Transitions

Body paragraphs do not exist in isolation. They should fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Transitions show the connections between paragraphs themselves, and the connections between the paragraphs and the overall focus of the essay (the thesis statement). They often appear at the end of a paragraph.

Transitions are essential for maintaining momentum in your essay and showing the reader how all the ideas fit together. They are described in detail in the next section, essay flow.

Essay flow

“Flow” is a word often used by lecturers to describe the way that the essay holds together and moves from point to point. In an essay it is very easy to pile facts upon facts, and thus lose sight of the overall cohesion of the essay. Flow can apply within individual paragraphs and between different paragraphs.

Within paragraphs

Having researched your topic in preparation for writing an essay, you will probably have accumulated a wide range of facts, published research, and other information relevant to the topic. Many people simply throw these facts together in body paragraphs, without properly applying them to the topic or signalling to the reader the connections between them.

Firstly, you must ensure that all outside sources are integrated with your own writing. They should not appear randomly through the paragraph but should be given context, and interpreted for the reader. For more on this, see quoting and paraphrasing.

It is also important to link information together to create a kind of “narrative” in your essay. Consider this example paragraph:

Incorporation offers several advantages to businesses and their owners. Ownership is easy to transfer. The business is able to maintain a continuous existence even when the original owners are no longer involved. The stockholders of a corporation are not held responsible for the business's debts. If the XYZ Corporation defaults on a $1 million loan, its investors will not be held responsible for paying that liability. Incorporation enables a business to obtain professional managers with centralised authority and responsibility; the business can be run more efficiently. Incorporation gives a business certain legal rights. It can enter into contracts, own property, and borrow money.

There are a lot of facts, but the paragraph feels jumpy and disjointed. Simply adding a few connecting words – known as “signposts” – make it much more readable:

Incorporation offers several advantages to businesses and their owners. For one thing, ownership is easy to transfer. The business is able to maintain a continuous existence even when the original owners are no longer involved. In addition, the stockholders of a corporation are not held responsible for the business's debts. If the XYZ Corporation defaults on a $1 million loan, for instance, its investors will not be held responsible for paying that liability. Incorporation also enables a business to obtain professional managers with centralised authority and responsibility; therefore, the business can be run more efficiently. Finally, incorporation gives a business certain legal rights. For example, it can enter into contracts, own property, and borrow money.

Signposts make your writing flow more smoothly and make it easier to follow.

They tell the reader

• what is going to be said

• what is being said

• what has already been said

• how the main ideas support the thesis statement

• how each group of ideas follow from the ones before

Some of the most common signposts are listed here, according to what they do in a paragraph.