CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background
Writing is one of the English skill that students have to master, especially
for college students. The writing skills include compositions like writing an
essay, reports, designing posters and invitations, drafting business letter and
letter to the editors.
Especially for writing an essay, we need to understand about what the
proper essay should be. In academic writing, there are a lot of students may face
many problems, especially when they express their ideas into text. For example
when they have many ideas in their mind but they can’t arrange the idea into a
proper order when they create a paragraph, another example is like when
students wants to connect the idea within the paragraph, they didn’t know how
to use transitional words, consistent perspective, and repetition key words to
makes the paragraph coherence.
That’s why the writers makes this paper for students that may have a
problem in expressing their ideas, especially in creating transitional paragraph,
connecting ideas within the paragraph, and arranging sentences in a paragraph
into logical order.

B. Problem Formulation
1. How to create transitional paragraph?
2. How to connect the ideas within paragraph?
3. How to arrange sentences in a paragraph into logical order?

C. Purposes of the Paper

1. To find out how to create transitional paragraph
2. To find out how to connect ideas within paragraph
3. To find out how to arrange sentences in a paragraph into logical order

1
 CHAPTER II

DISCUSSION

A. Transitional Paragraph
There are four kinds of paragraphs based on the purposes. They are
introductory, developmental, transitional, and concluding paragraph. However
in this paper, we will just discuss about transitional paragraph.
Transitional paragraph is a paragraph in an essay, speech, composition, or
report that signals a shift from one section, idea, or approach to another.
Transitional paragraph is usually a brief of paragraph of one or two sentences,
the transitional paragraph merely directs the reader from one point in an essay to
another.1 A transitional paragraph connects one section of an essay to another.2
At their simplest, transitional paragraphs can be single sentences that move
readers from one point to the next. Luis Nazario in his book said that transitional
paragraph is short paragraph, usually consisting of few sentences that acts as
conclusion to topic A and an introduction to the next section, topic B.3 The
advantage of the transitional paragraph is that it serves as a reminder of the key
points you've made so that your reader can keep these points in mind while
approaching topic B. We can conclude that a transitional paragraph is a short
paragraph which can consist at least one sentences that direct the readers from
one point to another point.
Transitional paragraph is also known as bridge. We can see that one of the
function of transitional paragraph in the discussion before is directing the reader
from one point to another point. Randy DeVillez said in his book that many
writing teachers use the analogy that transitional paragraphs are like bridges: the
first section of the essay is one riverbank; the second section is the other
riverbank; the transitional paragraph, like a bridge, links them.4

1
Lee Brandon. 2011. At a Glance: Paragraphs. Cengage Learning. Page 1
2
Laurie G. Kirszner, Stephen R. Mandell. 2016. The Concise Cengage Handbook, 2016 MLA
Update. Page 151
3
Luis Nazario, Deborah Borchers, et al. 2009. Bridges to Better Writing. Wadsworth Publishing.
Page 226.
4
Randy DeVillez. 2003. Writing: Step by Step. 10th ed. Kendall/Hunt.

2
 Transitional paragraph is not only to link one point to another point, but it
also has another functions. They are:
1. A paragraph may summarize what has been written. For example:
In short, the defining characteristic of the valedictory address is its
statement of the opposition between the university on the one hand and
the world on the other. [Lionel Trilling, 'A Valedictory']
2. It may signal a change from general to more specific information. For
example:
I am not talking pure theory. I will just give you two or three
illustrations. [Clarence Darrow, 'Address to the Prisoners in the Cook
Street Jail']
3. It may hint at what is to come or announce the introduction of new
material. For example:
Before the end of my trial period in the field I made two really exciting
discoveries—discoveries that made the previous months of frustration
well worth while. . . . [Jane Goodall, In the Shadow of Man]
4. It may state explicitly what new material the writer is about to turn to.
For example:
In what follows, the parallels are not always in physical events but
rather in the effect on society, and sometimes in both.[Barbara
Tuchman, 'History as Mirror']
5. The transitional paragraph is a useful device for achieving coherence
between paragraphs and groups of paragraphs.

