One of the most common weaknesses I see in day-to-day writing is poor logical flow from one idea or point to the next. This usually takes the form of a bunch of seemingly unrelated phrases thrown together with little or no sense of sequence, continuity, or relativity. I call it “disconnected writing”, and it’s all around us.
I see many blatant examples of disconnected writing every day in the newspaper. I also hear it on the radio and TV news on a regular basis. In fact, when I come across an item containing this type of writing I often find myself asking more questions at the end of the item than it answered for me in the first place. It’s especially frustrating when the way an item is reported raises very obvious questions that just about anyone would naturally ask, yet it doesn’t answer or even acknowledge those questions.
Are you guilty of “disconnected writing”? To find out exactly what it is and how to overcome it, keep on reading…
Although the overall subject of an item may be obvious, the words that describe it seem to be scattered on the page like an almost random set of unconnected thoughts. On a regular basis, I see letters and reports in which each phrase seems to be independent of the one before and the one after, when in reality there is an actual sequential and/or logical flow.
Consider the following three sentence example:
1. The entire building had to be searched.
2. They started the search on the third floor.
3. It took three hours to complete the search.
Notice that the three separate statements are all valid sentences. They convey the bare essential facts of the situation, but nothing more. In fact, they raise almost more questions than they answer. For example:
- Was it a serious incident?
- Had it ever happened before?
- Why did they start on the third floor?
- What about the first two floors?
- Is three hours a long time for that?
- How long does it usually take?
These are all logical (and obvious) questions that the average person might ask when reading a paragraph (or hearing a newscast) made up of the three sentences above. Let’s transform these now, using transition phrases:
“UNLIKE the previous minor incident, this time the entire building had to be searched. BECAUSE the fire was still smoking on the first two floors, they started on the third, working upwards, covering the first two last. CONSEQUENTLY, it took them a full three hours before they finally completed the typical two-hour job.”
Notice the use of the transition words: UNLIKE, BECAUSE, and CONSEQUENTLY.
Using these three words has allowed us to easily connect the three independent sentences and give them a sense of chronological order and logical flow. They also allow us to answer ALL of the obvious questions, either with the transition word itself, or by adding a couple more words.
In short, transition words/phrases have turned three dry independent phrases into a little story that makes sense to the reader.
These types of words/phrases are ideal for allowing one to easily connect thoughts, and create logical sequences between sentences and paragraphs. They are usually inserted at the beginning of a sentence and normally refer directly back to the previous sentence and/or paragraph without repeating the specific subject.
The following paragraphs list some of the more common transition words and phrases that will help make your text more understandable and interesting to the reader. For each one, I have included a typical example of how the word/phrase might be used in a typical sentence.
Note that I have capitalized the transition words/phrases for emphasis and easy identification.
CAUSE AND EFFECT…
THEN, he moved on to the next work station.
AS A RESULT, the team lost the game.
FOR THIS REASON, she always went home for the weekend.
THE RESULT WAS always predictable.
WHAT FOLLOWED was as painful as it was inevitable.
IN RESPONSE, he quickly upped the ante.
THEREFORE, the aircraft overshot the runway.
THUS, it was just a matter of time.
BECAUSE OF THIS, the results were always the same.
CONSEQUENTLY, he was no longer friends with Frank.
THE REACTION to this event was swift and decisive.
IN CONTRAST TO…
UNLIKE last year, this one was highly profitable.
DIFFERENT from this, was our approach to manufacturing.
IN SPITE OF the dot com bust, the company prospered.
ON THE OTHER HAND, earnings per share have increased.
ON THE CONTRARY, the impact was less than expected.
OPPOSING that idea was the move to new technologies.
HOWEVER, that approach may actually prove better.
CONTRARY to his findings, the revenue picture is good.
NEVERTHELESS, something still appears to be missing.
SEQUENCE AND RELATIVITY…
THEN, each one followed in numerical sequence.
IN ADDITION, a fourth material was added to the mix.
FOLLOWING THAT, was the traditional swearing-in.
TO ENUMERATE, first there was the car, second the boat,…
NEXT in the series was the “outrigger” brand line.
BESIDES THAT, there were two other possible sources.
SUBSEQUENTLY, they traveled by boat to France.
SIMILARITY AND COMPARISON…
LIKE always, he took the company on a dangerous course.
SAME as before, he managed to meet all of the requirements.
