Direct Paragraph

The direct paragraph occurs more frequently than any other paragraph pattern and is the form most preferred in academic writing. From the start, this model of paragraph lets the reader know where the writer is going. In effect, a direct paragraph is like an essay in miniature: it begins with a topic sentence (like a thesis statement), develops supporting points (as do paragraphs in the body of an essay), and comes to some form of resolution (as does an essay in its concluding point). Use direct paragraphs in the body of an argumentative essay or in any piece of writing in which you need to inform the reader of something or to clarify a matter.

While offering a broadening experience, university degrees also involve a significant measure of societal credibility, which cannot be ignored. Friedson argues that "occupations believed to possess such knowledge are singled out for public prestige and official privilege” (13). It is the access to liberal education that both enables specialist practitioners to later serve in managerial positions and also establishes a societally recognized legitimacy. . . . Advanced training and higher education are valued by the economic elite and often respected by the masses. University education is an essential part of the ideological foundation for the status of various occupations.

This direct paragraph begins with a topic idea (underlined), marshals an authority to support the argument (Friedson), and ends with a restatement of the argument within a specific context (an occupation's status).