The Art of Paragraphing

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CHAPTER FOUR

THE ART OF PARAGRAPHING

PARAGRAPHING

This is the act of arranging ideas in an essay or letter in a way that makes meaninclear. Usually ideas in any piece of writing are arranged serially, sequentially oorderly; so that each idea is contained in its own paragraph. The use of paragraph

helps one reader to follow ones argument and also make sure that the writer ha planned what to write by grouping ideas under related points and ensuring thathose points follow on logically. Where an essay is one concentrated piece, it will

be difficult for the reader to follow the trend of the writers thought.

WHAT THEN IS A PARAGRAPH?

A paragraph is a group or collections of sentences dealing with common issue. Iis a basic unit through which a writer presents his main ideas. The main idea in a

paragraph is usually contained in the topic sentence while other sentencescontained in the paragraph go to elucidate it. Immediately an idea is exhausted i

one paragraph, another one should be started. However, if the idea is notexhausted, an appropriate connective or transitional marker should be used textend the idea into another paragraph.

It is important to note that each paragraph in an essay has different functions, butthey all add information, explanation, and illustration to the central theme until thetheme is fully developed.

The paragraph usually has a beginning, middle and end. Sometimes, the topicsentence is placed at the initial position while at other times, it occupies either the

end or middle position. A paragraph which has its topic sentence at the initial position has an inductive pattern of arrangement. On the other hand, the paragraphthat has its topic sentence at the end position employs a deductive approach.

LENGTH OF A PARAGRAPH

Although it is believed that length or appearance is not a factor in determininwhether a section in a paper is a paragraph or not, it is proper that a paragrapshould contain minimum of five sentences. This is because when a paragraph itoo short, it hinders the comprehension of the main idea. The same applies tolengthy paragraph. A long paragraph may inhibit the reader from locating the mainidea in the passage.


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CHAPTER FOUR THE ART OF PARAGRAPHING

PARAGRAPHINGThis is the act of arranging ideas in an essay or letter in a way that makes meaningclear. Usually ideas in any piece of writing are arranged serially, sequentially or orderly; so that each idea is contained in its own paragraph. The use of paragraph

helps one reader to follow ones argument and also make sure that the writer has planned what to write by grouping ideas under related points and ensuring that those points follow on logically. Where an essay is one concentrated piece, it will bedifficult for the reader to follow the trend of the writers thought.

WHAT THEN IS A PARAGRAPH?A paragraph is a group or collections of sentences dealing with common issue. It isa basic unit through which a writer presents his main ideas. The main idea in a

paragraph is usually contained in the topic sentence while other sentences containedin the paragraph go to elucidate it. Immediately an idea is exhausted in one

paragraph, another one should be started. However, if the idea is not exhausted, anappropriate connective or transitional marker should be used to extend the idea intoanother paragraph.

It is important to note that each paragraph in an essay has different functions, butthey all add information, explanation, and illustration to the central theme until thetheme is fully developed.

The paragraph usually has a beginning, middle and end. Sometimes, the topicsentence is placed at the initial position while at other times, it occupies either the

end or middle position. A paragraph which has its topic sentence at the initial position has an inductive pattern of arrangement. On the other hand, the paragraphthat has its topic sentence at the end position employs a deductive approach.

LENGTH OF A PARAGRAPHAlthough it is believed that length or appearance is not a factor in determiningwhether a section in a paper is a paragraph or not, it is proper that a paragraphshould contain minimum of five sentences. This is because when a paragraph is tooshort, it hinders the comprehension of the main idea. The same applies to a lengthy

paragraph. A long paragraph may inhibit the reader from locating the main idea inthe passage.


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QUALITIES OF A PARAGRAPHA good paragraph will contain the following:

UNITYA paragraph should contain only one main point; this is what is referred to as unity.

A paragraph should not begin with one idea and end with another one; therefore, any sentence that is not related to the main topic should be extracted or

expunged from the paragraph.

COHERENCEThis is the arrangement of the writers thought in a clear and logical manner, so thatideas do not hang loosely. It is the orderly relationship of sentences in a paragraph.Every sentence in the paragraph must be related. No unrelated sentence should beintroduced into the paragraph, and events in the paragraph should be related in theorder of their occurrence and importance. To achieve coherence, transitionalelements should be used to link up different paragraphs. Also, appropriate pronounsshould be used to refer to antecedent nouns.

ADEQUATE DEVELOPMENTEvery idea contained in the paragraph should be adequately explained and supportedthrough evidence and details that work together to explain the overall theme of the

paper. Good examples and appropriate illustrations made, is a major way toadequately develop a paragraph.

EMPHASISThis is a situation where the most important sentence in a paragraph is placed at themost emphatic position. The most emphatic positions are the beginning and the end.

VARIETYThere should be variety in the sentence structures contained in the paragraph. Thereshould be an alternation of simple, compound, complex, compound complex andmultiple sentences. This will make the entire passage interesting to read.

ATTAINING COHERENCE IN A PARAGRAPHAs was said earlier in this section, coherence is the arrangement of a writersthought in a clear and logical manner, so that ideas do not hang loosely. In other words, it is the trait that makes a paragraph easily understandable. To create

coherence, logical bridges, and verbal bridges can be made.

LOGICAL BRIDGESThis occurs when the same idea is carried over from sentence to sentence E.g.Analogies are useful to illustrate ideas in your writing, but you must keep yourself from typing together two kinds of experiences that arent logically related. A


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workable analogy connects experiences that are covered by the same laws of caution(excerpt from Questions and Rhetoric and usage).

Also, we can construct successive sentences in parallel form. E.g.(i) Singing and dancing are her daily delight, while she disdains day dreaming

and wishful thinking.

