MIS 2000 Chapter 6: roadmaps
20 Jun 2018
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h t t p : / / u w p . d u k e . e d u / w r i t i n g – s t u d i o
Roadmaps
The Roadmap Metaphor
Have you ever received poor directions and found it difficult to find your destination? It can be
frustrating—especially if you think back to times when you received excellent directions and were
able to find your way easily, each turn clearly anticipated and marked. Reading can be like that too:
sometimes we don’t understand where the writer is taking us, or we get frustrated when we follow
the author to many long and windy dead ends that don’t ultimately lead to the author’s point. This
handout offers suggestions for providing “roadmaps,” so that readers can easily follow and anticipate
your argument rather than becoming frustrated and lost, unsure of what you want to argue.
Getting from Point A to Point B
To make a map, you need to know both the “origin” and “destination” of your argument. Destination
here refers to your main argument—your main claim, your thesis, or your point. Origin refers to the
assumed knowledge of the reader—in other words, what we think we can assume the reader knows.
For some writers, knowing these starting and ending points is a prerequisite for drafting a paper; for
others, these points only become clear during or after the drafting process.
Keep your personal tendencies as a writer in mind as you think about the roadmap metaphor. If you
have time, consider experimenting with your writing process to determine whether changing or
revising habits might yield positive results.
Regardless of what type of writer you consider yourself, once you have drafted a paper, double-check
that you can identify the origin and destination of your argument within your text. Your instructor
might have specified the origin for you by asking you to assume the reader has read all—or some or
none—of the material covered in class. It is always appropriate to ask your instructor for what
audience he or she wants you to write. In general, academic writing assumes an intelligent reader
who is unfamiliar with the texts and arguments presented.
If you cannot immediately identify your destination, concentrate on the last parts of your essay.
Often, our writing is a conversation we have with the different texts or sources we have read in
research, and we reach our own conclusion—what we really think—at the end.
Once you have confirmed your origin and destination points—and confirmed, after your first draft,
that you still want your argument to travel from one to the other—it’s time to make sure you’re
conveying this sense of direction to your readers.
Document Summary
H t t p : / / u w p . d u k e . e d u / w r i t i n g s t u d i o. It can be frustrating especially if you think back to times when you received excellent directions and were able to find your way easily, each turn clearly anticipated and marked. This handout offers suggestions for providing roadmaps, so that readers can easily follow and anticipate your argument rather than becoming frustrated and lost, unsure of what you want to argue. To make a map, you need to know both the origin and destination of your argument. Destination here refers to your main argument your main claim, your thesis, or your point. Origin refers to the assumed knowledge of the reader in other words, what we think we can assume the reader knows.
