Even if you follow the advice in the preceding units, you can still find yourself rereading your document slowly and carefullyóand finishing it with only the slenderest understanding of its substance. You may understand the words and sentences youíve written, but you may not be entirely certain what they all add up to. While weíll be focusing on the applicability of certain organizational principles to paragraphs, they apply equally powerfully to groups of paragraphs, sections of documents, and even complete documents. These principles ensure that your readers will feel your writing is coherent, and that they will securely grasp and understand your central points.

Remember, however, that these are not rigid formulas to be uniformly applied across all paragraphs or documents. They are, instead, best used when (1) writing about complex information; (2) writing proposals or documents that require you to compress substantial amounts of information in a minimum number of words; (3) diagnosing what, exactly, has gone "wrong" in a piece of writing that seems incoherent or disjointed.

Topic Strings

o Cohesive paragraphs have consistent topic strings.

o Cohesive paragraphs have another set of strings running through them: what could be called thematic  strings.

o Cohesive paragraphs introduce new topic and thematic strings in predictable locations: at the end of the sentences that introduce the paragraph.

Since readers will assume the most consistently familiar pieces of information are the main "characters" of a story, we can build cohesive paragraphs by using a sequence of topicsóusually the subjects of sentences (and clauses) to focus readersí attention on a limited set of people (or events/things/abstractions) and the paragraphís central repeated concepts.

Consistent topics do not mean identical topicsówe mean sequences of words clustered around or naming a single topic that appear throughout the paragraph. Topics need only (1) make consistent sense to the reader and (2) name a single or connected set of topics/ideas.
 

Read the following paragraph:

Truman had many issues to factor into his decision about the Oppenheimer committeeís scientific recommendation to stop the hydrogen bomb project. A Sino-Soviet bloc had been proclaimed; the Cold War was developing; Republican leaders were withdrawing support for his foreign policy; and opinion was coming down on the side of a strong response to the first Russian atom bomb test. As a Democratic President, Truman concluded that being second in developing the hydrogen bomb was an alternative he could not risk. In retrospect, some now believe that the risk was worth taking, but they did not have to consider the issues that Truman did.

óNow, without rereading the paragraph or glancing at it, list the characters from the paragraph that you remember AND two or three words that capture the central concepts woven around those characters: the conceptual center of the paragraph.

óIf you had difficulty being able to name any characters or even conceptual words, itís because the paragraph above has no network of conceptually related words to help you focus on its central concepts.

Themes are sets of conceptually related words, while sequences of them that run through a paragraph are thematic strings. In any paragraph, the words in topic strings and the words in thematic strings are not mutually exclusive. Some words in a topic string may also crop up outside the topic position, while some in the thematic string may turn up as topics. Together, nevertheless, topic and thematic strings constitute the conceptual architecture of a passage, the frame within which you develop new ideas:

 o Topic strings focus your readersí attention on what a passage is globally about.

o Thematic strings give your reader a sense that you are focusing on a core of ideas related to those topics.

Now compare the original "Truman" paragraph, above, with this one:

When the Oppenheimer committee advised President Truman to stop the hydrogen bomb project, Truman had to consider not just scientific issues, but also how developing tensions between the US and USSR were influencing domestic politics. When the Russians and Chinese proclaimed a hostile Sino-Soviet bloc, the Cold War became a political issue. At the same time, Truman was losing Republican support for his foreign policy. So when Russia set off its first atomic bomb, Americans demanded that their President respond strongly. He decided that he could not risk the votersí seeing him as letting the Russians be first in developing the most powerful weapon yet. Some critics now believe that he should have taken that risk, but they did not have to worry about Cold War American politics.

Note that the paragraph now revolves around explicit thematic words that focus the readersí attention on two central themes: first on international tension (developing tensions between the US and USSR, a hostile Sino-Soviet block, the Cold War) and then on domestic politics (domestic politics, Republican support, voters, Cold War American politics).

