Good paragraphs are essential for good writing of any kind. They are the building blocks for your essays. But what makes a paragraph good? It depends. How's that for a vague answer? Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) there is no set definition for what makes a paragraph a good paragraph. A paragraph is good when it does what it needs to do. If your paragraph is an introduction, it's good when it introduces your essay effectively. If your paragraph is a conclusion, it's good when it effectively concludes your essay. Since we talk about those specific kinds of paragraphs in other sections of the handbook (Lesson 19. Writing Introductions and Conclusions), we'll focus here on body paragraphs: those paragraphs that build your argument, develop your description, or give your readers information; those are the paragraphs that are the real "meat" of your paper, and without strong body paragraphs you'll never have a strong essay.
The topic sentence
In expository writing (writing that provides information or argues a point), paragraphs need a topic sentence. That topic sentence is generally the first sentence in the paragraph, and it does just what its name implies-it establishes the topic for that paragraph. You can think of it as a sort of mini thesis statement. Just as your thesis statement sets the focus for your paper, a topic sentence sets the focus for a paragraph.
A topic sentence is more specific than a thesis statement, but it is also a bit broader than the supporting statements that follow in the body of the paragraph. If the topic sentence is too broad, you'll have more than one main idea in your paragraph, and that violates the unity of the paragraph, something we'll talk about later in this lesson. If it's too narrow, then you have nothing more to say about that point, and you don't have a paragraph. You have just a sentence.
Let's look at a few examples to see what might make a good topic sentence and what might not make a good topic sentence. Here are five sentences. You decide which ones are good possibilities for topic sentences and which ones aren't. You can compare your answers to ours below.
- One way to print digital pictures is to submit them to an online printing company.
- Playgrounds are dangerous.
- Women should lift weights to strengthen their bones.
- To register online, you need a PIN.
- Walking is another good way to get exercise.
Our Response:
- This is a good topic sentence. The words "one way" give a clue that other paragraphs will talk about other ways to do this, and as a reader I would guess that this is part of an essay that discusses how to print digital pictures.
- This isn't a good topic sentence. It's also too general. There are many things you could say about this topic. It might be a good topic for an essay, but it's not good for a paragraph.
- This sentence might work. It mentions one thing (women lifting weights) and it gives only one reason (to strengthen bones). In the body of the paragraph I could give reasons to support this statement.
- Okay, so I need a PIN. What more could you say about that? As it's written, there isn't anything more to say. That means this isn't going to work as a topic sentence for a paragraph.
- This sentence could work. In this paragraph you would need to tell the reader why walking is good, and you might also include information about what kind of walking is good (if there are different ways to walk for exercise).
The body of your paragraph: supporting and developing the topic sentence
Of course, most students already know about topic sentences and the importance of paragraphs. Many students can draft solid outlines of their essays, with rock solid topic sentences in place. "But now what?" these students sometimes ask. "How do I actually fill in this outline? What sorts of information should I put in my paragraphs?"
If you sound like this student, if you find yourself struggling to come up with content for your paragraphs, here are some techniques. You may notice that these techniques seem very familiar because they are also specific writing genres (or types) in themselves!
Description: Many composition students have to write descriptive essays, but keep in mind that description, as a technique, can also be a powerful way to develop a single paragraph. For example, imagine that you are writing a persuasive paper where you are trying to convince your readers that poverty in Brazil needs to be addressed, that in cities like Rio de Janeiro, a sort of Dickensian split exists between the haves and the have-nots. Perhaps you could persuade your readers through a descriptive paragraph that carefully paints a vivid picture of poverty in Brazil. Your careful sensory descriptions (descriptions of sight, sound, feel, smell, and taste) might speak more strongly than any facts or statistics ever could!
Process: Again, many students are familiar with the process essay, but describing a process, which is a series of related steps, can also be a useful technique within a longer essay. For instance, imagine that you are writing an argument paper where you are calling for stricter gun laws. You might sway your readers by including a paragraph where you list the step-by-step process consumers go through when purchasing a firearm. Your point: to show that the process is too lax and that stricter laws are needed. Conversely, imagine that you are arguing the opposite point of view, that laws governing gun sales have become to strict and impede upon Americans' Constitutional Rights. You might also describe the step-by-step process that firearm consumers go through to show that laws need to be relaxed.
Comparison and Contrast: Comparison/contrast, of course, refers to the careful analysis of two or more items. Comparison/contrast is a popular essay type, but as a technique, comparison/contrast can also be useful, even in papers where comparing and contrasting is not the primary goal of the assignment. Imagine, for instance, that you are writing an evaluative essay and that you have chosen healthcare as your topic. Perhaps the purpose of your evaluation is to show that the U.S. healthcare system needs serious changes. You might establish your expertise on this subject by devoting one paragraph to comparison and contrast. For instance, you might compare and contrast the healthcare system in the U.S. to the healthcare systems in place in northern Europe, arguing that the U.S. system could function much, much better.
Narration: Writers use "narration," a specific writing technique, to produce "narratives." Narratives, in essence, are stories. A narrative can be hundreds of pages long or as short as a single paragraph. Quite likely you have had to write a narrative essay for your composition class, but narration can also be a helpful tool to develop paragraphs. A short story-whether taken from your own life, the lives of friends of family, or from research-can speak more loudly than facts or statistics. For example, let's go back to that evaluative paper that you have chosen to write about the state of U.S. healthcare. At some point in your essay-in the beginning, the middle, the end-you might include a short story that helps reinforce the ideas you are discussing. Perhaps you once suffered a medical emergency and your story sheds light on the state of health care. Maybe your child, or another loved one, has a relevant story that deserves telling?
