A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations, 7th edition - Kate L. Turabian 2007
Make sure the body of your report is coherent
Revising your draft
Part I. Research and writing: from planning to production
Once you frame your report clearly, check its body. Readers will think your report is coherent when they see the following:
what key terms run through all sections of the report
where each section and subsection ends and the next begins
how each section relates to the one before it
what role each section plays in the whole
what sentence in each section and subsection states its point
what distinctive key terms run through each section
To ensure that your readers will see those features, check for the following:
1. Do key terms run through your whole report?
Circle key terms in the claim in your introduction and in your conclusion (review 7.3).
Circle those same terms in the body of your report.
Underline other words related to concepts named by those circled terms.
If readers don't see your key terms in most paragraphs, they may think your report wanders. Revise by working those terms into parts that lack them. If you underlined many more words than you circled, be sure that readers will recognize how the underlined words relate to the concepts named in your circled key terms. If readers might miss the connections, change some of those related words to the key terms. If you really did stray from your line of reasoning, you have some serious revising to do.
2. Is the beginning of each section and subsection clearly signaled?
You can use subheads to signal transitions from one major section to the next (review 6.2.4). In a long paper, you might add an extra space at the major joints. If you have a problem deciding what words to use in subheads or where to put them, your readers will have a bigger one, because they probably won't see your organization. (For styles of different levels of heads, see A.2.2 on p. 397.)
3. Does each major section begin with words that signal how that section relates to the one before it?
Readers must not only recognize where sections begin and end, but understand why they are ordered as they are (see 6.2.5—6.2.6). Signal the logic of your order with words such as First, Second, More important, The next issue, Some have objected that, and so on.
4. Is it clear how each section is relevant to the whole?
Of each section, ask What question does this section answer? If it doesn't help answer one of the five questions whose answers constitute an argument (see 5.2), think about its relevance: does it create a context, explain a background concept or issue, or help readers in some other way? If you can't explain how a section relates to your claim, consider cutting it.
5. Is the point of each section stated in a sentence at the end of a brief introduction to that section (or at its end)?
If you have a choice, state the point of a section at the end of its introduction. Under no circumstances bury the point of a section in its middle. If a section is longer than four or five pages, you might restate the point at its end.
6. Do the specific terms that distinguish a section run through it?
Just as the key terms that unify your whole report distinguish it from other reports, so should the key terms that distinguish each section and subsection run through and unify that section. Repeat step (1) for each section: find the sentence that expresses its point and identify the key terms that distinguish that section from the others. Then check whether those terms run through that section. If you find no key terms, then your readers might not see what distinct ideas that section contributes to the whole.