ELEMENTS OF THE PARAGRAPH
English
J.K. Moran
Definition: A paragraph is a group of sentences, including a topic sentence that develops or explains a single idea. There are three essential parts to a well-written paragraph: topic sentence, body sentences, and the conclusion.
The Topic Sentence
The topic sentence is the sentence that expresses the main idea of the paragraph. All the other sentences in the paragraph must help explain and relate to the topic sentence. This special sentence often appears at the beginning of the paragraph, but the writer can place it anywhere in the paragraph. Most importantly, the topic sentence should communicate the the reader some sense of the writer's perspective or point of view concerning the topic being discussed.
Body Sentences
The body of the paragraph consists of the several sentences that explain the topic sentence in more detail. There is no required or set number of sentences for the body; it simply must contain enough information to explain the topic sentence adequately. The writer can use several different techniques to explain the topic sentence, including (among many others) examples, incidents, definitions, classifications, and comparison/contrast.
The Conclusion
Good paragraphs usually end with a statement designed as a conclusion. In basic paragraphs, the conclusion usually does one of two things:
a. it can summarize the entire paragraph, or
b. it can re-state the topic sentence in different words.
Please remember that the writer should usually have a definite concluding sentence, and that he/she should NOT introduce a new idea not directly related to the topic sentence in the conclusion.
Steps in Writing a Paragraph
1. Decide what your topic will be (Narrow it down from the assigned or chosen subject with a list).
2. Decide exactly what you want to say about your topic (ask questions: what you know, think, and feel).
3. Write your topic sentence.
4. Make a list of possible supporting ideas, depending on method of development.
5. Choose your best supporting ideas and organize them into an outline.
6. Write your body sentences from the outline.
7. Decide on the kind of conclusion you will use.
8. Write your conclusion accordingly.
9. Put the paper aside for a while.
10. Examine your paper for sentence completeness, punctuation, grammar and spelling.
11. Re-write your paragraph.
