What is a paragraph? A paragraph is usually made up of a topic sentence, one or more supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence.

The topic sentence tells the main idea of the paragraph. The supporting sentences expand this main idea. The concluding sentence summarizes the main idea in a way that ties together all the information in the paragraph. For example, the topic sentence might be: "Wendy had decided that she would become a doctor." The supporting sentences might then tell us how she went about accomplishing her goal. "She volunteered her services at the local hospital. She also worked very hard in school to receive good grades." The concluding sentence then might say, "If she were accepted into medical school, she would be on her way to achieving her ambition." Prewriting stage!

Choosing a topic is the first step in writing a paragraph. This in turn will be determined by the overall topic of your writing. As a general rule, it is easiest to write about things you are interested in, know about, or have firsthand experience of. For example, you might write a paragraph describing a favorite place or person. To write a paragraph about a favorite person, you would need to decide the following:

Of all my friends and relatives, what person would I enjoy writing about? What do I think is unique or most interesting about that person? What details come to mind when I think about that person?

In prewriting, you brainstorm as many possibilities for your topic as you can. You may wish to make a list of all the words that come to mind as you concentrate on the topic. Or you might map out your ideas, listing together all the words or ideas associated with each aspect of your topic. In the graphic for this topic, look at the way the writer has clustered thoughts about her favorite people. When you read about paragraph unity later in this guide, you will be able to read the paragraph she wrote about her grandmother's hands.

Topic sentence A topic sentence is often, but not always, the first sentence of the paragraph. It may appear in the middle or even at the end of a paragraph. To identify topic sentences, ask yourself what it is that the whole paragraph seems to be about. Then try to find the sentence that most nearly expresses

that idea. Practicing identifying topic sentences in pieces of writing can help you develop topic sentences for your own paragraphs. It can also help you learn how to place the topic sentences in your paragraphs most effectively and to check that they are backed up by one or more supporting sentences. The following paragraph has a good, clear topic sentence (shown in bold): A Greek mathematician and physicist, Heron of Alexandria, created the first automatic sliding door in 100 B.C.E. It was a simple device that used air, fire, and water. When a fire was lit, the air contained in a cavity warmed up and expanded, applying pressure to the water contained in a spherical vessel. As the water began to flow from the siphon into a tub, the chain supporting the tub turned the pulleys, and the door opened.
Having no topic sentence is bad both for the writer and the reader. First, the reader has to read the entire paragraph to get to the point. Lack of a topic sentence also causes the writer to drift away from the topic. He loses control over the writing. He may write 3 sentences about one controlling idea and 1 for the other which causes an imbalance within the writing.

Paragraph unity Once you have expressed the main idea or fact in a topic sentence, you need to expand the paragraph by writing the supporting sentences and the concluding sentence. In nonfiction, the topic sentence in a paragraph often states a particular fact or opinion, and the supporting sentences provide evidence, details, or information. Read this account of an author's grandmother: Grandmother's hands (work-worn, weather-reddened) were seldom still, and when they were, she hid them in her apron. Grandmother spent her days planting, weeding, harvesting, and canning; sewing, knitting, crocheting, and quilting; cleaning, cooking, and baking; and raking and flowergardening. From sunup to sundown, she busied her hands in the garden behind the house, at the sewing machine and workbasket inside the house, at the kitchen stove, and in her flowerbeds in the front yard. Her active hands produced gifts of flavorful raspberry jam, new doll clothes and lace-ornamented pillowcases, and bouquets of fresh flowers. Note how this writer focuses on her grandmother's hands, how the groups of activities are ordered geographically, from the garden into the front yard, and how the gifts are presented in corresponding order. In fiction, it is often difficult to identify a single topic sentence in a paragraph. Paragraphs in fiction may be organized in any number of ways: by time, action, character, setting, or any combination of these.

Paragraph coherence

Structuring ideas in some kind of logical order will make them clearer to your reader, and deciding on a logical order to use will give you a tool for organizing your ideas. In writing paragraphs, you will rely on various techniques to indicate the logical relationships between the ideas in your sentences. Some common types of logical ordering are:

time space importance comparison and contrast cause and effect

Time order You may order the ideas in a paragraph in terms of time, either from earliest to most recent, or from most recent back to earliest. Time order is useful for narrating events, for example when writing a paragraph about a horse race. Spatial order Spatial ordering is another useful device for organizing your ideas. In describing a favorite place (say, a particular bench in a park), you could describe what you see, nearest things first and farthest things last, or from left to right, or even from high to low, from treetops to the soft grass. Order of importance Ordering in terms of importance, either from most important to least or from least important to most, is useful when you are using data or reasons to support a particular argument or point of view. Order by comparison and contrast You can order the information in paragraphs by first pointing out the similarities between two things and then describing their differences. This order by comparison and contrast would work well if you were talking about two regions or countries, for example, or if you were describing twins. Order by cause and effect With cause-and-effect ordering, you can either begin with a number of causes and conclude with their perhaps surprising effect, or begin with the effect before writing about the possible causes. This is an especially useful ordering principle for argumentative essays. Here is an example of beginning with effects and ending with the cause:

