17. The art of signposting

The greatest essays come off because they are an integrated whole. They keep the reader's attention the whole way through - not because they have sparkling prose (though that's nice) but because they connect the ideas together well.

That is: they keep reminding the reader where they are in the argument, so the chances of getting lost are minimised. This is of course a very helpful discipline for the writer, because it asks her to ask herself - 'where am I up to? What does this bit contribute to the whole of the essay?'

There are a couple of ways to do this.

1) use headings. I used to be opposed to headings in essays, chiefly because I was a snob about such things. ('Surprise me', I hear you say). But I have changed. The use of a few headings can, with a minimum of words, communicate to the reader the structure of your piece quite brilliantly and elegantly. Now, I don't mean that every paragraph should have a heading. I would also counsel against points and subpoints and futher subpoints. That's just confusing. But if there are five identifiable phases of your essay, why not signpost them with a system of headings? It's economical and it keeps everyone up to speed.

2) use summative sentences. You may have just stepped your way through a very complex argument involving exegesis, historical theology and a jab an Eberhard Jungel for good measure. But when you come to a section break, don't assume that I have followed this all the way through - or that I can see what it contributes to the whole. Tell me.

They say when you begin to act that you should overact - that the stage requires you to magnify your actions so that the audience knows clearly what you are doing. Likewise, in an essay, you need to overact a bit: telling me explicitly what each bit of your essay has just done in a brief summative statement.

3) using questions that flow. A great way to ensure continuity is to introduce the next section of your piece with a question that comes out of the previous bit - which may also have been introduced by a question. Paul does this in his letters to brilliant effect - 'What shall we say then: shall we go on sinning, that grace may abound?' And you can follow his argument by stages because he signposts it with questions which he then proceeds to answer.