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Table of Contents WHAT IS A PARAGRAPH? .....................................................................................................................................2 TYPES OF PARAGRAPHS IN A BASIC ESSAY...............................................................................................2 INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPHS................................................................................................................................... 2 BODY PARAGRAPHS.................................................................................................................................................... 3 TRANSITIONAL PARAGRAPHS.................................................................................................................................... 4 CONCLUDING PARAGRAPHS...................................................................................................................................... 5 WRITING EFFECTIVE PARAGRAPHS .............................................................................................................5 UNITY............................................................................................................................................................................ 5 DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................................................................................................ 7 Developing paragraphs with the right level of detail ...................................................................................... 7 Developing paragraphs with the right kind of detail....................................................................................... 8 Developing paragraphs with the right pattern of development.....................................................................9 Narration........................................................................................................................................................... 10 Description........................................................................................................................................................ 11 Process .............................................................................................................................................................. 11 Exemplification ................................................................................................................................................. 11 Comparison/Contrast........................................................................................................................................ 12 Definition .......................................................................................................................................................... 12 Cause and Effect ............................................................................................................................................... 12 PARAGRAPH LENGTH................................................................................................................................................ 13 COHERENCE............................................................................................................................................................... 13 Using an ordering principle to achieve coherence......................................................................................... 13 Using pronouns to achieve coherence............................................................................................................. 14 Using transitional words and phrases to achieve coherence........................................................................ 14 Using repetition to achieve coherence.............................................................................................................15 REFERENCES.............................................................................................................................................................. 16 Writing Effective Paragraphs What is a paragraph? A paragraph is much more than a collection of connected sentences. It is a building block of essay development, and paragraphs provide the structure needed to develop the thesis of a paper. In fact, a useful way to think about a paragraph is as a “mini-essay,” or an essay within an essay, with its own mini-thesis (the topic sentence), middle or body (the supporting details) and end or conclusion (the concluding sentence). To understand how paragraphs help to develop a thesis, think of them as landmarks on a map. With each paragraph, you describe where you are standing and point the direction for your readers to make sure they complete the journey to your conclusion. A vague signpost or a detour down a side trail could well have your readers lost and wondering where you are taking them. Clear signals, on the other hand, in the form of clearly worded topic sentences, relevant support, reasonable interpretations of material, and logical conclusions will help your readers follow the development of your ideas. Types of paragraphs in a basic essay In an essay, there are four types of paragraphs—introductory, body, transitional and concluding—and each serves a slightly different function in the paper. In the simplest terms, introductory paragraphs introduce your thesis, body paragraphs develop it, transitional paragraphs move your readers from one aspect of it to another, and concluding paragraphs sum up the development of the thesis and restate it. Thus, while all four types support the thesis, they support it in different ways. Introductory paragraphs An introductory paragraph supports the thesis in three ways. First, it engages readers’ interest with a strong opening sentence. Some writing texts advise using a quotation or an anecdote to capture readers’ attention, and this can work well. Whatever kind of opening you use, however, it should be relevant to your subject and move your