Paragraph Writing

 A paragraph is a self-contained/independent unit of a discourse (communication) in writing

dealing with a particular point or idea.

 A paragraph consists of several sentences that are grouped together. This group of sentences
together discusses one main subject.

Basic Paragraph Structure

In U.S. formal academic English, paragraphs have three principal parts. These three parts are the
topic sentence, body (supporting) sentences, and the concluding sentence.

1. Topic sentence:

 This sentence is the first sentence of a paragraph and summarizes the main idea of the
paragraph.
 The sentence introduces an overall idea that you want to discuss later in the
paragraph.
 All of the following sentences will add information that expands upon or supports the
idea stated here.

For example, suppose that you want to write a paragraph about the natural landmarks of your
hometown. The first part of your paragraph might look like this:

My hometown is famous for several amazing natural

features. First, it is noted for the Wheaton River, which is
very wide and beautiful. Also, on the other side of the
town is Wheaton Hill, which is unusual because it is very
steep.
(Notice how the first sentence begins with "My hometown..." a few spaces to the right of the
paragraph edge. This is an indentation. All paragraphs in English MUST begin with an
indentation.)

Note how the first sentence, My hometown, Wheaton, is famous for several amazing
geographical features, is the most general statement. This sentence is different from the two
sentences that follow it, since the second and third sentences mention specific details about the
town's geography, and are not general statements.

Here are some examples of sentences that cannot be used as topic sentences. Can you figure out
why they are inappropriate?

1. My hometown, Wheaton, is famous because it is located by Wheaton River,

which is very wide, and because it is built near an unusually steep hill called
Wheaton Hill.

2. There are two reasons why some people like to buy cars with automatic
transmission and two reasons why others like cars with manual transmission.

3. Clouds are white.

The problem with sentence #1 is that it contains too many details. Topic sentences are general,
and details should appear later in the paragraph. A better topic sentence would be like the one
mentioned above, My hometown is famous for several amazing geographical features.

Sentence #2 is not appropriate as a topic sentence because it mentions two topics, not just one.
Paragraphs are usually about one main thing and so their topic sentences should also be about
only one main thing.

The problem with sentence #3 is that it is too general. It is also very boring! Would you like to
read a paragraph with this topic sentence? Most people would not.

We can rewrite sentences #2 and #3 in the following ways to make it better:

 There are two reasons why some people like to buy cars with automatic
transmission.

OR (in a different paragraph):

 There are two reasons why some people like cars with manual transmission.

 The shapes of clouds are determined by various factors.

2. Supporting sentences:

 The second sentence identifies the first major supporting detail.

 The third sentence brings up a second supporting detail.
 Similarly, the fourth sentence mentions a third supporting detail.
 Additional sentences can be added here for additional supporting details or to divide one
lengthy supporting detail into separate, easier-to-read sentences.

Consider again the above-mentioned, short paragraph:

My hometown, Wheaton, is famous for several

amazing natural features. First, it is noted for the
Wheaton River, which is very wide and beautiful. Also,
on the other side of the town is Wheaton Hill, which is
unusual because it is very steep.
When a reader reads a topic sentence, such as My hometown, Wheaton, is famous for several
amazing natural features, a question should usually appear in the reader's mind. In this case, the
question should be like, "What are the natural features that make Wheaton famous?" The reader
should then expect that the rest of the paragraph will give an answer to this question.

Now look at the sentences after the topic sentence. We can see that the second sentence in the
paragraph, First, it is noted for the Wheaton River, which is very wide and beautiful, indeed
gives an answer to this question. That is, the second sentence gives some explanation for the fact
that Wheaton is a famous town. Similarly, we can see that the third sentence also gives some
explanation for the fact that Wheaton is famous by giving another example of an "amazing
natural feature," in this case, Wheaton Hill.

