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Paragraph Purpose
As with every sentence in an essay
or piece of writing, every paragraph has a purpose. You may need to define
a term for the reader, offer an illustration that supports an argument,
analyse a concept so that it becomes clear to the reader, or describe
a process. Each one of these purposes calls for a specific kind of paragraph.
What follows are descriptions and examples of nine ways of developing
a paragraph to perform a particular task in your writing.
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Help!
Whatever purpose your paragraph might have, above all, remember
that a paragraph develops a single idea that is most often
stated in the first or topic sentence of the paragraph.
Check to see that a paragraph clearly announces and develops its
main idea. If somewhere along in a paragraph you introduce a new
idea and begin developing it, re-paragraph at this point. Read your
paragraph aloud to see if sentences flow smoothly together; if not,
consider using a transitional word or phrase to link particular
sentences. Ask yourself whether each sentence in the paragraph helps
to develop or support its main idea—stated
in your topic sentence.
If not, perhaps you need to revise the paragraph by either cutting
or expanding it.
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Narrative
Description
Example
Definition
Classification
Analysis
Compare/Contrast
Analogy
Process
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