Paragraphs and Topic Sentences
A paragraph is a series of sentences that are organized and coherent,
and are all related to a single topic. Almost every piece of writing
you do that is longer than a few sentences should be organized into
paragraphs. This is because paragraphs show a reader where the
subdivisions of an essay begin and end, and thus help the reader see
the organization of the essay and grasp its main points.
Paragraphs can contain many different kinds of information. A
paragraph could contain a series of brief examples or a single long
illustration of a general point. It might describe a place, character,
or process; narrate a series of events; compare or contrast two or
more things; classify items into categories; or describe causes and
effects. Regardless of the kind of information they contain, all
paragraphs share certain characteristics. One of the most important of
these is a topic sentence.
TOPIC SENTENCES
A well-organized paragraph supports or develops a single controlling
idea, which is expressed in a sentence called the topic sentence. A
topic sentence has several important functions: it substantiates or
supports an essay’s thesis statement; it unifies the content of a
paragraph and directs the order of the sentences; and it advises the
reader of the subject to be discussed and how the paragraph will
discuss it. Readers generally look to the first few sentences in a
paragraph to determine the subject and perspective of the paragraph.
That’s why it’s often best to put the topic sentence at the very
beginning of the paragraph. In some cases, however, it’s more
effective to place another sentence before the topic sentence—for
example, a sentence linking the current paragraph to the previous one,
or one providing background information.
Although most paragraphs should have a topic sentence, there are a few
situations when a paragraph might not need a topic sentence. For
example, you might be able to omit a topic sentence in a paragraph
that narrates a series of events, if a paragraph continues developing
an idea that you introduced (with a topic sentence) in the previous
paragraph, or if all the sentences and details in a paragraph clearly
refer—perhaps indirectly—to a main point. The vast majority of your
paragraphs, however, should have a topic sentence.
PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE
Most paragraphs in an essay have a three-part structure—introduction,
body, and conclusion. You can see this structure in paragraphs whether
they are narrating, describing, comparing, contrasting, or analyzing
information. Each part of the paragraph plays an important role in
communicating your meaning to your reader.
Introduction: the first section of a paragraph; should include the
topic sentence and any other sentences at the beginning of the
paragraph that give background information or provide a transition.
Body: follows the introduction; discusses the controlling idea, using
facts, arguments, analysis, examples, and other information.
Conclusion: the final section; summarizes the connections between the
information discussed in the body of the paragraph and the paragraph’s
controlling idea.
The following paragraph illustrates this pattern of organization. In
this paragraph the topic sentence and concluding sentence
(CAPITALIZED) both help the reader keep the paragraph’s main point in
mind.
SCIENTISTS HAVE LEARNED TO SUPPLEMENT THE SENSE OF SIGHT IN
NUMEROUS WAYS. In front of the tiny pupil of the eye they put, on
Mount Palomar, a great monocle 200 inches in diameter, and with it see
2000 times farther into the depths of space. Or they look through a
small pair of lenses arranged as a microscope into a drop of water or
blood, and magnify by as much as 2000 diameters the living creatures
there, many of which are among man’s most dangerous enemies. Or, if we
want to see distant happenings on earth, they use some of the
previously wasted electromagnetic waves to carry television images
which they re-create as light by whipping tiny crystals on a screen
with electrons in a vacuum. Or they can bring happenings of long ago
and far away as colored motion pictures, by arranging silver atoms and
color-absorbing molecules to force light waves into the patterns of
original reality. Or if we want to see into the center of a steel
casting or the chest of an injured child, they send the information on
a beam of penetrating short-wave X rays, and then convert it back into
images we can see on a screen or photograph. THUS ALMOST EVERY TYPE OF
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION YET DISCOVERED HAS BEEN USED TO EXTEND OUR
SENSE OF SIGHT IN SOME WAY.
George Harrison, “Faith and the Scientist”
COHERENCE
In a coherent paragraph, each sentence relates clearly to the topic
sentence or controlling idea, but there is more to coherence than
this. If a paragraph is coherent, each sentence flows smoothly into
the next without obvious shifts or jumps. A coherent paragraph also
highlights the ties between old information and new information to
make the structure of ideas or arguments clear to the reader.
Along with the smooth flow of sentences, a paragraph’s coherence may
also be related to its length. If you have written a very long
paragraph, one that fills a double-spaced typed page, for example, you
should check it carefully to see if it should start a new paragraph
where the original paragraph wanders from its controlling idea. On the
other hand, if a paragraph is very short (only one or two sentences,
perhaps), you may need to develop its controlling idea more
thoroughly, or combine it with another paragraph.
A number of other techniques that you can use to establish coherence
in paragraphs are described below.
