Overview
If you are reviewing this tip sheet (written by Butte College), then
you have probably been assigned a writing that requires clear paragraph
construction. Whether you must write a simple, 1-paragraph assignment or
a 7-10-page essay with multiple body paragraphs in the paper, the same ideas
and structure will hold true—for all body paragraphs—as you will read below.
One thing to keep in mind is that a paragraph follows a pre-set
structure. This structure is for the body
paragraphs of a
writing. An introduction and conclusion paragraph DO NOT follow the same structure
of a typical paragraph. When you see the word ‘paragraph’ mentioned in
this handout or other handouts, please keep in mind that this is referring to
the body paragraphs of an essay or the single, solitary-unit of one
paragraph. For more information on how to structure introductions and conclusions, see this site.
Furthermore, be sure to see the DRAFTING section of my class and/or the DRAFTING links posted to the classroom
website for
clarification on how I will expect the essay to be organized as you move from introduction, to body paragraphs, to your conclusion. I grade heavily based
on whether the organization of the writing is following the prescribed format
indicated in the DRAFTING handouts. Be sure to follow
those directions first and foremost.
WRITING PARAGRAPHS
A paragraph is a cohesive bundle of specific ideas that are all
clearly related to one general idea. That is,
one paragraph is about one thing.
Paragraphs are not particularly glamorous, but strong paragraphs
are the backbones of strong essays and research papers. Conversely, as much as
sentence-level errors, paragraph-level errors drag down the quality and clarity
of writing. Take a
critical look at your own paragraphs using the following tips on unity,
coherence, order, and length to determine how best to improve your own work.
One thing: Unity & topic sentences
A paragraph has unity; that is, it makes one point about a single main idea. While the topic of a paragraph may be expressed in a word or phrase, the main idea must be expressed in a sentence. The sentence that states the main idea or central point is the topic sentence. The topic sentence is a sort of summary of the contents of a paragraph:
A paragraph has unity; that is, it makes one point about a single main idea. While the topic of a paragraph may be expressed in a word or phrase, the main idea must be expressed in a sentence. The sentence that states the main idea or central point is the topic sentence. The topic sentence is a sort of summary of the contents of a paragraph:
Example 1:
My family's property in Guatemala was an active place, full of life. We had a small vivid farm where we grew all sorts of fruit trees and flowers and raised animals. Wild animals were frequent visitors. As a family we were all active taking care of our responsibilities. My dad loved taking care of the animals, especially when they were young. He liked being close to them, helping and feeding them.
My family's property in Guatemala was an active place, full of life. We had a small vivid farm where we grew all sorts of fruit trees and flowers and raised animals. Wild animals were frequent visitors. As a family we were all active taking care of our responsibilities. My dad loved taking care of the animals, especially when they were young. He liked being close to them, helping and feeding them.
To identify the topic of the paragraph above, ask
the question, "What is the paragraph about?" The answer: "her
family's farm in Guatemala." Then, to identify the topic sentence (or to
determine if one exists), ask, "What about the farm in Guatemala?"
The answer: "The farm was active and full of life."
The underlined topic sentence above occurs as the first sentence
of the paragraph. [Once you
finish your educational journey and have fully learned the prescribed way to
format writing for the best comprehension, flow, and predictability, you
may then decide if you wish to place your topic sentence of a body paragraph someplace
else within the paragraph, such as] at the end or in the middle. [However, for now, in my class—and while
writing for any academic course—you need to avoid placing the topic sentence
any other place in the paragraph. Always place the topic sentence as the
first sentence of the body paragraph. You may have seen others craft
paragraphs like examples 2 and 3 below; however, you are still in the apprentice-stage, meaning you are learning
what the experts have tested and proven tried-and-true. Therefore,
your body paragraphs must
follow the structure asserted in the DRAFTING handouts for our course. You
must place your topic sentence as the very first sentence of a body paragraph.]
Example 2 [Do not do
this in your academic writing for our course]:
In Guatemala we had a small vivid farm where we grew all sorts of fruit trees and flowers and raised animals. Wild animals were frequent visitors. As a family we were all active taking care of our responsibilities. My dad loved taking care of the animals, especially when they were young. He liked being close to them, helping and feeding them. My family's property was an active place, full of life.
In Guatemala we had a small vivid farm where we grew all sorts of fruit trees and flowers and raised animals. Wild animals were frequent visitors. As a family we were all active taking care of our responsibilities. My dad loved taking care of the animals, especially when they were young. He liked being close to them, helping and feeding them. My family's property was an active place, full of life.
[Here,]...the author...placed the topic sentence
somewhere in the middle [Do not do this in your academic
writing for our course]:
Example 3:
In Guatemala we had a small vivid farm where we grew all sorts of fruit trees and flowers and raised animals. My family's property was an active place, full of life. ...
