Take a moment and think about what you learned about paragraphs in previous courses. Maybe you learned that paragraphs are always 5-8 sentences long. You likely learned that paragraphs should have one main idea.

But why do we use paragraphs? What is the point of breaking our essays into chunks of text?

If you learned the “rules” for writing paragraphs, you might never have stopped to think about why those rules exist, or if those rules will always work for every situation.

In an earlier reading, we learned that there is no such thing as writing in general. Even academic writing, with all its expectations, is too varied from discipline to discipline to have a single set of “rules.” Instead, we have strategies and approaches that are flexible enough to help writers meet any writing task or challenge. The same is true of paragraphs.

This chapter will likely be a review of what you may already know about writing paragraphs.

Rules vs. Strategies.

First, it’s important to remember that paragraphs, like all writing, are not natural. No one was born knowing how to compose a strong paragraph–or even to write! Paragraphs, like all components of writing are a technology. They aid in reading comprehension by providing a reader visual signals within the text. When a reader sees a paragraph break, they know that something is changing, or that a new idea is being stated. Smart writers can take advantage of this convention to make their writing more clear and easily understood.

It’s essential to note, however, that not all writing tasks have the same expectations for paragraphing. In a novel, for instance, a single sentence of dialog might form a whole paragraph. In a more complex academic journal article, paragraphs might be long and dense–far more than 8 sentences. In a business letter, contemporary business prose demands shorter, more succinct paragraphs. The specific writing situation will determine the type of paragraph a writer creates.

The rules, then, matter less than understanding the strategies writers can use to meet any writing situation. For the purposes of this chapter, we’ll be discussing strategies for the type of academic essays students are usually expected to write in college courses. Students should remember that each discipline may have slightly different expectations for the tone and style of writing required for that subject. These expectations will affect the types of paragraphs students compose.

The rest of this chapter will go over many of the conventions and expectations of paragraphs in academic writing. These are not the “rules” you might have learned in high school, though. Instead, the following information should help you think through the strategies for writing strong paragraphs. Each time you sit down to compose a text, you will need to make choices that are appropriate to the specific writing task, context, and audience. The following should help you think those through.

Paragraph Conventions

While there is not a single set of “rules” that always work for all paragraphs in all situations, there are shared expectations that readers have when they encounter a paragraph. These expectations, or conventions, can be applied to almost all expository writing situations, especially to writing for college courses.

Paragraphs Are Focused Around One Idea

In general, paragraphs are blocks of text focused around a single, unified idea. No matter the type of writing, discipline, or situation, readers expect that a paragraph break signals a break in the ideas being presented. A new paragraph signals a new idea.

Students in college courses can think of paragraphs as ways to guide their professor’s reading. By using paragraphs to highlight the individual points being made, students can use paragraphs to show their mastery of concepts and ideas.

Paragraphs Have Three Parts

For college-level academic essays, an effective paragraph usually contains three main parts:

• Topic Sentence
• Body (supporting sentences)
• Concluding Sentence
  

In informative and persuasive writing, the topic sentence is usually the first or second sentence of a paragraph and expresses its main idea.

The sentences that follow the topic sentence should help explain, prove, or enhance the idea presented in the topic sentence.

The concluding sentence is the last sentence in the paragraph. It should reminds the reader of the main point by explaining the importance or analyzing the paragraphs connection to the larger essay. It should not state a new point.

Paragraphs Are Unified

All sentences in a paragraph should directly relate to the topic sentence. The body of the paragraph should either provide examples or evidence about the truth and validity of the topic sentence. Paragraphs should not change direction or shift to a new topic or idea.

Paragraphs Should Stand Alone

Because all the sentences in a paragraph support the same point, a paragraph should be able to stand on its own. A writer should be able to remove a paragraph from the larger essay and still have it make sense for a reader. If a paragraph depends on surrounding paragraphs to be clear or understandable, it is likely incomplete. Just as individual bricks can be removed from a wall, individual paragraphs should be distinct within a larger essay.