Repeat key words or phrases. Particularly in paragraphs in which you
define or identify an important idea or theory, be consistent in how
you refer to it. This consistency and repetition will bind the
paragraph together and help your reader understand your definition or
description.
Create parallel structures. Parallel structures are created by
constructing two or more phrases or sentences that have the same
grammatical structure and use the same parts of speech. By creating
parallel structures you make your sentences clearer and easier to
read. In addition, repeating a pattern in a series of consecutive
sentences helps your reader see the connections between ideas. In the
paragraph above about scientists and the sense of sight, several
sentences in the body of the paragraph have been constructed in a
parallel way. The parallel structures (which have been emphasized)
help the reader see that the paragraph is organized as a set of
examples of a general statement.
Be consistent in point of view, verb tense, and number. Consistency in
point of view, verb tense, and number is a subtle but important aspect
of coherence. If you shift from the more personal "you" to the
impersonal “one,” from past to present tense, or from “a man” to
“they,” for example, you make your paragraph less coherent. Such
inconsistencies can also confuse your reader and make your argument
more difficult to follow.
Use transition words or phrases between sentences and between
paragraphs. Transitional expressions emphasize the relationships
between ideas, so they help readers follow your train of thought or
see connections that they might otherwise miss or misunderstand. The
following paragraph shows how carefully chosen transitions
(CAPITALIZED) lead the reader smoothly from the introduction to the
conclusion of the paragraph.
I don’t wish to deny that the flattened, minuscule head of the
large-bodied "stegosaurus" houses little brain from our subjective,
top-heavy perspective, BUT I do wish to assert that we should not
expect more of the beast. FIRST OF ALL, large animals have relatively
smaller brains than related, small animals. The correlation of brain
size with body size among kindred animals (all reptiles, all mammals,
FOR EXAMPLE) is remarkably regular. AS we move from small to large
animals, from mice to elephants or small lizards to Komodo dragons,
brain size increases, BUT not so fast as body size. IN OTHER WORDS,
bodies grow faster than brains, AND large animals have low ratios of
brain weight to body weight. IN FACT, brains grow only about
two-thirds as fast as bodies. SINCE we have no reason to believe that
large animals are consistently stupider than their smaller relatives,
we must conclude that large animals require relatively less brain to
do as well as smaller animals. IF we do not recognize this
relationship, we are likely to underestimate the mental power of very
large animals, dinosaurs in particular.
Stephen Jay Gould, “Were Dinosaurs Dumb?”
A paragraph is a series of sentences that are organized and coherent,
and are all related to a single topic. Almost every piece of writing
you do that is longer than a few sentences should be organized into
paragraphs. This is because paragraphs show a reader where the
subdivisions of an essay begin and end, and thus help the reader see
the organization of the essay and grasp its main points.
Paragraphs can contain many different kinds of information. A
paragraph could contain a series of brief examples or a single long
illustration of a general point. It might describe a place, character,
or process; narrate a series of events; compare or contrast two or
more things; classify items into categories; or describe causes and
effects. Regardless of the kind of information they contain, all
paragraphs share certain characteristics. One of the most important of
these is a topic sentence.
TOPIC SENTENCES
A well-organized paragraph supports or develops a single controlling
idea, which is expressed in a sentence called the topic sentence. A
topic sentence has several important functions: it substantiates or
supports an essay’s thesis statement; it unifies the content of a
paragraph and directs the order of the sentences; and it advises the
reader of the subject to be discussed and how the paragraph will
discuss it. Readers generally look to the first few sentences in a
paragraph to determine the subject and perspective of the paragraph.
That’s why it’s often best to put the topic sentence at the very
beginning of the paragraph. In some cases, however, it’s more
effective to place another sentence before the topic sentence—for
example, a sentence linking the current paragraph to the previous one,
or one providing background information.
Although most paragraphs should have a topic sentence, there are a few
situations when a paragraph might not need a topic sentence. For
example, you might be able to omit a topic sentence in a paragraph
that narrates a series of events, if a paragraph continues developing
an idea that you introduced (with a topic sentence) in the previous
paragraph, or if all the sentences and details in a paragraph clearly
refer—perhaps indirectly—to a main point. The vast majority of your
paragraphs, however, should have a topic sentence.
PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE
Most paragraphs in an essay have a three-part structure—introduction,
body, and conclusion. You can see this structure in paragraphs whether
they are narrating, describing, comparing, contrasting, or analyzing
information. Each part of the paragraph plays an important role in
communicating your meaning to your reader.
Introduction: the first section of a paragraph; should include the
topic sentence and any other sentences at the beginning of the
paragraph that give background information or provide a transition.
Body: follows the introduction; discusses the controlling idea, using
facts, arguments, analysis, examples, and other information.
Conclusion: the final section; summarizes the connections between the
information discussed in the body of the paragraph and the paragraph’s
controlling idea.
