Super Glue: Orienting Paragraphs
I have explained how transition and topic sentences guide the reader through your essay and make it easy for her to follow along as you argue for your thesis. They accomplish this by informing the reader (1) when you are taking a new step (e.g., presenting a new Big Idea or starting a new Major Task); (2) what this new step is (e.g., what the Big Idea or Major Task is); and finally, (3) how each step gets us closer to the thesis. In other words, such transition and topic sentences act like signposts, clearly showing the reader how the different twists and turns of the paper lead to your destination - the thesis! We can call this orienting the reader. Orienting and guiding the reader throughout your paper in this way is indispensable for clear writing.
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As you begin to write more complex papers - in particular, papers with multiple Major Tasks - you may find that transition and topic sentences simply aren't enough to properly orient your reader. You may need to write orienting paragraphs.
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Below are some common types of orienting paragraphs you may use in your writing.
To "orient" means to align or position something relative to a specified point. In other words, it is to place something in a larger context so that you can better understand it. For example, if I get lost, I try to orient myself by searching for familiar landmarks and seeing where I am in relation to them: by doing so, I come to understand where I am.
In the case of writing, the specified point is the thesis. You orient the reader by guiding them through your thought process such that it is clear how everything fits together to lead to the thesis. Notice that this is also what makes topic and transition sentences like glue!
overview paragraphs
Overview paragraphs come at the beginning of a Major Task, and preview the Big Ideas you will be discussing in the following paragraphs which compose this Major Task. Overview paragraphs are an excellent way to provide a roadmap for your reader: they make it easy for them to follow along by indicating not just what you will be talking about, but also how the details about to be discussed fit together and accomplish the major task. Ideally, overview paragraphs should also indicate how the Major Task taken as a whole contributes to the thesis.
summary paragraphs
Summary paragraphs come at the end of a Major Task, and - you guessed it - summarize what you just discussed. Summary paragraphs are a good way to remind your reader of all the Big Ideas you talked about, explain how these Big Ideas accomplish the Major Task, and explain how the Major Task contributes to the thesis.
connecting
paragraphs
Connecting paragraphs show how two (or sometimes more!) Major Tasks connect to each other. Connecting paragraphs can come at the end of one Major Task and the beginning of another, in which case they serve as a transition paragraph from one Major Task to the other. In such cases, they often combine aspects of summary (of the previous major task) and overview (of the upcoming major task).
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However, connecting paragraphs can also come at the end of a major task and connect it back to a major task that came before it. In these cases, a connecting paragraph serves as a callback to a topic discussed previously, usually because the Major Task just completed has shed new light on this previous topic.