A narrative paragraph which tells a story of a certain event. A descriptive paragraph which gives details about a person, place thing or idea. An expository paragraph which explains something, gives directions or shows how something happens and a persuasive paragraph which is opinionated and tries to sway the reader. What does paragraph mean? The word paragraph comes from the Latin word paragraphos, which is roughly translated to mean a short stroke marking a break. A paragraph is a group of sentences that share a common topic or idea.