How do ideas build on each other in explanatory text?
At this point you should be beginning to understand the structure of the article you read pretty well. You probably understand what the different theater roles are because the author did a nice job of explaining them to you. But how exactly did the author make it so easy for you to engage with the work and understand what she wants you to do? Well, one thing the author does is shows you relationships among ideas by using clear transitions. What, exactly, does that mean?
Example One
Example Two
First, take a look at this example from the article:
Most scene designers are practiced painters and illustrators; they are imaginative, detail-oriented, and highly organized.
Costume designers, on the other hand, tend to use a less structured process and rely more on feeling and intuition to do their work.
The author moved from talking about scene designers to costume designers, two different ideas, with a clear transition. She finished talking about scene designers and pointed out that costume designers' work differed slightly by saying, "On the other hand." This allows the reader to understand she isn't just jumping from one topic to the next without any thought. There is an organized process. She's contrasting two ideas.
Let's look at one more example:
For this reason, lighting design plays a role in theatre that is similar to editing in film production—both dictate what the audience sees when, and subtle choices can also affect the way the audience feels about what they see.
Sound designers affect a play's performance in a way that is similar to lighting design.
Again, the author moves from talking about lighting design to a different topic, sound design. Instead of talking about what's different about them in her transition, like the previous example, she talks about what is the same, or similar, about them to help the reader understand and stay engaged.
Do you think you can spot the types of relationships between things by picking out the transition? Try the activity below to find out.
to show similarity
to show contrast
to build an idea
to show cause and effect
to show that one is an example of the other
for instance
in addition
also
therefore
however
Great job! You got them all!
The ones marked with Checkmarks are correct.
Try again to match the remaining items.
3
So now you can spot transitions, but do you really understand why they're so important? Answer the questions below as best you can. Don't worry if you're not sure, some sample answers will be provided for you after you give it a try.
Why are transitions important in a text?
Re-read the examples above. What relationships do the topics all have, and how has the author used transitions to show this?
Your Responses
Sample Answers
Transitions help to show the relationship between two ideas that might not otherwise be related. They help keep the text organized and they help the reader understand how everything relates to the main topic.
The topics are all related to technical theater in one way or another. The author uses transitions to either show how the topics are similar to each other, or sometimes, how they differ from each other, but all still have a place in technical theater.
