Text Flow

Ideas to Improve the flow of text:

• Informative topic sentences, with ‘predictable’ supporting sentences

• Continuity Devices

• Subject & verb placement

• Old (or given) information before new information

• Transition words and phrases

Topic Sentences

An overview of the paragraph

Central topic or message

Guides the reader into the paragraph

• One message per paragraph

• Leads into the development of the message (i.e., examples, definitions, justifications, contradictions, the analysis and solving of a problem)

Continuity Devices

Repeat key terms (especially in Methods and Results)

• Links ideas unmistakably

• Varying key terms is confusing

Keep a consistent order

• If you list 2 or more items in the topic sentence, describe/explain them in the same order.

• Fulfils reader’s expectation

• Mention all items

• Avoid interrupting the order of your items by adding extra information

Keep a consistent point of view

• Topic should be the subject of the sentence

• Sentences with same topic -> same subject

  • Easier to see a contrast

  • Ensures supporting sentences relate clearly to topic sentence

  Propranolol had variable effects on the hypoxemia induced changes in regional blood flow. In the cerebrum, the increase in blood flow caused by hypoxemia was not significantly altered by propranolol.

  Propranolol had variable effects on the hypoxemia induced changes in regional blood flow. In the cerebrum, propranolol did not significantly alter the increase in blood flow caused by hypoxemia.

Keep ideas in parallel form

• verb object completer

  We washed out the lungs five times with Solution I, instilled 8-10 ml of the the flurocarbon-albumin emulsion into the trachea, and incubated the lungs in 154 mM NaCl at 37°C for 20 min.

Use this plus summary word (“category term”)

• An unsupported this can cause confusion. If this is a possibility, use a clear summary noun to name the referent.

• Inserting a summary word after this not only creates cohesion, but can be used to indicate how to interpret the previous statement.

Subject & Verb Placement

Try to include the verb and its subject in the first 7-9 words of a sentence

• Avoid ‘top heavy’ sentence

• Write lists at the end of the sentence

Old (or given) information before new information

Old information = any information that the reader already knows

Place old information towards beginning of sentences

New information placed towards the end

Information at the beginning of each sentence relates to the information:

• at the end of the sentences directly preceding them

• the subject of the topic sentence or subtopic sentence

Transition words and phrases

Ensure reader understands the sentence

Indicate how sentences and paragraphs are logically related

Without a transition most guess “in addition”

• shouldn’t let the reader guess

• guess may be incorrect and change the logic

Create a logical connection between sentences

Don’t use a transition or transition phrase in every sentence

• The connection is often apparent between sentences

Transition phrases (or sentences) provide stronger links between sentences than transition words

knitr::include_graphics("transition.png")

Checking

Chain of topic sentences throughout the paper?

• Should provide a rough outline of the paper

• Add any necessary transitions