One Simple Tactic to Immediately Improve Your Writing
A guest post by my good friend, Jason Tong
First of all, there is an essential need to state ideas clearly in your writing. Second of all, it is also essential to be able to transition between your ideas clearly. On the other hand, if you don’t do so, the reader will lose track of your ideas. Ultimately, based on evidences, your writing will no longer be concise if you do not transition between ideas clearly. Indeed, it is important to use a graceful way to tie your writing concisely (using transitions). As a result, it shall be considered upon on how to do so. Well, as a matter of fact, establishing case studies for transitioning between different types of sentences and ideas. In conclusion, transition is important, and every writer should go ahead to investigate it deeply in order to master the art of writing. Frankly, as an example, mistakes in transitions like this shall be avoided at all cost.
Now, what do you feel after reading that introduction? If you didn’t feel anything special, read it a second time and pay close attention to the words bolded.
First of all, there is an essential need to state ideas clearly in your writing. Second of all, it is also essential to be able to transition between your ideas clearly. On the other hand, if you don’t do so, the reader will lose track of your ideas. Ultimately, based on evidences, your writing will no longer be concise if you do not transition between ideas clearly. Indeed, it is important to use a graceful way to tie your writing concisely (using transitions). As a result, it shall be considered upon on how to do so. Well, as a matter of fact, establishing case studies for transitioning between different types of sentences and ideas. In conclusion, transition is important, and every writer should go ahead to investigate it deeply in order to master the art of writing. Frankly, as an example, mistakes in transitions like this shall be avoided at all cost.
Do you see it? There seems to be an excessive overflow of transitional phrases. These transitional phrases are what the teachers in school teach us about. In order to make your writing clear, it seems like (based on the teacher’s logic) that you should use these transitional phrases as much as possible. But is that the case? Were you able to keep track of the ideas presented by the author?
Below is the same exact paragraph written with another technique. This time, let us see what would happen if we abandon all the transitional phrases and let the writing flow on itself.
Not only there is an essential need to state ideas clearly in your writing, but also there is an essential need to be able to transition between your ideas clearly. If you don’t do so, the reader will lose track of your ideas. Your writing will no longer be concise and clear so that you don’t lose your reader. It is then important to use a more graceful way to tie your writing together. The way to do so is effective and efficient transitions. In order to learn the art of transitions, it is crucial to establish case studies for transitioning between different types of sentences and ideas. Transition is important, and every writer should go ahead to investigate it deeply in order to master the art of writing. Beauty in transitions like this shall not be avoided at all cost.
There seems to be a fundamental difference between the two examples. At least the second example is not that wordy and confusing. To see how clear, clean, neat, concise, and neat writing is done, read on…
Why You Should Reduce the Use of Transitional Phrases
Wordiness: It is important for us to understand that these transitional phrases, in and out of themselves, don’t mean anything. If I just put out the word: “subsequently”, you will have absolutely no idea on what it means. This differs to, when I put out something concrete: “horse”, you will absolutely have an idea or an image of a horse in your mind. Since transitional phrases cannot add to the practical meaning of your writing, and they only serve an organizational function. Then, if we can find something better to replace them, then we should.
Formulaic: We know that writing cannot be replicated. Genius in literature, specifically, cannot be mass-produced. Then, using an excessive amount of transitional phrases will only make your writing formulaic and cliché. It is also important to see that the excessive use of transitional phrases will literally make your writing sound machine-like and without emotion. It will make your writing indifferent.
Just because they are logical transitions, doesn’t mean that they will make your writing logical: How logical your writing depends on the ideas in your writing, not how many transitional phrases you used. Understanding this, we can see that it is possible to write concisely, even without the excessive use of transitional phrases.
When Should You Use Transitional Phrases
Now, everything above that has been said doesn’t mean that you should avoid transitional phrases completely. Indeed, it is true that using transitional phrases intentionally can increase how concise your writing is to a certain extent.
You should, however, only use transitional phrases inside paragraphs, to avoid an overall impression of excessive use of transitional phrases.
It is also possible to try using transitional phrases that only contain a small amount of syllabus, in order to reduce the amount of alienation and uncomfortableness caused by transitional phrases.
Boundary Statements: Transition 2.0
According to the Longman Handbook:
“In short essays, simple transitions or boundary statements generally provide adequate guidance for readers. In longer essays or complicated discussions, you may need to give readers extra guidance with one- or two-sentence transitional paragraphs. Brief transition paragraphs perform the same functions as transitional expressions and statements.”
To recap, use transitional phrases inside paragraphs and use boundary statements between the paragraphs.
In other words, boundary statements: (1)
take ideas from previous paragraphs/sentences, and then restates in this sentence to tie the two together
take place at the beginning of the paragraph, so we can hide our transitional phrases inside the paragraphs
link the flow of ideas underneath the surface (or the contrast of ideas)
are the transitions, propulsions between ideas
show the dynamic flow between the lines
are subtle tricks…
To see how boundary statements can be integrated effectively into writing, let us look at examples from famous authors:
From Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island:
The man who came with the barrow told us the mail has set him down the morning before at the Royal George, that he had inquired what inns there were along the coast, and hearing ours well spoken of, I suppose, and described as lonely, had chosen it from the other for his place of residence. And that was all we could learn of our guest.
He was a very silent man by custom. All day he hung round the cove or upon the cliffs with a brass telescope; all evening he sat in a corner of the parlour next the fire and drank rum and water very strong.
In this example, you can see how Stevenson gracefully takes the idea of “our guest” from the previous paragraph, and swiftly stick it into the upcoming paragraph. All of this is done without the use of transitional phrases.
From Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice:
The girls grieved over such a number of ladies, but were comforted the day before the ball by hearing, that instead of twelve he brought onlt six with him from London-his five sisters and a cousin. And when the party entered the assembly room it consisted of only five altogether-Mr. Bingley, his two sisters, the husband of the eldest, and another young man.
Mr. Bingley was good-looking and gentlemanlike; he had a pleasant countenance, and easy, unaffected manners. His sisters were fine women, with an air of decided fashion.
You can see how the author quickly moves from an overall depiction of “the girls” and push the writing towards “Mr. Bingley”, keeps it going using a boundary statement, and then quickly pushes away from “Mr. Bingley” and back to his “sisters”.
From Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre:
The red-room was a square chamber, very seldom slept in, I might say never, indeed, unless when a chance influx of visitors at Gateshead Hall rendered it necessary to turn to account all the accommodation it contained: yet it was one of the largest and stateliest chambers in the mansion…
This room was chill, because it seldom had a fire; it was silent, because remote from the nursery and kitchen; solemn, because it was known to be so seldom entered.
In this interesting example, Brontë puts the boundary statements at the start of both paragraphs. However, the internal link is still there, keeping the writing coherent and concise. (2)
To Recap:
You should use boundary statements at the beginning of paragraphs and use transitional phrases within paragraphs
Boundary statements take ideas from previous (adjacent) sentences/paragraphs and put them into the current sentence
Do not overuse transitional phrases; use boundary statements to make your writing both coherent and concise, to save the grace.
1
Idea from Dr. Mark E. Seeley (Ph.D.)
2
These examples are from The Writing of Literature textbook by Michael Clay Thompson
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