Think like a ReaderMap it out!

Where are we going? How are we going to get

there?

Writers must….

Provide clues about where the text is going

Show how each part of text is related to what came before

Readers Need…

•Unity and Coherence

•Old Information before New Information

•Forecasting and Fulfillment

Unity & CoherenceUnity = Relationship

between each part of an essay and the larger whole

Coherence = Relationship between adjacent sentences, paragraphs and parts.

Thought ExerciseA. Recent research has given us much

deeper – and more surprising – insights into the father's role in childrearing. My family is typical of the east side in that we never had much money. Their tongues became black and hung out of their mouths. The back-to-basics movement got a lot of press, fueled by its fears of growing illiteracy and cultural demise.

NeitherThe paragraph does not have

unity nor coherence

B. Recent research has given us much deeper – and more surprising – insights into the father’s role in childrearing. Childrearing is a complex process that is frequently investigated by psychologists. Psychologists have also investigated sleep patterns and dreams. When we are dreaming, psychologists have shown, we are often reviewing recent events in our lives.

Has Coherence but, no Unity

Individual sentences do not develop the larger whole (topic went from childrearing to dreams).

C. Recent research has given us much deeper – and more surprising – insights into the father’s role in childrearing. It shows that in almost all of their interactions with children, fathers do things a little differently from mothers. What fathers do – their special parenting – is not only highly complimentary to what mothers do, but is by all indications important in its own right.

Coherent & UnifiedAll parts relate to whole (unity) and clear

sentence connections (coherence) = It makes sense

Old Info before New Info

Readers move from old to new information = New Information is only relevant if it is linked to old information that is relevant.

Example: Phone Book DirectoryPerson’s Name = Old Information

Person’s Phone Number = New Information

Thought ExerciseYou are a passenger on an airplane

flight to Chicago and need to transfer to Flight 29 to Memphis. As you descend into Chicago, the flight attendant announces transfer gates. Which of the following formats is easier for you to process and why?

Option A:To Atlanta Flight 29 Gate C12

To Dallas Flight 35 Gate C25

To Memphis Flight 16 Gate B20

Option B:Gate C12 Flight 29 to Atlanta

Gate C25 Flight 35 to Dallas

Gate B20 Flight 16 to Memphis

Forecasting and Fulfillment

Readers Expect writers to

Forecast what is coming and

to fulfill those forecasts.

Thought ExerciseThe procedure is actually quite simple. First, you arrange things into different groups. Of course, one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. If you go somewhere else due to lack of facilities, that is the next step; otherwise you are pretty well set. Next you operate the machines according to the instructions. After the procedure is completed, one arranges the materials into different groups again. Then they can be put in their appropriate places. Eventually, they will be used once more and the whole cycle will have to be repeated. However, that is part of life.

?????No topic sentence!

No context to provide reader with what to expect.

Paragraph makes no FORECAST that can be fulfilled.

Substitute opening sentences with:

The procedure for washing clothes is

actually quite simple.

Ways to ForecastEffective Titles and Introductions

Putting points at the beginning of Paragraphs

Creating effective transitions and mapping sentences

Using effective headings and subheadings (if appropriate for genre)

Where are we going??

“We’re off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz…..”

The purpose: To get back

home to Kansas.

Transition #1 = Pauses/Yields

Transition #2

Transition #3

The Goal: To get to Emerald City to see the Wizard of

Oz to get back home, a heart,

brains, & Courage

Forecast

Fulfillment

There’s no place like home