HOW TO LINK

PARAGRAPHS

REMEMBERING.
HOW TO WRITE
PARAGRAPHS

A Well-Built Paragraph

Moves smoothly from one statement or fact to the

next.
It makes the argument clear, and it's easy to
follow.
It also links well with the paragraphs before and
after it.
In this way, the whole argument flows clearly and
convincingly, and is easy to follow.

THE WEED MODEL

(GODWIN, 2009).

CONTROLLING IDEA.

EXAMPLES:

The following phrases, or ones similar to

these, can be used in your topic sentence to
express the controlling idea:
the reasons for
the causes of (the effects of)
the steps for (the procedure for)
the advantages of (the disadvantages of)
the ways to (the methods of)
the different sections (parts, kinds, types) of
the characteristics (traits, qualities) of
the problems of
the precautions for
the changes to
Example catching colds
People can avoid catching colds by taking
certain precautions.

HOW TO LINK
PARAGRAPHS

HOW TO MAKE AN EFFECTIVE

MAP :

LINKING PHRASES:
Adding an additional paragraph on the
same topic:
oin addition
oas well as
omoreover
ofurthermore
owhat is more
osecondly
oadditionally

LINKING PHRASES:
Introducing an alternative viewpoint:
oHowever
oAlthough
oDespite This
oNevertheless
oOn The Contrary
oEven Though
oOn The Other Hand
oAlternatively
oIn Contrast
oWhilst

LINKING PHRASES:
Showing your reasoning:
oTherefore
oThus
oBecause
oEvidently
oAlthough
oMeanwhile
oIn conclusion
oHowever
oAs a result
oMoreover
oAt this point
oConsequently
oSince
oHence

LINKING PHRASES:

To put things in sequence:

oFirst
oFirstly
oSecond
oSecondly (etc)
oThen
oFollowing
oAgain
oSubsequently
oLater
oFinally
oThereafter
oTo conclude
oLastly

LINKING PHRASES:

To Sum Up Or Conclude:
oFinally
oAs a conclusion
oTo conclude
oIn other words
oIn short
oIn brief
oTo sum up
oAs has been stated
oOverall
oIn general
oTherefore

TIPS FOR LINKING:

Using 'This' or 'It':

There's a simple principle here:

- when you use 'this' or 'it' to sum up what was in the last
paragraph,
- don't leave the reader to work out what 'this' or 'it' was.
- spell it out briefly.
Here's an example: if the essay is on the Conservative
Party and its policies, and the last paragraph has been
about the way the Party makes objections to the European
Community, how should you put the link in the beginning of
the next paragraph?
Don't Put: This is a major part of Conservative thinking.
Do Put: This hostility to Europe is a major part of
Conservative thinking.

TIPS FOR LINKING:

Using Questions As Links:
One way of linking paragraphs is to ask a question at the
end of one paragraph, and then answer it in the next.
This is a possible way of linking paragraphs, but many
tutors don't like it, and in any case you shouldn't use it more
than once or twice in an essay.
This is for two reasons:
-The first is that this kind of question-answer sequence is
very common in journalism, and an academic essay should
be more formal than that.
- The second is that it doesn't sound as if you are in control
of the essay - it sounds as if you are finding things out for
the first time, and an academic essay should be more
controlled and confident than that.

TIPS FOR LINKING:

Repetition And Reiteration:

As we've seen, you can make a link by repeating key
words or phrases from the previous paragraph.
This makes a rather weaker link than most.
'Reiteration' means repeating, but without using exactly
the same words.
So you could reiterate 'Dickens, Hardy and Eliot' as
'Victorian novelists', or 'Leeds, Manchester and
Newcastle' as 'Northern cities'.
Reiteration makes for an even weaker link than
repetition, so you shouldn't rely on it as your main form
of linking

TIPS FOR LINKING:

The Right Number of Links:

In general, you should aim to put a link in
between each paragraph and the one before
it.