"The sun disappeared into a black hole. The sky and even the air seemed to grow dim. People were in their yards with peculiar contraptions held to their eyes. Robin grew very frightened, but then he remembered that today was the day of the eclipse."
Transition

The development of your paragraphs should be clear, so that readers can follow your idea. This means that the relationships between sentences should be logical and explicit. You can link sentences by using words such as therefore, however, nevertheless, and on the other hand, by repeating key words or phrases, or by using parallel sentence structures. In the following example, the phrases "some experts" and "other experts" suggest parallel but differing types of information. Two other links in this example are the transitional expression "at the same time" (which signifies the continued presentation of experts' views of the problem) and the phrase "youth homelessness," which echoes the topic sentence. Homelessness is a real problem among young people. Some experts in the field of sociology consider the breakdown of the family as a stable unit to be the major cause of homelessness among youth. Other experts regard the lack of effective parental support for young people as a contributing factor. At the same time, youth workers dealing with the problem of youth homelessness day in and day out consider the causes to be unique, and often quite complicated, for each person and situation. In short, the problem is a complex one with multiple causes.
Evaluation! When you have finished writing, review your work and add, delete, or rework sentences. This process of checking, cutting, and rewriting is called editing. It is important to try to be objective about your work: to be able to see the faults, but also to know which parts are really good. It is useful to ask someone else to read your work and see whether he or she thinks you have explored your subject effectively. If you find that you strongly disagree with that person's opinion, you might want to seek a second opinion. However, try to listen objectively to any criticism and consider it carefully before deciding whether to disregard it. Your teacher can read your draft and offer suggestions. Tip: Many professional writers find that reading their work aloud enables them to catch more errors of syntax and spelling and problems with the overall flow of their work than they would catch in silently scanning or reading the work.

E. Development of the ideas: It means that every idea discussed in the paragraph should be adequately explained and supported through evidence and examples.

We generally believe that people would easily understand us when we write. Unfortunately, our use of language may not be perfect and our ideas may be different. If we want our ideas to be understood, we need to explain them and give specific examples of each. Listing our ideas is never enough. See the example below:

Exercise 5:

First of all, a friend mustn't tell lie. He must always tell me the truth and he must be honest because if there is honesty between two friends, their relationship will last until death. In addition to honesty, helping or being near a friend on a bad day is very important. Another point to consider is that he must criticize me if I make a mistake. If we list the ideas, here is what we get: A friend must: not tell a lie

be there for him on a bad day criticize when necessary

C.

Faulty Start:

Here are some ways to bore your readers to death (!) when starting a paragraph/an essay: You can start with: 1. a nonsense sentence: e.g. I want to talk about X. 2. a clich: e.g. X plays a great role in our lives. X is a very important issue in today's world.

Exercise 3: Here is an example:

I want to talk about friendship. Friends can change your life. So, you must know who is a real friend. Firstly, your friend must understand you and of course, you must understand her, too. I think, another important point in a friendship is confidence. You mustn't tell lies to each other. In addition, you must say everything about yourself. I think these are important for a friendship. If you have a friend like this, you don't break up with her because a real friend is not found easily.

How do we understand that "I want to talk about friendship." is a nonsense sentence? If we leave the nonsense sentence out, the content and meaning of the paragraph does not change.

The P.I.E. Paragraph:

P = Point What is the point of this paragraph? What claim is being made? Often, the point is the TOPIC SENTENCE. How is the point supported with specific data, experiences, or other factual material? The information is the evidence used to support/develop the point. What does the provided information mean? The explanation is the writers analysis, elaboration, evaluation of the point and information given, connecting the information with the point (topic sentence) and the thesis.

