College Composition / Unit 14 CMP 0340 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Where a New Sentence Belongs
The idea
Deciding where to add a sentence means placing it where it continues the paragraph's logic.
In practice
Work in order. First, name the paragraph's main point and its sequence: topic sentence, evidence, explanation, close. Second, decide what the new sentence does: introduce evidence, explain evidence, give an example, or link to the thesis. Third, find the spot where that job is needed. Evidence goes after the claim it supports; an explanation goes right after its evidence; an example follows the general statement it illustrates. Fourth, check the sentences on either side: the new sentence should follow from the one before and lead into the one after. Fifth, check pronouns and transitions, since a sentence beginning with "this result" must come after the result it names.
Where people slip
Many wrong placements are grammatical. The test is logical order: if a sentence refers to something not yet mentioned, or explains evidence that has not appeared, it is in the wrong place.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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