6B. Use transitional elements to guide the reader through the line of reasoning of an argument.
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We all need signposts. We all need directional markers to tell us where we're going, how far we've come, how far we have yet to go, and what's coming up ahead. Not only does that help us orient ourselves as readers, it helps to focus on what's important in the "moves" an author is making from idea to idea.
In this basic exercise, we'll work through some basic transitional elements you can use to move from idea to idea in a paragraph, helping to establish a line of reasoning and set your reader up for understanding the text you're analyzing. NOTE: Though the focus here is on rhetorical analysis, these techniques can apply to the synthesis or open argument as well. |
Example
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First, Include a Transition
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Then, Make Sure You Include the TACTIC and the MESSAGE.
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Next, Introduce Your Evidence With a Transition...
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As one example, King warmly greets the seven Protestant leaders of Birmingham by addressing them as "My Dear Fellow Clergymen,"
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Remember these words and phrases. Use ALL OF THEM after you've introduced the evidence.
As one example, King warmly greets the seven Protestant leaders of Birmingham by addressing them as "My Dear Fellow Clergymen," a salutation that is crucially important because it not only begins "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" on a note of warm and collegial fellowship, but also since it reminds King's audience that they share the same religious values. In order to persuade these clergymen to support a nonviolent end to racial segregation in Birmingham--and the rest of America-- King must convince them of his larger message that racism is fundamentally immoral and thus incompatible with their shared religious faith, and lays the groundwork here by gently pointing out that as "fellow clergymen," they all believe the same moral values (or should). Ultimately, King's salutation reminds the clergymen that they can genuinely hold their religious and moral beliefs, or they can continue upholding policies of racism and segregation, but they cannot do both.
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