SHSAT: Organizing a draft: place each sentence where it connects
Learn to map a numbered draft, place an added sentence right after the idea it refers to, and choose openings, paragraph breaks and conclusions that fit the whole sequence.
How do you decide where a sentence belongs in a draft, or where a new paragraph should start?
Short answer
Map what each sentence does, then follow the links. A sentence that says this or these belongs right after the idea it points to, and a new paragraph starts where the focus shifts.
Know first: Pronouns like this, these and it, Order words such as first, then and next
Step 1 of 5
Map the draft before you move anything
Revising questions often give you a numbered draft and ask where a sentence should go, which sentence should open or close it, or where a paragraph should break. You can't answer these from one sentence. You need a quick map: a few words on what each sentence does.
Drafts that describe a process are the easiest to map, because the steps happen in order. The question is usually which step a new sentence explains, or where the process moves from one stage to the next.
| Task | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Place an added sentence | The idea its this, these, that or it points to, and the sentence that should come after it |
| Choose an opening | A sentence that covers every stage, not just one |
| Split into paragraphs | The sentence where the focus shifts to a new stage |
| Choose a conclusion or title | A summary of the whole sequence that claims no more than the draft does |
Step 2 of 5
Place a sentence by what it points to
A numbered draft
[1] Each fall, the school library receives boxes of donated books. [2] Volunteers first sort them1 into fiction and nonfiction. [3] Each book then gets a colored sticker that shows its reading level. [4] Next, a student team checks every book for torn pages and loose covers. [5] Damaged books go to a repair table2, where volunteers tape the spines. [6] Repaired books are shelved in a display near the entrance. [7] Books that cannot be fixed4 are given away at the spring fair.
- Stage one begins: preparing the books.
- First mention of a table.
- The focus shifts to the books' condition.
- The process ends with the books that are left over.
Worked example: Where does the new sentence go?
The writer wants to add “This table also holds glue, clear tape and a stack of spare covers.” Where should it go?
- ABefore sentence 1
- BAfter sentence 2
- CAfter sentence 5
- DAfter sentence 7
- 1
Find the pointer
This table points back to a table already named.
- 2
Find what it points to
Sentence 5 introduces the repair table. Nothing earlier mentions a table.
- 3
Check both sides
After sentence 5, the new sentence describes the repair table, and sentence 6 then moves on to the repaired books.
- 4
See why the others are there
Before sentence 1 or after sentence 2, this table has nothing to point to yet. After sentence 7, it sits far from the repair table and interrupts the ending about books given away.
Answer
C. After sentence 5.
Wrong: Opening: Volunteers tape the spines of damaged books.
Right: Opening: Donated books are sorted, labeled and repaired before they reach readers.
An opening has to preview the whole process. The first choice covers only one step.
Step 3 of 5
Test openings, breaks and endings against the map
Check yourself · Question 1
The writer wants to split the library draft into two paragraphs, one on preparing the books and one on checking their condition. Where should the second paragraph begin?
Answer: B
Next, a student team checks is where the focus moves from sorting and labeling to the books' condition.
Check yourself · Question 2
Which sentence would best conclude the library draft?
Answer: D
It sums up every stage, including the books that are given away, without adding a new claim.
Trap answer: Every donated book now ends up on the library's shelves.
A neat ending that ignores one sentence
- Why it looks right
- It sounds like a tidy close to a success story.
- Why it's wrong
- Sentence 7 says some books can't be fixed and are given away. A conclusion has to fit every part of the draft.
- The right answer
- The conclusion that names sorting, labeling and repair, and mentions the gifts, matches the whole sequence.
Common mistake
I put the new sentence next to one that shared a word with it.
- Why it's tempting
- A repeated word, like books, looks like a connection.
- Do this instead
- Most sentences in a draft share words. Follow the pointer word to the exact idea it needs, then check that the sentence after the gap still flows.
Step 4 of 5
What to remember
Remember
- Map the draft with a few words for what each sentence does.
- Place an added sentence right after the idea its pointer word refers to.
- Openings and conclusions must cover the whole sequence without adding claims.
Step 5 of 5
Practice on a real question
Use what you just learned on this question, then check the explanation.
In your own words
In the practice draft, which earlier sentence first introduces the thing the added sentence calls this number?