DEVELOPING A PARAGRAPH

PARAGRAPH ORGANISATION

What is a paragraph? It is a collection of related sentences dealing with a single idea or topic. Usually, it is best not to have more than one idea in a paragraph. If you begin to transition (discuss) into a new idea or topic, you might confuse the reader with these new sets of information and discussions. It would also make it difficult to write the conclusion for the paragraph. You should have only one idea or topic with elaborations and examples of support in one paragraph, and always only ONE idea or topic.

A complete paragraph usually contains a number of sentences that complements or are related to each other. The sentences can be identified as follows:

(i) Topic sentence.

(ii) Elaboration sentences (supporting point).

(iii) Supporting sentences (supporting details).

(iv) Conclusion.

Topic Sentence

A topic sentence (also known as a focus sentence) represents the main idea and sets the tone for the entire paragraph. Although topic sentences may appear anywhere in a paragraph, in academic essays they often appear at the beginning, i.e. the very first sentence in the paragraph!

It might be helpful to think of a topic sentence as working in two directions simultaneously. It relates the paragraph to the essay's thesis, and thereby acts as a signpost for the argument of the paper as a whole. It also defines the scope of the paragraph itself. For example, consider the following topic sentence:

Many petrol stations make their profits from selling non-petroleum products such as daily consumer goods.

If this sentence controls the paragraph that follows, then all sentences in the paragraph must relate in some way to consumer goods such as fast food, drinks, etc. and the profits generated from their sales.

Topic sentences often act like tiny thesis statements. It makes a claim of some sort. When the topic sentence makes a claim, the sentences which follow must expand, describe, or prove it in some way. Topic sentences make a point and the following sentences in the same paragraphs give reasons or examples to support it. The topic sentence thus is the unifying force in the paragraph which ties all the sentences together.

What is an effective topic sentence? The first sentence of the paragraph that:

(i) Relates to the main topic.

(ii) Sets up a claim, assertion, argument, evaluation, analysis.

(iii) Contains controlling ideas about the topic that need to be developed in the sentences that follow.

(iv) Is the most general sentence in the paragraph.

(v) Orients the reader.

(vi) Provides a context for understanding what follows.

(vii) Explains the relationships among elements.

(viii) Summarizes the rest of the paragraph.

Example: An outline of a complete essay - Strict teachers

Thesis: Over the years, I have learned to avoid strict teachers because they give too much homework, show no understanding when a student turns in assignments late, get impatient instead of helping when students don’t understand the subject matter, and often yell at the class.

Topic Sentence 1: Strict teachers give too much homework.

Topic Sentence 2: Strict teachers show no understanding when a student turns in assignments late.

Topic Sentence 3: Strict teachers get impatient instead of helping when students don’t understand the subject matter.

Topic Sentence 4: Finally, strict teachers often yell at the class.

Conclusion: Strict teachers do more harm than good to students at school.

Exercise: Complete the essay about ‘Strict teachers’ by expanding the

paragraphs beginning with the above topic sentences.

UNITY WITHIN A PARAGRAPH

An effective paragraph presents the main point clearly to the reader. To achieve the desired effect, the main components of the paragraph, namely the Topic sentence, Supporting sentences and Concluding sentence must all be bound together to present a complete picture of the main point. The common approach is to use the indirect approach (inductive) where the paragraph starts with the topic sentence and ends with the concluding sentence.

COHERENCE WITHIN A PARAGRAPH

The main concern for writers is to ensure that the points are clearly presented in such a way that the reader would not have difficulty following the development of ideas in the paragraph. Organization is of importance to achieve the desired effect. There are three common methods to organize the paragraph namely; Time, Space and Order of importance (priority).

Time Order

Usually, this order is used when you are writing a story or about an event. When narrating or describing, you will have to organize events according to time (based on events that had transpired). You start by writing what happened first at the beginning of the paragraph, followed by what happened second, third and so on. To make it easier for the reader, signal words such as first, second, third, next, before, after, as, later, finally and so on are used.

