Is This You? My professor tells me to be more clear or to

connect my sentences. I get dinged for not having transitions. But my

ideas make sense to me! I wrote all the facts, but I got a C and my

professor said I didn't have a point or an argument. No fair!

How can I fill three pages? I said everything on the first page. I don't want to write filler.

Academic authors take too long to say things and they say the same thing over and over.

Connecting Sentences and Transitions

Justin is a good dog. He jumps over my six-foot fence to chase squirrels.

People thought LBJ was a bad president. He supported civil rights.

Sentences echo the sentence before and connect to the sentence

after.

What Can You Do?

1. Use transition terms

2. Add pointing words

3. Use certain key words and phrasesThroughout your entire text

4. Repeat yourself—but with a difference!

TRANS =

Latin root word for CROSS OVER

Transitions “cross over” sentences & paragraphs

They also say what KIND of connection you are making.

ADDITION

Also, and, besides, furthermore, in addition indeed, in fact, moreover, so, too.

My foster dog Gator is a real sweetheart; furthermore, he is learning manners very fast.

EXAMPLE

After all As an illustration For example, For instance Specifically To take a case in

point

LBJ actually had a better record than his reputation would suggest. For example, it was LBJ, not JFK, who pushed through the Voting Rights Act of 1964.

CONTRAST Although But By contrast Conversely Despite the fact that Even though Nonetheless Whereas

Although Gator can still break things when he gets excited and wiggly, he has begun to calm down since I have been training him.

CAUSE AND EFFECT

Accordingly As a result Consequently Hence Since So Then Therefore

Gator tried to crowd my friend's dog Roxy once too often. Accordingly, she snapped at him and then backed him into his crate. In effect, she put him into “time out,” which showed him what sort of behavior other dogs expected of him.

Transitions

Help you move from one sentence to the other Combine two short sentences into one

smoother sentence. NOT: “Spot is a good dog. He has fleas.” BUT: “Spot is a good dog, even though he

has fleas.” Transitions help make sure you have an

argument in the first place!

USE POINTING WORDS This These That Those Their Such Pronouns

Use carefully! Add a precise noun.

This action, these ideas, their thoughts, such beliefs.

Repeat Key Words & Phrases “While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I

came across your recent statement calling my present activities “unwise and untimely.” Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day, and I would have no time for constructive work. But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.” Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail”

Repeat Yourself—But With A Difference

“The mass media has engendered in many women a kind of cultural identity crisis. We are ambivalent toward femininity on the one hand and feminism on the other. Pulled in opposite directions—told we are equal, yet told we were subordinate; told we could change history but told we were trapped by history—we got the bends at an early age, and we've never gotten rid of them. When I open Vogue, for example, I am simultaneously infuriated and seduced … I want to look beautiful; I think wanting to look beautiful is about the most dumb-ass goal you could have. I adore the materialism; I despise the materialism … that's what it means to be a woman in America.

The Art of Metacommentary

HUH? What I meant to say was … My point was not X, but Y....

You may not like what I have to say, but … Metacommentary: telling the reader how to

interpret what you have said or are about to say.

Why Do You Need Metacommentary?

Facts don't speak for themselves. Evidence in many areas can be understood

different ways. Helps keep readers from getting lost. Helps you develop your own ideas. Draws out implications

“It is my intention in this book to show that a great...shift has taken place in America, with the result that the

content of much of our public discourse has become dangerous nonsense. With this in view, my task in the

chapters ahead is straightforward. I must, first, demonstrate how, under the governance of the printing press, discourse in America was different from what it is

now—generally coherent, serious, and rational; and then how, under the governance of television, it has

become shriveled and absurd. But to avoid the possibility that my analysis will be dismissed as

standard-brand academic whimpering, a kind of elitist complaint about “junk” on television, I must first explain that I appreciate junk as much as the next fellow and I

know full well that the printing press has generated enough of it to fill the Grand Canyon to overflowing.”

Metacommentary Techniques

Essentially, I am arguing that...

My point is not that … but that ....

What … really means is that ....

In other words … To put it another way

…

Having just argued that (summary), we need to turn to X.

For example... To take a case in

point … Even more

important... Above all …

Even More Metacommentary! Incidentally By the way Although some

readers may object that .... I would answer that ....

In sum, then …

My conclusion, then, is that …

In short …

These strategies will make you a better writer – and a better reader

Practice, practice, practice. Pay attention when you listen to people speak. Pay attention when you read. Reread and pay attention when you write.

Look for these specific techniques in your own papers.

Be patient with yourself. We are ALL developing writers.

Say Why Your Reader Should Care

X is important because … Although X may seem trivial, it is in fact crucial

in terms of today's concern over … Ultimately, what is at stake here is … These findings have important consequences

for the broader area of … My discussion of X is in fact addressing the

larger matter of ...

More Transitional Phrases ELABORATION Actually By extension In short That is, To put it bluntly In other words Ultimately

COMPARISON Along the same lines In the same way Likewise similarly

AND MORE TRANSITIONS

CONCESSION Admittedly It is true that Granted Naturally Of course To be sure

CONCLUSION As a result Consequently Hence In conclusion In short In sum Therefore

Sources and CitationThis presentation is an abbreviated summaryof chapters eight through ten of

Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, They Say, I say: The Moves That Matter

In Academic WritingW.W. Norton & Co., 2006, 101-132.

All graphics are from the same text.

It is in our library, or you can order it from any online retailer. The ISBN numbers are ISBN 13: 978-0-393-92409-1 or ISBN 10: 0-393-92409-2.