Paragraph Development
Sentences added to clarify the meaning of the topic sentence (TS) are called primary support
sentences (PS); sentences added to clarify the meaning of primary support sentences are called
secondary support sentences (SS). The main purpose of SS is to carry on the discussion begun
in the PS. It is these SS that you will probably have to train yourself to include. In these
sentences, you will furnish your readers with additional explanations, reasons, facts, and
statistics. In these sentences, you will also – and this is most important – give your reader specific
examples. Without SS a body paragraph is underdeveloped. Ordinarily you will follow each PS
with at least one SS. Yet, not every PS needs them. As in the case with PS, there is no set number
required. Add SS as they are needed to make your point. Do not add so many SS that the
paragraphs become tedious.
Read paragraphs 1A, 2A, and 3A. At first glance they may look like full paragraphs, but they are
not. They lack depth/development because they have not yet had SS added to them. Notice,
however, that each paragraph is clear, but lack the necessary detail SS provides to help support
topic sentence.
1A
TS Although the whale has been slaughtered for a number of reasons, the major commercial
interest has been its oil. PS A single whale can yield up to twenty tons of it. PS All whale oil is
not alike. PS It is the oil of the sperm whale that is the most sought after.
2A
TS Marvel comics are interesting because the characters and their situations change. PS New
characters are added. PS Also, Marvel characters appear in each other’s books as often as they do
in their own. PS Bad guys and gals become good guys and gals, and visa versa. PS Furthermore,
in Marvel comics the characters mature and age as time passes. PS Even death, the ultimate
character change, is not uncommon in Marvel comics. PS What makes Marvel characters most
realistic, though, are the inconsistencies in their make-ups and unexpected defeats they suffer.
3A
TS Three hundred years ago in London during the plague, the city was not a very sanitary place
to live. PS Londoners, both rich and poor, did not bathe very often. PS The city had no
underground sewer system. PS Heaps of solid refuse were left in the open.
Now read paragraphs 1B, 2B, and 3B. They have been expanded by adding SS. In other words,
they have been developed.
1B
TS Although the whale has been slaughtered for a number of reasons, the major commercial
interest has been its oil. PS A single whale can yield up to twenty tons of it. SS Fifty to eighty
percent of the blubber, ten to seventy percent of the weight in the bones, and two to eight percent
of the meat of the whale is oil. PS All whale oil is not alike. SS The oil of the baleen whale, for
instance, can be found in all plants and animals and is identical to the fats found in the human
body. SS But the oil of toothed whales, such as the sperm whales and dolphins, is not oil at all; it
is a wax. PS It is the oil of the sperm whale that is the most sought after. SS It is far superior to
baleen oil for making wax candles – the finest available. SS Since the 1930’s sperm whale oil has
been used in pressing steel, dressing leather, sizing textiles, and making the finest soap. SS When
combined with sulphur, this oil produces an unequaled lubricant for extremely high-pressure
applications. SS Until recently, sperm whale oil was a common ingredient in automatic
transmission fluid. SS Sperm oil is considered so crucial to the national defense that a large
stockpile is maintained for emergencies.
2B
TS Marvel comics are interesting because the characters and their situations change.
PS New characters are added. SS St. Francis, for example, became a Marvel superhero in 1980.
PS Also, Marvel characters appear in each other’s books as often as they do in their own. SS For
instance, in one issue the Angel and the Iceman appear with the Incredible Hulk, and in another,
Tigra becomes an ally of Spiderman. PS Bad guys and gals become good guys and gals, and vice
versa. SS Tigra, under the evil Kraven’s command, tries to kill Spiderman. SS But then
Spiderman saves her from death, and, released from Kraven’s power, she becomes good and
saves Spiderman from being trampled by a stampeding herd of Kraven’s trained jungle animals.
PS Furthermore, in Marvel comics the characters mature and age as time passes. SS Spiderman
and the Human Torch both graduate from high school and attend college. SS Mr. Fantastic and
the Invisible Girl are married and even have a baby. PS Even death, the ultimate character
change, is not uncommon in Marvel comics. SS The Human Torch’s father dies, and so does Sgt.
Fury’s girlfriend.
3B
TS Three hundred years ago in London during the plague, the city was not a very sanitary place
to live. PS Londoners, both rich and poor, bathed infrequently. SS Most families bought a limited
amount of water daily from water bearers, and there were no private baths. SS Samuel Pepys
wrote in his secret diary that his wife actually dared to wash herself all over at a public hothouse
and that a few days later he bathed also, an unusual event. PS The city had no underground sewer
system. SS Instead of sewers, kennels (open gutters) were used for waste liquids from chamber
posts and wash water. SS The evil-smelling solid refuse were left in the open. SS Solid human
waste, garbage, and other refuse was heaped in the courtyard or dumped in the street to be carried
away by the parish “raker.”