diff --git includes/common.inc includes/common.inc
index 6b0138c..cfffcc9 100644
--- includes/common.inc
+++ includes/common.inc
@@ -3712,6 +3712,38 @@ function drupal_render_children(&$element, $children_keys = NULL) {
 }
 
 /**
+ * A brief alias for drupal_render(), to be used in templates.
+ *
+ * This always prints the top level element. Subsequent elements are only printed
+ * if they haven't been printed before or have been re-enabled with show().
+ */
+function render(&$element) {
+  if (is_array($element)) {
+    show($element);
+    print drupal_render($element);
+  }
+  else {
+    print $element;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Hide an element during rendering.
+ */
+function hide(&$element) {
+  $element['#printed'] = TRUE;
+  return $element;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Show a hidden or already printed element during rendering.
+ */
+function show(&$element) {
+  $element['#printed'] = FALSE;
+  return $element;
+}
+
+/**
  * Function used by uasort to sort structured arrays by weight.
  */
 function element_sort($a, $b) {
diff --git modules/node/node.module modules/node/node.module
index 8c77488..30ad4e5 100644
--- modules/node/node.module
+++ modules/node/node.module
@@ -1358,18 +1358,6 @@ function template_preprocess_node(&$variables) {
     unset($node->content['links']);
   }
 
-  // Render taxonomy links separately.
-  $variables['terms']     = !empty($node->content['links']['terms']) ? drupal_render($node->content['links']['terms']) : '';
-
-  // Render all remaining node links.
-  $variables['links']     = !empty($node->content['links']) ? drupal_render($node->content['links']) : '';
-
-  // Render any comments.
-  $variables['comments']  = !empty($node->content['comments']) ? drupal_render($node->content['comments']) : '';
-
-  // Render the rest of the node into $content.
-  $variables['content'] = drupal_render($node->content);
-
   // Flatten the node object's member fields.
   $variables = array_merge((array)$node, $variables);
 
diff --git modules/node/node.tpl.php modules/node/node.tpl.php
index 36ad041..5999ece 100644
--- modules/node/node.tpl.php
+++ modules/node/node.tpl.php
@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@
  *
  * Available variables:
  * - $title: the (sanitized) title of the node.
- * - $content: Node body or teaser depending on $teaser flag.
+ * - $content: An array of node items. Use render($content) to print them all, or
+ *   print a subset such as render($content['field_example']). Always call
+ *   render($content) at the end in order to print all remaining items.
  * - $comments: the themed list of comments (if any).
  * - $picture: The authors picture of the node output from
  *   theme_user_picture().
@@ -64,6 +66,9 @@
  * @see template_preprocess_node()
  * @see template_process()
  */
+ 
+// Uncomment the line below to see what variables are available in this template.
+// print '<pre>' . check_plain(print_r(get_defined_vars(), TRUE)) . '</pre>';
 ?>
 <div id="node-<?php print $node->nid; ?>" class="<?php print $classes ?> clearfix">
 
@@ -79,16 +84,16 @@
   <?php endif; ?>
 
   <?php if ($terms): ?>
-    <div class="terms terms-inline"><?php print $terms ?></div>
+    <div class="terms terms-inline"><?php render($content['links']['terms']) ?></div>
   <?php endif;?>
   </div>
 
   <div class="content">
-    <?php print $content ?>
+    <?php hide($content['comments']); hide($content['links']); render($content); ?>
   </div>
 
