A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations, Ninth edition - Kate L. Turabian 2018

Make sure the body of your paper is coherent
Revising your draft
Research and writing

Once you frame your paper clearly, check its body. Readers will find your paper coherent when they can see the following:

✵ ▪ what key terms run through all of its sections

✵ ▪ 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. 1. Do key terms run through your whole paper?

o ▪ Circle key terms in the claim as stated in your introduction and conclusion (review 7.3).

o ▪ Circle those same terms in the body of your paper.

o ▪ Underline other words related to concepts named by those circled terms.

If readers don’t see at least one of your key terms in most paragraphs, they may think your paper 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 that’s difficult, you may have gotten off track and will need to rewrite or discard some passages.

2. 2. Is the beginning of each section and subsection clearly signaled?

You can use headings to mark transitions from one section or subsection to the next (review 6.2.4). In a relatively short paper, rather than use headings, you might add an extra space at the major joints. If you can’t decide what words to use in headings or even where to put them, your readers will likely have a problem with your paper’s organization. (For styles of different levels of heads, see A.2.2.4.)

3. 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 also 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 Consequently . . . , In contrast . . . , Some have objected that . . . , or even just First, . . . Second, . . .

4. 4. Is it clear how each section relates to the whole?

For each section, ask, What question does this section answer? If it doesn’t help to 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. 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 should you bury the point of a section in its middle. If a section is longer than four or five pages, you might conclude by restating your point and summarizing your argument.

6. 6. Do the specific terms that distinguish a section run through it?

Each section and subsection needs its own key terms to unify and distinguish it from others. Repeat step 1 for each section: find the sentence that expresses its point and circle in it the key terms that distinguish that section from the others. Then check whether those terms run through that section. If you find no terms that differ from those running through the whole, then you readers might not see what distinct ideas that section contributes to the whole.