Paragraphs Should Relate to One Another

While paragraphs must be able to stand on their own, they must also relate specifically and directly to the other paragraphs in a piece of writing. The writer should use transitional phrases to connect paragraph ideas. Within the paragraphs, the writer should reference other parts of the essay, especially the thesis or related points.

In college-level academic essays, each supporting paragraph adds another related main idea to support the writer’s thesis, or controlling idea. Each related supporting idea is developed with facts, examples, and other details that explain it. By exploring and refining one idea at a time, writers can build a strong case for their thesis. Effective paragraphing makes the difference between a satisfying essay that readers can easily process and one that requires readers to mentally organize the piece themselves. Thoughtful organization and development of each body paragraph leads to an effectively focused, developed, and coherent essay.

Strong Topic Sentences Make Focused Paragraphs

The foundation of a paragraph is the topic sentence which expresses the main idea or point of the paragraph. A topic sentence functions in two ways:

• Topic Sentences clearly refer to and support an essay’s thesis
• Topic Sentences indicate what will follow in the rest of the paragraph.

As the unifying sentence for the paragraph, the topic sentence is the most general sentence, whereas all supporting sentences provide different types of more specific information such as facts, details, or examples.

An effective topic sentence has the following characteristics:

• Provides Accurate Information of What Will Follow
• Does Not Include Supporting Details
• Clear and Easy to Understand

Features of Topic Sentences

Topic Sentences Accurately Preview the Paragraph

A strong topic sentence will give a clear overview for what the rest of the paragraph will discuss. It will provide enough specific information that a reader can accurately predict what will follow, while remaining general.

Topic Sentences Do Not Include Supporting Detail

The topic sentence should be the most general sentence in the paragraph. It should not include evidence from sources or supporting details that require further discussion.

Topic Sentences Are Clear and Easy to Follow

While it can often feel challenging to find a way to word the main idea of your paragraph. Even experienced writers will often struggle to make their topic sentence a clear overview of the complex ideas that follow. However, strong topic sentences will be clear and easy for a reader to quickly and easily comprehend. Try to avoid overly long, complex sentences that might frustrate a reader.

Location of Topic Sentences

While topic sentences can appear anywhere within a paragraph, placing an explicit topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph (the first or second sentence) makes it easier for readers to follow the essay and for writers to stay on topic.

The first sentence tells readers that the paragraph will be about reality television shows, and it expresses the writer’s distaste for these shows through the use of the word bombarded. Each of the following sentences in the paragraph supports the topic sentence by providing further information about a specific reality television show and why the writer finds it unappealing. The final sentence is the concluding sentence. It the main point that viewers are bored with reality television shows by using different words from the topic sentence.

Paragraphs that begin with the topic sentence move from the general to the specific. They open with a general statement about a subject (reality shows) and then discuss specific examples (the reality show Prisoner).

Most academic essays contain the topic sentence at the beginning of the first paragraph. However, when utilizing a specific to general method, the topic sentence may be located later in the paragraph. Introduction paragraphs that end with a thesis statement are a good example of this organizational strategy

The last sentence of this paragraph is the topic sentence. It draws on specific examples (a cat that tracked down its owners and a dog that can predict seizures) and then makes a general statement that draws a conclusion from these examples (animals’ senses are better than humans’). In this case, the supporting sentences are placed before the topic sentence, and the concluding sentence is the same as the topic sentence. This technique is frequently used in persuasive writing. The writer produces detailed examples as evidence to back up his or her point, preparing the reader to accept the concluding topic sentence as the truth.

Developing Paragraphs

While strong topic sentences preview the topic of a paragraph, the body of a paragraph develops the main idea with supporting sentences. These supporting sentences explain, prove, or enhance the main idea presented in the topic sentence.

In informative or persuasive writing, a supporting sentence usually offers one of the following:

• Logical reasoning
• Statistics, data, or other sourced evidence
• Quotes or paraphrases from supporting sources

The type of support a writer chooses depends on their rhetorical situation.