A second complicating factor: Readers already familiar with the history of that period wouldnít have needed those words to make the original paragraph hang together; they would have supplied their own background knowledge to make the paragraph hang together conceptually. On the other hand, readers with no knowledge of the immediate post-War era need as much help as they can get: theyíre unable to mentally supply a text with the connections/relationships they already know from experience. Since we ordinarily write for readers who know much less about a subject than we usually do, itís always wisest to underestimate a readersí prior knowledge and make themes explicit.
 

o A paragraph has too few strings, generally only one or two topics, lots of repetition, and no specifically articulated central themes, making it feel empty of meaning.  Unfortunately, once diagnosed, this problem wonít yield to advice about style and organization: the writer has to think harder and more deeply about the subject and begin again.

o A paragraph has diffuse strings, with no single word to pull together concepts that may seem wholly unrelated. Even if the theme is implicit, the result will be the same: your readers will feel the passage is unfocused.

o Word choice in the thematic strings is varied. While your old high school (and, doubtless, college) English school instructors probably counseled, "Vary your word choice!" elegant variation can leave your reader convinced youíre juggling multiple concepts when youíre dealing with one.

o If a paragraph or passage seems vague, out of focus, or disjointed, look at its topic and thematic strings. Its topic strings should be consistent and appropriate; its thematic strings should be articulated clearly and concisely.
 
 

óEven when your paragraphs do have specific topic and thematic strings, your readers may overlook them if you do not signal them clearly. If you recall the principle about sequencing old and new information, youíll remember that we introduce new information at the end of a sentence, to (

a) assist readers in making the transition/connection between the familiar information that precedes the new information and

(b) ensure readers remember the information by placing it in a position that naturally receives emphasis.

ó Ergo, new themes are best introduced as close to the end of a sentence as possible. Simply by introducing new issues toward the stress position of an introductory sentence in a paragraph, a writer implicitly promises us that these words will serve as thematic keys to the rest of the paragraph. As we see the writer delivering on his or her promise with consistent thematic strings, we feel we are reading a paragraph that is both cohesive and coherent.

óMost of us are familiar with that old reliable, the topic sentence: that one magic sentence that somehow summarized or anticipated all the material in the paragraph that followed. While topic sentences do exist, most writers use more than a single sentence to introduce the central concepts and themes in a paragraph.

For example, identify the topic sentence(s) in the following paragraph:

At the outset this sum may not appear to be particularly onerous. However, the troublesome provision for violating the county ordinance against dumping toxic wastes is not the $500 fine, but the more serious mandatory penalty of "six months in county jail." Even though no jail sentences have been rendered against Abco so far, the fact that the violations are criminal in nature causes serious concern. Because the criminal aspects of these violations combine with the growing mistrust toward large, international corporations and with Californiaís emphasis on consumerism, juries are likely to be hostile toward such actions. It is therefore appropriate that we re-evaluate the way these alleged violations are dealt with.
 

o Where does the writer finish introducing her central issue (or setting up her problem) before she begins discussing it?

ó Most readers will probably feel that the introduction consists of the first two sentences, as the writer introduces the topic string (jail sentences, violations,  and criminal aspects of these  violations), as well as the central thematic strings (onerous, troublesome, serious, penalty) at the end of the second sentence:

At the outset this sum may not appear to be particularly onerous. However, the troublesome provision for violating the county ordinance against dumping toxic wastes is not the $500 fine, but the more serious mandatory penalty of "six months in county jail."
 

o Most often, we create one, two, or three sentences (but rarely more) to introduce new topic and thematic strings. To be certain that readers do not overlook the importance of the new topic and thematic strings, you should introduce them in the stress position of the last sentence of the introductory sentences.

o Because we seldom restrict our introductory sentences to one, itís misleading to call them "topic sentences." Instead, we call this opening segment the issue, and the rest of the paragraph that fleshes out these ideas and concepts the discussion.

o The issue of a paragraph, section, or document works like an overture, a place where you map out for the reader the central topics and themes in the discussion that lies ahead. The issue promises; the discussion delivers.

o The issue of a paragraph may be one, two, three or more sentences long.
The issue of a section of a document or short document may be one, two, three or more paragraphs long. The issue of a long report may run to a few pages.

o The issue is always, however, significantly shorter than the discussion. If the writer creates a disproportionately long issue, the reader may incorrectly assume that the writer has finished her introduction and is into the body of her paragraph when, in fact, she is still introducing it. In longer documents, because readers risk missing where the issue paragraphs stop and the discussion paragraphs begin, many writers signal the end of the issue with a heading.

o Issue is analogous to subject and topic. These three terms all refer to introductory positions that all set before the reader the concepts/claims the writer intends to expand on in what follows.

