ELEMENTS OF

A PARAGRAPH
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What is a paragraph?

A paragraph is a collection of related

sentences dealing with a single topic.
Learning to write good paragraphs
will help you as a writer stay on track
during your drafting and revision
stages. You can have fantastic ideas,
but if those ideas aren't presented in
an organized fashion, you will lose
your readers (and fail to achieve your
goals in writing).

The Basic Rule: Keep One Idea to One Paragraph

The basic rule of thumb with paragraphing is

to keep one idea to one paragraph. If you
begin to transition into a new idea, it belongs in
a new paragraph. You can have one idea and
several bits of supporting evidence within a
single paragraph. You can also have several
points in a single paragraph as long as they
relate to the overall topic of the paragraph. If
the single points start to get long, then perhaps
elaborating on each of them and placing them
in their own paragraphs is the route to go.

Elements of a Paragraph
1. Unity

Paragraph unity is perhaps the most

important principle for good paragraphs.
A reader quickly loses direction and ends
up frustrated when confronted with
paragraphs having multiple aims. A
unified paragraph leaves a reader feeling
secure that the writer is in control of her
argument and able to lead the reader
toward a clear and satisfying conclusion.

Revising for unity: supporting sentences

Consider the following poorly unified paragraph:

Horror films are most popular with teens. When a new horror film
comes out, the theater seats are filled with teens. Adults don't seem to
be interested in two hours of edge-of-your-seat fear and anxiety, but
teens sure are.I think the popularity of these films with teens is due to
teenagers' desires to test their limits in the real world, to see how far
they can go before they get scared and prefer the safety of home, and
mom and dad.Horror films allow teens to test their limits in the safety of
the movie theater, where they can put themselves in the position of the
teenagers in the film without any real danger to themselves. Last week, I
went to see the sci-fi/horror filmAlien, and got so scared anticipating the
alien's attack on the crew that I had to leave the theater. My friends
didn't seem as scared, so I felt kind of stupid, but for me, that film was a
bit more horrifying than I could take. Children obviously would be too

The paragraph starts out pretty well. The controlling idea

appears in the first sentence, and the sentences that follow
develop the controlling idea in greater detail until the sentence
that begins "Last week, I went to see the sci-fi/horror film Alien. . .
" This sentence begins a discussion of degrees of fear that teens
feel at horror films, not why horror films are most popular with
teens, which is the controlling idea of the paragraph. Given this
controlling idea, the author is limited to a discussion of why horror
films would be more interesting to teens than to others. To make
the paragraph unified, the author would need to rewrite this
sentence so that it more directly supports the main idea or
remove the sentence altogether.

A good paragraph has oneness of aim in all of its parts. Take a

look at the revision of the previous paragraph:

Horror films are most popular with teens. When a new horror film
comes out, the theater seats are filled with teens. These films are far
too scary for young children who have a tough time separating fiction
and reality, and adults don't seem to be interested in two hours of
edge-of-your-seat fear and anxiety, but teens sure are. I thinkThe
popularity of these films with teens is due to teenagers' desires to test
their limits in the real world, to see how far they can go before they get
scared and prefer the safety of home, and mom and dad. Horror films
allow teens to test their limits in the safety of the movie theater, where
they can put themselves in the position of the teenagers in the film
without any real danger to themselves. Horror films, with a few
exceptions, are just right for teens.

2. Coherence
Coherence is the trait that makes the paragraph
easily understandable to a reader. You can help
create coherence in your paragraphs by
creating logical bridges and verbal bridges. It is
very important to arrange and link the sentences
between the paragraphs to be able to make the
readers follow the thought or the idea that want
to be implied.

Logical bridges

The same idea of a topic is carried over

from sentence to sentence.
Successive sentences can be constructed
in parallel form

Verbal bridges

Key words can be repeated in several sentences

Synonymous words can be repeated in several
sentences
Pronouns can refer to nouns in previous sentences
Transition words can be used to link ideas from
different sentences

There are several logical orders

in which coherence can be
established.

Chronological order is done in such ways

like narrating experiences, summarizing
the steps in the process and explaining
events and movements.
Spatial order can be established through
the arrangement of visual details in some
consistent sequences such as from left to
right, east to west, near or distant and
vice versa.

Inductive order is done by starting the

statement with more particular detail
going to and supporting the general
statement.
Deductive order is done by
establishing a general statement
moving to the more particular details
that explain the general statement
itself.

Coherence can also be established

through the use of some special
devices.
Transitional words and phrases serve as
indicators of the different relationships
that need to be connected to be able to
establish coherence in the paragraph.

Reference of pronoun is a device used

to avoid needles repetition in the
paragraph.

Repetition of keywords is used in

such a way that the keywords that are
related to the central idea in order to
establish coherence.

Parallel structure is used to call

attention to similar idea in the
paragraph.

3. Emphasis

Emphasis is the principle of the paragraph

composition in which the important ideas are
made to stand. In here it is very important that
the main points of the writer should be evident
inside the paragraph. means that the idea
should be made to stand from the rest of the
elements inside the paragraph. In establishing
emphasis, the main idea of what the author or
the writer wants to say should show to have
more importance.

Having an emphasis can be

achieved by using some devices:

Emphasis by proportion talks about that the

subordinate ideas should be given less
substance while ideas which have greater
importance should be given more
substance.

In the emphasis by pause, the emphasis is

established by making chapter divisions,
paragraph breaks as well as mark of
punctuation.

The emphasis by position elaborates

that the beginning and end of the
paragraph are considered as crucial
points where emphasis should be
placed, emphasis are usually
positioned in these places.

The Importance of Topic Sentence

In establishing unity, coherence, or emphasis, it is

important to determine where to put the topic
sentence inside the paragraph. Topic sentence is
greatly considered in the paragraph construction. It
is used to guide the specific focus of the
paragraphs composition as well as in cutting out
some details within. Furthermore, the topic
sentence tells the readers about the things to
come up or the things that will follow after.

THANK YOU!