While relying on the reader’s knowledge is an acceptable means of linking
sentences it carries a danger. If you assume that the reader knows something
that in fact they do not know then obviously you have lost them. Be careful,
therefore, about using this means of joining sentences. Before relying on this
device, be sure that readers will easily make the connection. To the extent that
they cannot do this,
your
prose will falter. This emphasises again the need to
anticipate the readership you wish to target in your writing and to entertain an
understanding of their level of knowledge in the particular field. This is
particularly true for authors writing in a discipline entailing terms of a technical
nature.
Level 4: Paragraphs
Level 4 Paragraphs
Form paragraphs. Gather sentences into paragraphs.
Level 4 in the model is to gather sentences into paragraphs. A paragraph is
constituted by a number of sentences that are connected because they deal
with a common idea (or a theme or topic). This idea may be simple or
complex, static or developed and with or without components. Consequently,
the notion of a common idea is not fixed. Instead it is relative and is
determined by context, that is by the structure and purpose of the text in which
it appears.
Put simply, the whole text consists of a number of paragraphs. Each
paragraph must flow from the one before, and in so doing play its part in
creating the overall structure of the text. So, it does not matter in isolation what
the idea in a paragraph is, but it does matter in terms of how the paragraph
flows from the one before and leads to the one after. If a paragraph does not
flow and lead it may be necessary to reconstitute the paragraph with a different
idea, or consider moving the idea that it enshrines to another location within
the overall argument.
Ideally each
paragraph has a topic sentence (also known as a ‘theme
sentence’),
which has two related functions. It states the central idea in the
paragraph and it relates to each other sentence in the paragraph. Given this,
some good advice
might be offered. Even if a writer
does not use a theme
sentence in their text, sometimes it is a good idea to write one to test how well
a paragraph sticks to its central idea, especially if there are problems with the
sentence. Everything in the paragraph should clearly relate and connect to the
theme sentence.
Level 5: Linking Paragraphs
Level 5 Linking Paragraphs
Link paragraphs. Ensure that each paragraph flows from the one
before it.
Paragraphs are linked in two interrelated ways. First, each paragraph has to
play its part in producing the overall structure of the text. Second, there needs
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