Read these two paragraphs from a fictional neighborhood newsletter. Put your finger where you first have to guess.
The garden committee has thirty beds to allocate this spring. Last year, gardeners who wanted a second bed had to wait until June.
This year, applications will close two weeks earlier.
An earlier deadline might help. How? Does the committee need extra time to count applications, check renewals, or draw names? Putting “therefore” in front of the second paragraph would leave you guessing which explanation the committee meant.
First, assume the committee knows how many beds go unclaimed only after applications close. Write one sentence between the paragraphs that connects the deadline to the June wait.
Now change one fact. Suppose the deadline moved because the volunteer who handles applications will be away in May. Decide whether the two paragraphs still belong together.
For the first version, try “Once applications close, the committee can offer the unclaimed beds to gardeners on the waiting list.” The reader can now see how an earlier cutoff might shorten the wait. Whether it actually will is a separate claim.
For the second version, put the deadline beside the application instructions. “Please apply by April 30. Our volunteer coordinator will be away in May.” Keep last spring’s wait for a paragraph about second beds. Bringing it up beside the deadline had invited readers to infer the wrong reason.
Copy the last sentence of one paragraph and the first sentence of the next. Finish this thought aloud: “A reader can get from the first sentence to the second because ___.” Underline the words in the draft that give the reader that information. If the reason exists only in your explanation, either supply the missing fact or reconsider the order. Check the fact with the person who knows it before you publish.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison Writing Center explains how writers can guide a reader from familiar material into a new idea. Read its guide to connecting ideas through transitions.
For a longer draft, mark each place where a reader needs a connection. Copy the reverse outline worksheet or explore the supporting passages in Wercend’s Story demo.