Rx: When your paragraphs feel out of focus, confused, disjointed:

You may have one of four problems with issues and discussionsó

1. At the end of the issue, you introduce a concept that readers assume begins the theme, but you fail to develop that concept in the discussion.

2. You fail to anticipate in the issue important themes that you develop in the discussion.

3. At the end of the issue you introduce a concept that readers think promises a theme, but, in the discussion, you develop that concept using terms so varied your readers cannot connect them to your announced theme.

4. You mention in the issue the themes you develop in the discussion, but you bury the references to them inside a sentence instead of highlighting them in the stress position of the issueís final sentence.

óMost of these problems usually result from the way most of us write our first drafts because weíre often happy merely to get an opening sentence down on paper, and only develop themes as we begin writing the rest of the paragraph, section, or document. By the time we develop themes during our first drafts, however, weíre way beyond the point where our readers expect to find them.

o To make your writing feel focused and cohesive, read the discussion independently of the issue and identify the themes that actually emerge as the paragraph develops.

o Revise the end of the issue to include any thematic strings that exist and are important to the discussion.

o Deliberately weave into the discussion whatever thematic strings you framed in the issue but omitted from the discussion.
 
 

Making Points

óReaders will feel a paragraph is coherent if they can read a single sentence that specifically articulates its point(s).

o As writers, when we move from one paragraph to another, or from one section of a document to another, we imply that we intend to make some new points or claims about new subject matter. If you flag these points in summary form in a single sentence, you provide your readers with a horizon of expectation, a framework for the details that follow, enabling them to more easily understand and assimilate them.

o This sentence will constitute the paragraphís logical, argumentative, expository center, a sentence that telegraphically captures its central ideas. This is called "the point sentence"óalthough you can also think of it as the "so what?" sentence.

o The most common problem readers have with points is that they fail to articulate them clearly, so the reader doesnít get the point of a paragraph, section, or entire document. Or, still worse, your reader battens on to the wrong point.

o Readers will feel paragraphs are coherent if they find the point sentence in one of two predictable places in a paragraph: (1) at the end of the issue or (2) at the end of its discussion (the end of a paragraph, section, or document).
 

óOkay, whatís the difference between a point and an issue? The old advice about "topic sentences" suggested that the issue and point of a paragraph were the same thingóand were, in fact, the same sentence.

o Issues may consist of one, two, three or more sentences in a paragraph, introducing readers to the central topics and themes to be explored in the paragraph. The point sentence is its capstone, a succinct rendering of the paragraphís central claim or point, that appears in the last sentence of the issue.

o The sentences preceding the point provide a transition from the previous paragraph and also make a general claim (or claims) that will be narrowed further in the point sentence. They may also make preliminary claims that the point sentence rejects.

o Points, however, may also appear at the ends of discussions, enabling writers to develop their arguments before making their claims. Point-last organization in a paragraph enables the writer to develop, expand, elaborate, or explore that point further in the paragraphs that follow.

o Typically, if a writer uses a paragraph to introduce an entire document, the point is typically located at the end of the discussion in the first paragraph.

o Placing your point last can, however, sometimes make it difficult for your readers to take in and place the information in any given paragraph as they lack the framework for ordering and understanding information provided by point-issue organization.

o Whether you use the point-issue or point-discussion format, however, you must still use the issue to introduce the discussion in a way that clearly signals its topics and themes.
 

