Writing Better Essays - A Rhetorical Guide to Writing and Revision (Second International Edition) - David L. Rogers
Bridging by Connectives: The Art of Creating Transitions
Writing Better Essays - A Rhetorical Guide to Writing and Revision (Second International Edition) - David L. Rogers
David L. Rogers [+]
Kingston University, London
Description
Chapter 3 introduces the first of the conventional and innovative types of transitional or linking devices, which, as a mimetic aid and in tribute to a metaphor from Richard Marius, the book refers to as “bridging” devices. Readers need “bridges” to ensure they can travel clearly and coherently from idea to idea, from sentence to sentence, from paragraph to paragraph, and the chapter encourages students to take a safety-first approach to their use of bridging devices, initially inserting them liberally as they first revise so they can evaluate the coherence of their writing, confident in the knowledge they can later delete any they may decide they do not need. The chapter identifies some of the most basic bridging devices: independent connectors, coordinating conjunctions, and subordinating conjunctions. As is the case in all chapters, it provides many examples, explains the function of each type and the meaning it conveys, and provides instances of use by professional writers to illustrate good practice. It also includes an exercise at the end of its explanation of each type to allow students to practice and to test their understanding.