SIMILAR things were known to happen at certain times.
CLOSE to that was the result of the second round of voting.
LIKEWISE, they made similar changes in the factory.
ALSO, there were the worker’s families to consider.
NEAR that one, was where we found the faulty component.
EXPLANATION AND EXAMPLE…
FOR EXAMPLE, last year’s model was underpowered.
ONE SUCH occurrence was last week’s power outage.
FOR INSTANCE, earnings this year are higher than last.
TO ILLUSTRATE, he went to Chicago just to make his point.
ALSO, there is a new approach to sheet-metal molding.
THAT TOO just goes to make my point even stronger.
TO DEMONSTRATE, I will use the new model throughout.
The above are just examples, and there many other such transition words and phrases that are used in everyday conversation or writing. In my opinion, appropriate use of these words/phrases is the number one technique for making any type of writing flow more logically and clearly.
BOTTOM LINE: Smooth, orderly and logical transitions from one thought to the other, one sentence to the next, and one paragraph to another are key to creating clear meaning and flow in any document. Appropriate use of transition words and phrases will achieve this for you.
June 28th, 2006 at 9:42 pm
Thank you for your systematically organized writing tips. I find them very helpful.
June 28th, 2006 at 11:17 pm
I appreciate the insight. Thanks for your valuable contribution to web english.
June 29th, 2006 at 12:38 am
You are a writting genious Shaun!
June 29th, 2006 at 12:38 am
I really valued your great english writing inputs. This will help me a lot.
June 29th, 2006 at 1:15 am
Your input is valuable Shaun! It really Helps me a lot.
June 29th, 2006 at 1:51 am
Dear Mr.Shaun Fawcett
I had the struggle of putting thoughts in a logical form. Your article has helped me to experiment and construct my thoughts into a logical information using transcition phrases.
Your input is really valuable.
Best Regards
Sridhar KS
June 29th, 2006 at 4:03 am
I really satisfied on the transition words,so thanks Shaun! And keep it helping me
June 29th, 2006 at 7:45 am
This contribution very helpful for us insolving our daily problem.
June 29th, 2006 at 10:30 am
Being an English teacher, I find your tips very useful, keep up the good stuff! and thanks!
June 29th, 2006 at 1:47 pm
As a former newspaper reporter, I shudder when I read the daily paper. The old AP rules seem to have been abandoned for some new type language that not only isn’t pretty, but is downright tacky at times. It never hurts to refresh one’s self, so I enjoyed your tips. Hope some of the younger reporters read and heed them.
June 29th, 2006 at 3:47 pm
Hello Shaun
I will never say that I’m not guilty of disconnected, and/or disjointed writings. If I am, I’m blushing with embarrassment. Ooops!
However, it is writing power tips like these that will help to sharpen my writing skills.
Thank you, and keep up the good work.
Sincerely
Elaine
June 30th, 2006 at 8:15 am
This is a very useful tip and will, no doubt, go a long way in helping my writing.
July 3rd, 2006 at 1:29 am
Dear Mr. Fawcett,
Thankyou so much for updating us with the latest as well as logical tips in English writing. It is worth going through your thoughts / skills you share with we readers on Web English and quite appreciating.
I really feel enlightened after going through your articles on English writing skills and equally heiped me to correct my flaws on the same.
All the Best and keep up this fabulous work.
Sincerely,
Shumona
July 3rd, 2006 at 2:19 pm
Thank you for the tips Shaun. You are one of the great gurus of good writing who I truly admire. Like you I feel that disconnected writing needs to be fixed, but my worry is that people overdo these connecting words. You don’t always need them. Some of them - like ‘consequently’, ’subsequently’ and ‘to enumerate’ - in my humble view sound ponderous and old-fashioned. I personally would not use them. But that’s just my opinion. I may be wrong.
August 30th, 2006 at 11:52 pm
Hi Shaun,
Please keep sending me your business writing articles. It is very use ful for me.
Thanks with regards,
shekar
October 30th, 2006 at 9:37 am
Very useful tips on logical writing. Please keep on assisiting aspiring copywriters like myself.
January 30th, 2007 at 2:55 am
from now on i’ll be one of your readers
February 1st, 2007 at 9:34 am
Dear Shaun,
As all other readers I would like to thank you for these tips. Though I am working in Finance Department and am not required to write narrative reports, I find your recommendations very useful for daily correspondence.
Warm regards,
Sevinj