For example:

(Topic sentence) The U.S. petroleum industry's price was heavily regulated through production or price controls throughout much of the twentieth century. Initially, in the post World War II era U.S. oil prices at the wellhead averaged $26.64 per barrel adjusted for inflation to 2008 dollars. In the absence of price controls, the U.S. price would have tracked the world price averaging $28.68. Next, over the same post war period the median for the domestic and the adjusted world price of crude oil was $19.60 in 2008 prices. That means that only fifty percent of the time from 1947 to 2008 have oil prices exceeded $19.60 per barrel. Crude Oil prices ranged between $2.50 and $3.00 from 1948 through the end of the 1960s. After that, the oil price rose from $2.50 in 1948 to about $3.00 in 1957. When viewed in 2008 dollars an entirely different story emerges with crude oil prices fluctuating between $17 and $19 during most of the period. The apparent price increase in nominal prices just kept up with inflation.

[Source: Adapted from WTRG Economics. (April 2009).]

Space Order

Writing a paragraph describing about a place, you should use space order to clearly show the positions or locations. The easiest way is to choose a starting point and continue to describe about other aspects of the place in relation to the starting point. For example, when describing an office room, choose a starting point and move clockwise around the room. You can also move around based on left, right, top to bottom, back to front or inside out. For example:

(Topic sentence) The top of my desk is very organised. My desktop computer is in the centre where it is easy for me to reach. To the left of the computer I keep a small pot with pens, pencils, erasers and paper plates. My organizer is right to the basket. There is a small clock in the right corner and a picture of my family next to it. (Conclusion) I enjoy working at my desk because everything is always in its place.

[Source: Adapted from Blanchard, K., & Root, S. (2003) Ready to write. New York: Pearson Longman.]

To make it easier for the reader, signal words such as at, in, next to, on the right, on the top, over, under, on the end, on the left, in the middle, between, beside and so on are used.

Order of Importance

Some writing requires you to organise your ideas or points based on merit or order of importance. You must first determine the importance of each point or details and organise them accordingly. You can start with the most important piece of information first or you can save it for last.

For example:

Surging oil prices caused several positive reactions among consumers. The change for better insulation in new homes, increased insulation in many older homes, more energy efficiency in industrial processes, and automobiles with higher efficiency are most welcomed. These factors along with a global recession caused a reduction in demand which led to falling crude prices. Unfortunately for OPEC only the global recession was temporary. Nobody rushed to remove insulation from their homes or to replace energy efficient plants and equipment -- much of the reaction to the oil price increase of the end of the decade was permanent and would never respond to lower prices with increased consumption of oil. There was no commitment to change for the good of the environment.

[Source: Adapted from WTRG Economics. (April 2009).]

To make it easier for the reader, signal words such as first, second, third, in addition, moreover, most importantly, finally and so on are used.

GRAMMAR – COMPOUND SENTENCES

A compound sentence has two main clauses, separated by a comma and a conjunction, or by a semicolon. This sentence structure is common when you a writing a detail analysis on a topic or describing an event. Conjunctions such as ‘and’, ‘so’, ‘but’ ‘or’ and others are used to join the phrases.

For example:

1. My cat runs after the mouse and the mouse runs away.

2. The university sets a high academic standard so the students have to work very hard.

3. The plane has bigger passenger capacity and it is able to generate more profits.

4. Being employable refers to having the attributes necessary to sustain employment and thrive in the work place.

Example:

Many students lead stressful lives. For example, Maria wants to meet her parents’ high expectations for her future, so she works very hard at school. Every semester, she takes 5 courses to graduate as quickly as possible. Her parents want her to be a doctor, so they expect her to get all ‘A’s’ in her courses. As a result, she has little free time during this period in her life.

(Note: In the example above, you can see two phrases are combined using a conjunction ‘so’ to make one long sentence.)