Good Paragraph Writing
Paragraph Structure
1. Topic Sentence
2. Supporting Sentences (3 to 5)
3. Concluding / Transitional Sentence
The topic sentence has one main idea.
When writing your topic sentence, ask
yourself, “What do I want my readers to
know?”
If you are trying to say too much in the
topic sentence, consider splitting off part
of it into a new paragraph.
The supporting sentences give:
1. information about the topic
2. examples that make the main idea clear
3. reasoning that strengthens the purpose
The concluding sentence can:
summarize the paragraph, and/or
provide a transition to the next paragraph.
Warning!
When summarizing, don’t simply repeat the
topic. This can lead to boring pieces of writing.
If you can’t think of a meaningful way to
summarize the paragraph, just make sure that
your last sentence provides a good transition
to the next paragraph.
As a busy college student, my mobile phone is
indispensable to my everyday life. I consider it vital for
keeping in touch with my friends and family; moreover, I
use it in various ways for schoolwork. Unless I’m sleeping
in on a Saturday morning, I always use my phone as my
alarm clock. I would be totally lost without it!
Good paragraph structure is only the beginning
of writing an excellent paragraph.
The Elements of Good Writing
1. Purpose
2. Unity
3. Coherence
4. Clarity
5. Completeness
Purpose
Since the topic sentence contains the central
idea of the paragraph, it plays a big part in
revealing the purpose of the paragraph.
The supporting sentences shed further light
on the purpose, making it completely clear.
Purpose: Audience
Whenever you do any type of writing, ask
yourself, “Who are my readers?”
Your readers are your “target audience”. You
are writing for them.
Audience
Your audience will determine what pieces of
information you include in your writing, your
choice of vocabulary, writing style (formal vs.
informal), etc.
Unity
(see page 35 of the textbook)
Every sentence in a paragraph must support
the main idea of the topic sentence.
Purpose and Unity are closely tied together.
When every sentence is focused on the
purpose, the paragraph is unified.
Coherence
(see page 66 and 77 of the textbook)
Coherence = Connection / Logical Consistency
Sentences need to connect together smoothly
in order to make your writing understandable.
Coherence
Unity is important, but coherence is also
necessary to create a flow to your sentences
so they work together for a feeling of
wholeness.
How can you achieve coherence?
Coherence
1. Order your thoughts
(Chronological, Logical, etc.)
2. Use good transition words.
3. Be consistent with verb tenses.
4. Provide consistent point of view.
whose eyes are we seeing the writing?)
(Through
Clarity
Clear sentences are understandable.
Good grammar, spelling, and punctuation go a
long way toward providing clarity.
For example, mastering parallelism – especially
with verb tenses – greatly increases clarity.
Clarity
Choose clear, precise, and vivid1 words.
1
Vivid – producing powerful feelings or strong, clear images in
the mind.
He ran home to see what had happened.
He ran home as fast as he could to see what
had happened.
He sprinted home to see what had happened.
In addition to a good dictionary, you should
own a thesaurus.
A thesaurus can be thought of as a word
finder or synonym dictionary.
It provides a treasure of words right at your
fingertips.
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Author: Barbara Ann Kipfer
If you can’t find (or afford) a thesaurus in book
form, consider using a free online thesaurus.
Type “online thesaurus” into a search engine to find
some possible web sites.
thesaurus.com
thesaurus.net
freethesaurus.net
Completeness
A complete paragraph is well-developed. It has
neither too little information nor too much.
Counting the number of sentences provides
only a rough estimate of completeness.
The important point is whether the ideas
adequately support the topic sentence.
The 5 Elements of Good Writing
Purpose:
Unity:
What is my main point? Who is my audience?
Do all of my sentences support the topic sentence?
Coherence:
Are my ideas logically organized with smooth
transitions? Am I consistent with verb tenses and point of view?
Clarity:
Do I use clear, precise, and vivid words? Do I use good
grammar, especially parallelism?
Completeness:
Do I use the right amount of information?