B. Connecting Idea
Ideas as the content of writing are chiefly the things we say about our
perceptions, that is, our tentative or conclusive statements about actual or
imagined phenomena. Therefore, our definition includes facts opinions,

3
 propositions, and observations assertions about things, whether they are made
by real or fictional people.5
Some learner are able to say what they want to write but have difficulty in
putting it into written form. That is, whether they have a problems in translating
their ideas into text, or they found the difficulties how to connecting the idea in
written form. Some learners will find problems even in saying what they want
to write. One cause may be lack of practice in writing, each cause requires
different techniques to deal with it and teachers need to consider how to discover
the causes and how to deal with them.6
A strong essay links ideas so a reader can follow the progression of
an argument without losing focus or becoming confused. Sometimes information
needs to be repeated to highlight the angle being developed. Other times,
concepts and accusations must be explained or clarified by providing examples.
Good writers connect the ideas in their paragraphs. A paragraph with
connected idea has cohesion. Good writers also use clear and simple language.
This makes their writing easy to read. A paragraph with clear and simple English
has good style.7
Academic writing is most effective when there is a clear flow of
argument and logic from one sentence to the next and from one paragraph to the
next. Each new paragraph introduces a new topic but should simultaneously
signal a progression of your ideas that relates to the main purpose of your
writing. Regardless of the length or complexity of the assignment, a piece of
writing needs to show coherence, with all the parts connected to one another. As
a result, it is important to explore options for connecting ideas through
coordination, subordination, and the use of transitional expressions.
It is the responsibility of the writer in English to make it clear to the reader
on how various parts of the paragraph are connected. These connections can be
made explicit by the use of different signaling words. If we think that one

5
William F. Irmscher, Ways of Writing (McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1969), 38.
6
Paul Nation, Teaching ESL/EFL Reading and Writing (Routledge, 2009), 119.
7
Cheryl Pavlik, Interactions 1: Writing 4th edition (McGraw-Hill Contemporary, 2006), 5.

4
 sentence gives reasons for something in another sentence, make it explicit. To
know whether each sentences in a paragraph relates clearly to the topic sentence.
If paragraph is coherent, each sentence flows smoothly into the next without
clear jumps. Furthermore, a coherent paragraph also highlights the ties between
old information and new information to make the structure of ideas or arguments
clear to the reader.8
There are some techniques that we can use to set up coherence in
paragraphs are as follows:
a) Repeat key words or phrases
Consistency and repetition in using certain words or phrases
will bind the paragraph together and the reader understand the
definition or description.
By repeating keywords and phrases, you can create a
powerful cohesive effect. Be careful, though; too much repetition
can create a ludicrous effect. Of course, repetition isn’t desirable.
However, if it is used correctly, it will make your prose more
interesting. The key is finding that word or phrase that is crucial for
the reader’s comprehension of the passage. By repeating this word /
phrase, you can leave a powerful impact on the reader. Just make
sure that you do not overdo it. For example:
a. “Everyone agrees that Pais is intelligent. His intelligence,
however, does not always endear him to his customers.”
b. “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of
the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the
people all of the time.”
b) Use Consistent Pronouns
Pronouns avoid the repetition of ideas. They connect ideas
because they almost always refer to a noun or noun phrase in the
previous sentence. You can use a pronoun to refer to a noun. The