-  <?php print $links; ?>
+  <?php render($content['links']) ?>
 
-  <?php print $comments; ?>
+  <?php render($content['comments']) ?>
 
 </div>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git modules/user/user-profile.tpl.php modules/user/user-profile.tpl.php
index 5398d00..a0cf79b 100644
--- modules/user/user-profile.tpl.php
+++ modules/user/user-profile.tpl.php
@@ -8,27 +8,13 @@
  * This template is used when viewing a registered member's profile page,
  * e.g., example.com/user/123. 123 being the users ID.
  *
- * By default, all user profile data is printed out with the $user_profile
- * variable. If there is a need to break it up you can use $profile instead.
- * It is keyed to the name of each category or other data attached to the
- * account. If it is a category it will contain all the profile items. By
- * default $profile['summary'] is provided which contains data on the user's
- * history. Other data can be included by modules. $profile['user_picture'] is
- * available by default showing the account picture.
- *
- * Also keep in mind that profile items and their categories can be defined by
- * site administrators. They are also available within $profile. For example,
- * if a site is configured with a category of "contact" with
- * fields for of addresses, phone numbers and other related info, then doing a
- * straight print of $profile['contact'] will output everything in the
- * category. This is useful for altering source order and adding custom
- * markup for the group.
- *
- * To check for all available data within $profile, use the code below.
- *
- * @code
- *   print '<pre>'. check_plain(print_r($profile, 1)) .'</pre>';
- * @endcode
+ * Use render($user_profile) to print all profile items, or print a subset
+ * such as render($content['field_example']). Always call render($user_profile)
+ * at the end in order to print all remaining items. If the item is a category,
+ * it will contain all it's profile items. By default, $user_profile['summary']
+ * is provided which contains data on the user's history. Other data can be
+ * included by modules. $user_profile['user_picture'] is available
+ * for showing the account picture.
  *
  * @see user-profile-category.tpl.php
  *   Where the html is handled for the group.
@@ -36,14 +22,16 @@
  *   Where the html is handled for each item in the group.
  *
  * Available variables:
- *   - $user_profile: All user profile data. Ready for print.
- *   - $profile: Keyed array of profile categories and their items or other data
- *     provided by modules.
+ *   - $user_profile: An array of profile items. Use dr() to print them.
  *   - TODO D7 : document $FIELD_NAME_rendered variables.
  *
  * @see template_preprocess_user_profile()
  */
+ 
+// Uncomment the line below to see what variables are available in this template.
+// print '<pre>' . check_plain(print_r(get_defined_vars(), TRUE)) . '</pre>';
+ 
 ?>
 <div class="profile">
-  <?php print $user_profile; ?>
+  <?php render($user_profile); ?>
 </div>
diff --git modules/user/user.pages.inc modules/user/user.pages.inc
index de3f82a..c27fd40 100644
--- modules/user/user.pages.inc
+++ modules/user/user.pages.inc
@@ -185,20 +185,11 @@ function user_view($account) {
  * The $variables array contains the following arguments:
  * - $account
  *
- * @see user-picture.tpl.php
+ * @see user-profile.tpl.php
  */
 function template_preprocess_user_profile(&$variables) {
   $account = $variables['elements']['#account'];
-
-  $variables['profile'] = array();
-  // Sort sections by weight
-  uasort($account->content, 'element_sort');
-  // Provide keyed variables so themers can print each section independently.
-  foreach (element_children($account->content) as $key) {
-    $variables['profile'][$key] = drupal_render($account->content[$key]);
-  }
-  // Collect all profiles to make it easier to print all items at once.
-  $variables['user_profile'] = implode($variables['profile']);
+  $variables['user_profile'] = $account->content;
 
   // Add $FIELD_NAME_rendered variables for fields.
   $variables += field_attach_preprocess('user', $account);
diff --git themes/garland/node.tpl.php themes/garland/node.tpl.php
index 7e7a6ed..9508d99 100644
--- themes/garland/node.tpl.php
+++ themes/garland/node.tpl.php
@@ -14,21 +14,21 @@
   <?php endif; ?>
 
   <div class="content clearfix">
-    <?php print $content ?>
+    <?php hide($content['links']); hide($content['comments']); render($content); ?>
   </div>
 
   <div class="clearfix">
     <div class="meta">
-    <?php if ($terms): ?>
-      <div class="terms"><?php print $terms ?></div>
+    <?php if (isset($content['links']['terms'])): ?>
+      <div class="terms"><?php render($content['links']['terms']) ?></div>
     <?php endif;?>
     </div>
 
-    <?php if ($links): ?>
-      <div class="links"><?php print $links; ?></div>
+    <?php if (isset($content['links'])): ?>
+      <div class="links"><?php render($content['links']) ?></div>
     <?php endif; ?>
 
-    <?php print $comments; ?>
+    <?php render($content['comments']) ?>
 
   </div>