writing

Transitions or Connectives

Transitions or connectives act as a bridge to connect one paragraph, sentence, clause, or word with another. There are three types of transitions or connectives.

• Logical relationshipsThese transitions help the reader to follow the logic of an argument. For example, paragraphs on the history of archaeology might be connected using the following transition: "Despite the growing popularity of hypothetico-deductive research in archaeology, some researchers have opted for a more interpretive and reflective approach."
  
• Temporal relationshipsA special form of logical transition, temporal relationships use a sequence or a progression of time to link ideas. For example, "After the end of World War II, the United States experienced rapid economic growth through the 1950's."
  
• Spatial relationshipsWith spatial relationships, the writer orients the reader to the objects in a scene. For example, "Moving past the window and toward the desk, Joann spotted the book on the coffee table."
  

Cohesive Devices

Cohesive devices connect ideas to one another, providing coherence, clarity, and flow. They help the reader to develop a "train of thought" by connecting words and phrases throughout the essay. Cohesiveness is achieved in a number of ways.

• Pronoun referenceTo refer to a noun that precedes or follows, substitute with an appropriate pronoun. This reduces redundancy without sacrificing clarity. For example, write "As she bent to pick up the coin, Judy noticed that her shoe was not laced" instead of "As Judy bent to pick up the coin, Judy noticed that her shoe was not laced."
  
• Word repetitionIf pronouns are likely to confuse the reader, repeat the nouns instead. This might be the case if two nouns are used in the sentence. For example, "Jose and Raul ran to the window. Gasping in astonishment, Jose [not he] threw open the sash."
  
• SynonymsSynonyms, or words with similar meanings, are effective for connecting important ideas.
  
• Sentence structure repetitionThis cohesive device involves repeating the same sentence structure in order to emphasize the connections among the ideas.
  
• CollocationCollocations are words that occur in expected ways around a certain topic. For example, these words might be used in together: baseball, diamond, home run, and inning.
  
  
  
  
  DEFENDS: A WRITING STRATEGY
  

  ---

  The DEFENDS approach to writing is a task-specific writing strategy that is used along with organizational forms (REFERENCE). DEFENDS guides students through the writing process, beginning with the planning stage and progressing through organizing ideas and proofreading. It assumes that research has been completed. The seven steps in the strategy are discussed below.
  1. D decide on goals and theme
     
     • Decide who will read the paper and what you hope will happen when they do.
     • Decide what kind of information you need to communicate.
     • Decide what your theme will be about.
     • Note the theme on your planning form.
  2. E estimate main ideas and details
     
     • Think of at least two main ideas that will explain your theme.
     • Make sure the main ideas are different.
     • Note the main ideas on your planning form.
     • Note at least three details that can be used to explain each main idea.
  3. F igure the best order of main ideas and details
     
     • Decide which main idea to write about first, second, etc. and note them on the planning form.
     • For each main idea, note the best order for presenting the details on the planning form.
     • Make sure the orders are logical.
     • Refer to the section in this page on Structure and Organization for more details.
  4. E xpress the theme in the first sentence
     
     • The first sentence of your essay should state what the essay is about.
     • For longer papers, the theme should be stated somewhere in the first paragraph or section.
  5. N note each main idea and supporting points
     
     • Note your first main idea using a complete sentence; explain this main idea using the details you ordered earlier.
     • Tell yourself positive statements about your writing and tell yourself to write more.
     • Repeat for each of the other main ideas.
  6. D rive home the message in the last sentence
     
     • Restate what your theme was about in the last sentence or last paragraph.
     • Be sure to use different wordings when repeating your theme.
  7. S search for errors and correct them
     
     • Look for different kinds of errors in your essay and correct them:
       
       • S et editing goals
       • E examine your essay to see if it makes sense
       • A ask yourself whether your message will be clear to others
       • R eveal picky errors (capitalization, punctuation, spelling, etc.)
       • C opy over neatly or retype
       • H ave a last look for errors
     • More Proofreading strategies are discussed elsewhere in this page.