mportant than (or subordinate to) another; and you can use parallelism to indicate that two or more ideas are of equal importance.
You can also use punctuation to indicate the logical relationships between ideas. For example, you can use a colon to indicate that what follows is a further explanation of what's just been said; you can use commas to indicate whether or not a clause restricts the meaning of the sentence; and you can use dashes to indicate that the enclosed material is important to the discussion and should be emphasized.
Of the various means of establishing the logical relationships between ideas, the most blatant is the use of transitional devices, such as therefore, thus, however , and hence . These devices are more prevalent in analytical writing-where logical relationships are more important-than they are in narration or description. There is a point, however, at which such devices begin to be abused. Properly used, transitional devices signal logical relationships-they do not create them. In fact, there is no transitional device in the English language that can wrench two ideas into a logical relationship that simply doesn't exist. The table below (taken from the Harbrace College Handbook ) lists eight logical relationships and some of the transitional devices that may be used to indicate each of them:
1. Addition: moreover, further, furthermore, besides, and, and then, likewise, also, nor, too, again, in addition, equally important, next, first, second, third, in the first place, in the second place, finally, last
2. Comparison: similarly, likewise, in like manner
3. Contrast: but, yet, and yet, however, still, nevertheless, on the other hand, on the contrary, even so, notwithstanding, for all that, in contrast to this, at the same time, although this may be true, otherwise
4. Place: here, beyond, nearby, opposite to, adjacent to, on the opposite side
5. Purpose: to this end, for this purpose, with this object
6. Result: hence, therefore, accordingly, consequently, thus, thereupon, as a result, then
7. Summary, repetition, exemplification, intensification: to sum up, in brief, on the whole, in sum, in short, as I have said, in other words, that is, to be sure, as has been noted, for example, for instance, in fact, indeed, to tell the truth, in any event
8. Time: meanwhile, at length, soon, after a few days, in the meantime, afterward, later, now, in the past.
10. Prune Deadwood
Deadwood is material that adds nothing to the meaning of the sentence, words that serve only as filler. When you edit your writing, eliminate any words or phrases that can be removed without damaging the meaning of the sentence or paragraph:
no: I spent my first six weeks on the job in a state of shock, but today I have a completely different perspective on the company in general, as compared to when I first started.
yes: I spent my first six weeks on the job in a state of shock, but today I have a completely different perspective on the company.
Occasional exceptions to this principle may be justified for the sake of emphasis or rhythm.
11. Avoid Redundancy
Redundancy, the unnecessary repetition of information, is a subset of deadwood, but one that is important enough to deserve separate mention:
no: Brackets are used in a command format description to indicate that the enclosed parameter is optional and, therefore, may be supplied or not at the user's discretion.
yes: Brackets are used in a command format description to indicate that the enclosed parameter is optional.
Occasional exceptions to this principle may be justified for the sake of emphasis or coherence.
12. Use Metaphor to Illustrate
Metaphor may be broadly defined as an imaginative comparison, expressed or implied, between two generally unlike things, for the purpose of illustration. By this definition, similes (expressed comparisons) are a subset of metaphor. In prose (As opposed to poetry), metaphors are most often used to illustrate, and thus make clear, abstract ideas: "When two atoms approach each other at great speeds they go through one another, while at moderate speeds they bound off each other like two billiard balls "(Sir William Bragg).
Whenever you use figurative language, be careful to avoid cliches-trite, overworn words or phrases that have lost their power to enliven your writing. If you can't think of a fresh, imaginative way to express an idea, it's better to express it in literal terms than to resort to a cliche. Hence,
Solving the problem was as easy as pie.
beco...