8
Jonathan Sarwono, English for Academic Purposes (C.V ANDI OFFSET, 2013), 86.

5
 pronouns this, that, these and those can be used to refer to entire
sentences.
Make sure that all pronouns have clear references. This is
necessary to avoid ambiguity. Pronouns (e.g., he, she, his, hers, their)
can replace a noun in a sentence to improve the flow or reduce
wordiness. For example, "the student submitted his paper." Where
authors can run into trouble is making sure that the number (i.e.,
singular or plural) of the pronoun matches that of the noun. For
example, in the statement, "the student must submit their paper on
time", "student" is a singular noun, whereas "their" is a plural
pronoun. This error most often appears in sentences when the author
tries to construct a sentence that doesn't present a gender bias (e.g.,
only using "his"), or tries to use "their" as a neutral singular pronoun
in place of the clumsy "his/her". Unfortunately, English doesn't have
a neutral singular pronoun, so using "their" to refer to one individual
is incorrect.9
The good news is that the error is easily avoided by making
all the necessary words in the sentence plural so that the number is
consistent throughout. For example, in "the students must submit
their papers on time", the subject (students), pronoun (their), and
object (papers) are all pluralized so that the number is consistent
throughout the sentence. There are another example of using a
Consistent Pronouns:
a. “People who have hypoglycemia usually need to be on a
special diet. They should, at the very last, avoid eating sugar.
b. “Even though Murdi followed all of these useful
suggestions. He still ran into an unforeseen problem”
c) Use synonyms or different words with similar meaning

9
Diana R. Wienbroer, Rules of Thumb for Business Writers (McGraw-Hill Companies, 2000), 23.

6
 When replacing a word with its synonym, make sure the
meaning of the sentence in the specific context is maintained as well.
Synonyms are defined according to certain senses of words.
A thesaurus will give you a long list of synonyms for a word
and can be very helpful to find appropriate synonyms for your
writing. One thing to be careful of when using a thesaurus is that
some words have slightly different meanings or are meant to be used
in different ways.10
In writing, especially creative-writing, repeating the same
words numerous times can make writing dull or uninteresting.
Replacing a word with an equivalent one, perhaps even a more
specific one, can improve how you are communicating your ideas.
For example:
a. “When you repot plants, be certain to use a high grade of
potting soil. Plants need good rich dirt to thrive.”
b. “The water in the pond was dark, because there are no lights
above it. As a result the water looks murky.”
d) Use Transition Words or Phrases
Transition words are words like ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘so’ and
‘because’. They show your reader the relationship between phrases,
sentences or even paragraphs. Transition words make it easier for
your readers to understand how thoughts and ideas are connected.
They also prepare your reader for what’s coming. Transitional are
bridges in writing that take the reader from one thought to the next.
These bridges link your ideas and provide continuity for the reader.
When your sequence of ideas and points is logical, transitions
between the ideas comes more natural.
You need transitions between paragraphs that show the
movement from one idea to the next, and you also need transitions

10
Jonathan Sarwono, English for Academic Purposes (C.V ANDI OFFSET, 2013), 86.

7
to connect sentences within a paragraph. Often, what seems like a
continuity problem (the ideas feel choppy) is actually an
organization problem. When your sequence of ideas and points is
logical, transitions between the ideas come much more naturally and
easily. Therefore, if one point doesn’t fit smoothly, you may need to
make a list your positions and toy with their order.
Transition words can be divided into several categories,
based on the type of transition you want to make. There are often
several words available for one transition. Sometimes they mean
exactly the same, sometimes there are slight differences. If you’re
not a native speaker or struggle with language in general, you’ll have
to study and practice these transition words. That’s the only way to
understand which transition words fit which situations. For example:
a. Adding a Point
Furthermore, besides, finally, in addition to
b. Emphasis
Above all, indeed, in fact, in other words, most important
c. Time
Then, afterward, eventually, next, immediately, meanwhile,
previously, already, often, since then, now, later, usually
d. Space
Next to, across, from, above, below, nearby, inside, beyond,
between, surrounding
e. Cause and effect
Consequently, as a result, therefore, thus
f. Examples
For example, for instance
g. Progression
First, second, third, furthermore