óHow does this apply to entire documents? Is this simply an expanded version of the paragraph model?

o For entire documents, you can make your point at the end of the issue for the entire document, making the lesser, paragraph-level points either at the end of each issue or the end of each discussion.

o Or you can make your point at the end of the document.

o As readers, however, we may have problems with a document with a main point at its very end, since we canít be certain whether the sentences at the end of the issue paragraphs for the document are the main point sentences.

o Sentences at the end of issue paragraphs in a document can make anticipatory points, minor points intended to launch the reader into the rest of the document and to anticipate and frame the discussion by announcing themes and topics.

o Even if you decide to make your point at the very end of the document, you must include anticipatory points in the issue section.

o Writers use point-last organization for four reasons:

ó (1) they believe that bad news (when it is the point of the document) should be withheld to the very end, a theory borne out by studies that showed subjects were most likely to agree with the overall findings presented in a document when they agreed with the earliest point(s).

ó (2) they want readers to work through an argument or body of data to experience a sense of discovery, making the development of the point as important as the point itself.

ó (3) they want to obey conventions in some genres, particularly in belletristic essays, where writers intend their readers to admire their working through problems, solving them inventively, and discovering how complex the problem truly is.

Writers reading an essay by John Updike or Norman Mailer seldom flip to the final paragraph to read the conclusion first before deciding to read the entire piece. Readers of reports, articles, and analyses, however, do exactly that on a regular basis. Habits of reading can be every bit as conventional as habits of writingómaking the point-last organization distinctly disfavored when it comes to most forms of professional discourse.

ó (4) they fail to revise. When we draft, we often have no idea where weíre going, what kind of points weíre going to make, or what our topics and themes are until we discover themówhich can lead to point-last organization. A draft document, at best, generally offers readers a running commentary of our thinking and not an effective, highly efficient and persuasive document that makes its major points thoroughly and convincingly.
 

óHeadings can help writers as much as readers because writers can use them to diagnose potential problems in the structure of a document.

o Headings help readers by giving them a general preview of the content of each section. They can also show readers where one section stops and another begins, as well as indicating levels of subordination.

o Locate headings to signal the end of the issue paragraphs and the beginning of the discussion paragraphs.

o Locate places in the body of your discussion where you would insert at least one heading.

o Repeat this for each section of the document until you have one heading per every three or four pages minimum.

o The number of headings will, of course, depend on how long your document is. A ten-page document might have only two or three headings in the discussion, while a longer one would have more.

o If you can quickly and confidently find those places where you should insert headings, your document is usually well organized and developed.

o If you have difficulty inserting headings, however, the chances are that you donít know the locations of the major juncturesóthe issue and discussion, as well as  shifts in subject and points in the discussion. If you canít identify them, your readers certainly wonít, either.
 

Before You Begin: Thinking through Organizational Issues Before You Write

óBefore you begin, you know that youíll eventually have to come up with a main point sentence for your entire document, a sentence your readers will recognize as important, and that your point sentence will also contain key words and central concepts your readers must also recognize as central if they are to understand and absorb the document. With this in mind, some guidelines and preparation will ensure that you will organize your document productively from the moment you begin drafting it.

1.  List your main characters, including any abstractions that seem to act as sources of action. Decide which characters will most interest your audience and on the point of view you wish to takeóthe point of view defined by the main characters will constitute most of the topics in your topic strings.

2.  List the few central concepts you think will run through the whole document. Around each of these key concepts, create clusters of additional concepts. These words will form the central and subordinate concepts for many of your thematic strings.

3. If you think you know exactly what has to go into your point sentence(s), write it out. Use characters constituting your major topic strings and the key concepts at the center of your clusters, positioning the central conceptual terms toward the end of the point sentence (in the emphasis position).

4.  Subdivide the problem into manageable segments with their own particular thematic strings and characters.

5.  Before you write the first word, decide whether the document is going to be point-issue (point-early) or point-discussion (point-last).

6.  If point-last, construct an anticipatory point sentence to get started. It, too, should have key thematic terms in it.

7.  As you draft, occasionally remind yourself of your thematic and topic strings.

8.  If you donít know your point, start writing and hopeóor say your prayers.

9.  Once youíve produced a first draft, determine whether its point sentence is the same as the point sentence you sketched out before you began writing. Are there new words/concepts in your new point?

10.  If the two point sentences are different, which does the job better? It may be that youíve discovered something more interesting, more pointed while writing than youíd anticipated when you began.

11.  At this stage in the process, you can begin the more detailed diagnostic work that goes into effective revision.