A6

The Paragraph: “The Unit of Composition”

“The paragraph is a convenient unit; it serves all forms of literary work. As long as it holds together, a paragraph may be of any length—a single, short sentence or a passage of great duration” (Elements of Style 15).

Types of Paragraphs

  • Introductory- Usually the first paragraph of your essay and typically includes your thesis statement. “A good introduction arouses the reader’s interest and helps prepare the reader for the rest of the paper” (Crit. Think. 128).
  • Body/Development- Will employ techniques such as narrating, describing, defining, comparing, contrasting, or persuading to prove the thesis statement.
  • Conclusion- The concluding paragraph should “return to something in the introduction, glance at the wider implications of the issue, [give] an anecdote that engagingly illustrates the thesis, or [provide] a brief summary” of the points in your paper (Crit. Think. 134).

Most Common Paragraph Structure

Topic Sentence- Includes transition from previous paragraph and the main idea of the paragraph.

3-5 Supporting Sentences- These sentences illustrate the main idea formed in the topic sentence by providing details such as: facts, statistics, personal experiences, definitions, examples, arguments, etc.

**Remember to make your paragraphs unified. “Good paragraphs have a clear focus, a logical progression of thought, and enough details to satisfy the reader’s curiosity…you should strive for unified, coherent, and adequately developed paragraphs” (Writing Clear Paragraphs 11).

When revising your paper, focus on the structure and “make sure that the reader can move easily from the beginning of a paragraph to the end and from one paragraph to the next. Transitions help the reader to perceive the connections between units of the argument” (Crit. Think. 133).

COMMONLY USED TRANSITIONS:

To Signal Sequence:

Again, also and, and then, besides, finally, first…second…third, furthermore, last moreover, next, still, too

To Signal Time:

After a few days, after a while, afterward, as long as, as soon as, at last, at that time, before, earlier, immediately, in the meantime, in the past, lately, later, meanwhile, now, presently, simultaneously, since, so far, soon, then, thereafter, until, when

To Signal Comparison:

Again, also, in the same way, likewise, once more, similarly

To Signal Contrast:

Although, but, despite, even though, however, in contrast, in spite of, instead, nevertheless, nonetheless, on the contrary, on the one hand…on the other hand, regardless, still yet, though

To Signal Examples:

After all, even, for example, for instance, indeed, in fact, of course, specifically, such as, the following example, to illustrate

To Signal Cause And Effect:

Accordingly, as a result, because, consequently, for this purpose, hence, so, then, therefore, thus, to this end

To Signal Place:

Above, adjacent to, below, beyond, closer to, elsewhere, far, farther on, here, there, near, nearby, opposite to, to the left, to the right

To Signal Concession:

Although it is true that, granted that, I admit that, it may appear that, naturally, of course

To Signal Summary:

As a result, as has been noted, as I have said, as mentioned earlier, as we have seen, in any event, in conclusion, in other words, in short, on the whole, therefore, to summarize

Adapted from: The St. Martin’s Handbook. 5th ed. Andrea A Lunsford Boston: Bedford, 2003. 126 – 27.

Strunk Jr., William, and E.B. White. The Elements of Style. 3rd ed. Macmillan: New York, 1979. 15-17

Barnet, Sylvan, and Hugo Bedau. From Critical Thinking to Argument. St. Martin’s: Boston, 2005. 128-134.

Donald, Robert B. Writing Clear Paragraphs. 5th ed. Prentice Hall: New Jersey, 1995.

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