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CONNECTING PARAGRAPHSSTANDARD TRANSITION

Although however and other transitional devices areindispensable to the writer, enabling him or her tomake dozens of connections neatly and efficiently,they cannot handle the whole transitional load. Evenif they could, no writer would depend upon themexclusively, for they can become painfully obviouswhen they are used over and over again. You wantyour reader to be pleasantly aware that yourparagraphs are firmly linked, but you do not want himor her to see chains too clearly or hear them clank tooaudibly into place. For example, here the transitionfrom one paragraph to the next is accomplished by astandard transition alone--the word however:

Mark Twain is established in the mindsof most Americans as a kindly humorist,a gentle and delightful "funny man." Nodoubt his photographs have helpedpromote this image. Everybody isfamiliar with the Twain face. He lookslike every child's ideal grandfather, a dearold white-thatched gentleman whoembodies the very spirit of loving-kindness. However, Twain wrote some ofthe most savage satire everproduced in America. . . .

The standard transition indicates clearly enough thatthe writer is preparing to take off with a new idea inopposition to the one in the first paragraph, but thetransition is far too abrupt. The leap from one idea(how Twain looked) to the next (how he wrote) issimply too great to be handled by a mechanicaltransition. Therefore, you need another kind oftransition, something that is both stronger and subtler.You have it in the paragraph hook.

PARAGRAPH HOOK - WORD OR PHRASE

You probably use the paragraph hook often in yourown writing without knowing it and see it constantlyin your reading without realizing it (as in thissentence). However, to take full advantage of itspossibilities, you should learn to use the paragraphhook consciously, to direct and control it for your ownpurposes. Control, remember, is the essence of style,and the handling of transitions is an important part ofany writer's style.

To see how the paragraph hook differs from thestandard transitional device, observe how much more

firmly the paragraphs hang together if the transition ismade like this:

. . . a dear old white-thatchedgentleman who embodies the veryspirit of loving-kindness. The loving-kindness begins tolook a little doubtful in view of someof his writing, for Twain wrote someof the most savage satire. . . .

Here you see demonstrated the simplest kind ofparagraph hook – the word or phrase hook. The lastword of the first paragraph is hooked into the firstsentence of the second paragraph and used as a pointof departure for introducing another idea. Thisrepetition hooks the paragraphs together solidly. Thehook need not be one word; it can be a phrase. Itshould not, however, exceed three or four words.

Although the last word or phrase of a paragraphfrequently serves as the simplest and strongest kind ofhook, you can go back farther than this, sometimes tocreate an even better effect:

. . . a dear old white-thatched gentlemanwho embodies the very spirit of loving-kindness. This dear old white-thatchedgentleman happens to be the author ofsome of the most savage satire. . .

Generally speaking, the last sentence of a paragraph isthe best place to find the hook for your new paragraph,for this sentence is the one freshest in the reader'smind. If you go back much deeper than this, you willusually need a multiple hook, as in this example:

. . .No doubt his photographs havehelped promote this image. . .He lookslike. . .the very spirit of loving kindness. To accept such an image is to betraygreater familiarity with the photographsthan with the writing, for Twain wrotesome of the most savage satire. . . .

Here both image and photographs are repeated, thus"double hooking" the paragraph to make up for thegreater distance between their first and secondappearance. The greater the distance, the more likelyyou are to need a multiple hook. However, noarbitrary rule in this matter is possible, so theimportant thing is to remember your readers. Makecertain that the connection is clear to them, but do not

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insult them by making the connection too clear-- thatis, by repeating huge sections or whole sentences fromthe preceding paragraph. One or two key words willdo the job.

PARAGRAPH HOOK - IDEA HOOK

All the examples so far have been simple word orphrase hooks. Another variation of the paragraphhook is the idea hook. The principle is the same; youhook into the preceding paragraph, but instead ofrepeating an exact word or phrase you refer to the ideajust expressed, compressing it into a single phrase:

Mark Twain is . . . the very spirit ofloving kindness. Such a view of Twain would probablyhave been a source of amusement to theauthor himself, for Twain wrote some ofthe most savage satire. . . .

Mark Twain is . . . the very spirit ofloving kindness. Any resemblance between this popularportrait and the man who reveals himselfin his writing is purely imaginary, forTwain wrote some of the most savage. . .

In neither of the above examples is an exact word orphrase from the first paragraph repeated, but the hookis clearly there; the referential such a view and thispopular portrait fasten the paragraphs firmly together.

The idea hook can be a great deal more subtle thanthis, of course. If you examine the work of anyaccomplished essayist, you will find many paragraphsthat have no specific word or phrase serving as a linkbut that are nevertheless unmistakably tied together bymeaning. Transitions of this kind require some of thesubtlest skills of writing--the ordering of ideas, the useof inference and allusion, the creation of "echoeffects," the unobtrusive handling of time andemphasis. That takes time.

Meanwhile, the simplest idea hook illustrated abovecan serve you well. By using it, you can avoid thedanger of overloading your work with either the wordhooks or the purely mechanical transitions. Anytransitional method, remember, can becomeannoyingly obvious to a reader if it is overused, sovary your practice, never permitting one method ofhandling transitions to take over the job exclusively.

COMBINATIONS - Transitional Topic Sentence

The combination of standard transitions and paragraphhooks is so natural that you will probably find yourselfusing it as a matter of course. Any of the samplesprovided could be used to demonstrate combinations:

. .a dear old white-thatched gentlemanwho embodies the very spirit of loving-kindness. Twain’s loving kindness begins tolook a little doubtful, however, when onerealizes he also wrote some of the mostsavage satire.

. .a dear old white-thatched gentlemanwho embodies the very spirit of loving-kindness. Twain’s image of a dear old white-thatched gentleman begins to changeafter the reader discovers he also wrotesome of the most savage satire.

. .a dear old white-thatched gentlemanwho embodies the very spirit of loving-kindness. Although Twain may look like everychild's ideal grandfather who embodiesthe very spirit of loving-kindness, hiswriting also reveals some of the mostsavage satire.

Notice that a single transition AND a word or phrasehook is used, so understanding is enhanced dependingon what the reader requires for clarity and your ownview of the material and natural rhythm in writing.

SUMMARY

Remember, transitions help your reader follow yourtrain of thought. They are the links that hold yourideas together and keep them moving toward a singlegoal. Therefore, always make certain that some kindof link exists not only in your own mind but also,clearly and unmistakably, in the words on your paper.

One kind of link is not better than any other kind, butvariety is better than sameness, so try for variety. Usethe purely mechanical devices for quick and simpletransitions in paragraphs. Use word hooks, phrasehooks, and transitional topic sentence combinationsfor stronger and clearer links between paragraphs andto improve emphasis and tone.

Use them all, but, above all, USE THEM.

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