Paragraph Development

• A paragraph is defined as a group of related sentences expressing

and developing a basic idea, or a series of related sentences so
arranged as to explain a single topic, dominant idea or particular
phase of thought. A paragraph is also a group of sentences related
to one main idea, which is expressed in the topic sentence,
usually the first sentence of the paragraph.
• The topic sentence is a summary sentence, informing the reader of a
paragraph’s topic, of main idea. All other sentences in the paragraph
most help, show, prove, or explain that topic sentence. One of the
sentences tells the reader the main idea the topic. This statement is
called the topic sentence.
 Elements of a Paragraph
A formal academic paragraph should contain the
following parts: Introduction, Body and Conclusion. We
will begin our discussion with the introduction section of
a paragraph.
1. Introduction
The introductory sentence is an opening sentence in a
paragraph. This sentence identifies the topic for the
reader and makes a statement of some kind about the
topic. This sentence leaves the reader with the feeling
that more information will follow. The reader expects
that there will be some description or explanation within
the paragraph that tells how many, which one, what kind
of, when, where, how, why, etc.
 Cond…
2. Body
The body section of a paragraph is the part of the
paragraph which provides details that refer to the
introductory sentence. The job of providing the
specific information that answers questions about
the introductory or topic sentence is carried out by
the other sentences in the paragraph. These other
sentences are usually called "supporting sentences".
The information they give is commonly called
"details" or "supporting details".
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Let's refer to our example about police work to
review more thoroughly how supporting sentences
can add information. Notice how the writer has
added some details after the opening (topic)
sentence:
Police officers perform many important services. They
may be involved in solving crimes. They may find
themselves helping lost children. Often police officers are
also called upon to calm frightened people or to assist
someone who has been wronged. They may give aid to
motorists whose cars have broken down or who have been
in accidents.
 Contd…
3. Conclusion
The concluding sentence draws the paragraph to a
close, and reflects the ideas, expressed in the topic
sentence. In formal paragraphs you will sometimes
see a sentence at the end of the paragraph which
summarizes the information that has been
presented. Here is a sample paragraph in which the
concluding sentence summarizes the information
presented by the supporting sentences.
 Sample Paragraph
• There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best
countries in the world. First, Canada has an excellent
health care system. All Canadians have access to medical
services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high
standard of education. Students are taught by well–
trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying
at university. Finally, Canada’s cites are clean and
efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and
lots of space for people to live. As a result, Canada is a
desirable place to live.
 Topic Sentence
A topic sentence is a sentence that expresses the
main idea of a paragraph. It tells the reader what
to expect about the information that will follow.
Without the use of a topic sentence, developing a
paragraph can be difficult.
 Positions of Topic Sentences
Topic sentence is usually the first sentence of a
paragraph, but not necessarily. It may come, for
example, after a transition sentence; it may even
come at the end of a paragraph. In other words,
topic sentences can appear at several points in a
paragraph.
Position of a topic sentence in a paragraph can be:
• the beginning of the paragraph
• the middle of the paragraph
• the end of the paragraph
 Principles of Paragraph Construction
1. Unity
A paragraph is a group of sentences that develops
one main point or idea. One important feature of an
effective paragraph is unity: all sentences within the
paragraph are related to the main point. Here is an
example of a unified paragraph. The first sentence
expresses the main point of the paragraph and the
rest of the sentences relate to the main point.
 Sample Paragraph
Your sister is an attractive woman. Her large, dark
eyes are beautiful. Her complexion is flawless, and
she has a lovely big smile. Her long, black hair is full
and shiny. She is tall and slender, and her every
movement is graceful. She also dresses stylishly, and
her assortment of passant skirts and loose- fitting
blouses look great on her.
 Contd…
2. Coherence
Literally, the word to cohere means to hold together. A paragraph is
said to have coherence when its sentences are woven together or
flow into each other. If a paragraph is coherent, the reader moves
easily from one sentence to the next without feeling that there are
gaps in the thought, puzzling jumps, or points not made. If a
paragraph lacks coherence the reader will feel that he/she is reading a
collection of separate statements rather than an integrated
discussion. Therefore, the notion behind coherence is related to
having natural flow of ideas in the paragraph.
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You can achieve coherence in your paragraph by
using several cohesive devices. The following are
some of these devices.
A. Pronouns
Reading books provides knowledge. It also
updates readers by giving informaion.
Patients must fast for twelve hours before the test.
They should also avoid red meats for seventy-two
hours before coming in.
 Contd…
B. Repetition
Example:
Exposure to too much sun can damage the skin. This damage is
irreversible and can result in skin cancer.
C. Transitional markers
Transitional terms make a paragraph coherent by relating ideas. They
are referred to as the ‘glue’ to hold ideas together. Like pronouns,
many of these terms come to mind automatically, but you should
carefully choose among them. The commonest markers are the simple
connectives such as ‘and’, or ‘but’, ‘for’, which serve as bridges over
which the reader may easily pass from one sentence or clause to the
next. Others - sometimes called transitional connectives - indicate the
direction, which the new sentence is about to take and to prepare the
reader for what is to follow. Here is a partial list of common transitional
terms:
 Contd…
Time: next, then, after, before, during, while, following, shortly,
thereafter, later on, the next day, secondly, finally
Place: over, above, inside, to the left, just behind, beyond
Contrast: however, but, on the other hand, nevertheless,
nonetheless, notwithstanding, on the contrary, conversely, yet.
Cause - effect: so, therefore, thus, accordingly, consequently,
as a result, hence, because of this.
Addition: and, furthermore, moreover, likewise, similarly, in a
like
manner, too, also
Emphasis: indeed, in fact, especially, most important
Summary: in other words, in short, to sum up , in conclusion,
to conclude, all in all, in a nut shell, generally, in general, finally,
at last, etc.
 Contd…
D. Using Demonstrative Pronoun

