The focus of this page is to help you understand that formal written text needs to be carefully structured. The hard work of research and writing an answer to a set question or topic is the first step, but there is also the need to learn how to produce a document which sets out the answer in a cohesive way. Stranded text occurs where a writer has placed a single sentence as an isolated piece of text that is clearly not a paragraph although it is related to the general theme of the section.

Typical essay structure

Introduction: Outlines the scope of the paper.

Body: (Content)

Theme One:

• Main statement
• Expansion of ideas
• Evidence
• Partial conclusion - concluding comments
• Linking Statement

Theme two:

• Main statement
• Expansion of ideas
• Evidence
• Partial conclusion - concluding comments
• Linking Statement

Theme three:

• Main statement
• Expansion of ideas
• Evidence
• Partial conclusion - concluding comments
• Linking Statement

(The themes are presented in sections made up of paragraphs. The text would continue in this way, depending on how many issues needed to be included.)

Conclusion: Reiterates main argument, confirms the answer to the question.

Editing the text

It is important not to leave sentences stranded. Anything you write needs to be part of a paragraph. Because a paragraph should have a clear theme, usually signalled by a topic sentence, it is unlikely that a paragraph could be only one sentence long. If your writing contains stranded text you need to check the best re-location for it, by determining which of the above functions it performs for a particular theme. If you cannot identify the function of any stranded text, it is best to remove it altogether.

It is natural when composing the draft to write roughly and to leave sentences on their own as you build up the answer to the question. At this stage you may not be constructing paragraphs. However when you have completed the research and the draft answer is finished you need to make a fundamental shift from composer to editor. You become the critical reader of the text and make the adjustments you need to ensure your text says exactly what you want it to say in a way that is connected and sequenced without any stranded text.