Proper Paragraph Construction

Hi ,

Issue # 011; 16th September, 2009.

In This Issue:

1. Major Upgrade!
2. Proper Paragraph Construction
3. Spread the Word

Major Upgrade!

I have just finished giving my website a new look. It was major work reworking all the pages, but I am finally done. Check it out and tell me what you think by visiting the following page:

http://www.writing-lovers.com/your_comments.html

Proper Paragraph Construction

Have you ever wondered what constitutes proper paragraph construction?

Have you wondered what determines the length and scope of a paragraph?

If you have, wonder no more. Today you know.

Firstly, let us take a closer look at the structure of the typical paragraph. A paragraph is by definition a sentence or sentences that express a complete thought or idea. Paragraphs are indicated by putting them on a new line, or indenting the first sentence. The paragraphs in this article you are reading are separated by a line break, and they are not indented.

Have you noticed the major characteristic of a paragraph? It expresses a complete thought, or addresses one major idea. A paragraph can therefore be only one sentence long as long as it meets the aforementioned criteria, namely, containing one major idea.

Let us now get into details.

A paragraph has two major components: a topic sentence and supporting sentences. The topic sentence is the one which clearly identifies the major idea that is addressed in the paragraph. The rest of the sentences, if they are any, simply support the main idea expressed. In other words, they add meat to the introduced main idea. The topic sentence is so important that if it is removed, the whole paragraph will not make much sense. In fact, one of the major things pupils are taught at school is the skill to pick out the topic sentence in a paragraph.

Here is an example. In the following paragraph, the sentence in boldface is the topic sentence:

When she was 12, a girl in Mexico named Aspen was asked by her biology teacher to explain to the seventh-grade class why she believed in creation instead of evolution. Aspen made a good defense, explaining that every organism has a perfect design, which proves the existence of a designer and creator. Knowing that Aspen’s parents are geologists, the teacher then asked her to prepare and present information on whether the fossil record supports creation.   

You will quickly observe that the topic sentence is the very first sentence in the paragraph. This is often the case. However, sometimes, the topic sentence may be put somewhere within the paragraph.

Therefore, for you to determine how much you write should be a paragraph, it must express a complete thought. If you are well-read, you will observe that you do this almost naturally. For others, it may require a bit of forethought.

One other thing you must know is the skill of bridging related paragraphs.

When you are working on a piece of writing, say a letter, you will immediately realize that your work will be a combination of related paragraphs, expressing related thoughts. The idea expressed in one paragraph is often the building block for the next paragraph. When your reader moves from one paragraph to the other, he should not feel as though he’s suddenly been whisked out of his home and thrown into the jungle. If you want to take him to a jungle, he should know how he got there; otherwise he will not be able to get back. Same thing applies when you are moving from one paragraph to another.  Your reader should be comfortably carried from one thought to another. In other words, there should be logic. How can you achieve this?

A close examination of pieces of writing reveals about two of the major techniques of bridging the thoughts of paragraphs.

The first technique is expressing a hanging, incomplete thought in the last sentence and promise that it will be elaborated in the next paragraph. Here’s an example:

Movies, TV shows, and magazines have portrayed youths as constantly surrounded by a group of friends who grow with them through school and maintain bonds as adults. The reality for most teens is quite different.

Researchers Barbara Schneider and David Stevenson, who analyzed interviews conducted with thousands of youths in the United States, found that “relatively few students consistently had the same best friend or a small group of friends over time.” Many youths “lack a sense of connection and have few close friends with whom they feel comfortable discussing problems or sharing ideas,” say Schneider and Stevenson.

Do you notice how the sentence in boldface expresses a hanging thought, preparing the reader to anticipate clarifying information in the proceeding paragraph? And notice too how the paragraph that follows builds up on that thought.

The other technique involves asking plain questions that are to be answered in the proceeding paragraph.

At other times, the paragraph that follows simply picks up where the other paragraph left off, using connecting words like hence, therefore, in addition, etc. The whole point, really, is not to lose your readers.

So when you set down to write, always remember these few points about paragraph construction. If you do, people will hail you as a good writer, even though we both know they can be just as good as you.

Spread the Word!

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