Connecting sentences in a paragraph

Good writing makes connections, not just between paragraphs but also between sentences within a paragraph. In this blog entry, I reveal three different ways to connect two sentences within the same paragraph.

In the next paragraph, quoted from the New York Daily News, can you tell how its author, Adam Rubin, connected its second sentence to its first?

Pitching coach Dan Warthen said Johan Santana’s chances of starting Opening Day in Cincinnati are “almost nil.” Warthen instead is eyeing the season’s second series against the Marlins, and is adamant Santana shouldn’t miss a turn in the rotation.

The second-sentence word that builds the bridge is "Warthen." By repeating the pitching coach's name and then revealing something about him, the author created a logical relationship between the sentences.

Here's another example, exactly as it appears on the Brooklyn Cyclones website.

The Blog is the lighter side of the Cyclones. It's where we share inside jokes, make obscure pop culture references, poke fun at each other, tell stories, and find out what really happens when seven strangers behind the scenes.

In the above example, the word that connects the paragraph's second sentence connects to the first one is the pronoun "It's."

Finally, here's a third way you can connect two sentences:

Everyone seems to be more concerned about Johan Santana's health than Santana himself. The Mets' star pitcher has kept the same demeanor throughout this latest crisis, and keeps insisting that he will be there for his Opening Day start on April 6.

In the above example, which is from Ed Coleman's WFAN blog, a key element of the first sentence is Johan Santana. Coleman connects his second sentence to his first by referring to Santana as the "Mets' star pitcher."