8
 h. Contrast
But, however, in contrast, instead, nevertheless, on the other
hand, though, still, unfortunately
i. Similarity
Like, also, likewise, similarly, as, then too
j. Concession
Although, yet, of course, after all, granted, while it is true
k. Conclusions
Therefore, to sum up, in brief, in general, in short, for these
reasons, in retrospect, finally, in conclusion.11
There are some paragraphs that contains some transitional
words. For example:
a. Paragraph 1
The difficulties and moral dilemmas that nuclear
technology poses are beyond the scope of simple minds. In
other words, mankind is not ready to adopt nuclear
technology into mainstream life. In the same way, advances
in cloning and stem cell treatment raise ethical questions that
humans struggle with. For example, could cloning be used to
advance warfare? Admittedly, progression to this level is
years away, but it is a valid concern.
b. Paragraph 2
My husband and I are facing a difficult
decision. Currently, we are debating between sending our
children to private school or public school. We like the fact
that private schools have uniforms. However, we like the idea
that public schools are more diverse in just about every
aspect. Meanwhile, we don’t like that private schools can
become costly; although, we do like that the education and

11
Diana R. Wienbroer, Rules of Thumb for Business Writers (McGraw-Hill Companies, 2000),
22.

9
 discipline there is taken seriously. Public schools are often
scared to discipline too harshly. All in all, there are pros and
cons to both and we must reach a decision.

C. Logical Order
Sentences in a paragraph should follow some type of organization that
helps them flow in a logical order. While there is no one organization that will
work for every paragraph, there are some organizations that will work for many.
Developing points and ordering information in a certain way can help keep
the reader cantered on the focus of the paragraph. It can also help the writer
create a paragraph with a clear purpose that is easy for readers to follow
Organizing the sentence in a paragraph according to the logical order helps the
reader follow the development of writers’ ideas. There are some several logical
order that can be used in writing academic essay but we are going to look at these
six orders
1. Spatial order
2. Chronological order
3. General to particular order
4. Particular to general order
5. Order of importance
6. Cause and effect order12

1. Spatial Order
Writing an impressive college academic essay depends on logical
organization of the content. Organizing the thoughts is as important as
the choice relevant fact to prove point of view. Fox example in
description a scene or setting, a specific logical order helps the reader
can visualize that things. So spatial order is a types of logical

12
Fulwiler, Toby.2007. The Working Writer 5th edition. Upper Saddle River: page 197

10
organization pattern that is used in descriptive writing. It is main feature
is that things are described as they appear when observed.

If talking about descriptions, this order means that the writer

explain or describe objects as they are arranged in space. It creates a
picture of readers perspective is the viewpoint from which the writer
describes what’s around. The writer has to choose a specific starting
point and then create an orderly logical progression by providing
readers with a directional signal they should follow from place to place.

The words signal of spatial order are into, above, opposite,

against, between, on the left hand, on the right hand, though, below,
beneath attached to, across, beside.

Example:

“When you walk in the door of my bedroom, the first thing you
notice is a large bed on the wall. In front of my bed, there is a grey
carpet on the floor. Above the bed, there is a beautiful picture and an
old clock. As you turn to the left, you will see a wardrobe and a big
mirror”.

If describing the appearance of a sculpture or statue, it makes

sense to write the description in a way that’s analogous to the
appearance of the statue itself. It is considering the following example:

“As New Jersey contains a great variety of soils, there are many
conditions to be met with in road construction. The northern part of the
state is hilly, where we have clay, soft stone, hard stones, loose stones,
quicksand, and marshes. In the eastern part of the state, particularly in
the seashore sections, the roads are at their worst in summer in
consequence of loose, dry sand, which sometimes drifts like snow. In
west New Jersey, which comprises the southern end of the state, there

11
 is much loose, soft sand, considerable clay, marshes, and low lands not
easily drained.”

In the passage above the writer describe the road construction and
maintenance in New Jersey and its make sense to start off by describing
the physical geography of the state. Based on the spatial order
description, the reader would probably able to draw a topographic map
of a New Jersey with some degree of accuracy.

