Paragraphs and Multi-paragraph texts
A paragraph should be unified, coherent, and well developed. Paragraphs are unified around a main point, and all sentences in the paragraph should clearly relate to that point in some way. The paragraph’s main idea should be supported by specific information that develops or discusses the main idea in greater detail.
A paragraph typically consists of:
Topic sentence (usually, but not necessarily, the first sentence) Supporting sentences (i.e., adequate development)
Concluding sentence
Linkers (e.g., therefore, however, in addition, despite) to connect ideas within a sentence and sentences within a paragraph
A. Topic sentences
The topic sentence expresses the main point in a paragraph and gives the reader a sense of direction indicating what information will follow. You may create your topic sentence by considering the arguments/details/examples you will discuss. What unifies these arguments/details/examples? What do they have in common? Reach a conclusion and write that “conclusion” first. The topic sentence, derived from the conclusion, is then a sentence to control everything.
If you know what your main point will be, write that as clearly as possible. Then, focus on key words in your topic sentence and try to explain them more fully. Keep asking yourself “How?” or “Why?” or “What arguments/details/examples can I provide to convince my readers?”. After you have added your supporting information, review the topic sentence to check if it still indicates the direction of your writing.
B. Developing a Paragraph
Supporting sentences contribute to developing a paragraph because they support the topic sentence, which contains the main point of the paragraph. There are some methods you can use in wiring your supporting sentences to make sure your paragraph is well developed – of course, you could use a combination of these. For example:
Use examples and illustrations Incorporate data (facts and statistics) Review other studies
Define terms
Compare and contrast ideas/points Evaluate causes and reasons Examine effects and consequences Analyze the topic
To write a well-structured paragraph:
Decide on the content of the topic sentence and supporting sentences.
Write your topic and supporting sentences, and create connections among them using appropriate phrases and words. Note: You should not expect your readers to find the connection between your ideas/sentences.
Always carefully check the topic sentence and supporting sentences to ensure they go hand in hand. As we write, we may easily add material that are not controlled by the topic sentence, in which case either the unwanted material should be deleted, or the topic sentence should be revisited if the additions are relevant.
Write a concluding sentence (usually a rephrased version of the topic sentence, or a summary of main supporting points, or a combination of the two).
The final steps are the usual ones with any piece of writing: revising, editing, and proof-reading.
Give it a try:
Read the following paragraph, underline the topic sentence, supporting sentences, and concluding sentences, and circle all the examples of connecting words and phrases (i.e., linkers or signal words/phrases).
Darwin’s The Origin of Species published in 1859 was greatly influential in the field of science and in society in general. Indeed, it has often been referred to as the ‘book that shook the world’. The book outlined how there could be a relatively gradual change in the characteristics of successive generations of a species and that higher plants and animals evolved slowly over time from lower beings. This process occurred as a result of competition within local interacting communities. Darwin’s book challenged the idea that there was a complete difference between humans and the animal world as he reinforced the suggestion that humans evolved from lower beings. Prior to this, it was believed in the Western World, based on biblical works, that humans were created superior to other beings. With the idea that humans could have evolved from lower beings came the undermining of traditional religious opinions. However, although some religious leaders did embrace Darwinism at the time, the theories were highly different from those that had come before. These ideas radically shook a society, where, because of the increasing availability of printed books and papers, intellectual knowledge was being transferred in greater quantity than ever before. Darwin’s idea, therefore, influenced both and society at the time.
Answers:
Topic sentence: Darwin’s The Origin of Species published in 1859 was greatly influential in the field of science and in society in general. The reader understands that the paragraph is about the book being influential in two areas: science and society.
Supporting sentences: Indeed, it has often been referred to………..in greater quantity than ever before. Considering the topic sentence, the reader expects to see arguments and explanations to support the idea that the book was influential in those two areas.
Concluding sentence: Darwin’s idea, therefore, influenced both science and society at the time. The final sentence wraps up the whole paragraph; it is, in fact, a paraphrased version of the topic sentence, which is a summary of the two main points.
