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Paragraphs & Topic Sentences

The document discusses the key components of paragraphs, including topic sentences, structure, and coherence. It states that paragraphs should be organized around a single topic, expressed through a topic sentence. Most paragraphs follow a three-part structure of an introduction with the topic sentence, a body with further details, and a conclusion. Coherence within and between paragraphs is achieved through techniques like repeating key words, using parallel structures, consistent verb tense and point of view, and transitional phrases.

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Criza Mae Castor Padernal
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228 views

Paragraphs & Topic Sentences

The document discusses the key components of paragraphs, including topic sentences, structure, and coherence. It states that paragraphs should be organized around a single topic, expressed through a topic sentence. Most paragraphs follow a three-part structure of an introduction with the topic sentence, a body with further details, and a conclusion. Coherence within and between paragraphs is achieved through techniques like repeating key words, using parallel structures, consistent verb tense and point of view, and transitional phrases.

Uploaded by

Criza Mae Castor Padernal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Paragraphs & Topic Sentences

A paragraph is a series of sentences that are organized and coherent, and are all
related to a single topic. Almost every piece of writing you do that is longer than a few
sentences should be organized into paragraphs. This is because paragraphs show a
reader where the subdivisions of an essay begin and end, and thus help the reader see
the organization of the essay and grasp its main points.

Paragraphs can contain many different kinds of information. A paragraph could contain
a series of brief examples or a single long illustration of a general point. It might
describe a place, character, or process; narrate a series of events; compare or contrast
two or more things; classify items into categories; or describe causes and effects.
Regardless of the kind of information they contain, all paragraphs share certain
characteristics. One of the most important of these is a topic sentence.

TOPIC SENTENCES

A well-organized paragraph supports or develops a single controlling idea, which is


expressed in a sentence called the topic sentence. A topic sentence has several
important functions: it substantiates or supports an essay’s thesis statement; it unifies
the content of a paragraph and directs the order of the sentences; and it advises the
reader of the subject to be discussed and how the paragraph will discuss it. Readers
generally look to the first few sentences in a paragraph to determine the subject and
perspective of the paragraph. That’s why it’s often best to put the topic sentence at the
very beginning of the paragraph. In some cases, however, it’s more effective to place
another sentence before the topic sentence—for example, a sentence linking the
current paragraph to the previous one, or one providing background information.

Although most paragraphs should have a topic sentence, there are a few situations
when a paragraph might not need a topic sentence. For example, you might be able to
omit a topic sentence in a paragraph that narrates a series of events, if a paragraph
continues developing an idea that you introduced (with a topic sentence) in the previous
paragraph, or if all the sentences and details in a paragraph clearly refer—perhaps
indirectly—to a main point. The vast majority of your paragraphs, however, should have
a topic sentence.

PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE

Most paragraphs in an essay have a three-part structure—introduction, body, and


conclusion. You can see this structure in paragraphs whether they are narrating,
describing, comparing, contrasting, or analyzing information. Each part of the paragraph
plays an important role in communicating your meaning to your reader.

Introduction: the first section of a paragraph; should include the topic sentence and any
other sentences at the beginning of the paragraph that give background information or
provide a transition.
Body: follows the introduction; discusses the controlling idea, using facts, arguments,
analysis, examples, and other information.

Conclusion: the final section; summarizes the connections between the information
discussed in the body of the paragraph and the paragraph’s controlling idea.

The following paragraph illustrates this pattern of organization. In this paragraph the
topic sentence and concluding sentence (CAPITALIZED) both help the reader keep the
paragraph’s main point in mind.

SCIENTISTS HAVE LEARNED TO SUPPLEMENT THE SENSE OF SIGHT IN


NUMEROUS WAYS. In front of the tiny pupil of the eye they put, on Mount Palomar, a
great monocle 200 inches in diameter, and with it see 2000 times farther into the depths
of space. Or they look through a small pair of lenses arranged as a microscope into a
drop of water or blood, and magnify by as much as 2000 diameters the living creatures
there, many of which are among man’s most dangerous enemies. Or, if we want to see
distant happenings on earth, they use some of the previously wasted electromagnetic
waves to carry television images which they re-create as light by whipping tiny crystals
on a screen with electrons in a vacuum. Or they can bring happenings of long ago and
far away as colored motion pictures, by arranging silver atoms and color-absorbing
molecules to force light waves into the patterns of original reality. Or if we want to see
into the center of a steel casting or the chest of an injured child, they send the
information on a beam of penetrating short-wave X rays, and then convert it back into
images we can see on a screen or photograph. THUS ALMOST EVERY TYPE OF
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION YET DISCOVERED HAS BEEN USED TO
EXTEND OUR SENSE OF SIGHT IN SOME WAY.

