Paragraph and
Sentence Strategy:
Moving From Known (Old) Information to Unknown (New)
Information
Strategy 3—Using the Known to Link to the
Preceding Sentences
The writer can also take what is considered new information in one
sentence and make it the known information in the next
sentence. Here is yet another revised version of the
passage about chocolate, and this version makes use of
this strategy:
Chocolate does more than just taste good—it has physiological
effects. Chocolate contains caffeine, which provides
spurts of energy. This caffeine releases endorphins.
Such endorphins create a sense of relaxation and
comfort. Chocolate also contains a cannaboid. This
cannaboid, when consumed in very large quantities, can
lead to altered states of consciousness. These altered
mental states can…
The passage above makes use of the new information about
caffeine in one sentence by making it the known
information at the beginning of the subsequent sentence.
The same strategy was used for the information about
endorphins, the cannaboid, and the altered states of
consciousness. The writer has created a “domino effect”
here—each sentence’s new information falls into the next
sentence’s known information.
Continue to
exercise 1 to test your understanding of this handout.
Copyright 2006 by the Academic
Center and the University of Houston-Victoria.
Created 2006 by Kelli Trungale. |