Connecting words and phrases (i.e., linkers or signal words/phrases):
Indeed (to emphasize/clarify/support what was just mentioned)
This process (to show that the current sentence/idea is still about what was just mentioned) ….as a result of….. to show cause and effect)
…….as….. (to show cause and effect) Prior to this,….. (to show time/order)
With the idea that…. (to refer to the already-discussed idea) However,…. (to show contrast/opposing ideas) …although…. (to show contrast/opposing ideas)
These ideas…. (to show that the current sentence/idea is still about what was just mentioned) ….because of….. (to show cause and effect)
…therefore…. (to show cause and effect)
Remember: To write well-developed paragraphs, it is highly important to show how ideas are connected to each other and how they contribute to the main theme.
In the following examples: (i) boldfaced words/phrases show connections; (ii) underlined words/phrases show contribution to the main theme.
Example (1):
One difference among the world’s seas and oceans is that the salinity varies in different climate zones. For example, the Baltic Sea in northern Europe is only one-fourth as saline as the Red Sea in the Middle East. There are two reasons for this. First of all, in warm climate zones, water evaporates rapidly; therefore, the concentration of salt is greater. Second, the surrounding land is dry; consequently, it does not contribute much freshwater to dilute the salty seawater. In cold climate zones, on the other hand, water evaporates slowly. Furthermore, the runoff created by melting snow adds a considerable amount of freshwater to dilute the saline seawater……….
Comments on Example (1):
The main point is to show: One difference among the world’s seas and oceans is that the salinity varies in different climate zones. The supporting sentences include: providing examples (northern Europe and the Middle East), using specific data/statistics (one-fourth), giving two reasons with reference to warm climate zones to explain the mentioned data/statistics, and discussing the opposite (i.e., cold climate zones) by using the same two reasons (i.e., evaporation and dryness).
Example (2):
Tuberculosis (TB) had, for many years, been identified as a major public health problem in East Timor. From 1996, two TB programs operated in parallel: one run by the Indonesian Ministry of Health and one run by an externally funded church-based organization (Caritas East Timor). Following the independence referendum in August 1999 and associated violence, many health practitioners left East Timor or were unable to continue working, and TB services were severely disrupted. Thus, the magnitude of the TB epidemic in East Timor increased in 1999. Within a few months of the September events, people from different organizations contributed to the establishment of a National Tuberculosis Control Program. In its first 5 years, the TB program diagnosed and commenced treatment for 17,210 patients. ………There has been gradual progress with the TB program functioning in all 13 districts and being accessible to 79% of the population of East Timor. Treatment results have improved, and the treatment success rate is now consistently over 80%.
Comments on Example (2):
The main point is to show: Tuberculosis (TB) had, for many years, been identified as a major public health problem in East Timor. Note the verb tense – had been identified (past perfect): so we expect to see evidence to show that TB was a problem before, but not anymore. The paragraph successfully meets this expectation by using the correct verb tenses and time expressions.
C. Writing Multi-Paragraph Texts
We usually write texts that consist of several paragraphs. Each paragraph should be connected to the previous and next paragraph, and they all should contribute to developing the theme under discussion. As noted above, a good paragraph is a unified, coherent whole. The same is the case for a paragraph text; that is, a multi-paragraph text should be a coherent whole with a beginning, middle, and end plus linkers to connect ideas within and across paragraphs.
To write a well-structured multi-paragraph text:
Decide on the content of your main point(s) and the supports
Write the paragraphs and create connections among them using appropriate phrases and words. Linking a paragraph with another can take two forms: (i) ending a paragraph with a sentence that leads forward to the next paragraph; and/or, (ii) starting the new paragraph in a way that links back to the previous paragraph.
Write a concluding paragraph to wrap up the discussion
The final steps are the usual ones with any piece of writing: revising, editing, and proof-reading.
