When I was in college, one instructor was notorious for not using obvious transitions between topics in a list. He'd call attention to the first item on the list by saying, "The first way to write a more effective article is..." From then on, however, students had to listen closely. During the rest of the lecture, he'd say things like, "And that reminds of me another good concept to remember when writing an article...," or "That's not to be confused with the concept of such-and-such, which will also help your writing." Fifteen minutes later, he might finally throw out another transition, such as, "Anyway, the fifth way to write a more effective article is..."
Students throughout the room would mumble. Those who had drifted off into a half-nap, thinking they could just listen for key words when taking notes or didn't realize that the instructor's seeming asides were actually items on the list would say under their breath, "What happened to items two, three, and four?"
I'm surprised more teachers didn't use this technique.