2. Chronological Order

Chronos is from a Greek word language meaning time. So,

chronological order is way of organizing the ideas in paragraph in order
of the occurrence in time. Chronological order is used for something as
simple as a recipe and for something as complex as a history book. In
academic writing chronological order has many uses. One of the
primaries was is might use to write historical narrative about subject of
term paper. If the spatial order talk about describing physical
appearance, we can use a chronological order to describe sequential
events chronologically.

Example:

“In the year 1900 object-lesson roads were built under the
direction of the Office of Public Road Inquiries near Port Huron,
Saginaw, and Traverse City, Michigan; Springfield, Illinois; and
Topeka, Kansas. Since that time the object-lesson roads so built have
been extended and duplicated by the local authorities without further
aid from the government. The people are so well pleased with the results
of these experiments that they are making preparations for additional
extensions, aggregating many miles. During the year 1901 sample
object-lesson roads were built on a larger scale in cooperation with the
Illinois Central, Lake Shore, and Southern railroad companies, and the
National Association for Good Roads in the states of Louisiana,

12
 Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, New York, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia. In all of these cases the
cooperation has been very hearty on the part of the state, the county,
and the municipality in which the work has been done, and the results
have been very satisfactory and beneficial.”

This paragraph describes a sequence of event beginning in 1900,

in this case, it wouldn’t make sense to describe what happened in 19001
before what happened in 1900.

3. General to Particular Order

General to a particular or deductive logical order is the most

common logical organisation used in technical communication. This
logical pattern involves the process of moving from a general statement,
premise, principle, or law to specific details. Technical writers and
speakers find this logical sequence quite helpful in organising short
informative talks and presentations, technical descriptions of objects
and processes, classificatory information. "General to specific
organisation follows a direct approach. It leaves very little to the
imagination of readers or listeners because the writer/speaker makes
everything clear in the beginning itself. Generalisations help
readers/listeners to understand the details, examples, and illustrations
quickly."

Example:

"Now, once the tide is low, you are ready to begin crabbing. Drop
your lines overboard, but not before you have tied them securely to the
boat rail. Because crabs are sensitive to sudden movements, the lines
must be slowly lifted until the chicken necks are visible just below the
surface of the water. If you spy a crab nibbling the bait, snatch him up
with a quick sweep of your scoop. The crab will be furious, snapping
its claws and bubbling at the mouth. Drop the crab into the wooden crate

13
 before it has a chance to get revenge. You should leave the crabs
brooding in the crate as you make your way home." From passage how
to catch river crab.

4. Particular to General Order

This order is the opposite of the previous order. A paragraph

written in this order begin with the details and lead the reader to the
generalization, which may be the thesis or the conclusion.

Example:

The skills needed to write range from making the appropriate

graphic marks, through utilizing the resources of the chosen language,
to anticipating the reactions of the intended readers. The first skill area
involves acquiring a writing system, which may be alphabetic (as in
European languages) or nonalphabetic (as in many Asian languages).
The second skill area requires selecting the appropriate grammar and
vocabulary to form acceptable sentences and then arranging them in
paragraphs. Third, writing involves thinking about the purpose of the
text to be composed and about its possible effects on the intended
readership. One important aspect of this last feature is the choice of a
suitable style. Unlike speaking, writing is a complex socio cognitive
process that has to be acquired through years of training or schooling.
(Swales and Feak,1994)

5. Order of Importance present

Writing arranged in order of importance presents information

from the most to the least important or the least to the most important.
Readers generally remember what they read last and since it is a good
idea to leave a good impression on the reader, it is wise to place the
most impressive example at the end of the paragraph.

14
 The words signal of this order are best, worst, least, most, first,
second, third, next, then, last, finally and etc.

Example:

“After an extended absence from school, the first and the most
basic things you need to do is make up the individual daily assignment
that you missed. More importantly, ask the teacher questions about
things you don’t understand before completing and quizzes. Reviewing
and studying are the best things you can do before taking unit test.”

