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Course 23 · Lesson 6.3

Clear analytical prose: paragraphs, transitions and plain language

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Lessons in this course

Course 23 outline

Module 1: How Research Works

  1. What research is and what a scholarly paper is for
  2. From topic to question: writing a research question that can be answered
  3. The working thesis and how it changes as research develops
  4. Taking notes, recording sources and organizing a project
  5. Academic integrity: quotation, paraphrase and plagiarism

Module 2: Primary and Secondary Sources

  1. Primary and secondary sources in theology and church history
  2. Source criticism: author, date, audience, purpose and transmission
  3. Translations, editions and the problem of reading ancient texts in English
  4. Judging the reliability of a source, including websites and popular books

Module 3: Finding and Reading Scholarship

  1. How peer review works and what it does not guarantee
  2. Finding articles, books and reference works with free and library tools
  3. Reading a scholarly work efficiently and critically
  4. Writing a literature review: summarizing a debate

Module 4: Citation

  1. Chicago notes and bibliography: books, articles and chapters
  2. Citing the Fathers, councils, creeds and online sources
  3. Biblical citation conventions: books, abbreviations, versions and numbering
  4. Managing a bibliography and checking citations

Module 5: Evaluating Arguments and Bias

  1. The anatomy of an argument: claim, evidence, assumption and conclusion
  2. Common fallacies and weak arguments in theological writing
  3. Identifying bias in sources: confessional, ideological and commercial
  4. Confirmation bias in your own work, and ways to reduce it

Module 6: Constructing Arguments and Writing

  1. Building a theological argument from Scripture, tradition and reason
  2. Outlining and drafting a research paper
  3. Clear analytical prose: paragraphs, transitions and plain language
  4. Revising, editing and checking quotations and facts

All courses

Program / Course 23: Research Methodology / Lesson 6.3

What you will learn

  • Build paragraphs around a single point, with evidence and explanation.
  • Use transitions that show the logical relation between sentences and sections.
  • Prefer plain, exact words to jargon, and define technical terms at first use.
  • Introduce, quote and comment on evidence so that the reader sees why it matters.

The big idea

Analytical writing makes a point and shows how the evidence supports it. Each paragraph carries one main idea, stated early and developed with evidence and explanation. Transitions show how one idea connects to the next. Plain words, short sentences for hard ideas and defined terms let a reader follow even a difficult argument. Style in this sense is not decoration. It is the means by which a reader can check what the writer claims.

Key terms

Analysis
Examining something by breaking it into parts and explaining how they work together or what they mean.
Topic sentence
A sentence, usually at the start of a paragraph, that states the paragraph’s main point.
Transition
A word, phrase or sentence that shows how one idea relates to the next, such as ‘however’, ‘therefore’ or ‘for example’.
Signal phrase
A phrase that introduces a quotation or paraphrase by naming its source, such as ‘As Augustine writes’ or ‘According to Kelly’.
Jargon
Technical or specialized vocabulary used where plain words would serve, or used without explanation.
Active voice
A sentence form in which the subject performs the action (‘The council condemned the teaching’), usually clearer than the passive (‘The teaching was condemned’).
Hedging
Qualifying a claim with words like ‘probably’ or ‘suggests’ to show its true strength. It is useful when exact and a fault when excessive.

Background

Many people think that serious writing has to sound heavy. The best scholarly prose is the opposite: clear, direct and economical. A reader who has to struggle through long sentences, abstract nouns and undefined terms will miss the argument, or suspect that the writer is hiding a weakness. Great theologians have written with remarkable clarity. Augustine’s Confessions and many of Athanasius’s treatises are readable because their authors cared about the reader. The same care, in modern English, is the aim here.

A paragraph is the main unit of argument. It has one job. In analytical writing the job is usually to make a claim and support it. A common pattern is: state the point, give the evidence (a quotation, a fact, a source), explain what the evidence shows and why it matters, and connect the point to the thesis. Writers sometimes forget the explanation, and leave a quotation to speak for itself. It rarely does. The reader needs to be told what to notice, and how it bears on the question.

Plain language does not mean simple thinking. It means that complexity is carried by the ideas and not by the sentences. When a term is technical, such as homoousios or Chalcedonian, define it at first use and then use it consistently. Avoid switching terms for variety, since a reader may think a new word means a new idea. And watch for words that sound impressive but say little. The apostle Paul remarks that he would rather speak five intelligible words than ten thousand in a tongue (1 Corinthians 14:19), a good rule for writers.

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: Give each paragraph one point

Write a topic sentence that states the point in a way that serves the thesis. Everything else in the paragraph should support or explain that point. If you find a second point, begin a new paragraph. If a paragraph has no point, either find one or cut it.

Aim for paragraphs that run from about four to ten sentences in a paper of this kind. A very short paragraph may be underdeveloped, and a page-long one is probably doing two jobs.

Step 2: Introduce, present and explain evidence

Introduce a quotation by saying who wrote it and in what context: ‘In his letter to the Smyrnaeans, Ignatius warns...’ Then give the quotation, with a note. Then explain it: ‘This shows that...’ or ‘The word here means...’. The pattern of introduce, quote, explain keeps evidence working for the argument.

Prefer short quotations built into your sentences. Use a block quotation only when the passage is long and you will analyze it closely.

Step 3: Link sentences and sections with transitions

Transitions tell the reader what relation to expect. ‘Therefore’ signals a conclusion, ‘however’ a contrast, ‘moreover’ an addition, ‘for example’ an illustration and ‘because’ a reason. Use them where the logic requires them, and make sure they are true: do not write ‘therefore’ where nothing follows.

At the end of a section, a sentence or two can sum up what has been shown and what the next section will take up. This helps the reader keep the whole argument in view.

