A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations, 7th edition - Kate L. Turabian 2007

Identify key terms expressing concepts that unite the report and distinguish its parts
Planning a first draft
Part I. Research and writing: from planning to production

To feel that your report is coherent, readers must see a few central concepts running through all of its parts. But readers won't recognize those repeated concepts if you refer to them in many different words. Readers need to see specific terms that repeatedly refer to those concepts, not every time you mention one, but often enough that readers can't miss them. Those terms running through the whole might include the words you used to categorize your notes, but they must include important words from your question and claim. Readers must also see more specific concepts in each part that distinguish that part from all other parts.

Before you start drafting, therefore, identify the key concepts that you intend to run through your whole report and select the term that you will use most often to refer to each one. Then do the same for the concepts that distinguish each section from other sections. As you draft, you may find new ones and drop some old ones, but you'll write more coherently if you keep your most important terms and concepts in the front of your mind.

Here is a specific method to identify the global concepts that unite the whole report:

1. On the introduction and conclusion pages of your storyboard, circle four or five words that express your most important concepts. You should find those words in the most explicit statement of your claim.

Ignore words obviously connected to your topic: Alamo, battle, defeat.

Focus on concepts that you bring to the argument and intend to develop: aftermath of defeat, triumph in loss, heroic ideals, sacrifice, national spirit, and so on.

2. For each concept, select a key term that you can repeat through the body of your paper. It can be one of your circled words or a new one. List those key terms on a separate page. If you find few words that can serve as key terms, your claim may be too general (review 5.4.1).

You can follow the same procedure to find the key terms that unify each section. Look at the reason you stated at the top of each reason page, and circle its important words. Some of those words should be related to the words circled in the introduction and conclusion. The rest should identify concepts that distinguish that section from others. Select a key term for each key concept.

Now, as you draft, keep in front of you both the general terms that should run through your whole report and the specific terms that distinguish each section from other sections. They will help you keep yourself—and thus your readers—on track. If later you find yourself writing something that lacks those terms, don't just wrench yourself back to them. In the act of drafting, you might be discovering something new.