5. Making the Structure of Your Paper Perspicuous
5.1 The structure of the paragraphs within your paper:
A good paper will have a logical and perspicuous structure. You need to organize your points and arguments in a logical fashion and at the same time make that organization apparent to your reader. Each paragraph should have a clear place in the overall argument.
The key to having your essay follow a logical structure is to make an outline before sitting down to write. It’s difficult to give any more specific advice, since the best logical structure for your essay will depend on the particularities of your argument. But there are two obvious points that you should be aware of: (1) make sure you explicate a view or argument, clearly and charitably, before criticizing it and (2) explain key terms, concepts, and examples before employing them.
I cannot over emphasize how important it is to make the structure of your essay perspicuous to your reader; your reader shouldn't have to work to figure it out. So start with a good introduction, one that maps out the general structure of the essay, and then, in the body of your paper, employ transitional words and sentences to keep your reader on track.
Use transitional phrases, such as:
- I will begin by...
- Before I say what is wrong with X's argument, I will first...
- At this point, we need to consider the following objection...
- In this section, I will...
- In the next section, I will...
- Having argued for the view that... , I now wish to consider rival views.
- Although I have shown..., I still need to prove...
- Next, I will offer support for what is perhaps my most controversial assumption, that... I have argued that..., but someone might object...
- Further support for this claim comes from...
These transitional phrases go a long way towards making the structure of your paper perspicuous. To illustrate, consider the following paper fragment:
...We've just seen how X says that P. I will now present two arguments that not-P.
My first argument is...
My second argument is...
X might respond to my arguments in several ways. For instance, he might say that...
However, this response fails, because...
Another way that X might respond to my arguments is to claim that... This response also fails, because...
So we have seen that none of the responses open to X succeed in rebutting my argument. Hence, we should reject X's claim that P.
Notice how easy it is to identify and follow the structure of this paper. You want your paper to be just as easy to follow.
You might also consider dividing your paper into sections (and possibly even subsections), using informative headings to help guide your reader. This too can help make the structure of your essay perspicuous.
Illustration:
I. Introduction
II. Singer's Argument for an Obligation to Assist
III. Why We Should Reject His Initial Assumption
IV. How Singer Might Respond
V. Conclusion
5.2 The structure of the sentences within your paragraphs:
Not only should the paragraphs within an essay cohere, but so should the sentences within each paragraph. They should flow smoothly from one to the next. There are a number of ways to achieve this: (1) Repeat key words and phrases. It is important to be consistent when referring to key concepts and theories. This consistency and repetition will help bind the paragraph together. (2) Use pronouns to refer to what was mentioned earlier in the paragraph. If you say “This is true because...,” the reader is forced to recall what “this” refers to. The pronoun, thus, causes the reader to sum up, quickly and subconsciously, what was said previously (what this is) before going on to the because clause. Of course, it is must always be perfectly clear to what the pronoun refers. If the “this” is ambiguous such that it could refer to either one of the two things that you mentioned in the previous sentence, then the reader will have to pause to figure out which it is, and that’s bad. (3) Create parallel structures. Parallel structures are created by constructing two or more phrases or sentences that have the same grammatical structure or use the same parts of speech. Parallel structures help the reader see that the paragraph is giving a number of illustrations of the same general idea. (4) Use transitional or bridging words to help the reader follow the logical structure of the paragraph.
Here are some examples of such transitional words:
- To show addition: and, also, besides, for one, in the first case, first, second, third, finally
- To offer support: because, since, for, given
- To conclude: so, thus, therefore, hence, consequently, accordingly, it follows that, for this reason, from this, as a result, it would seem then
- To illustrate: e.g., for example, for instance, to illustrate, a case in point
- To specify: i.e., that is, viz., namely, specifically
- To intensify: moreover, furthermore, mainly, principally, above all, after all, what's more, more importantly
- To emphasize: certainly, indeed, in fact, of course
- To compare: likewise, similarly, by the same reasoning
- To contrast: yet, but, rather, still, although, while, nevertheless, regardless, despite, even so, in spite of, however, whereas, even though, by contrast, on the one hand...on the other hand...
- To refocus: in any case, at any rate, in a word, in short, to sum up, to return
- To indicate supposition: assume, suppose, let's assume, let's suppose
- To concede a point: of course, doubtless, it cannot be denied, while recognizing, the fact remains
Illustration: Look at the following paragraph:
The ancient Egyptians were masters of preserving dead people's bodies by making mummies of them. Mummies several thousand years old have been discovered nearly intact. The skin, hair, teeth, fingernails and toenails, and facial features of the mummies were evident. It is possible to diagnose the disease they suffered in life, such as smallpox, arthritis, and nutritional deficiencies. The process was remarkably effective. Sometimes apparent were the fatal afflictions of the dead people: a middle-aged king died from a blow on the head, and polio killed a child king. Mummification consisted of removing the internal organs, applying natural preservatives inside and out, and then wrapping the body in layers of bandages.
Though weak, this paragraph is not a total washout. It starts with a topic sentence, and the sentences that follow are clearly related to the topic sentence. In the language of writing, the paragraph is unified (i.e., it contains no irrelevant details). However, the paragraph is not coherent. The sentences are disconnected from each other, making it difficult for the reader to follow the writer's train of thought.
Below is the same paragraph revised for coherence. (Italics indicates pronouns and repeated key words, bold indicates transitional words, and underlining indicates parallel structures.)
The ancient Egyptians were masters of preserving dead people's bodies by making mummies of them. In short, mummification consisted of removing the internal organs, applying natural preservatives inside and out, and then wrapping the body in layers of bandages. And the process was remarkably effective. Indeed, mummies several thousand years old have been discovered nearly intact. Their skin, hair, teeth, fingernails and toenails, and facial features are still evident. Their diseases in life, such as smallpox, arthritis, and nutritional deficiencies, are still diagnosable. Even their fatal afflictions are still apparent: a middle-aged king died from a blow on the head; a child king died from polio.
The paragraph is now much more coherent. The organization of the information and the links between the sentences help readers move easily from one sentence to the next. Notice how this writer uses a variety of coherence devices, sometimes in combination, to achieve overall paragraph coherence.