Note 1: It is important to make sure that the main point has been fully developed.
Note 2: It is important to check all the sentences and paragraphs very carefully to make sure they all contribute to the theme. Remove any irrelevant or redundant sentence or paragraph from your text. Note 3: If you are writing a text with various sections, for example a report or paper with different sections, you need to think of ways to connect the sections too. You could, for example, end a section indicating what is coming next (e.g., The next section provides…….). The point is that whatever you write should include components that are connected to each other and are related to the main theme. If it is a paragraph, sentences should be properly connected and all should contribute to the theme under discussion. If it is a multi-paragraph text, all sentences in each paragraph and then all paragraphs should be properly connected and all should contribute to the theme. If it is a multi- section text with each section containing several paragraphs, then all sentences in each paragraph,all
paragraphs in each section, and all sections should be properly connected and all should contribute to the theme. The whole piece should have a beginning, middle, and end. It is like telling a story.
Note 4: Always remember that a paragraph is a unit consisting of sentences. One sentence is not a paragraph; it is a sub-paragraph. Sub-paragraphs are not allowed in English!
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Note: These are sub-paragraphs.
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Note 5: To make paragraphs completely visible, either indent the first line of each paragraph (other than the first paragraph) or leave some space between paragraphs – if you are following a particular referencing style, you should check how paragraphing is done in your selected style.
EXAMPLES OF LINKING PARAGRAPHS IN A TEXT
In each example, you can see two or more consecutive paragraphs; the words and phrases that make these paragraphs connected are in boldface.
Example (1)
……Edwards (1998) defined the four major principles of contemporary urban planning in a seminal paper on the environmental factors involved. These principles were built on by Ahmed (2001) and French (2002). The first city to employ them in a major development was Auckland, New Zealand with the Highbury development project (Auckland City Council, 2007).
Following the success of the scheme in Auckland, similar projects were launched in seventeen European cities over the next three years. These created an overall increase in living standards and have generally been considered a success (Bryan, 2012). There are plans to implement further projects in four different cities in Japan (Nagoya, 2012)…….. (This paragraph goes on to detail further projects).
Two subparagraphs = incorrect
Two subparagraphs = incorrect
Example (2)
…………The slippery redefinition of the public interest which states that what is good for the market is good for us all could prove, in the long run, to mark the end of Australia as a democratic information society.
A democracy needs to be informed and to have a right to information. It also requires extensive public debate and widespread participation in decision-making………..(This paragraph goes on to detail the requirements).
Example (3)
………….The company completely upgraded their computer systems... (This paragraph goes on to detail these changes).
As a consequence of this upgrading, the efficiency... (This paragraph goes on to detail the consequences).
--- Example (4)
……… There are many advantages associated with fast food. Firstly, fast food industries improve the society by providing jobs for the unemployed. When new restaurants and fast food outlets are established in an area, new staff, mainly from the locality, is employed. ………(This paragraph goes on to detail employment).
A greater advantage of the fast food industry on the world today is that many economies have been influenced by fast food companies especially in the agricultural sector of the economy. ………(This paragraph goes on to detail the agricultural sector with respect to fast food).
Moreover, the efforts of fast food industries in their contribution to society cannot be overemphasized. They contribute by ………(This paragraph goes on to contribution of fast food to society).
Having considered the advantages of fast food in the world today, some important setbacks are now discussed. Within the last ten years, there has been an awareness of the dangers of eating fast food. Fatty food is ………..……… (This paragraph goes on to detail the first disadvantage).
A further drawback is that despite all efforts to keep the environment clean and tidy, it is almost impossible to keep litter off the streets. Take-away packs ………(This paragraph goes on to detail the second disadvantage).
The final disadvantage worth considering is advertisements. Advertisements are not………(This paragraph goes on to detail the last disadvantage).
Note: As you can see from these examples, making links between paragraphs to show the relation between them provides coherence, creates a smooth flow of information across the whole text, and, as a result, guides the reader through the argument.
