Ms. Brody wrote in the Times Personal Health Column since 1976, so there are plenty of useful examples to choose from if you look through it. Choose a few that particularly interest you, then read through them to see if you can find one or more paragraphs that serve this “in a nutshell” function.
For example, you might read:
“Looking on the bright side can be good for your health»
“For real weight control, try portion control»
And if so, you might identify paragraphs like the ones below as good examples of where the author zooms out and shows you why the topic is important.
From “How to “winter” your dog”, a paragraph that is not about practical ways to do it, but about why you should do it in the first place:
Whether urban or rural, dogs can face multiple dangers during the colder months, from chapped paws and dry skin to electrocution or immersion in a frozen pond.
From “Looking on the bright side can be good for your health”, a section that explains why this information could literally help you prolong your life:
A growing number of recent long-term studies have linked greater optimism to a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease and other chronic illnesses and to promoting “exceptional longevity,” a team of first-rate researchers used to people living to age 85 and beyond.
From “For real weight control, try portion control“, a brief explanation of why this way of eating is better than the many eating fads that the reader is probably already familiar with:
Unlike the myriad of fad diets that have yet to stem the ever-increasing bulkiness of American men and women, what Dr. Young describes is not a diet but a practical approach to eating that can be suitable for almost any lifestyle, although most meals are eaten out or taken out. It is not prescriptive or even proscriptive. It doesn’t cut out any food categories, like carbs or fats, nor does it deprive people of their favorite foods, including sugary treats.
From “Is your sleep cycle out of sync? It may be genetic“, a paragraph that follows the story of an early riser friend, but follows research that shows many others also suffer from this problem:
And, it seems that its pattern of falling asleep and waking up early is not as extremely rare as has long been believed. In a new study published in the journal Sleep by researchers in San Francisco, Salt Lake City and Madison, Wisconsin, involving more than 2,400 patients who visited a sleep clinic for problems such as sleep apnea or insomnia, a small number of them suffered from a previously little-known familial form of advanced sleep phase, a kind of permanent jet lag that, according to the study, is often hereditary.
From “Managing Teenage Acne“, a paragraph that puts the problem in context: being a teenager is hard, and having acne makes it even harder:
Adolescence is a difficult time for many young people, even in the best of circumstances. But if the face they present to the world is marked by prominent acne lesions, the ordinary emotional and social stresses of adolescence can be that much more difficult to overcome.
From “The youth suicide crisis”, statistics that show this is a crisis we need to worry about:
In October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that after a stable period from 2000 to 2007, the suicide rate among 10- to 24-year-olds increased dramatically — by 56 percent — between 2007 and 2017. , making suicide the second leading cause of death. deaths in this age group, following accidents such as car accidents.
Now try this:
Take a step back from the topic you’re writing about and focus on why it’s important. Try answering these questions first so that when you get to the point in your article where you could include your own “crazy” paragraph, you’ll be ready with ideas:
-
Why is this topic worth discussing?
-
What is the broader context of this? Why might it be helpful to explain and show why this is an important topic? How is this relevant in today’s world?
-
Who or what does this affect? For what? How?
-
How relevant is it to broader questions in the field?
Finally, take a look at this edition from our “Annotated by the Author” series, in which Times international climate reporter Somini Sengupta shows you where, why and how she included “why it matters” paragraphs in her article “These Five kitchens are easier on the planet.” What can you learn from their choices?