Example

During the great famine of Niger, people were eating

grass. This was unbelievable.
 Contd…
3. Completeness
Completeness is relative. How much explanation an
idea requires depends on how much the reader
needs. This is a decision the writer must make out of
knowledge of the subject and of the audience. It is
an error to give either too much explanation or not
enough. Usually the latter is the more serious. Giving
a reader unnecessary explanation may be boring but
giving too little may block communication. Consider
the following example.
 Pregnant women sometimes attempt to mold the
character of an unborn child by studying poetry, art, or
mathematics. What we know of prenatal development
makes such attempts seem utterly impossible. How
could such extremely complex influences pass from
mother to child?

This statement is incomplete. If the writer stops here, all

he has given his readers is an unsupported judgment
that these attempts will have no influence on the child.
But that is not enough. Readers still need to know why
the attempts will not work. The rest of the paragraph
explains why not.
 Contd…
There is no connection between their nervous
systems. Even the blood vessels of mother and child
do not join directly. They lie side by side and the
chemicals are interchanged through the walls by a
process that we call osmosis. An emotional shock
to the mother will affect her child, because it
changes the activity of her glands and so the
chemistry of her blood. Any chemical change in the
mother's blood will affect the child. But we
cannot see how a liking for mathematics or poetic
genius can be dissolved in the blood and produce a
similar liking or genius in the child.
 Contd…
• A good paragraph is fully developed. Here are the
main qualities of a well-developed paragraph.
• It provides enough supporting points for the main
idea expressed in the topic sentence to be clearly
understood.
• It provides enough specific details and examples to be
interesting and informative.
• It does not leave the readers with unanswered
questions that could be cleared up with a little more
detail or an additional example or two.
• It concludes with a sentence that clearly" wraps up"
the paragraph and relates to the topic sentence in
some manner.
 Variety
Effective writers have the ability to use a variety of
sentence structures to express their thoughts. Less
experienced writers tend to use a few basic
structures over and over, which weakens their
expressive powers and leads to a monotonous
writing style. The confidence and skill to use a variety
of sentence structures helps you convey your ideas
to readers. Consider the following paragraph and
detect what the problem of the paragraph is:
 Contd…
Let us consider another example:
The horror movie at the drive-in was terrible. The acting was
bad. The plot was bad. Every scene was filled with blood.
There was blood on the bodies. There was blood on the walls.
There was blood in the bathtub. The ending of the movie was
the worst part. It was stupid. It was unbelievable. A six-year-
old girl poisoned her mother, father, brother and dog with rat
poison. She did it for fun. She did it to shock her friends. It
was the worst movie I have seen in a long time. I went home.
I didn't go to another movie for a month.