPHASIS above all cerainly in fac in shor in ruh indeed mos imporan obviously of course really surely TO SHOW CONTRAST by conras however in conras in spie of his insead neverheless nowihsanding on he conrary on he one/oher hand sill whereas TO SHOW END a los finally in conclusion in shor in summary on he whole overall o sum up o summarize TO SHOW ADDITION TO SHOW ASSENT TO SHOW CONTRAST TO SHOW DETAILS TO SHOW EMPHASIS TO SHOW END TO SHOW EXAMPLES TO SHOW RESULTS Caegories of Transiion Words and Phrases TO SHOW PLACE TO SHOW SIMILARITY TO SHOW PURPOSE TO SHOW TIME We can flesh ou hese dozen caegories ino he following:,",' 1,'./ Ii' TO SHOW EXAMPLES for example for insance furher fu rhermore in addiion in he firs place o illusrae TO SHOW RESULTS accordingly as a resul for ha reason for his reason oherwise herefore hus TO SHOW PLACE beyond nearby opposie here o he lef o he righ TO SHOW SIMILARITY by he same oken equally imporan in he some manner in he some way like likewise similarly oo TO SHOW PURPOSE for his/ha purpose o do his/ha o his/ha end wih his/ha in mind wih his/ha in view TO SHOW TIME afer a while aferward(s) a presen. a he same ime direcly earlier in he meanime laer meanwhile nex presenly simulaneously soon hen 36 KEY 2 THE BASICS OF PARAGRAPHS AND TRANSITIONS 37

7 2. Repeaed Key Words The second echnique o go from here o here is o repea key words. TypicaUy,you pull a key word or key words ou of he las senence of one paragraph and repea i, or hem, in he firs senence of he nex paragraph. graph: LAST senence of one paragraph o he FIRST senence of he nex para Acion movies Sar wih he las senence or wo of a paragraph: Ie have oken o he roods on All across he world, young p~op b J f he loner and he ouheir moorcycles-he romanic sym a a low. Then find a common denominaor: Like he loner on he moorcycie, h e.[ozz musician in sunglasses exemplifies wha i means o be cool. However, are roller coaser rides, wih he same ups and downs and wild hrills ha slam your somach before you can hink abou how scared you are. Iacian movies ] don' make you hink; as a resul, hey don' say long in he memory. Beween ha paragraph and he nex paragraph: d When Bill Clinon appeare on a a Ik ho wearing sunglasses hs w p ino America's. h' phone he knew ow a a and ployinq IS.saxo. h b.' 01 Clinon knew ha his youh naional obsession Wi ejnlg ~o.. he older Bush if he I h I hi. an e ecion oqcrns could on yep rrn In porrayed himself as on au 'd cool young poliician rying o Sl er, a buck he sysem. Moorcycles and Bill Clinon are divi " ided byocom mon denominaor: cool. The boxed key words link up he firs paragraph o he nex. Imagine a series of paragraphs. Now pu links beween hem using key words. Suddenly each paragraph hooks up o he paragraph ha follows. You can' go wrong wih his echnique. (And noe ha he ransiion however funcions as sill one more link beween he paragraphs.) 3. Common Denominaors The hird echnique o go from here o here is he mos fun of he hree. Take any wo opics and find some common denominaor (jus as 2 is a common denominaor of 4 and 8). abou moorcycles o a para How can you possibly go from a paragraph graph abou Bill Clinon? Easy KEY 2 moorcycles Bill Clinon Find he common denominaor...~ Use he common denominaor as a pivo beween any wo opics: Thus: moorcycles COOL Bill Clinon Ie have aken o he roads on All across he world, young pe_op b I of he loner and he ouheir moorcycles-he romanic sym 0 law. cle he jazz musician in sunglasses Like he loner on!he moorcyb I I Wh Bill Clinon appeared exemplifies wha I means o e coo" en THE BASICS OF PARAGRAPHS AN D TRANSITIONS 39

8 on a alk show weari,ng sunglasses and playing his saxophone, he kne~ how o op Ino America's noional obsession wih bein cool. Clinon knew ha his youh could onl h I hi g f ins h yep rrn In an elec- Ion agains e older Bush if he porrayed himself 'd a cool I", as on ou Sl er young po iicion rying o buck he sysem, ' Similarly, you can go from jus abou nv ooi, opic by figuring ou he logical link. And ~! li:\~ Jus~,abou any?~her and repeaed ke words ho k,ie or mary ransiions chain ha will fl:w like he M~S:iS~~;i, ~~::f~~~i~~s~~geher in a long, solid Is Tha a Fragmen or a Senence? Simple Senences or Less Simple Senences? How Do I Creae Senence Variey? Acive vs. Passive? Wha Goes Wrong wih Our Senences? Key 3 The Basics of Senences Is THAT A FRAGMENT OR A SENTENCE? Every good wrier should know he difference beween a fragmen and a senence, If you don', your wriing will ake a dive in a leas wo regreable direcions: You'll wrie fragmens when you should wrie senences (and ha's a bonehead misake open o ridicule). You'll commi all kinds of puncuaion errors (more abou his under Key 6). A fragmen is a group of words needing more informaion o complee i-eiher BEFORE or AFTER he fragmen-o urn a parial idea ino a whole idea -+ ino a senence. For example, if we wrie, When i rains -+ Alhough he game ended lae -+ If I were you -+ Eo- because he waned Eo- since she was available hen Eo- which was full of gas fumes o do he righ hing we've wrien fragmens, Each one needs informaion o complee i: 40 KEY 2 41