Writing Paragraphs excerpted and occasionally paraphrased from “A Writer’s Reference, 6th ed.” By Diana Hacker (Bedford St. Martins, 2009, pp 24‐34) Paragraphs are clusters of information supporting an essay’s main point. Aim for paragraphs that are clearly focused, well developed, organized, coherent, and neither too long nor too short for easy reading. Focus on a main point Make your main point in a topic sentence. Most of the time, the topic sentence is the first sentence in a paragraph. Having stated your topic, stick to it. Sentences that do not support the topic sentence destroy the unity of a paragraph. A sentence that does not relate directly and specifically to your point should be deleted or moved to another paragraph. As readers move from the topic sentence into the body of the paragraph, they expect to encounter specific facts, details, or examples that support the topic sentence directly. A sentence that does not support the topic sentence must support a sentence that does. Writers often wander into uncharted territory because they cannot think of enough evidence to support a topic sentence. They move on to new ideas for which they have not prepared the reader. Instead, the writer must make a choice: find evidence to support the original topic sentence, or adjust the topic sentence to reflect the evidence available in the ideas presented. Develop the main point A short paragraph is fine, particularly if it serves as a transition or emphasizes a point, but a series of short paragraphs suggests inadequate development. “Development” is the evidence you present to support your topic sentence. If you need to, draft your evidence ideas as bullet points. If they are all clearly supportive of your topic sentence, then … Choose a suitable pattern of organization The following list of “forms” will help you understand how we think as we try to present ideas. One way to become better acquainted with forms and paragraph development is to spend some time reading works similar to the one you are trying to write. If you are writing a report for work, is there a well‐
regarded report on a similar topic? How are those ideas presented? If you are writing for a newsletter, are there articles from other newsletters grab (and keep!) your attention? Common forms that develop ideas in paragraphs are: 
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Examples and illustrations Narration Description Process Compare/Contrast 
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Analogy Cause and effect Classification and division Definition Make paragraphs coherent When sentences and paragraphs flow from one to another without discernible bumps, gaps or shifts, they are said to be coherent. Coherence can be improved by strengthening the various ties between old information and new. 
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Link ideas clearly by ensuring that all your paragraph’s sentences are on‐topic. Repeat key words to keep the reader’s attention. You can use variations on a key word, but be sure that the variation can’t be interpreted as a new idea Use parallel structures to express a similarity of ideas. Lists benefit greatly from parallel structures. In fact, if you cannot express list items in a parallel structure, perhaps the items are not as similar as you think they are. Maintain consistency in point of view (first, second, third person) and verb tense Provide transitions between ideas. Transitions between topic sentences (the first sentence of a new paragraph linked with the first sentence of the previous paragraph) signal global connections. Pay attention to paragraph length. Readers tend to be comfortable with paragraph lengths between 100 and 200 words, depending on the complexity of the material. Pay attention to sentence length. Long sentences often obscure your point. Read a long sentence aloud. If, by the time you reach the end of the sentence, you cannot remember how it began (or why!), the sentence is too long. It needs to be restructured in some way: eliminate repeated words; divide the sentence into two or more stronger, shorter sentences; present information as a bulleted or numbered list. What you do with the too‐long sentence depends entirely on what you are trying to say.