The Body of Your Paragraph

So far, you have done the following:

- generated ideas by brainstorming,

- focused our ideas by writing a topic sentence,

- created an outline by making the topic sentence into a topic sentence question and then answering that question.

Now, you will move on to writing the first draft of your paragraph by following the outline you have created. Remember, however, that a paragraph is not just a list of sentences from your outline. A well-developed paragraph has the following characteristics:

1. Sentences in the body of a paragraph may use explanations, examples, facts, definitions, reasons, comparisons, contrasts, or other kinds of information as supporting details to develop or explain the topic sentence.

2. The sentences in the body of the paragraph expand the main idea of the paragraph. To have a well-focused paragraph, every sentence and each supporting detail must relate to the topic sentence. This is called unity.

3. A well-developed paragraph provides your reader with a sufficient number of details to explain, expand, or discuss the topic sentence. A paragraph with an adequate number of quality details shows adequate development.

4. The sentences in a paragraph should flow together smoothly when the paragraph is read. You should present the details in an orderly, logical sequence. Your readers should not have difficulty following your ideas or details. When sentences flow smoothly and in a logical sequence, a paragraph is said to have coherence. If there is a lack of coherence, your reader has trouble following your ideas and has trouble understanding the relationships between sentences and between supporting details and the topic sentence. [1]

Descriptive Paragraphs

You should also take into consideration the kind of paragraph you are writing, namely a descriptive paragraph.

The goal of descriptive writing is to “vividly portray[…] a person, place, or thing in such a way that the reader can visualize the topic and enter into the writer’s experience.”[2]

It is also important to keep in mind that you are “showing, rather than telling through the use of active verbs and precise modifiers.”[3]

To do this, you must focus on the “central impression, which reveals your specific attitude, opinion, or feeling about”[4] of the person, place, or thing you are describing.

[1] Wong, Linda. Paragraph Essentials (2002), p.48.

[2] The Writing Site.org, ttp://www.thewritingsite.org/resources/genre/descriptive.asp

[3] ibid.

[4] Wong 144.