Cause and Effect: Yet another writing genre, and yet another technique that can aid you in writing powerful paragraphs. Going back to our health care example, you might devote one paragraph to cause and effect. For instance, your paragraph might list the various negative effects that come from the healthcare system in place in the U.S.
Research: This technique should be familiar to you. Many types of writing might require you to consult outside sources for examples. Facts, statistics, quotations, case studies, etc. are examples of information found through research.
The above list is not comprehensive, and, as you may have noticed, there exists a grey area between these techniques. You might choose to include a short narration in your paper, but perhaps this narration comes from your research. You might choose to devote one paragraph to rich description, but maybe your description focuses on a specific example. You might choose to compare and contrast two different processes. In other words, there are endless combinations, and the techniques listed above serve mostly to spark your imagination and kick-start you into thinking about how you might develop content.
Paragraph unity
Now that you have learned some general techniques for paragraph development, you must then make sure that each paragraph stays focused. One of the most important things in developing your paragraph is to remember that your paragraph must be unified around a central idea, the idea you mention in the topic sentence. Readers are easily confused, and if you put more than one idea in a paragraph, you're asking for trouble. It's easy to check your paragraphs for unity. You simply go through the paragraph, sentence by sentence, and you ask yourself what each sentence says about the topic sentence. If you don't have a quick answer, think about getting rid of the sentence. If you wrote the paragraph and you have to think about how it relates to the topic, don't expect the reader to see the connection.
Paragraph coherence
In addition to being unified, your paragraph must also have coherence. That means your readers can see how everything fits together. Remember what we said about readers how readers can't see the same things that you see? Giving them explanations and linking your points together is adding coherence to your paragraph.
One of the best ways to add coherence to your paper is to use transitional words and phrases to indicate the relationships between your sentences. There are some common transitional words that you see in many, many papers. Here is a listing of the more common words and the relationships that you can indicate when you use those words.
- to show addition: and, also, in addition, furthermore.
- to give examples: for example, for instance, specifically
- to compare: also, likewise, similarly
- to contrast: however, on the other hand, yet, although
- to summarize or conclude: therefore, in other words
- to show time: after, before, during, next, finally, meanwhile, immediately
- to show place or direction: above, below, nearby, close, far, left, right
- to indicate logical relationships: therefore, consequently, as a result, thus, since, because.
Transitional words aren't the only thing you can use to increase coherence in your paragraph. You can repeat key words and phrases. Frequently writers repeat key words from the thesis statement in the topic sentences of paragraphs to help the reader stay focused on the main ideas of a paper. You can also repeat key words from your topic sentence in the paragraph for the same effect.
We can look at an example paragraph to see how everything works together.
One facet of motivation deals with barriers to participation. [Notice the key words in the topic sentence. Those are words you'll see repeated throughout the paragraph to help with coherence.] Merriam and Cafarella (1999) note that the barriers to participation frequently fall into three categories: situational or external barriers, dispositional or interior barriers, and institutional barriers. In a similar vein, [This transitional phrase shows how what follows is similar to what came before.] Scanlan and Darkenwald (1984) developed a Deterrents to Participation Scale which produced six factors that constrain participation: lack of confidence, lack of course relevance, time constraints, low personal priority, cost, and personal problems. Such barriers, or deterrents, look at participation from the perspective of the nonparticipant, much as the motivation research looks at participation from the perspective of the participant. [The last two sentences comment on the whole paragraph, showing how it fits with what has been discussed elsewhere and making sure the reader can see how this information fits with the rest of the paper.]
General Paragraph Writing Hints
Finally, here are some added suggestions, as well as a recap of the main ideas presented in this lesson.
- A paragraph can be as short as a single sentence (a single word even!) or as long as several pages. There are no definite length rules. Nevertheless, for most academic writing assignments, your paragraphs will probably be between 5 and 10 sentences.
- Make sure that each paragraph contains a clear topic sentence.
- Check the content in any given paragraph against its topic sentence. All content should help support your topic sentence; if it doesn't, you've probably wandered off into another area. Sometimes writers become so excited about their topics that they shift ideas midstream.
- Another common problem writers have is forgetting that opinion needs to be supported too. It's not enough to say that you think something. You have to explain to your readers why you think that way. You do that by including specific details to explain your opinion. Those details might be personal experience on the subject. You might find that you need research from an expert to back up your opinion. It's important, too, to remember that when you are stating your opinion, you need to make sure that the reader understands it is in fact your opinion. I might believe that people who drive when they are drunk are stupid. That's an opinion. I can say that they are criminals and that's a fact-it's illegal to drive when you've had too much to drink.
- Give enough evidence, support, or details to give the reader a good idea of what you're talking about, and why you're saying what you're saying. Remember, readers can be hard to convince, so make sure your evidence is clear and make sure there is enough of it. In addition, remember that evidence generally needs some explanation from you, the writer. Don't ever assume that your readers can see the same things that you see. In fact, you should assume that your readers cannot see the same things that you see. You need to tell them just how that statistic you just cited supports the point you've made in the topic sentence. That explanation from you, the writer, is as important as the statistic itself. You can't have a good paragraph without both parts.
If you are unsure how to fill your paragraphs, think in terms of techniques: Description, Comparison/Contrast, Narration, Cause and Effect, Example, Research.
Summary
Paragraphs are the foundation of a good paper. You need strong paragraphs to have a strong paper. Strong paragraphs aren't difficult to write, but they do require a bit of planning. Remember that you need a topic sentence that expresses the idea you'll discuss in the paragraph. You need support to develop, illustrate, or explain that topic sentence. You need unity and coherence in your paragraph: everything must talk about just one idea, and the reader must be able to see how everything fits together. Does your paragraph have all of those things? If so, you've got the building blocks for a great paper!
  
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