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This extended illustration may help you understand how the use of
transitional sentences can help you achieve coherence by linking paragraphs to one
another, and by virtue of so doing, to the paper's thesis idea.
Carefully read the sample multi-paragraph paper which follows,
paying particular attention to the first sentence in paragraphs 2 through 4. Then go to
the analysis of the paper.
THREE BASIC TYPES OF TEACHERS
- This is my 14th year of formal education, and by now I calculate
that I have sat before at least 70 different teachers. They have come in all sizes,
shapes, ages and weights. Some were doddering senior citizens, while others were young and
still wet behind the ears. Some were tall enough to play pro basketball; others barely
peered over their desks. Some were talkative and flamboyant; others were surly and
secretive. But despite these and many other differences in age, personality and
appearance, when it comes to job performance, three basic types of teachers emerge --lazy,
tyrannical, and concerned.
- While individual students may react differently to these three
types, I personally have the least regard for lazy teachers. Since such instructors do not
want to do any work themselves, they demand very little work from their students.
Assignments are few, tests are strictly of the True-False variety for easy grading, and
papers are returned without any helpful commentary .A grade is all the student is ever
likely to see, without any indication of why something was marked wrong. Since lazy
teachers don't provide any challenges, they create lazy students. Lazy students don't
learn very much.
- Although the atmosphere is less pleasant than in the country club
run by his lazy counterpart, the tyrannical teacher's classroom is abetter place to learn.
The tyrant, at least, demands performance from his or her students, and they are bound to
benefit somewhat just from being forced to work. However, the classroom tyrant also
frustrates young learners by insisting that they perform every task in only one way, with
no experimentation allowed. Such a teacher is not open to inquiry and does not tolerate
any honest disagreement with pronouncements from behind the imperial podium. For example,
the tyrannical literature teacher insists on one, and only one interpretation of even a
complex poem like "La Belle Dame sans Merci." God help the student who tries to
disagree! By insisting on a slavish recitation of their own narrow views, tyrannical
teachers discourage students' desire to find things out for themselves.
- Head and shoulders above either the lazy teacher or his tyrannical
cousin stands the concerned teacher. This type of instructor not only enjoys knowledge,
but also genuinely loves to communicate it to students. A concerned teacher sometimes
makes the students work hard, but they usually enjoy the effort because the teacher
explains why an assignment is important. The concerned teacher's tests may not be easy,
but they always require the student to think. Papers are returned with commentary, and the
criticism is always constructive. When a student does something particularly well, this
type of teacher is quick to compliment that student. If a student honestly disagrees, the
concerned teacher is willing to listen and never puts a student down. Tyrannical teachers
may be better than the lazy variety, but both types could learn as much from a concerned
teacher as the students do.
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