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Writing a paper on King Philip's War.Want to discuss the land issue. In context, I want to write it like this:1) First (in order) paragraph briefly discusses or brings up Roger Williams and his criticisms of the land charters (however, the main topic of paragraph is Williams's friendship with the Narragansetts)2) Next paragraph will explain the land charters more in depth3) Show how these land disagreements led to the war in the next sectionWould you switch 1 & 2 around? I've always been: introduce the concept in general (in this case I'm only using it as an example to explain RW's philosophy towards the Indians) then explain it further in the next paragraph(s) But I'm wondering if I should write about the land charters first, THEN use it as an example. Only thing I'm thinking is it makes paragraph 3 seem out of place because 1) I'm going to be specific as to who disagreed (it's kinda like my leadup to the war) and 2) once I start writing about the war, that will be the meat of the rest of paper until the conclusion.I'm sure no one understands what I just said, because now I'm confused too. 😮
I'm sure no one understands what I just said, because now I'm confused too. 😮
Confusion...that is actually what I was thinking. However, I would say that your introduction should briefly talk about the problem/tension/question that you are attempting to resolve, and then you should go from a broader statement of the historical background before discussing specific criticisms of the land charters. So yes, paragraphs 1 and 2 should be switched in my mind. If you think you're going to repeat yourself (which is why you're worried about paragraph 3???), just develop a better segue so you are not repeating yourself, but instead bringing the argument along piece by piece.I know what you mean, though...structuring papers is sometimes the hardest thing about writing them. You can have all the material you need, but without a coherent and convincing flow, the entire paper can be a mess and drag it all down.
Should have been clearer: by paragraph 1, I meant the order in the body. The intro is already there. I see what you're saying. It's not really repitition I'm worried about more than it is flow. If I switch as you suggested, I feel like the RW paragraph is more a diversion before getting back on topic. I'll have to see what it looks like upon completion. If there is enough, I may edit out RW, but I'm using that as part of my thesis of comparing the different types of preaching and attitudes towards the Indians. (plus being from RI, I HAVE to include him in my paper ;D )
Alright…maybe ignore my specific comments, though my general comments stand. I am still really confused about some things, but that can be attributed to my unfamiliarity with the topic you're writing about. Honestly, I do sometimes switch entire sections around in my papers if it just doesn't "flow" well in a particular way. I'd say go ahead and try switching it up, add a few segue sentences, and see if it gets better. Just make sure to do it in a new document, so that you have your old format in case the new format just doesn't work for you.
OK, this paper has ended up going in a completely different direction than originally planned! It's supposed to be 8-10 pages long and I have 10 pages that describe the circumstances leading to the war. I think this is where I'm staying. Oh well, I'll save the Great Swamp Fight for another time. 😀
Just saw this, and I know it's probably too late to help, but for the future….especially for papers like these that are very topic specific….you should thoroughly cover the background leading up to the event in question (8-10 pages won't allow for much admittedly), then you can dive into the event itself. Obviously the background segment will lead directly to the root cause of King Philip's War so the transition is ready made. Then you have to cover the significance of the event as to why it is worthy of study….which is where your paper should end with perhaps a teaser of how it led to another significant historical event (if in fact you believe it did). In your background segment, if you enter Roger Williams into the story, you must show his relevance (how his actions contributed to the war or the setting of the war etc....). There are many directions you can go with a topic like this, but you must stay focused on the key points and not chase too many rabbits (which Williams can be a very tempting rabbit to chase).
Yes he can! I actually got caught in this. I introduced Roger Williams in one paragraph, but did not explain who he was (one simple sentence would have done it). My justification for this was because I had a whole paragraph on Williams later in the paper. Oh well…live and learn. Still got a decent grade for it. 🙂
