TOPIC SENTENCE "The topic sentence is the most important sentence in your paragraph.

Carefully worded and restricted, it helps you generate and control your information. An effective topic sentence also helps readers grasp your main idea quickly. As you draft your paragraphs, pay close attention to the following three guidelines: 1. Make sure you provide a topic sentence. . . . 2. Put your topic sentence first. . . . 3. Be sure your topic sentence is focused. If restricted, a topic sentence discusses only one central idea. A broad or unrestricted topic sentence leads to a shaky, incomplete paragraph for two reasons: The paragraph will not contain enough information to support the topic sentence. A broad topic sentence will not summarize or forecast specific information in the paragraph." CLINCHING SENTENCE -the last sentence of a paragraph COHERENCE "Texts can be coherent at what is called the 'local level' and the 'global level.' Local-level coherence is that which occurs within small portions of texts, usually within texts no longer than a paragraph. A text is said to have global coherence, on the other hand, if the text hangs together as a whole." (Duane H. Roen, "Coherence." Encyclopedia of Rhetoric and Composition: Communication From Ancient Times to the Information Age, ed. by Theresa Enos. Taylor & Francis, 1996)

"Coherence is fundamentally not an objective property of the produced text. Rather, that text is a by-product of the mental processes of discourse production and discourse comprehension, which are the real loci of coherence." (T. Givn, English Grammar: A Function-Based Introduction, Vol. 2. John Benjamins, 1993)

"The Coherence Principle accounts for the fact that we do not communicate by verbal means only. The traditional concept of coherence, which is solely based relationships between verbal textual elements, is too narrow to account for coherence in interaction. Ultimately, coherence in interaction is not established in the text but created in the minds of the interlocutors in their attempt to make sense of the different verbal, perceptual, and cognitive means at their disposal . . .." (Edda Weigand, Language as Dialogue: From Rules to Principles. John Benjamins, 2009)

Transitional devices There are two basic types of transitions, conjunctive adverbs and conjunctions. Another type of transition is called a referent. Transition words and phrases are used to clarify the relationships between sentences. Transitions can be divided into groups according to their functions. Types of Conjunctive Adverbs A conjunctive adverb modifies the action by creating logical connections in meaning between independent clauses. Unlike conjunctions, conjunctive adverbs are not always at the beginning of the clause. 1. Of addition

Examples: also, besides, furthermore, moreover, etc. The condo complex has tennis courts; besides this, it has an indoor pool. He must have got stopped at the border crossing;otherwise , he would have arrived by now. The lecturer had a monotonous voice; furthermore, he jumped from one idea to another so that the lecture was very difficult to follow. 2. Of contrast Examples: however, still, nevertheless, conversely, nonetheless, instead, etc. The printers are on strike; registered students will, nevertheless , receive course packages on time. We were able to run only four courses; still , this compares favourably with other summer programmes. It's really cold today; we can't complain, however , as it's been mild overall. 3. Of comparison Examples: similarly, likewise Paul went to Lakeland college; his daughter,likewise , did her studies there. Kate is engrossed in her dogs; Martha is similarlyobsessed with her horses. 4. Of result

Examples: therefore, hence, thus, consequently, etc. He rarely produced a day's work; he consequentlylost his job. Caffeine is a stimulant; thus , it can keep a person awake at night. We discovered Ida's activities were duplicating those of Marla; we, therefore , assigned Ida other tasks. 5. Of time Examples: next, then, meanwhile, finally, subsequently, etc. The chairman will be late for the meeting;meanwhile , we're to hand out minutes of the last meeting to the board members. The network has crashed; next , the power will go off. First boil the water; then , pour it over the tea bag. Types of Conjunctions A conjunction is used to join words or groups of words. 1. Coordinating conjunctions

join grammatically equivalent sentence elements

Examples: and, for, or, yet, but, nor, so Edmonton and Calgary are the two largest cities in Alberta. (And joins two nouns.)

Look in the cupboard or in the drawer. ( Or joins two phrases.) You can't do that kind of heavy work, nor should you be expected to. ( Nor joins two clauses.) 2. Correlative conjunctions pairs of words that join words, phrases, and clauses of equivalent grammatical structure

Examples: both . . . and either . . . or neither . . . nor not . . . but not only . . . but (also) whether . . . or Both Susan and Bill received their ten-year pin this year. Either you get a job or you go back to school. Whether you stay or leave is entirely your decision. 3. Subordinating conjunctions These join clauses that are not equivalent grammatical structures. Subordinating conjunctions introduce dependent clauses. These clauses cannot stand by themselves but must be joined to a main or independent clause. The following is a list of words most often used as subordinating conjunctions: Examples: after even though than wherev er

althoug if h as in order that

that

whethe r

though which

as if

in order to unless until

while who

as rather though than becaus since e before so as to

when

whenev er where

even if so that

In order to make feasible projections, we need to have reliable data. He's taller than you are. He looks as if he were about to cry. Referents* A referent is a noun or noun phrase that occurred earlier in the text and is subsequently referred to using words such as it orthis . Example: Traditionally, business simply meant exchange or trade for things people wanted or needed. Today, it has a more technical definition. ( it refers to business .) Example: However, there is one other important factor. This factor is the creation of profit or economic surplus. ( this

factorrefers to the same concept— one other important concept— in the previous sentence.) * This information on referents is adapted from Business Concepts for English Practice by Marianne McDougal Arden and Barbara Tolley Dowling. Note that there are other words and phrases that can also be used as referents. Chronological/time The science that deals with the determination of dates and the sequence of events. The arrangement of events in time. A chronological list or table. Point of view\
1. A manner of viewing things; an attitude.

2. a. A position from which something is observed or considered; a standpoint. b. The attitude or outlook of a narrator or character in a piece of literature, a movie, or another art form.