The second and third sentences are called supporting sentences. They are called "supporting"
because they "support," or explain, the idea expressed in the topic sentence. Of course,
paragraphs in English often have more than two supporting ideas. The paragraph above is
actually a very short paragraph. At minimum, you should have at least five to seven sentences in
your paragraph. Here we can see our paragraph about Wheaton with a few more supporting
sentences in bold font:

My hometown, Wheaton, is famous for several amazing natural

features. First, it is noted for the Wheaton River, which is very wide
and beautiful. Also, on the other side of the town is Wheaton Hill,
which is unusual because it is very steep. The third amazing feature
is the Big Old Tree. This tree stands two hundred feet tall and is
probably about six hundred years old.
3. Concluding sentence:

 The last sentence of your paragraph is your concluding sentence, which quickly ties your
supporting thoughts together.
 It also might restate your first topic sentence using different terms.

Let's see how a concluding sentence (in bold font) might look in our sample paragraph about
Wheaton:

My hometown is famous for several amazing natural features.

First, it is noted for the Wheaton River, which is very wide and
beautiful. Also, on the other side of the town is Wheaton Hill, which is
unusual because it is very steep. The third amazing feature is the Big
Old Tree. This tree stands two hundred feet tall and is probably about
six hundred years old. These three landmarks are truly amazing
and make my hometown a famous place.
Notice how the concluding sentence, These three landmarks are truly amazing and make my
hometown a famous place, summarizes the information in the paragraph. Notice also how the
concluding sentence is similar to, but not exactly the same as, the topic sentence.

Note: Not all academic paragraphs contain concluding sentences, especially if the paragraph is
very short. However, if your paragraph is very long, it is a good idea to use a concluding
sentence.

Details in Paragraphs

The short paragraph in this lesson is a fairly complete paragraph, but it lacks details. Whenever
possible, you should include enough details in your paragraphs to help your reader understand
exactly what you are writing about. In the paragraph about Wheaton, three natural landmarks are
mentioned, but we do not know very much about them. For example, we could add a sentence or
two about Wheaton river concerning HOW wide it is or WHY it is beautiful. Consider this
revision (and note the additional details in bold):

My hometown, Wheaton, is famous for several amazing natural features. First, it is

noted for the Wheaton River, which is very wide and beautiful. On either side of this
river, which is 175 feet wide, are many willow trees which have long branches that
 can move gracefully in the wind. In autumn the leaves of these trees fall and cover
the riverbanks like golden snow. Also, on the other side of the town is Wheaton Hill,
which is unusual because it is very steep. Even though it is steep, climbing this hill is
not dangerous, because there are some firm rocks along the sides that can be used
as stairs. There are no trees around this hill, so it stands clearly against the sky
and can be seen from many miles away. The third amazing feature is the Big Old
Tree. This tree stands two hundred feet tall and is probably about six hundred years old.
These three landmarks are truly amazing and make my hometown a famous place.
A Note on Formality

In addition to having a particular kind of structure, academic paragraphs (and multi-paragraph

essays, which will be topic of another lesson) are different from "ordinary writing" (such as letter
writing) in that certain kinds of expressions are not allowed. For example, in formal essays, you
should not use contractions such as don't or aren't. Instead, you should write out the words in
full, for example, do not and are not.

Also, in formal essays you should avoid the first and second person. That is, do not use the
pronouns I or you. The pronouns we and us are sometimes used in formal essays in some major
fields, but in general you should not use these unless you are certain that they are customary in
your field and/or your professor allows them. It is safer simply to use the third person.

TOO INFORMAL
ACCEPTABLE
(Do not use)
don't do not
doesn't does not
aren't are not
weren't were not
can't cannot
couldn't could not
won’t will not

What is a listing paragraph?

A listing paragraph is a paragraph containing different ideas that all connect to one main idea. It
is perhaps easiest to think of this as the “Firstly” “Secondly” “Thirdly” paragraph. A key to
making them work is to make sure that different ideas connect to one central idea. Take a look at
this very simple example to see what I mean:
 There are at least three different ways to organise a paragraph. The first is to follow
a structure where you make a main point, develop it with an explanation and then
illustrate it with an example. The second is to list separate points that connect to the main
idea stated in the topic paragraph. The third is the compare and contrast paragraph in
which you examine the relationship between two different ideas.

