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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/8129
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

 **It depends on the context.** In the example in this question, cars are being presented as _connected to_ buses somehow, so it makes sense to have this kind of segue. However, in a chapter with a bunch of stand-alone sections, it doesn't. If the same chapter is talking about buses, cars, trains, planes, and the Enterprise's transporter, and you aren't laying out connections among all of these, a reader would not expect to see you talking about these outside of their own sections.

**It depends on the format.** In a dissertation your readers are likely to be reading text from beginning to end (maybe skipping parts). If, instead, your work is likely to be broken up into chunks -- individual web pages, blocks of context-sensititve help in an application, or the like -- then you cannot rely on any reader context beyond the current section. The "cars" section needs to either stand on its own or have an explicit cross-reference to the "buses" section, and vice-versa. It is important to consider how your reader will use your document.

(I realize that the question asks about a dissertation, but it is also tagged technical-writing, which has broader considerations.)

Original score: 3