Effective Paragraphs

Chronological Order

time order, writing about events in the order of their occurrence.

Three elements of a strong paragraph:

1. Completness 2. Unity 3. Coherence

Paragraph

A group of related sentences that supports one main idea is called a paragraph.

Supporting Sentences

Supporting sentences are made up of supporting ideas that prove the the topic sentence.

Use of Transitional Signals

Transitional signals are specific words/word groups designed to clarify relationships among ideas. Please note that each transitional signal has a specific usage (to show contrast, addition, conclusion, cause and effect, etc.).

Coherence through Transitions

Transitions help the coherency of paragraphs. All paragraphs must have transitions. A transition is either a word or a group of words used to connect sentences and ideas together. A transition connects two ideas by making the relationship both clear and smooth or fluent.

Repetition of Key Words

Whenever you repeat a key word or another form of a key word, you are reminding your reader that the ideas in the sentences are connected.

Spatial Order

descriptive order, writing about events (persons, objects, places) as they are placed in space. This pattern focuses the reader's attention on one point and then scans in a logical movement: top to bottom, left to right, farther point to a closer point.

Importance Order

emphatic order, focusing on supporting details in order of increasing importance. (Variations include from simplest to most complex, most familiar to least familiar, or least dramatic to most dramatic). Generally, in order of importance, the writer starts with the least important point and ends with the most important point because the reader remembers best the thing which he reads last.

General to Particular Order

order beginning with a topic sentence (general) and following with a number of supporting specific details (particular) that explain or illustrate the general statement. The details tend to be of the same importance.

There are three types of transitions that students use most frequently:

1. Repitition of key words 2. Pronouns 3. Transitional Expressions

Concluding Sentences

A concluding sentence summarizes the information presented in the paragraph or offers an opinion about the main idea

Unity

All paragraphs must have unity—one key, controlling idea. If a paragraph is unified, each sentence within a paragraph (all of the topic sentence's supporting details) must clearly and specifically relate back to and support the topic sentence. Problems in unity are usually because (1) the writer has introduced into the body of the paragraph a new idea that is not covered by the topic sentence or (2) the writer has introduced details that do not specifically support the topic sentence. If a student writer has a problem with unity, the teacher will usually mark the offending sentences as "off-topic."

Coherence

Coherence is a technique used to make writing to flow smoothly and logically, and coherence creates a sense of how ideas go together. Keep in mind that the principle of coherence in paragraphs applies equally to writing an essay. All paragraphs must have coherence. If a paragraph is coherent, each sentence within a paragraph reflects some kind of logical order that is easily discernible to the reader. A paragraphwith coherence shows the reader the relationships among ideas, establishing some kind of clear sequence of ideas. In other words, the reader needs to see how the paragraph holds together—how the sentences relate to each other.

Completeness

A paragraph must include enough information to give the reader a clear picture or a full discussion of its main idea (topic sentence). A paragraph without details or examples is vague and unconvincing. A paragraph that does not have enough information is called incomplete or undeveloped.

Use of Pronoun

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. For example, he is a pronoun that takes the place of the noun patient. A pronoun functions as a transition because it causes the reader to mentally refer back to the noun or antecedent that the pronoun is replacing, thus connecting the ideas. However, the writer should be careful not to overuse pronouns.

Topic Sentence

The topic sentence for this class should be the FIRST sentence of the paragraph. • The topic sentence should be stated in ONE sentence only. • The topic sentence should encompass (cover) all of the supporting details in the paragraph. • The topic sentence of a body paragraph in a multi-paragraph paper (essay) should refer back to the thesis. • The topic sentence of a body paragraph in a multi-paragraph paper should provide a transition to connect it to the previous paragraph.