For example, if a writer is attempting to persuade their audience to take a particular position, they should rely on facts, statistics, and concrete examples, rather than personal opinions. If a writer is attempting do demonstrate expertise or knowledge about a particular topic, they would need to provide quotes, paraphrases, and summaries from multiple sources to show how they arrived at that knowledge.

For a college course, personal experience or opinions are often not viewed as authoritative, relevant, or appropriate. Rather, for most college-level academic writing, readers (i.e., your professors) will expect supporting evidence to come from well analyzed sources that are appropriate to the specific course and writing situation.

Concluding Paragraphs

An effective concluding sentence draws together all the ideas raised in your paragraph without bringing up a new topic. To conclude a paragraph, a writer should reminds readers of the main point—the topic sentence—without restating it in exactly the same words.

Compare the topic sentence and concluding sentence from the first example on hybrid cars:

Notice the use of the synonyms advantages and benefits. The concluding sentence reiterates the idea that owning a hybrid is advantageous without using the exact same words. It also summarizes two examples of the advantages covered in the supporting sentences: low running costs and environmental benefits.

A concluding sentence may do any of the following:

• Restate the main idea.
• Summarize the key points in the paragraph.
• Draw a conclusion based on the information in the paragraph.
• Make a prediction, suggestion, or recommendation about the information in the paragraph.
• Offer an additional observation about the controlling idea.

Paragraph Length

Although paragraph length is discussed in the section on developing paragraphs with supporting sentences, some additional reminders about when to start a new paragraph may prove helpful to writers:

• Long Paragraphs: If a paragraph is over a page long, consider providing a paragraph break for readers. Look for a logical place to divide the paragraph; then revise the opening sentence of the second paragraph to maintain coherence.
• Short Paragraphs: A series of short paragraphs can be confusing and choppy. Examine the content of the paragraphs and combine ones with related ideas or develop each one further.
• Paragraphs for Emphasis: Begin a new paragraph to indicate a shift in subject, tone, or time and place.

Improving Paragraph Coherence

A strong paragraph leads readers seamlessly from the topic sentence into the supporting sentences and on to the concluding sentence. To help organize a paragraph and ensure that ideas logically connect to one another, writers use a combination of elements:

• A clear organizational pattern:
  • chronological (for narrative writing, describing processes, or writing summaries)
  • spatial (for descriptions of people or places)
  • order of importance
  • general to specific (deductive)
  • specific to general (inductive)
• Transitional words and phrases: These connecting words describe a relationship between ideas.
• Repetition of ideas: This element helps keep the parts of the paragraph together by maintaining focus on the main idea, so this element reinforces both paragraph coherence and unity.

In the following example, notice the use of transitions (bolded) and key words (underlined):

Words such as first and in addition to are transition words that show sequence or clarify relationships between ideas. They help organize the writer’s ideas by showing that he or she has another point to make in support of the topic sentence. The transition word because is a transition word of consequence that continues a line of thought. It indicates that the writer will provide an explanation of a result. In this sentence, the writer explains why hybrid cars will reduce dependency on fossil fuels (because they do not require gas).

In addition to transition words, the writer repeats the word hybrid (and other references such as these cars, and they), and ideas related to benefits to keep the paragraph focused on the topic and hold it together.

To include a summarizing transition for the concluding sentence, the writer could rewrite the final sentence as follows:

In conclusion, given the low running costs and environmental benefits of owning a hybrid car, it is likely that many more people will follow Alex’s example in the near future.

Although the phrase “in conclusion” certainly reinforces the idea of summary and closure, it is not necessary in this case and seems redundant, as the sentence without the phrase already repeats and summarizes the benefits presented in the topic sentence and flows smoothly from the preceding quotation. The second half of the sentence, in making a prediction about the future, signals a conclusion, also making the phrase “in conclusion” unnecessary. The original version of the concluding sentence also illustrates how varying sentence openings can improve paragraph coherence. As writers continue to practice and develop their style, they more easily make these decisions between using standard transitional phrases and combining the repetition of key ideas with varied sentence openings.

The table below provides some useful transition words and phrases to connect sentences within paragraphs as well as to connect body paragraphs:

Common Transitional Words and Phrases