In long, complicated articles, such as those written in the diamond structure, the writer may encounter three or four or as many as nine or ten subsections.

Certainly, in the diamond format, there will be at least three separate sections: the lead, the body of the story, and the end; or four: the lead, the theme segment, the body, and the end.

Many articles will have subtopics or subsections inside the body of the story, anecdotes from various personalities, short profiles inside the article, summary material, and other necessary material.

Trying to tie all these subsections together involves the use of transitional devices. Most writers don’t have trouble with transitions inside the subsection that may be one or two or three pages (screens) long: The problem lies in bridging the gap between one major section and another.

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Following are seven types of transitions that the writer may use to bridge this gap. (They appear in order from the easiest to use to the most complex.)

1. The Concluding Statement

In a personality section of an article, in Which the writer is profiling subject “X”, the writer may effectively draw the section to a close by using a quotation from “X” that is very clearly a definitive statement by the speaker: For example: “He squinted into the sun and shuffled his feet in the dust.

‘I’ve had a good life. I wouldn’t have changed it for anything. Not for anything at all.'” This type of concluding statement is often followed by three ellipsis points.

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2. The Space break

This is a physical separation of text on the page (or on the screen, when you are using a word processor). If you are typing double-spaced copy, when you need a space break transition, jump six lines. The “air” or white on the page will indicate to the reader that a different topic is upcoming.

Many writers use one or more bullets-large, heavy dots (or the asterisk key on the keyboard)-in the middle of the space break to indicate to editors and readers that this jump is deliberate. (On a word processor, a jump of a few lines is very easy to do accidentally.)

The English call this line white because it is literally a line of white space on the copy. It is also literally a line of white added by word processors.

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The space break should not be overused. In a 10-page article, for instance, the space break should only be used perhaps three times; otherwise the writer has copy that reads “too choppy,” as if the reader is watching a freight train moving across a highway intersection.

The white between the article sections is like the space between individual freight cars. If the writer uses too many space breaks, the article may read like many brief freight cars, passing the reader.

3. The Space break-With-Filler Material

This is the space break on the page, with additional material inserted, such as a headline or subhead, song lyrics, poetry selections, an excerpt from a short story, or perhaps a quotation picked up from later in the article. Use this material with discretion.

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If you are citing the work of a poet or writer, or lyricist, be sure to get formal permission to quote material that may be copyrighted. Use small amounts of filler so as not to confuse or sidetrack the reader. The filler material should read like a headline, for it is exactly that, a subhead inside the article.

4. The Dateline or Diary Transition

This is a simple time technique: “By late 1992, Joe Smith had gone to Canada and had become involved in.

This offers a quick and clean transition into an anecdote or other subtopic within your article. It may be used with a space break or without.

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5. The Argumentative

Let one personality (A) in your article make a statement: Let another personality (B) answer pro or con as a way to transition into a subtopic about (B). For example:

“I think such-and-such is true,” “A” said finally, resting his arms on the table and looking out the window. “I’ve always believed that.”

“I just don’t believe in such-and-such at all,” “B” said later. “That’s never been true as far as I am concerned.” “B”‘s life, from the early 1940s, indicates that.

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6. The Metaphor Transition

Here the writer uses a fanciful style to move smoothly from one subtopic to another. The metaphor is a connection between two items-a sports writer can use it to transition from one of the items to another, like this:

Joe Jock paused during a practice climb up western Massachusetts’s Mount Greylock. He carefully re-coiled his climbing rope and slowly re-tied his bootlaces.

“The thing about climbing, he said, gazing at the top of Greylock, shrouded in haze, “is, the closer you are to the top, the faster you think you can get there.”

In fact, during the last six years of his career, the closer he got to the top, the faster he got there. When he isn’t climbing, his career as a sports equipment developer and innovator has moved him from rock bottom to the pinnacle of success faster than he or anyone else could have guessed.

Here, of course, the comparison is mountain climbing to career ladder.

The metaphor transition is a very difficult one to use because it is rare that such a combination of literal and figurative combinations would occur (or probably occur to the writer to use). Other transitions are much easier to use.