The following paragraph illustrates this pattern of organization. In
this paragraph the topic sentence and concluding sentence
(CAPITALIZED) both help the reader keep the paragraph’s main point in
mind.
SCIENTISTS HAVE LEARNED TO SUPPLEMENT THE SENSE OF SIGHT IN
NUMEROUS WAYS. In front of the tiny pupil of the eye they put, on
Mount Palomar, a great monocle 200 inches in diameter, and with it see
2000 times farther into the depths of space. Or they look through a
small pair of lenses arranged as a microscope into a drop of water or
blood, and magnify by as much as 2000 diameters the living creatures
there, many of which are among man’s most dangerous enemies. Or, if we
want to see distant happenings on earth, they use some of the
previously wasted electromagnetic waves to carry television images
which they re-create as light by whipping tiny crystals on a screen
with electrons in a vacuum. Or they can bring happenings of long ago
and far away as colored motion pictures, by arranging silver atoms and
color-absorbing molecules to force light waves into the patterns of
original reality. Or if we want to see into the center of a steel
casting or the chest of an injured child, they send the information on
a beam of penetrating short-wave X rays, and then convert it back into
images we can see on a screen or photograph. THUS ALMOST EVERY TYPE OF
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION YET DISCOVERED HAS BEEN USED TO EXTEND OUR
SENSE OF SIGHT IN SOME WAY.
George Harrison, “Faith and the Scientist”
COHERENCE
In a coherent paragraph, each sentence relates clearly to the topic
sentence or controlling idea, but there is more to coherence than
this. If a paragraph is coherent, each sentence flows smoothly into
the next without obvious shifts or jumps. A coherent paragraph also
highlights the ties between old information and new information to
make the structure of ideas or arguments clear to the reader.
Along with the smooth flow of sentences, a paragraph’s coherence may
also be related to its length. If you have written a very long
paragraph, one that fills a double-spaced typed page, for example, you
should check it carefully to see if it should start a new paragraph
where the original paragraph wanders from its controlling idea. On the
other hand, if a paragraph is very short (only one or two sentences,
perhaps), you may need to develop its controlling idea more
thoroughly, or combine it with another paragraph.
A number of other techniques that you can use to establish coherence
in paragraphs are described below.
Repeat key words or phrases. Particularly in paragraphs in which you
define or identify an important idea or theory, be consistent in how
you refer to it. This consistency and repetition will bind the
paragraph together and help your reader understand your definition or
description.
Create parallel structures. Parallel structures are created by
constructing two or more phrases or sentences that have the same
grammatical structure and use the same parts of speech. By creating
parallel structures you make your sentences clearer and easier to
read. In addition, repeating a pattern in a series of consecutive
sentences helps your reader see the connections between ideas. In the
paragraph above about scientists and the sense of sight, several
sentences in the body of the paragraph have been constructed in a
parallel way. The parallel structures (which have been emphasized)
help the reader see that the paragraph is organized as a set of
examples of a general statement.
Be consistent in point of view, verb tense, and number. Consistency in
point of view, verb tense, and number is a subtle but important aspect
of coherence. If you shift from the more personal "you" to the
impersonal “one,” from past to present tense, or from “a man” to
“they,” for example, you make your paragraph less coherent. Such
inconsistencies can also confuse your reader and make your argument
more difficult to follow.
Use transition words or phrases between sentences and between
paragraphs. Transitional expressions emphasize the relationships
between ideas, so they help readers follow your train of thought or
see connections that they might otherwise miss or misunderstand. The
following paragraph shows how carefully chosen transitions
(CAPITALIZED) lead the reader smoothly from the introduction to the
conclusion of the paragraph.
I don’t wish to deny that the flattened, minuscule head of the
large-bodied "stegosaurus" houses little brain from our subjective,
top-heavy perspective, BUT I do wish to assert that we should not
expect more of the beast. FIRST OF ALL, large animals have relatively
smaller brains than related, small animals. The correlation of brain
size with body size among kindred animals (all reptiles, all mammals,
FOR EXAMPLE) is remarkably regular. AS we move from small to large
animals, from mice to elephants or small lizards to Komodo dragons,
brain size increases, BUT not so fast as body size. IN OTHER WORDS,
bodies grow faster than brains, AND large animals have low ratios of
brain weight to body weight. IN FACT, brains grow only about
two-thirds as fast as bodies. SINCE we have no reason to believe that
large animals are consistently stupider than their smaller relatives,
we must conclude that large animals require relatively less brain to
do as well as smaller animals. IF we do not recognize this
relationship, we are likely to underestimate the mental power of very
large animals, dinosaurs in particular.
Stephen Jay Gould, “Were Dinosaurs Dumb?”
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