Breaks between paragraphs function as a short 'break' for your readers-adding these in will help your writing be more readable. Separate paragraphs can serve to contrast sides in a debate, different points in an argument, or any other difference. If you have an extended idea that spans multiple paragraphs, each new point within that idea should have its own paragraph. New ideas should always start in new paragraphs. How do I know when to start a new paragraph? Offer a chronology of an event (time segments).Examine testimony (what other people say such as quotes and paraphrases).Cite data (facts, statistics, evidence, details, and others).Some methods to make sure your paragraph is well-developed: It's a pretty good bet that the paragraph is not fully developed if it is that short. Again, this varies from paragraph to paragraph, depending on the author's purpose, but writers should be wary of paragraphs that only have two or three sentences. The topic (which is introduced by the topic sentence) should be discussed fully and adequately. Regardless of whether you include an explicit topic sentence or not, you should be able to easily summarize what the paragraph is about. (This is a good general rule for less experienced writers, although it is not the only way to do it). Although not all paragraphs have clear-cut topic sentences, and despite the fact that topic sentences can occur anywhere in the paragraph (as the first sentence, the last sentence, or somewhere in the middle), an easy way to make sure your reader understands the topic of the paragraph is to put your topic sentence near the beginning of the paragraph. Transition words can be used to link ideas from different sentencesĪ topic sentence is a sentence that indicates in a general way what idea or thesis the paragraph is going to deal with.Pronouns can refer to nouns in previous sentences.Synonymous words can be repeated in several sentences.Key words can be repeated in several sentences.Successive sentences can be constructed in parallel form.The same idea of a topic is carried over from sentence to sentence.You can help create coherence in your paragraphs by creating logical bridges and verbal bridges. CoherenceĬoherence is the trait that makes the paragraph easily understandable to a reader. If it begins with one focus or major point of discussion, it should not end with another or wander within different ideas. The entire paragraph should concern itself with a single focus.

Using and adapting them to your individual purposes will help you construct effective paragraphs. As you will see, all of these traits overlap. To be as effective as possible, a paragraph should contain each of the following: Unity, Coherence, A Topic Sentence, and Adequate Development. If the single points start to get long, then perhaps elaborating on each of them and placing them in their own paragraphs is the route to go. You can also have several points in a single paragraph as long as they relate to the overall topic of the paragraph. You can have one idea and several bits of supporting evidence within a single paragraph. There are some simple ways to tell if you are on the same topic or a new one. If you begin to transition into a new idea, it belongs in a new paragraph. The basic rule of thumb with paragraphing is to keep one idea to one paragraph. The Basic Rule: Keep one idea to one paragraph You can have fantastic ideas, but if those ideas aren't presented in an organized fashion, you will lose your readers (and fail to achieve your goals in writing).

Good paragraphing also greatly assists your readers in following a piece of writing. Learning to write good paragraphs will help you as a writer stay on track during your drafting and revision stages. What is a paragraph?Ī paragraph is a collection of related sentences dealing with a single topic.

The purpose of this handout is to give some basic instruction and advice regarding the creation of understandable and coherent paragraphs. Writing Letters of Recommendation for Students.

A paragraph