6. Cause and effect order

Cause and effect order provide a cause as a reason for, or event

leading up to, and an effect as a result of a causes. In composition, cause
and effect is a method of paragraph or essay development in which a
writer analyses the reasons for, and or the consequences of—an action,
event, or decision.

A cause-and-effect paragraph or essay can be organized in

various ways. For instance, causes and/or effects can be arranged in
either chronological order or reverse chronological order. Alternatively,
points can be presented in terms of emphasis, from least important to
most important, or vice versa. Transitional Expressions for Cause &
Effect are to Show Causes are the first cause (second, third), the first
reason (second, third), yet another factor, because, is caused by, results
from. The words signal to show effect are one important effect, another
result, a third outcome, as a result, consequently, then, next, therefore,
thus, so.

Example:

Effects of Alcohol

“Letting alcohol take control over your life has many negative
effects on a person and the people around them. One important effect is

15
the damage you can do to your body. Drinking can lead to severe illness
and even eventual death; some health consequences to consider might
be liver disease, kidney failure and, for pregnant women, the loss of
their unborn child. Another detriment is that an addiction could lead to
drinking and driving; possibly causing a fatal car accident for either
yourself and/or an innocent by stander. Another concern to consider is
the relationships alcohol can destroy. Alcohol abuse can have very
serious effect on a person’s temperament, which can lead to spousal and
even child abuse. Alcohol often is the number one cause in divorce and
spending time in jail. It can also affect relationships outside of the
family; many people have lost lifelong friends whether it is due to
foolish arguments and behaviour or possibly death. Lastly, drinking has
negative effects on self-esteem and rational thinking. People become
more self-centred, develop low self-esteem, doing things or behaving
in ways that they would not normally. They have little or no regard to
the outcomes of what is said or done when they grow reliant on getting
that alcohol high. The negative effects of alcohol abuse are
overwhelming when considering the many consequences that drinkers
and the people around them have to deal with.” (Racheal Guza-2005)

16
 CHAPTER III

CLOSING

A. Conclusion
From this paper, the writers can conclude that transitional paragraph can
be used in many function, but the main function of transitional paragraph is to
direct the reader for one point to another point. In the same way, connecting
ideas can be used to make a paragraph more coherence, so that will help the
reader comprehend the writers ideas in essay. Furthermore, logical order can be
used by the writers to connect the ideas in logical way, and for the readers, it can
be used to help them to comprehend the writers idea.

17
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brandon Lee. 2011. At a Glance: Paragraphs. Cengage Learning

Kirszner, Laurie G., Stephen R. Mandell. 2016. The Concise Cengage Handbook,
2016 MLA Update

Nazario, Luis, Deborah Borchers, et al. 2009. Bridges to Better Writing. Wadsworth
Publishing

DeVillez, Randy. 2003. Writing: Step by Step. 10th ed. Kendall/Hunt.

Irmscher, F. William. 1969. Ways of Writing. New York: McGraw-Hill Book

Company

Nation, Paul. 2009. Teaching ESL/EFL Reading and Writing. New York: Routledge

Pavlik, Cheryl. 2006. Interactions 1: Writing 4th edition. San Francisco: McGraw-
Hill

Contemporary

Sarwono, Jonathan. English for Academic Purposes. Yogyakarta: C.V ANDI

OFFSET

Wienbroer, R. Diana. 2000. Rules of Thumb for Business Writers. New York:
McGraw Hill Companies

Toby Fulwiler. 2007. The Working Writer. 5th Edition. Upper Saddle River:
Prentice Hall.

M Ashraf Rizvi . 2005. Effective Technical Communication. Tata McGraw-Hill

Nordquist, Richard. "Transitional Paragraph." ThoughtCo, Jan. 15, 2019,

thoughtco.com/transitional-paragraph-1692475.

18