Writing, web design, social spaces and marketingTransitions Between Paragraphs Are Bridges That Move the Reader
As I have stated in previous blog posts, a story is made up of a series of paragraphs and the paragraph is the means by which a story is structured. A paragraph consists of a deliberate series of well-phrased sentences having to do with a single topic. Whether a story’s two hundred words long or several hundred thousand, the most important passage in your book, article or blog post is the opening paragraph.
Transitions are bridges that move the reader out of one paragraph to another. The better your transitions, the smoother your article will read.
Here are some popular kinds of transitions:
- Start the next paragraph with a quotation.
- Start the new paragraph with a question followed by the answer. As each paragraph takes up a new thought or related aspect of the subject, a question is often a good way to move into a fresh paragraph. A word of caution. Don’t overdo the question-and-answer technique.
- Find a phrase or word at the end of the last paragraph you have written and repeat it or use something similar. This often makes for a smooth transition.
Examples of Paragraph Transitions
In an article titled, “New Success Secrets,” which was to be published years ago in Salesman’s Opportunity magazine, writer L.P. Wilbur needed to show the reader how to strengthen his or her selling personality in order to become more successful. Here is an example of the transition used:
“Secrets for more success then are actually tied in with your personality. By improving your weak personality factors and putting more firepower behind your strong qualities, your selling personality can continually grow into a dynamic and powerfully attractive force.”
Next came the transition sentence leading into the third paragraph of the article:
“Think of your selling personality as a magnet.”
The technique used here to continue into the next paragraph is a specific step the reader could take to improve his or her sales personality; to think of it as a magnet.
In an article titled, “The Self-Employment Picture” notice the transition between the first and second paragraphs:
“The world of self-employment is wide open and offers you a variety of opportunities. A few of the many possibilities include a resume writing service, house cleaning, investment services, child care services, and virtually any kind of business you offer for a fair price. You really have quite a choice.”
Here is the transition sentence leading into the second paragraph:
“The Small Business Administration says that there is one chance in five that a new business will still be operating and actually run by the same owner after a 10 year period.”
The transition technique used was a paraphrase of a quotation from the Small Business Administration. This statement led naturally into the second paragraph and also let the reader know the odds against a new business during the first ten years.
