"True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, As those move easiest who have learned to dance." - Alexander Pope
In this chapter, you will find
The Rationale Behind Logical Progression
As we have learned earlier, writing must be form of communication. Consequently, good writing equals good communication. Now, to communicate well, one must order the statements one makes so that the entire point one wishes to make makes sense--to anyone. In order for a writer to be sure that he is making the most effective attempt at communicating his point, he must order the points he wants to make in a logical and coherent fashion so that any reader can easily follow the progression of ideas that support the writer's thesis. In effect, solid progression makes an essay almost elementary; to the reader, point A naturally follows point B and so on, so the writer must have a valid argument. Thus, effective progression of ideas is a major factor in effective writing.
The concept of logical progression applies equally to several levels of a composition. As we saw earlier in our example exercise regarding women in combat, there should be logical method behind the order in which a writer presents his topic sentences (and thus his paragraphs). Not only should topic sentences be logically ordered but the sentences that make up each paragraph should be logically ordered. When there exists a logical order of progression at all levels of an essay, the essay becomes remarkably clear and very difficult to disagree with. Therefore, as writers, we should strive to make every level of our essays logically sound, or "make sense."