Do you see how the “ideas” contained in the content sentences all link back to the main idea in
the topic sentence, highlighted in red?

When you should consider a listing paragraph

The next step is to decide when you should use the listing paragraph structure. Here are some
ideas for you to consider:

 you have a series of connected ideas (reasons/examples/explanations etc) that relate to

one main idea
 these connected ideas are balanced (equally relevant)
 it makes sense in that essay to give different reasons (i.e. the essay asks you to write
about the reasons why something is the case)
 perhaps it is simpler to list rather than explain in detail (this is particularly the case in
exams where you under time pressure)

Getting the topic sentence right

One of the keys to making this listing paragraph structure work is to get the topic sentence right.
These are not rules, but think about these general guidelines:

 the topic sentence should come first and be simple: you want the reader to see
immediately what your paragraph is about
 it should ideally say that you are going to list different reasons etc. If you don’t do this,
the reader may not understand your structure and how the points relate to each other

What to avoid and how to fix it

This type of paragraph can often go wrong. One particular problem is that the list ideas do not
relate to the main idea in the topic sentence. Look at this example:

There are a number of reasons why animals should not be kept in captivity. This is
wrong because zoos are often unsanitary and the animals suffer unnecessary pain and
suffering because they easily become sick and die. In many cases zoos do not have
effective breeding programmes and they actually contribute to the decline in numbers of
certain endangered species. Moreover, in many countries zoos have become less and less
popular because of the influence of natural history programmes on television.

Do you see the problem? The final sentence doesn’t really relate to/balance the other ideas – it is
about something else altogether.
 The language of listing paragraphs

Using listing language helps the reader understand the train of your thoughts and see how the
ideas connect. It can also help you write more accurately: if you use this language, you are much
less likely to go wrong.

Topic sentence language

Here the goal is to show the reader that you are about to make a number of connected points.
Here are some ideas to get you going. Obviously, you will need to adapt them to your topic.

There are at least three [reasons] why…. (i.e. use a number – and traditionally three is the
magical number)

There are a variety of [reasons] why ……………………

There are several causes of …………………….
There are a number of different of ways in which ………………..

The most basic listing language

It is sensible to be fairly consistent with the language. The moment you say “Firstly,”, the reader
automatically looks for “Secondly,” and may be confused if they do not find it (or something
very similar to it).

Firstly, ………….. Secondly, ……………. Thirdly/Finally ………….. (Note the comma)

One [reason] is …………... A second reason is ………….. A third/final [reason] is …………

Some more advanced variations

Here are some slightly more advanced ways of linking your ideas. The point is to start with the
biggest/best and then add other ideas using phrase with “Another” and “Also”. This way the
connection should still be plain.

The most significant [reason] is ………..

The primary [reason] why ……….
Equally significant is …………
Another connected [reason] is …………
A linked reason is ………….
It is also the case that ………….
It is also sometimes suggested that …………..
To keep the connection between your ideas clear use the linking language at the beginning of
your sentence.

Some examples of listing paragraphs – and test yourself

These paragraphs are based on an essay question asking why people are moving from the
countryside into cities and whether that is a positive trend. Possible ideas include loss of
agricultural land / farming culture, better jobs in cities, better lifestyle and amenities in cities,
better infrastructure and transport facilities etc.

Simple version

There are three main reasons why people are abandoning the countryside and moving to
cities. Firstly, …………………. Secondly, ………………...... Thirdly, ……………………

More advanced

There are a number of reasons for this migration from the countryside to urban centers. Perhaps
the most significant of these is that ………………… Another connected reason is that
…………………… It can also be caused by …………………….

Expert

Close examination shows that there are a variety of causes for this migration. The primary reason
why …………………………... . Perhaps as significant as this is the fact that
………………………… . It is also sometimes suggested that …………………………………. .