English 101/102: Looking for Section Breaks

When you’re doing a paragraph outline, how do you know where one section, or main point, ends and another begins?

Topic Shifts

The first thing to look for is a shift in topic. While the overall topic stays the same, smaller sub-topics come and go. A complex essay will typically deal with many separate sub-topics that together add up to the big picture the author wants to paint. When they shift to a new sub-topic, that is a sign that they are also making a new point, one of many that adds up their overall point (the thesis).

There are some really clear examples in the Obama speech:

When he stops talking about American history in general and starts talking about his personal story (paragraph 6)
When he stops talking about Jeremiah Wright and the campaign, and starts talking about the history of racism in America (paragraph 27, which begins, “Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point.”)

But there are clear examples in the McKinney speech as well:

When she stops talking in general terms about the problem of racial inequality, and starts talking about specific examples (paragraph 4, which begins, “For example, every year on the anniversary of the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr....”)
When she stops listing examples and starts talking about the national conversation again (paragraph 12, which begins, “Additionally, compounding the problem, there is little public discourse...”)

Transitional words, phrases and sentences

Usually when an author or speaker starts on a new sub-topic, a new main point, they will use transitional words and phrases to signal the change. Here are some examples from the two speeches. None of these is a 100% guarantee that a new topic is coming, but it is one piece of evidence.

Obama

“Throughout the first year of this campaign...” introduces the topic of the campaign, signalling a shift from his personal story to his public one.
“Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point.” This sentence clearly indicates the author is about to start talking about history, in contrast to the previous discussion of current events.
“This is where we are right now.” A short, swift summing up indicates we’re done with this topic and moving on to a new one.

McKinney

“For example” indicates we’re moving from the general to the specific
“Additionally” can indicate a shift to a new topic

Length of paragraphs

Many authors, Obama included, sometimes use short paragraphs to mark a transition to a new topic. For example, paragraph 6 (“This belief ...”) is a very short paragraph that marks the transition to his personal story.

Topic shifts are most important

While transitional words and phrases, and changes in paragraph length, can help you spot transitions, in the final analysis it’s the sub-topics that mark off the main ideas. Figuring these out takes work, and it’s not an exact science. There’s a certain amount of subjective judgment (“personal opinion”) in determining exactly where the sections break. But overall, any two competent readers will agree on the major elements of the argument, and put the breaks in roughly the same spots. Most significant disagreements turn out to be a question of sub-points, where one person wants to break a major section up into smaller sections and the other does not. In other words, disagreements are usually more a question of how detailed you get in your analysis, rather than disagreements over the major parts of the essay.