readers quickly and smoothly toward your thesis. An introductory paragraph also supports the thesis by giving relevant background information and context, such as important facts or theory. For example, if you were writing an introduction to a paper about Napoleon’s loss at Waterloo, before presenting your thesis statement, you might offer a sentence or two about the ongoing hostilities that led up to the final battle. This sketch of important background should be accomplished quickly with just enough information to help your readers understand why your subject and thesis are important. material on the financial causes of defeat and suggested that she will go on to discuss military causes. Without a transitional paragraph, this shift might have seemed abrupt or confusing to readers. Concluding Paragraphs Some students think that the purpose of a conclusion is to restate the thesis and this is partly true. The conclusion should reassert the core idea of your paper, but it should also clearly flow from the material you have carefully developed in your body paragraphs and thus, it should be more than a mechanical restatement of your thesis. Rather, an effective concluding paragraph should reinforce the central idea of your paper and leave your readers satisfied that you have made your case. One way to ensure that you have written an effective conclusion is to ask, “Does it strengthen the main message of my paper?” If it draws conclusions from the points you have made in your paper or suggests the implications of them, chances are your conclusion is fully developed. For example, in our essay on Napoleon, a writer might summarize the financial and military reasons for his defeat at Waterloo, restate the thesis that Napoleon’s defeat was the result of errors in financial and military judgment, and then suggest that his defeat decided the fate of modern Europe. This sums up the material from the body and suggests the larger importance of the thesis to the reader. Click here for a sample of a concluding paragraph Click here for editing tips for concluding paragraphs Writing effective paragraphs In general, in order for a paragraph to be effective, it must have three characteristics: unity, development and coherence. Unity The first characteristic of an effective paragraph is unity, which means that all sentences in the paragraph explain, develop, and support a central idea in some way. In other words, every paragraph must have a purpose within your paper, and all the sentences must somehow advance that purpose. This means that ALL sentences—topic sentence, supporting ones, and concluding sentence—must be more than loosely related to the sub- topic. They must all advance the paragraph’s purpose as well as the thesis. Why should you aim for a unified paragraph? Because in a dis-unified one, a writer’s purpose and the connections between the sentences can be unclear, as in this one: (1)Firstly, the Olympic Games provide an outlet for competition. (2) Friendly competition among many countries occurs around the world. (3) Regardless of each country’s financial situation, the competition is in the field of sports and not in politics. (4)It provides to people who have trained very hard a form or basis of comparison to others around the world, giving these competitors the opportunity to find out if they are the very best. (5)Also, along with providing an outlet for competition the Olympic Games creates a sense of nationalism. (6) Nationalist pride is always a component of the Olympics, each country having its representatives. (6) The Olympics unifies a country, giving its citizens something in common-- a victory-- that brings them together. (7) For example, the acquisition of a gold medal or a number of gold medals can be a source of national pride. (Adapted from a student paper, used with permission.) Here, the topic sentence is about how the Olympic Games provide an outlet for competition, and in sentences (2), (3) and (4) the writer sticks to that idea. However, in sentence (5), she shifts focus to how the Olympic Games create a sense of nationalism. It’s possible that this second idea is connected to the key concept in the topic sentence, but the writer doesn’t make that connection, and as a result, the paragraph ends weakly with an example supporting the shift in topic. The writer never makes her point about how the Games provide a competitive outlet. To achieve unity, begin with a clear topic sentence. This doesn’t mean that it has to appear at the beginning of the paragraph, although a topic sentence usually does in academic writing. What is important however, is that the main idea or purpose, stated in the topic sentence, sets the agenda for the rest of the paragraph. Because the topic sentence provides the unifying idea, this sentence must be clear, concise and make a point about your thesis. You can think of it this way: a good topic sentence provides the bones of a paragraph that support the skin and muscle of all the sentences that follow. Once you know what point you want to introduce in your topic sentence, you can create a unified paragraph by making sure that all the rest of the sentences are clearly related to the first one. For example, a paragraph might begin like this: “In the second chapter of the “Mountain People,” Turnbull (1972) uses an informal, colloquial writing style to involve his readers in the lives of the Ik people of Africa.” In this paragraph, to maintain unity, the remaining sentences should all relate to the central concepts in the topic sentence: Turnbull’s informal writing style and/or how that style involves his readers. A sentence that mentions the informal writing style of another author would be a digression and would destroy the unity of the paragraph. Thus, unity is created when the topic sentence makes a promise to readers, and all the other sentences fulfill that promise. One way to ensure that your paragraphs have unity is to underline the subject of each supporting sentence to see if it points back to the key concepts in the topic sentence. In the topic sentence about the “Mountain People,” for example, you might have sentences that begin, “Turnbull’s word choice is more informal…..” or “The author’s level of language…” In each case, the subject noun group relates to one of the main concepts in the topic sentence. If all of your sentence subjects develop one of the key concepts, chances are that you have a unified paragraph. If they don’t, you have probably digressed from your original purpose and must recast some sentences to get back on track. Click here for a sample of a unified paragraph Click here for editing tips for unified paragraphs Development Effective paragraphs are not only unified, they are fully developed, which means that they don’t leave any significant questions in readers’ minds. If you were drawing a map to show a fellow traveler how to get from a mountain pass to a source of water, you would be careful to draw a line that followed the trail down the mountain, along the valley to a spot where there was a lake. You wouldn’t stop the line halfway down the mountain, hoping that those who used your map would be able to figure out the rest of the way for themselves. Similarly, when you are writing a paragraph, you must be sure to trace the full development of your ideas for readers so they will understand the assumptions, evidence and reasoning you used. There are three ways to ensure that your paragraphs are fully developed: by providing the right level of supporting detail, choosing the right kind of evidence and choosing the right pattern of development for your purpose. Developing paragraphs with the right level of detail To fully develop the sub-topic of the essay’s main idea in a paragraph, you must provide your readers with details. It is not enough to make assertions. Your readers must understand fully how you reached your conclusion. What leads you to the conclusion you make in the paragraph? What texts and ideas do you refer to that influenced your thinking? What reasoning do you use? To make sure you’ve provided the right level of detail, try using the 5Ws to imagine what questions an informed reader might ask. Does your paragraph give enough detail to answer important what and when questions? Does it paragraphs (described below), narrative uses transitions of time and space; like descriptive paragraphs, this pattern can use sensory words to develop ideas and be structured with the topic sentence near or at the end of the paragraph. The unique feature of this type of development is that it tells a story. Although we were close, Samantha managed to hide her problem throughout Grade 11. I remember her saying that she had to watch what she ate to maintain her figure, but that wasn’t unusual; almost everyone we knew was constantly on a diet, so when she’d bring only a piece of lettuce and a slice of tomato for lunch, I didn’t think anything of it. I didn’t find it unusual either that she spent a lot of time in the girl’s washroom that year. Like any good friend, I accepted her explanation that she had picked up a flu that she couldn’t shake. It wasn’t until the beginning of Grade 12 that I began to suspect that something more serious might be wrong. I noticed that she looked more gaunt each week, and she complained of feeling weak and tired all the time. Even more disturbing, though, was the way she made excuses not to walk home with Kath and me. Eventually, she even stopped meeting us for lunch at Wu’s Cafe. At first, I thought maybe she was on something, but when I stole peeks into her locker and her big saddle-bag purse, I never saw anything suspicious. Then, one day, we were in the girl’s room, repairing our lipstick and I asked her, straight out what the problem was. She leaned on the sink with both hands, and hung her head, until her blonde hair shielded her face, and in a shaky voice she told all: the uncontrollable urges to eat anything, and the vomiting that always followed. With that simple statement, the wall of secrets Samantha had built between us over last year collapsed and once again, we were friends. (adapted from a student essay with permission.) Even though this paragraph does not start with a formal topic sentence, it is not difficult to find the theme—it’s in the last sentence, which is a common pattern in narration. Notice, too, how events are organized according to time. The first sentence establishes the time frame of the story (during Grade 11), and traces some of the events during that year with use of past tense (we were close; everyone we knew, etc.) Then, the rest of the paragraph details events in chronological order. Transitions of time (eventually, then, as soon as) and sensory words (gaunt, blonde, shaky) help readers follow and visualize the events that form the backbone of this story. Description- A descriptive pattern is characterized by vivid sensory description. It uses sense words (e.g., bitter, light, bright, pungent, loud) vivid action verbs, (e.g., dive, drip, rip) and transitions of space (e.g. here, there, to the left, up) to give sense impressions of a scene. This pattern is useful when you want to create a dominant sensory impression. In most academic work, you should use this arrangement with caution: many academic papers call for analysis and synthesis, and although description can contribute to that type of development, use it sparingly to make room for more analytical paragraphs. Note that some instructors do not use the word description in this specialized way but in a more general sense to mean “paraphrase” or “define.” Thus, whenever your instructor asks you to “describe” or use description in your essay, it’s a good idea to check to see what she means by description. Click here for samples of descriptive paragraphs Process- A process arrangement is usually used to explain a process or how to do something. It uses transitions of enumeration (e.g., first, second, third) and/or time (e.g., then, next, finally) and is the right pattern of development when your purpose is to help your readers understand the steps in a process or procedure or to give instructions. For full development, a process paragraph