In Guatemala we had a small vivid farm where we grew all sorts of fruit trees and flowers and raised animals. My family's property was an active place, full of life. ...
In examples two and three above, the first sentence is not the
topic sentence because it is not broad enough to "cover" (think of
the topic sentence as an umbrella) all the sentences that follow–the visits of
wild animals are not "covered" under the statement about growing
fruits and flowers and raising animals. On the other hand, every sentence in
this paragraph is "covered" under the statement that
the farm was active and full of life, including wildlife.
Check to see if your own paragraphs have topic sentences; [all] paragraphs [must]. (Implied
main ideas, or main ideas that are not found in any one sentence of a paragraph
even though the paragraph does, in fact, have unity, are not for beginners.
[Remember, you are a beginner in all subjects while taking courses.
You are still in the apprentice-phase.]) The test is whether all
or most of the other material in the paragraph supports the sentence intended
to be the topic sentence. If your paragraph lacks a topic sentence,
examine the details of your paragraph and construct a sentence to
"cover" them.
Unity & major and minor supporting details
While you are examining your paragraphs, especially in an essay, you may discover sentences with details that do not belong, or sentences that are not grouped logically. You may only realize this when you find it difficult to construct a logical topic sentence broad enough to cover everything in that paragraph. When you find these out-of-place sentences, remove them. Never mind word count–more sentences will not help the paragraph if they are not clearly related to the topic sentence. (In longer papers, remove unrelated sentences but save them; you may find that this deleted material fits better somewhere else in your paper.) In any paragraph, every sentence that is not the topic sentence should be a sentence containing either major or minor supporting details.
While you are examining your paragraphs, especially in an essay, you may discover sentences with details that do not belong, or sentences that are not grouped logically. You may only realize this when you find it difficult to construct a logical topic sentence broad enough to cover everything in that paragraph. When you find these out-of-place sentences, remove them. Never mind word count–more sentences will not help the paragraph if they are not clearly related to the topic sentence. (In longer papers, remove unrelated sentences but save them; you may find that this deleted material fits better somewhere else in your paper.) In any paragraph, every sentence that is not the topic sentence should be a sentence containing either major or minor supporting details.
Major support consists of the bigger ideas; minor support gives an
example, illustration, or explanation. In the example above, the major
supporting details about the topic, "my family's farm," are 1) it was
an active place and 2) it was full of life. To round out this description and
more fully support these two points, we can add additional minor supporting
details, underlined below:
My family's property in Guatemala was an active place, full of
life. Wild animals such as wildcats and coyotes were frequent
visitors. We had a small vivid farm where we grew all sorts of fruit trees and
flowers and raised animals. As a family we were all active taking care of our
responsibilities. We enjoyed taking care of the pigs, ducks, birds,
horses, and chickens. My dad built a coop especially for the chickens and
ducks, which were the largest group of animals we had. When it was time to eat,
they all came out at the same moment and spread all around the property. It was
nice to see the animals scattered around singing their songs. My dad
loved taking care of the animals, especially when they were young. He liked
being close to them, helping and feeding them. I, however, preferred to
pick fruits or water the plants.
Each added sentence provides support for and is related to the main
idea as expressed in the topic sentence.
Making sense: Coherence & transitions
Remember that it is not the reader's job to make your writing make sense; it is your responsibility to make understanding effortless. Transitions are signals that help you do this. These words and phrases signal the exact relationship between one sentence and another, often in advance by their placement near the beginnings of sentences. The reader understands before he ever reaches the end of the sentence whether you intend to show, for example, contrast, illustration, additional points, or cause and effect. Transitions also clarify the purpose (inform? persuade? entertain? explain?) and order (space? time? importance?) of a paragraph.
Remember that it is not the reader's job to make your writing make sense; it is your responsibility to make understanding effortless. Transitions are signals that help you do this. These words and phrases signal the exact relationship between one sentence and another, often in advance by their placement near the beginnings of sentences. The reader understands before he ever reaches the end of the sentence whether you intend to show, for example, contrast, illustration, additional points, or cause and effect. Transitions also clarify the purpose (inform? persuade? entertain? explain?) and order (space? time? importance?) of a paragraph.
In the preceding example, "such as" tells the reader
that examples follow. In this case, the author gives two examples of the wild
animals that visited the farm. "However" signals contrast to the
preceding idea (her preference for working with the plants against her father's
preference for taking care of animals).
