English 87
Paragraph Patterns At A Glance
Paragraph patterns are one useful way to think about FOCUSING and ORDERING each of your
specific paragraphs. In other words, once you begin to have a sense of what you want to write about, it
is important to have a plan for the main point of each of your paragraphs. These patterns can help you
to do that. What follows are brief explanations and examples of how to focus and structure paragraphs
in an entire paper using each pattern. Most importantly, often the best way to use these patterns is
to use more than one pattern in a paper when developing a PLAN or OUTLINE for your paper.
For more information, see pages 44-45 and so on in our textbook.
Narrative: Describes a sequence of events and is structured like a story with a beginning, middle, and
end. It is often used in personal writing to make a point about one’s life experiences or real-life
events.
Body
Example Paragraph Plan:
paragraphs are A significant experience-getting a growth mindset
organized by
1. Describe events which caused me to not work hard in
time:
school.
2. Describe events which show how that affected me.
1. First,
3. Describe when I decided to change, and why (what
2. Next,
caused me to change)
3. Then,
4. Describe how I changed over time (effects of wanting to
4. Last
change).
5. Describe events that show how I benefitted from
changing (effects of changing my outlook and habits
over time).
Description: Used to convey an image or impression to the audience. Often occurs within a narrative
(story), but can be used for other writing. The purpose is to describe something using sensory details
(seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, smelling) so readers can visualize it.
Body paragraphs are organized by:
time, space or key details-
Example Paragraph Plan:
Someone explaining their
1. Establish
career they’re interested
setting/location/timeframe
in:
2. Introduce important event or key
detail in terms of time or space
1. Describe work
3. Describe next event or detail, that
environment and
is important
materials used
4. Describe next event or detail, that 2. Describe how tasks are
is important
completed
3. Describe working with co-workers
(see pages 24 and 25)
4. Describe ways person helps others
Illustration: to explain a topic’s key characteristics by providing detailed examples. This pattern is
pretty similar to definition, classification and division, and others!
Body paragraphs are
Example Paragraph Plan:
organized by:
A paper explaining why motivation is
important for learning.
Vivid examples and
evidence of key points about 1. Explain with evidence where motivation
comes from-personal meaning to the
topic, possibly by order of
student
importance or relationship.
2. Explain why student’s approach to learning
1. Key point #1
is going to be more in-depth
2. Key point #2
3. Explain why their approach leads to more learning
3. Key point #3
4. Explain why student will put in more effort and is less likely to
give up.
Definition: defines a term or concept in order to explain it to the audience or prove a point. This
could sometimes look like Classification (see next Pattern).
Body paragraphs are organized Example Paragraph Plan:
by defining key aspects of the
1. Definition of a healthy
term, such as:
lifestyle
1. What it is
2. Explanation of how to
2. What it does/how it works
live a healthy lifestyle
3. What it is not
3. Benefits of a healthy lifestyle
4. What its importance is/how 4. Explanation of an unhealth lifestyle and its negative effects
defining this term helps us 5. Explanation of why its hard for people to live a healthy
understand a problem or
lifestyle
issue better
6. Explanation of ways to help people live healthier
Classification: Inform your reader about your topic by dividing its different parts into groups based
on the unique characteristics of each of these groups.
Body paragraphs are organized by:
Example Paragraph Plan:
1. Category #1
-Characteristics
2. Category #2
-Characteristics
3. Category #3
-Characteristics
4. Category #4
-Characteristics
Perhaps least important to most
important (or opposite), or least
common to most common (or
opposite)
An explanation of the types of stress college students
must deal with, explaining the unique characteristics of
each type of stress (most likely by defining each type
of stress, then describing their causes and effects):
1.
2.
3.
4.
Academic stress
Personal stress
Family stress
Financial stress
Cause and Effect: explains or argues why something happened or will happen, and what the
consequences were or will be.
Body paragraphs can be organized by
Example Paragraph Plan:
defining effects, and then explaining
causes, or by explaining causes of an event 1. Define negative effects of ocean pollution
2. Define first major cause of ocean pollution
or problem first, and then effects.
3. Define second major cause of ocean pollution
and so on.
Example:
4. Ways to stop negative effects of ocean pollution
1. One effect of a problem
and what positive effects would be.
2. Second effect of a problem (and so on)
3. Major cause of problem
4. Another major cause of problem
5. Other factors
Compare and Contrast: defines and analyzes the significance of similarities and differences between
two things to explain something for your audience or make an argument.
Body paragraphs are
Example Paragraph Plan:
organized by
characteristics you want to 1. Discuss how all presidential
candidates for the Democratic
highlight-are similarities
party have many similar views and
or differences important,
policies which are different from
good, or bad?
Republicans’.
1. Similarity of two
Then, identify the candidates’ stances
things
on major issues and why you agree or disagree with them:
2. Difference between
two things, and
2. Foreign policy
positive aspects of
3. Economic policies
difference
4. Immigration policy
3. Another difference
5. Gun control policy
between the two things
6. Sum up who you think the best candidate is compared to the
and negative aspects
others, and why.
of difference.
Process: explains how something occurs or is completed sequentially or in order of importance.
Body Paragraphs Example Paragraph Plan: Completing a
can be organized
research log describing your research
by steps:
process:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
1. First, I looked for general information in
newspaper articles about why ocean
pollution is a problem (defining the problem
and its negative effects).
2. Next, I looked for more articles from published reports about how
pollution gets into the ocean, and from what sources (major causes).
3. Then, I researched scholarly journal articles which helped to prove why
exactly ocean pollution has negative effects on marine life.
4. Finally, I looked for sources that define and argue for possible solutions
to stop the causes and effects of this problem.
Argument: to persuade your reader of your opinion on a debatable problem or issue.
Body paragraphs are
Example Paragraph Plan:
organized by:
An argument against the
1. Establish cause(s) of
death penalty:
problem
2. Establish another cause of 1. Explain why it has come to
problem
exist (cause), and why
3. Establish effect(s) of
some support it (counterproblem
argument).
4. Establish effects(s) of
2. Establish (cause of) problem with the death penalty: cost
problem
3. Establish another (cause of) problem with the death penalty:
5. Explain why those who
ineffective
disagree with you are
4. Argue what should be done to abolish (get rid of) the death
wrong (address counterpenalty (solution).
argument)