= Information

E = Explanation

Body Paragraph, Example 1, Revised

POINT
(topic sentence)

Black folk also know what it is like to be underestimated because of the color of their skin. For example, those of us who communicate in standard English are often praised unduly for how well we speak. This is, I might including those born and bred in the U.S.A. And we know

INFORMATION add, an experience all too familiar to Asian-Americans,

what it is like to be feared, pitied, admired, and scorned on (topic sentence support)
EXPLANATION (relevance

account of our race, before we even have a chance to say boo! We, in turn, view White people through the prism of our own race based expectations. I honestly am surprised every time I see a White man who can play basketball above the rim, just as Puerto Ricans and Cubans tend to be surprised to discover Americans who salsa truly well. All of which is to say that the notion that every individual is judged solely on personal merit, without regard for sociological wrapping, is mythical at best.

portion)

P.I.E. Strategies:
Ideas for making a POINT: Decide what you want to say to support your thesis based on your reaction to the text Try categorizing your ideas and make a comment on a recurring theme youve found Ideas for INFORMATION/support: Information from the readings or class discussions (paraphrases or, occasionally, short quotes) Personal experience (stories, anecdotes, examples from your life) Representations in mass media (newspapers, magazines, television) Elements from popular culture (song lyrics, movie lines, TV characters, celebrities) Definitions (from the dictionary, the readings, or another source) Statistics (polls, percentages, data from research studies) Ideas for EXPLANATION: Interpret, analyze, explain the information, opinion or quote youve included Comment on the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the quote, fact, data, information, etc. Decipher the meaning or try to better your understanding of your observation, findings or experience

Suggest to your reader how the information youve included relates to your THESIS.

Paragraphs and Topic Sentences

A paragraph is a series of sentences that are organized and coherent, and are all related to a single topic. Almost every piece of writing you do that is longer than a few sentences should be organized into paragraphs. This is because paragraphs show a reader where the subdivisions of an essay begin and end, and thus help the reader see the organization of the essay and grasp its main points. Paragraphs can contain many different kinds of information. A paragraph could contain a series of brief examples or a single long illustration of a general point. It might describe a place, character, or process; narrate a series of events; compare or contrast two or more things; classify items into categories; or describe causes and effects. Regardless of the kind of information they contain, all paragraphs share certain characteristics. One of the most important of these is a topic sentence.
TOPIC SENTENCES

A well-organized paragraph supports or develops a single controlling idea, which is expressed in a sentence called the topic sentence. A topic sentence has several important functions: it substantiates or supports an essays thesis statement; it unifies the content of a paragraph and directs the order of the sentences; and it advises the reader of the subject to be discussed and how the paragraph will discuss it. Readers generally look to the first few sentences in a paragraph to determine the subject and perspective of the paragraph. Thats why its often best to put the topic sentence at the very beginning of the paragraph. In some cases, however, its more effective to place another sentence before the topic sentencefor example, a sentence linking the current paragraph to the previous one, or one providing background information. Although most paragraphs should have a topic sentence, there are a few situations when a paragraph might not need a topic sentence. For example, you might be able to omit a topic sentence in a paragraph that narrates a series of events, if a paragraph continues developing an idea that you introduced (with a topic sentence) in the previous paragraph, or if all the sentences and details in a paragraph clearly referperhaps indirectlyto a main point. The vast majority of your paragraphs, however, should have a topic sentence.
PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE

Most paragraphs in an essay have a three-part structureintroduction, body, and conclusion. You can see this structure in paragraphs whether they are narrating, describing, comparing, contrasting, or analyzing information. Each part of the paragraph plays an important role in communicating your meaning to your reader.

Introduction: the first section of a paragraph; should include the topic sentence and any other sentences at the beginning of the paragraph that give background information or provide a transition. Body: follows the introduction; discusses the controlling idea, using facts, arguments, analysis, examples, and other information. Conclusion: the final section; summarizes the connections between the information discussed in the body of the paragraph and the paragraphs controlling idea. The following paragraph illustrates this pattern of organization. In this paragraph the topic sentence and concluding sentence (CAPITALIZED) both help the reader keep the paragraphs main point in mind. SCIENTISTS HAVE LEARNED TO SUPPLEMENT THE SENSE OF SIGHT IN NUMEROUS WAYS. In front of the tiny pupil of the eye they put, on Mount Palomar, a great monocle 200 inches in diameter, and with it see 2000 times farther into the depths of space. Or they look through a small pair of lenses arranged as a microscope into a drop of water or blood, and magnify by as much as 2000 diameters the living creatures there, many of which are among mans most dangerous enemies. Or, if we want to see distant happenings on earth, they use some of the previously wasted electromagnetic waves to carry television images which they recreate as light by whipping tiny crystals on a screen with electrons in a vacuum. Or they can bring happenings of long ago and far away as colored motion pictures, by arranging silver atoms and color-absorbing molecules to force light waves into the patterns of original reality. Or if we want to see into the center of a steel casting or the chest of an injured child, they send the information on a beam of penetrating short-wave X rays, and then convert it back into images we can see on a screen or photograph. THUS ALMOST EVERY TYPE OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION YET DISCOVERED HAS BEEN USED TO EXTEND OUR SENSE OF SIGHT IN SOME WAY. George Harrison, Faith and the Scientist
COHERENCE

