Signposting: guiding readers through your argument
Readers follow an argument more easily when they can predict what comes next. Signposts are the phrases that let them. This guide shows where to put them and how much is enough.
Why it matters
Signposts let readers predict what comes next, so they spend less effort working out why a passage is there.
What you can do
Announce the point first
Open the paragraph with the claim it will support, then give the support.
Ask yourself: If a reader read only this paragraph's first sentence, would they know what it argues?
Show an example
BeforeIn 2019 the city added bus lanes. Ridership rose 12 percent. Complaints fell.
AfterBus lanes worked. After the city added them in 2019, ridership rose 12 percent and complaints fell.
Mark where the argument turns
Flag contrasts and consequences with a phrase that names the move.
Ask yourself: Where does the argument pivot? Would a reader notice the pivot on first reading?
Show an example
BeforeSupporters cite lower costs. Critics point to slower service.
AfterSupporters cite lower costs. Critics, by contrast, point to slower service.
Sum up before moving on
Close a stretch of evidence with a sentence that says what it adds up to.
Ask yourself: What does this stretch of evidence add up to? Have you said so?
Show an example
BeforeAttendance rose. Grades improved. Fewer students transferred.
AfterAttendance rose. Grades improved. Fewer students transferred. Taken together, the program kept students engaged.
Tie the passage back to your main claim
Remind readers how this section serves the larger argument.
Ask yourself: How does this passage serve your main claim? Is that connection on the page or only in your head?
Show an example
BeforeThe 1998 reforms changed hiring rules.
AfterThe 1998 reforms matter here because they changed who could be hired.
When to leave it as it is
The passage is narrative or descriptive and the order of events already guides the reader.
See it in your own draft
Prosemetry reads your Word document and marks the passages where this happens, so you know where to look. It doesn’t rewrite anything; the revising stays yours. Free to try, no account needed.
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