Step 4: Choose plain words and short sentences for hard ideas

Prefer the exact word to the grand one: ‘use’ to ‘utilize’, ‘show’ to ‘demonstrate’. Replace abstract noun phrases with verbs: ‘The council’s condemnation of the teaching’ can become ‘The council condemned the teaching.’ Use the active voice unless there is a reason to hide the actor.

When an idea is difficult, give it a short sentence, or two. Save long sentences for ideas that are easy to follow. Read the draft aloud. A sentence that you stumble over will trouble the reader too.

Step 5: Define terms and calibrate claims

Define technical terms the first time they appear, in a clause or footnote, and then keep the same word for the same idea. Explain any foreign word. Do not assume that the reader shares your tradition’s vocabulary.

Match the strength of the words to the strength of the evidence: ‘shows’ for what is established, ‘suggests’ for what is probable, ‘may’ for what is possible. Avoid both the bluster of overstatement and the fog of endless hedging.

  1. What is the one point of this paragraph?
  2. Did I introduce and explain every quotation?
  3. Do my transitions say what relation I intend?
  4. Could a plain word replace this long one?
  5. Have I defined each technical term at first use?
  6. Do my words match the strength of the evidence?

Examples

Before

‘The utilization of conciliar terminology by Athanasius is demonstrative of a nuanced engagement with the Nicene formulation in the context of ongoing controversy.’ It sounds learned but says little, and the reader has to guess what the writer means.

After

‘The council used the Greek word homoousios, which means ‘of the same substance’, as a test of belief about the Son. The word was disputed, and later writers defended it at length.’ It defines the term, names the actor and says what happened in plain sentences. (A constructed example of the style.)

Introduce, quote, explain

‘In his Letter to the Magnesians, Ignatius urges the church to act as one in prayer.[note] The call suggests that common worship was already a mark of the church in his thinking, and not an optional addition.’ The source is introduced and then the point is explained. (A constructed paraphrase pattern, with a note to be supplied.)

A transition that misleads

‘The letter is short. Therefore it must be early.’ The word therefore claims a logical link that does not exist. ‘Moreover’ or ‘but’ would be more honest.

Different perspectives

Academic writing teachers

Most writing guides advise active verbs, concrete nouns, short sentences for difficult ideas and one point per paragraph. They warn against padding, repeated qualifiers and abstract nominalizations. They also stress that clarity is a courtesy to the reader and a test of the writer’s own understanding.

Patristic and monastic writers

Writers of the early church often sought clarity for the sake of ordinary hearers. Augustine, in On Christian Doctrine, discusses speaking so as to be understood, and preachers of the early church frequently addressed common people. The tradition of plain speech coexists with subtle theology.

Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant theological writing

All three traditions produce difficult technical works and also clear popular ones. Technical vocabulary is sometimes unavoidable, since terms such as person, nature, justification and theosis carry precise meanings. In each tradition, a good writer explains such words to readers outside it.

Critics of academic style

Some critics argue that academic prose has become unnecessarily dense and insider-oriented, and urge scholars to write for a wider public. Others reply that technical language is sometimes needed for precision. A student who can write plainly about difficult ideas serves both sides.

Why it matters

A paper is read by someone who does not share your mind. Clear prose lets that reader follow, test and learn. It also tests your own understanding: you often discover that you do not yet know what you mean when you try to say it simply. For religious writing in particular, clarity is a form of respect for readers who come with different training and different convictions.

Common misunderstandings

Misunderstanding: Academic writing must be complicated to be taken seriously.

Correction: Readers value clarity. Complex ideas can be written plainly, and unnecessary complication often hides weak thinking.

Misunderstanding: A quotation speaks for itself.

Correction: A quotation needs an introduction and an explanation. Otherwise the reader does not know what to notice or why it matters.

Misunderstanding: Hedging everything makes my claims safe.

Correction: Too many qualifiers make writing vague. Qualify where the evidence is limited, and state plainly what the evidence supports.

Misunderstanding: Using the same term repeatedly is bad style.

Correction: In analytical writing, a changed word suggests a changed meaning. Keep key terms consistent, and vary other wording as you like.

Knowledge check

What makes a good analytical paragraph?

It has one main point, stated early in a topic sentence. It supports the point with evidence, such as a quotation or fact with a citation, and explains what the evidence shows and why it matters. It connects the point to the thesis, and it has a clear relation to the paragraphs before and after it.

How should a quotation be handled?

Introduce it by naming the author and context, give it exactly with a citation, and explain what it shows. Short quotations built into your own sentence are best. A long block quotation should be used only for a passage you will analyze closely. The writer does the interpreting, and the quotation serves as evidence.

Why does the choice of transition matter?

A transition claims a logical relation between ideas. ‘Therefore’ claims that one thing follows from another, and ‘however’ signals a contrast. If the claimed relation does not exist, the reader is misled. Used accurately, transitions show the structure of the argument.

How should technical terms be treated?

Define each technical term in a clause or note at its first use, in plain words, and then use it consistently. Do not vary terms for style, since a new word suggests a new idea. Avoid jargon when an ordinary word will serve, and explain foreign words.

Think it through

  1. Take a sentence from your own writing that you find hard to read. How could it be rewritten in plain words?
  2. Which technical words from your own tradition would a reader from another tradition not know?
  3. Why might a writer prefer complex language, and what might it cost?
  4. What does 1 Corinthians 14:19 suggest about the purpose of speech?

Independent assignment

Rewriting for clarity

In your own notebook, take a page of your own draft or a page of dense writing from a scholarly source. Write about 400 words: first copy two paragraphs of it (marked as a quotation if from a source and cited), then rewrite them in plain, clear prose with topic sentences, introduced evidence and defined terms. List the changes you made and why. Do not send this to anyone.

Further study