(ii) He missed the lady he needed to see, who would have transformed his lifeappreciably, a man who could be so critical, would never appreciate the

beauty of life.

VERBAL BRIDGESTo create verbal bridges, the following can be done:(i) Key words can be repeated in several sentences

(ii) Synonymous words can be repeated in several sentences

(iii) Pronouns can refer to nouns in previous sentences.(iv) Transition word can be used to link ideas from different sentences.

TRANSITIONAL MARKERSAnother way to attain coherence in paragraph is through the use of transitionalmarkers. Transitional markers are words that link one paragraph to another. Thelinkage is done in a way that ideas flow logically from one paragraph to the other;and thus, enhance the comprehension of the passage. Below are examples of transitional markers and the thought they convey:

ILLUSTRATION- For example- For instance

EXTENDING IDEA FROM ONE PARAGRAPH TO ANOTHER - In addition

- Furthermore

- Also

- In the same vein- Equally important- Again- Moreover

Explaining Consequences- As A Result


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- Consequently

- Following this

- Therefore

- Thus

- Hence

Showing differences- On The Other Hand

- On The Contrary

- From a Different Perspective

- However

Sequence- First

- Second

- Third Etc

- Last

Summarizing- To Sum Up

- In Conclusion

- On The Whole

- Finally

Emphasis- Above All

- Basically

- Fundamentally

- Indeed

TYPES OF PARAGRAPH

The paragraph is usually displayed in a way to attract the attention of the reader. Todepict the beginning of the paragraph therefore, different styles are employed;namely, indentation, blocking, hanging, heading, and subsidiary.

THE INDENTED PARAGRAPHThis is the commonest type of paragraph found in formal and informal situations.The first word of the paragraph is set back from the left hand margin. In this type of


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writing, five spaces are set back for pica type-writers. Now that computer is invogue, the same principles apply. Indentation shows the beginning of any new

paragraph and the end.

THE BLOCK PARAGRAPHIn this type of paragraph, each line including the first begins at the same vertical

position. The difference between one paragraph and the other is however shown by

leaving a typing line, blank. This type of paragraph is what is in vogue now becauseof its aesthetic nature.

THE HANGING PARAGRAPHThis is a reversal of the indented paragraph. The first word of the paragraphcommences at the left hand margin, the subsequent lines being indented. The

purpose of this type of paragraph is to make the first few words prominent.

THE HEADED PARAGRAPHFor documents such as reports, and minutes of meeting which are usually lengthy

because of the different issues they contain, it is necessary to give heading to thedifferent issues raised, as this will make reading and comprehension easy.

Sometimes, the different topics contained in them are numbered, but it is much moreconvenient to give them headings. These paragraph headings may be typed in either capital letters or small letters. Where small ones are used, they shold be underscoredto differentiate them from the main paragraph.

SUBSIDIARY PARAGRAPH

The subsidiary paragraph which is also called inset is derived from the main paragraph. It is proper to adopt different forms for the main and subsidiary paragraphs. For instance, if one is using the block style for the main heading, thesubsidiary could be indented.

PARAGRAPH DEVELOPMENTThe development of a paragraph is usually preceded by a clear understanding of what the controlling idea of the piece of writing is all about. What is the main point

the writer is trying to convey to his audience? The controlling idea is like a seedthrough which the piece of writing and the ideas it contains will grow. Once a writer decides on the controlling idea, the next is the choice of information that will help tosupport and perpetuate the idea through out the entire paper.

Five steps have been identified in the development of paragraphs; namely:1. Controlling idea


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2. Explanation of controlling idea

3. Example

4. Explanation of example

5. Completion of paragraphs idea

Below is an except containing the five steps to paragraph development.

CONTROLLING IDEALearning how to turn in home work assignments on time is one of the invaluableskills that college students can take with them into the working world.

EXPLANATION OF CONTROLLING IDEAThough the workforce may not assign homework to its workers in the traditionalsense, many of the objectives and jobs that need to be completed require thatemployees work with deadlines. The deadlines that students encounter in classroommay be different in content when compared to the deadlines of the workforce but theimportance of meeting those deadlines is the same. In fact, failure to meet deadlinesin both the classroom and the workforce can mean instants termination.

EXAMPLESFor example, in the classroom, students form a contract with the teacher and theuniversity when they enroll in a class. That contract requires that students completethe assignments and objectives set forth by the courses instructor in a specified timeto receive a grade and credit for the course. Accordingly, just as a student riskstermination in the classroom if he/her fails to meet the deadlines for a homework assignment, so too, does that student risk termination in the workforce.

When a student fails to complete those assignments by the deadline, the student breaks her contract with the university and the teacher ss This often leaves theteacher with no recourse than to fail the student and leaves the university with noother recourse than to terminate the students credit for the course.

COMPLETION OF PARAGRAPH IDEADeveloping good habits of turning in assignments in class now, as current students,will improve your performance and position as future participants in the workingworld.

Paragraph development is an organic process that makes intricate links betweenvarious ideas. These links create one single idea and run throughout the entire paper.All paragraphs should consist of one central idea; the idea should have a discussionon how it works, the explanation should be explained, and the final idea should bereiterated while preparing the reader for the development to come.


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Awareness and utilization of all of these components will help to make a writers paragraph more unified, more coherent, and most importantly, better developed.

Apart from these steps that have been identified, other patterns of paragraphdevelopments that can be used are:

(i) Description

(ii) Definition

(iii) Comparison and Contrast

(iv) Analogy

(v) Illustration

(vi) Cause and effect

(vii) Evaluation of causes and reasons.

The Art of Paragraphing

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