In a coherent paragraph, each sentence relates clearly to the topic sentence or controlling idea, but there is more to coherence than this. If a paragraph is coherent, each sentence flows smoothly into the next without obvious shifts or jumps. A coherent paragraph also highlights the ties between old information and new information to make the structure of ideas or arguments clear to the reader. Along with the smooth flow of sentences, a paragraphs coherence may also be related to its length. If you have written a very long paragraph, one that fills a double-spaced typed page, for example, you should check it carefully to see if it should start a new paragraph where the original paragraph wanders from its controlling idea. On the other hand, if a paragraph is very short (only one or two sentences, perhaps), you may need to develop its controlling idea more thoroughly, or combine it with another paragraph.

A number of other techniques that you can use to establish coherence in paragraphs are described below. Repeat key words or phrases. Particularly in paragraphs in which you define or identify an important idea or theory, be consistent in how you refer to it. This consistency and repetition will bind the paragraph together and help your reader understand your definition or description. Create parallel structures. Parallel structures are created by constructing two or more phrases or sentences that have the same grammatical structure and use the same parts of speech. By creating parallel structures you make your sentences clearer and easier to read. In addition, repeating a pattern in a series of consecutive sentences helps your reader see the connections between ideas. In the paragraph above about scientists and the sense of sight, several sentences in the body of the paragraph have been constructed in a parallel way. The parallel structures (which have been emphasized) help the reader see that the paragraph is organized as a set of examples of a general statement. Be consistent in point of view, verb tense, and number. Consistency in point of view, verb tense, and number is a subtle but important aspect of coherence. If you shift from the more personal "you" to the impersonal one, from past to present tense, or from a man to they, for example, you make your paragraph less coherent. Such inconsistencies can also confuse your reader and make your argument more difficult to follow. Use transition words or phrases between sentences and between paragraphs. Transitional expressions emphasize the relationships between ideas, so they help readers follow your train of thought or see connections that they might otherwise miss or misunderstand. The following paragraph shows how carefully chosen transitions (CAPITALIZED) lead the reader smoothly from the introduction to the conclusion of the paragraph. I dont wish to deny that the flattened, minuscule head of the large-bodied "stegosaurus" houses little brain from our subjective, top-heavy perspective, BUT I do wish to assert that we should not expect more of the beast. FIRST OF ALL, large animals have relatively smaller brains than related, small animals. The correlation of brain size with body size among kindred animals (all reptiles, all mammals, FOR EXAMPLE) is remarkably regular. AS we move from small to large animals, from mice to elephants or small lizards to Komodo dragons, brain size increases, BUT not so fast as body size. IN OTHER WORDS, bodies grow faster than brains, AND large animals have low ratios of brain weight to body weight. IN FACT, brains grow only about twothirds as fast as bodies. SINCE we have no reason to believe that large animals are consistently stupider than their smaller relatives, we must conclude that large animals require relatively less brain to do as well as smaller animals. IF we do not recognize this relationship, we are likely to underestimate the mental power of very large animals, dinosaurs in particular. Stephen Jay Gould, Were Dinosaurs Dumb?
SOME USEFUL TRANSITIONS

(modified from Diana Hacker, A Writers Reference)

To show addition: again, and, also, besides, equally important, first (second, etc.), further, furthermore, in addition, in the first place, moreover, next, too To give examples: for example, for instance, in fact, specifically, that is, to illustrate To compare: also, in the same manner, likewise, similarly To contrast: although, and yet, at the same time, but, despite, even though, however, in contrast, in spite of, nevertheless, on the contrary, on the other hand, still, though, yet To summarize or conclude: all in all, in conclusion, in other words, in short, in summary, on the whole, that is, therefore, to sum up To show time: after, afterward, as, as long as, as soon as, at last, before, during, earlier, finally, formerly, immediately, later, meanwhile, next, since, shortly, subsequently, then, thereafter, until, when, while To show place or direction: above, below, beyond, close, elsewhere, farther on, here, nearby, opposite, to the left (north, etc.) To indicate logical relationship: accordingly, as a result, because, consequently, for this reason, hence, if, otherwise, since, so, then, therefore, thus