The following examples are only a very small sample of the variety
of transitions at your disposal:
These transitions
signal that you areadding information or points:
· Moreover
· Furthermore
· As well
|
These transitions
signal space order:
· Beyond
· Nearby
· On the far side
· Nearest
|
These transitions
signal that you are comparing like characteristics or points:
· Similarly
· Likewise
· Both
|
These transitions
signal that you are giving a specific example of a preceding
point:
· For instance
· In particular
· To illustrate
|
These transitions
signal contrast, or differences, in characteristics or points:
· Although
· On the other hand
· Yet
|
These transitions
signal importance:
· Above all
· Surely
· Not least
· Especially
|
These transitions
signal causes or effects:
· Since
· Because
· Consequently
|
These transitions
signal time order:
· Recently
· Briefly
· Currently
|
Coherence & order
Since it is your responsibility as a writer to make your writing make sense, choose an appropriate way to order the information in your paragraphs. It is fairly intuitive, even for beginners, to use time, or chronological, order to explain how to do something (first, next, finally) or to narrate a story (meanwhile, at last). It is not always as intuitive to choose space order in description. When a writer uses space order, he constructs description as if a camera were moving smoothly through a scene. Space order can move left to right, bottom to top, near to far, or in any other orderly way, depending on the effect you wish to achieve. If your purpose is to persuade, explain, or argue a point, order of importance (more to less important or least to most important) is appropriate. For purposes of persuasion, it may be effective to order your points from least to most important, creating a climactic effect; however, for essay exams and most business writing, place your most important points first.
Since it is your responsibility as a writer to make your writing make sense, choose an appropriate way to order the information in your paragraphs. It is fairly intuitive, even for beginners, to use time, or chronological, order to explain how to do something (first, next, finally) or to narrate a story (meanwhile, at last). It is not always as intuitive to choose space order in description. When a writer uses space order, he constructs description as if a camera were moving smoothly through a scene. Space order can move left to right, bottom to top, near to far, or in any other orderly way, depending on the effect you wish to achieve. If your purpose is to persuade, explain, or argue a point, order of importance (more to less important or least to most important) is appropriate. For purposes of persuasion, it may be effective to order your points from least to most important, creating a climactic effect; however, for essay exams and most business writing, place your most important points first.
Coherence & keywords
Make it impossible (well, improbable, anyway) for a reader to misunderstand you or miss your point, by repeating important keywords or synonyms for those keywords:
Make it impossible (well, improbable, anyway) for a reader to misunderstand you or miss your point, by repeating important keywords or synonyms for those keywords:
The land was fruitful, rich, and productive. It had a tropical
climate and a generous amount of rainfall. There was a lot of vegetation and
everything was green and flowering. The rivers ran abundantly with water and
the mountains were thick with trees. The mornings were immaculate, very sunny
and clear, and the fields were richly cultivated and filled with wildflowers.
The fecundity of the land produced a diverse fauna that included all sorts of
small reptiles such as lizards and snakes, insects such as crickets and
dragonflies, and wild animals such as monkeys, wildcats, and coyotes.
The example above abounds in synonyms for fruitful, rich, and
productive: generous, flowering, abundant, thick, richly cultivated, fecund,
diverse. Especially when you are writing about complicated processes, make it
your responsibility to repeat the key words that increase the reader's sense of
continuity[, but do not use the same words over and over. Think through—or
look up—synonyms to the most detailed words].
Unity, coherence, order-and length
How long should a paragraph be? As Lewis Carroll said, "Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop." That is, when you have fully developed your topic sentence and its attendant major details, you are done. Five sentences or twelve sentences or twenty-a paragraph should be as long as it needs to be. Instructors who assign a minimum paragraph length want you to accustom yourself to fully developing your subject; if you know yourself to be a beginning writer, you might assign yourself this minimum until you are more fluent.
How long should a paragraph be? As Lewis Carroll said, "Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop." That is, when you have fully developed your topic sentence and its attendant major details, you are done. Five sentences or twelve sentences or twenty-a paragraph should be as long as it needs to be. Instructors who assign a minimum paragraph length want you to accustom yourself to fully developing your subject; if you know yourself to be a beginning writer, you might assign yourself this minimum until you are more fluent.
Accept responsibility for crafting and sharpening meaning in your
writing to achieve unity and coherence. By testing your writing for topic
sentences and related supporting sentences, and by choosing an order and
transitions appropriate to your subject, audience, and purpose, you should see
noticeable improvement in all your papers.
The Tip Sheet's overall content does not belong to me, nor is the
primary content of the sheet my own thoughts. The only content that is
mine is the opening introduction to the writing—in red at the top—as well as the
items in [red] brackets within the sheet. These items
in [red] have been added to instruct my students on my
expectations for our writing course. While the content in the tip sheet is
technically correct, my comments are necessary for students to understand what
will be expected when I am grading work. The tip sheet content comes from and was created by Butte College. Refer to the link for the true location of the writing. J. Dick
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