Continuation

Let’s delve into the world of continuation words, an essential component for enhancing our reading and comprehension skills. These words are pivotal in maintaining the flow of thought and argument, crucial for understanding and interpreting complex texts.

What Are Continuation Words?

Continuation words are linguistic bridges; they serve to connect ideas, arguments, and facts in a cohesive and coherent manner. By seamlessly linking different parts of the text, they ensure a smooth flow of thought and argument. They typically add additional details that qualify or enrich what is being said. But here is the thing, they aren’t actually that important for extracting the main idea from a particular sentence. We will expand on a technique that harnesses this element of continuation words later, but for know let’s also experiment with reading sentences without the continuation.

For example, take the sentence: “The garden was flourishing this year, and the variety of colors was breathtaking.” The word ‘and’ acts as a continuation word, linking the garden’s flourishing state to the subsequent description of its vibrant colors. This connection enriches the overall image and understanding of the garden’s beauty, but it isn’t necessary to understand what this sentence is trying to communicate in its most basic form, that the garden was flourishing this year.

For example, let’s read that sentence without the continuation: “The garden was flourishing this year.“ Yes, we have lost some of the detail, but the main idea of what is being said is the exact same. This makes the sentence easier to understand. While that isn’t important in this instance, removing continuation phrases can be key in understanding more complex sentence like the ones you will encounter in the CARS section.

The Significance of Continuation Words in CARS

Typically, continuation words serve to:

1. Connect and Develop Ideas: They act as conduits, joining related thoughts and ensuring the narrative’s flow is uninterrupted and logical.
2. Elaborate or Expand on a Point: Often used to add more information, details, or examples, they enrich the reader’s understanding of the subject.

Specific Continuation Words

Now, let’s explore some common continuation words and their functions:

• “And” and “Also”: Link similar ideas or add information. E.g., “The study was groundbreaking, and it opened new research avenues.”
• “Furthermore” and “Moreover”: Introduce additional points or evidence. E.g., “The plan is cost-effective; furthermore, it is environmentally friendly.”
• “In addition”: Used to add more information to what has already been said. E.g., “The novel is critically acclaimed; in addition, it has won several awards.”

Skill Building

To enhance your understanding of continuation words:

1. Identify the Link
   • Active Recognition: Look for continuation words such as “and,” “also,” “furthermore,” “moreover,” “in addition,” “similarly,” and “likewise.” Recognize how they connect ideas or add information.
   • Flow Tracing: Understand how these words guide the narrative or argument, maintaining coherence and continuity.
2. Understand the Development
   • Trace the Progression: Notice how continuation words lead from one idea to the next, developing or elaborating the argument.
   • Comprehend the Addition: Focus on the additional information or perspective introduced by these words, enriching your understanding of the text.
3. Eliminate The Continuation
   • Remove and Analyze: Remove the continuation phrase and reread the sentence. Ask yourself what details you lost by doing so, keep in mind the overall core meaning of the sentence shouldn’t change.

Know that we have an overview of how to build up your ability to recognize and interpret continuation words let’s look at an example.

1. Identify the Link:
   • Example Sentence: “The study highlighted the drug’s effectiveness in treating the disease; furthermore, it revealed potential applications in preventing future outbreaks.”Here, the continuation word “furthermore” is used. It signals that additional, related information is about to be introduced, building on the previous idea.
   • Flow Tracing:“Furthermore” maintains the coherence of the argument by adding to the initial point about the drug’s effectiveness. It doesn’t contradict or change the direction but rather expands on the initial idea.
2. Understanding the Development
   • Trace the Progression:The sentence begins by discussing the drug’s effectiveness and then, using “furthermore,” transitions to discussing its potential preventive applications. This shows a development of the argument from treatment to prevention.
   • Comprehend the Addition:The part following “furthermore” adds new information about potential preventive applications of the drug. This addition provides a broader perspective on the drug’s utility.
3. Eliminate The Continuation:
   • If we remove the phrase after “furthermore,” we lose information about the drug’s preventive applications. “The study highlighted the drug’s effectiveness in treating the disease; furthermore, it revealed potential applications in preventing future outbreaks.”
   • The core meaning of the drug’s effectiveness in treatment remains, but the expanded utility in prevention is lost.

Conclusion:

Continuation words add additional details that enrich the main ideas of sentences and paragraphs. They aren’t 100% necessary for grasping the main idea of complex sentence and sometimes removing them clears up what a particular complex sentence is trying to tell you. Let’s do some intensive practice to hone your understanding of continuation words now!