George Harrison, “Faith and the Scientist”

COHERENCE

In a coherent paragraph, each sentence relates clearly to the topic sentence or


controlling idea, but there is more to coherence than this. If a paragraph is coherent,
each sentence flows smoothly into the next without obvious shifts or jumps. A coherent
paragraph also highlights the ties between old information and new information to make
the structure of ideas or arguments clear to the reader.

Along with the smooth flow of sentences, a paragraph’s coherence may also be related
to its length. If you have written a very long paragraph, one that fills a double-spaced
typed page, for example, you should check it carefully to see if it should start a new
paragraph where the original paragraph wanders from its controlling idea. On the other
hand, if a paragraph is very short (only one or two sentences, perhaps), you may need
to develop its controlling idea more thoroughly, or combine it with another paragraph.

A number of other techniques that you can use to establish coherence in paragraphs
are described below.
Repeat key words or phrases. Particularly in paragraphs in which you define or identify
an important idea or theory, be consistent in how you refer to it. This consistency and
repetition will bind the paragraph together and help your reader understand your
definition or description.

Create parallel structures. Parallel structures are created by constructing two or more


phrases or sentences that have the same grammatical structure and use the same parts
of speech. By creating parallel structures you make your sentences clearer and easier
to read. In addition, repeating a pattern in a series of consecutive sentences helps your
reader see the connections between ideas. In the paragraph above about scientists and
the sense of sight, several sentences in the body of the paragraph have been
constructed in a parallel way. The parallel structures (which have been emphasized)
help the reader see that the paragraph is organized as a set of examples of a general
statement.

Be consistent in point of view, verb tense, and number. Consistency in point of view,


verb tense, and number is a subtle but important aspect of coherence. If you shift from
the more personal "you" to the impersonal “one,” from past to present tense, or from “a
man” to “they,” for example, you make your paragraph less coherent. Such
inconsistencies can also confuse your reader and make your argument more difficult to
follow.

Use transition words or phrases between sentences and between


paragraphs. Transitional expressions emphasize the relationships between ideas, so
they help readers follow your train of thought or see connections that they might
otherwise miss or misunderstand. The following paragraph shows how carefully chosen
transitions (CAPITALIZED) lead the reader smoothly from the introduction to the
conclusion of the paragraph.

I don’t wish to deny that the flattened, minuscule head of the large-bodied "stegosaurus"
houses little brain from our subjective, top-heavy perspective, BUT I do wish to assert
that we should not expect more of the beast. FIRST OF ALL, large animals have
relatively smaller brains than related, small animals. The correlation of brain size with
body size among kindred animals (all reptiles, all mammals, FOR EXAMPLE) is
remarkably regular. AS we move from small to large animals, from mice to elephants or
small lizards to Komodo dragons, brain size increases, BUT not so fast as body size. IN
OTHER WORDS, bodies grow faster than brains, AND large animals have low ratios of
brain weight to body weight. IN FACT, brains grow only about two-thirds as fast as
bodies. SINCE we have no reason to believe that large animals are consistently
stupider than their smaller relatives, we must conclude that large animals require
relatively less brain to do as well as smaller animals. IF we do not recognize this
relationship, we are likely to underestimate the mental power of very large animals,
dinosaurs in particular.

Stephen Jay Gould, “Were Dinosaurs Dumb?”


SOME USEFUL TRANSITIONS

(modified from Diana Hacker,A Writer’s Reference)

To show addition:
again, and, also, besides, equally important, first (second, etc.), further,
furthermore, in addition, in the first place, moreover, next, too
To give examples:
for example, for instance, in fact, specifically, that is, to illustrate
To compare:
also, in the same manner, likewise, similarly
To contrast:
although, and yet, at the same time, but, despite, even though, however, in
contrast, in spite of, nevertheless, on the contrary, on the other hand, still,
though, yet
To summarize or conclude:
all in all, in conclusion, in other words, in short, in summary, on the whole, that is,
therefore, to sum up
To show time:
after, afterward, as, as long as, as soon as, at last, before, during, earlier, finally,
formerly, immediately, later, meanwhile, next, since, shortly, subsequently, then,
thereafter, until, when, while
To show place or direction:
above, below, beyond, close, elsewhere, farther on, here, nearby, opposite, to
the left (north, etc.)
To indicate logical relationship:
accordingly, as a result, because, consequently, for this reason, hence, if,
otherwise, since, so, then, therefore, thus
Produced by Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

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