relies on clear communication of the instruction or steps to your readers. Click here for a sample of a process paragraph Exemplification- This pattern uses examples (or one longer, extended example) to support the topic sentence and is useful when your most convincing support is a number of pertinent examples. With this pattern, you provide proof of a more general statement (the topic sentence) with the weight of the specific instances (supporting details). Click here for a sample of a paragraph developed by exemplification Comparison/Contrast- This pattern of development is useful when you want to help readers understand a concept by pointing out similarities and differences between it and another concept. The comparison is usually developed either by analyzing all features of one concept and then comparing them to the features of the other (a block comparison method) or by analyzing each point of comparison (a point-by-point method). Keep in mind that the comparison is simply a means to an end and that the conclusion of the paragraph should be drawn from your comparison. Click here for a sample of a comparison/contrast paragraph Definition- A paragraph of definition aims to give a complete, working definition of a term, concept or idea in your paper. One of the central features of this pattern is that it tells both what the term is and what it isn’t, that is, it defines the boundaries of a term so your readers can better understand it. This pattern is useful when you are introducing new or specialized terms to your readers, or when you need to define a key concept in your thesis. For example, if you were writing a paper to explain the role that propaganda played in the Nazi takeover of Germany, you might begin by defining the key features of propaganda as they relate to the thesis of the paper. Some rhetoreticians, such as Winifred Horner (1988), suggest a classical approach to defining terms. In this approach, the term is named and the class to which it belongs is determined. Then, the differences between the term and others in its class are named. Thus, if you were defining propaganda, you might place it in the larger class of communicative acts, which would include advertisements, reports, and magazine articles and then try to determine what differentiates propaganda from these other types of communication. Through this analysis, you could come up with an “essential definition” (Horner, 1988, p.80) of the term that might look like this: propaganda is mass communication that deceives or distorts truth to further political goals. Click here for a sample of a paragraph developed by definition Cause and Effect- Cause and effect paragraphs analyze the causes or the effects of something or the relationship between both. If you want to explain the “why” of something—a process, an event, a concept—then this is a useful pattern. In this pattern, transitions of logic (e.g., thus, therefore, consequently, as a result) and words and phrases of cause and effect (e.g., because, for the reason that, given that, in effect) feature prominently. Be careful, however, when you make statements about cause and effect. If there is more than one cause to a particular effect, be sure not to restrict your analysis or explanation. On the other hand, if there is more than one effect, be sure not to assume they all arose from the same cause. To be sure there is a connection between the causes and effects you are analyzing or explaining, ask questions like “Is this the only thing that could cause this effect?” and “Is this the only possible effect this cause could have?” and “Was this cause sufficient to result in this effect?” (Horner, 1988, p.127). Click here for samples of cause and effect paragraphs sure that there is, in fact, similarity between the two ideas. Remember, too, that transitions can come not only at the beginning of a sentence but also in the middle, as the word “too” does in this sentence. Using repetition to achieve coherence Most developing writers are taught to avoid repetition, and this is good advice to a point. However, judicious repetition of key words and phrases and synonyms throughout a paper can provide your readers with necessary signposts and strengthen the flow of the essay. For example, suppose a key concept in a thesis statement was that of “mythical structures in literature.” Throughout the essay, a writer might use a number of synonyms, such as “myth,” “mythical forms,” “configurations,” or “patterns” to refer to this concept. In addition, the writer might repeat these phrases and the original one, “mythical structures” throughout the paper. The key to using repetition of words and phrases effectively is to keep your readers in mind. If you use too little variation, they will be bored. If you use too many terms, your readers could easily become confused. A good rule of thumb is to use no more than two separate terms or phrases per paragraph. In a short paragraph, that number is usually enough to create variety without creating confusion. Click here for a sample of a coherent paragraph Click here for editing tips to achieve coherent paragraphs References Brundage, D., & Lahey, M. (2004). Acting on words: An integrated reader, rhetoric and handbook. Toronto, ON: Pearson Education Canada. Brundage, D. & Lahey, M. (2007). Acting on words: An integrated rhetoric, reader, and handbook. 2nd Edition, in press. Toronto: Pearson,. Horner, W. B. (1988). Rhetoric in the classical tradition. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press, Inc. Lundsford, A. & Connors, R. (1989). The St. Martin’s handbook. Annotated instructor’s ed. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Messenger, W. E. & De Bruyn, J. (1986). The Canadian writer’s handbook. 2nd Edition. Scarborough, ON: Prentice-Hall Canada, Inc. Written by Linda McCloud-Bondoc Acknowledgements: Thanks to all the students who generously allowed their writing to be used as samples in this resource. Also, many thanks to David Brundage, Adien Dubbelboer, Melanie Klingbeil, Karen Overbye and Tunde Tuzes for their advice and contributions.