Creating Strong Paragraphs
PARAGRAPHS: THE ESSENTIALS
Paragraphs provide an essential way for writers to guide their readers’ understanding. In terms of paragraphs, readers usually have the following expectations:
- Ӱҵbeginnings and ends of paragraphs contain important guiding information
- Ӱҵopening sentence provides direction and lets readers know what the paragraph is about
- Ӱҵmiddle of the paragraph develops what the paragraph is about
- Ӱҵend of the paragraph may sum up the paragraph’s contents, bringing the discussion of an idea to a close in anticipation of the paragraph that follows
- Ӱҵparagraph “makes sense” as a whole, its words and sentences clearly related
- Ӱҵparagraph relates in some clear way to the paragraphs around it
Three important qualities to a successful paragraph:
- Unity = it is focused on one main idea
- Coherence = its parts are clearly related
- Development = the main idea is supported with specifics (details, evidence, interpretation)
Ӱҵtopic sentence:
If you want readers to see your point immediately, open with the topic sentence. Such a strategy can be particularly useful in essay examinations, in memos, or in argumentative writing. Ӱҵfollowing sentence (italicized) is an example of a topic sentence:
An essential part of happiness is companionship.
This companionship can be seen in relationships of love or friends.
Relating each sentence to the main idea:
Ӱҵtopic sentence announces the main topic of the paragraph (companionship) and comments on it (as an essential part of happiness). Ӱҵsecond sentence begins to give examples to develop the topic sentence’s idea (companionship is essential to happiness).
Whether the main idea of a paragraph is stated in a topic sentence or is only implied, you have to make sure each sentence relates or contributes to the main idea. A well-constructed paragraph should fit its details together clearly in a way that readers can easily follow.