Effective paragraph writing is a very important skill a college student should

Welcome to this topic entitled Effective paragraph writing! Effective paragraph writing is a very important skill a college student should possess. An effective paragraph must begin with a topic sentence, have sentences that support the main idea of that paragraph, and maintain a consistent flow. This lesson will tackle the basics on how to write an effective paragraph. So, what are you waiting for? Get your pen and paper, together with your refreshed mind and together, let us craft that first effective paragraph of yours!

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” ~ Stephen King

Intended learning outcomes (ILOs)

At the end of this topic, you should be able to:

Write an effective paragraph,
Use the corresponding transitional markers in connecting sentences.

Topics

What is an Effective Paragraph?

An effective paragraph is like a miniature essay. It has a clear beginning, middle, and ending. An effective paragraph combine focus and attention to detail to develop a single idea thoroughly. It also help the reader transition from one idea to the next.

Qualities of an Effective Paragraph

Effective paragraph writing is also an interactive conversational exchange–it occurs between the writer and the reader. It is important to stay on topic, so the reader can follow your way of thinking. So, what are the qualities of a good paragraph?

A paragraph should be unified around a main point. The main point should be clear to the reader.
Generally, state the main point of a paragraph in the topic sentence. The topic is usually found in the first line of the paragraph.
The remaining sentences in the paragraph must relate to the topic sentence.

Read the following two paragraphs, the first one representing a well-organized paragraph, the second

one representing a disorganized paragraph:

Effective paragraph:

The Internet has practically removed all barriers to communication that existed before the introduction of E-mail. You no longer have to rely on postal departments to send important documents. Services such as chatting allow you to correspond online with a person. Internet also provides facilities such as NetMeeting and Video conferencing where you can actually conduct a meeting or a conference with people in different parts of the world.

The paragraph is unified around a main point (i.e., Internet has removed barriers).
The main point is stated in the beginning.
The rest of the sentences support that main point.

Ineffective paragraph:

Nowadays, a lot of people work in virtual teams. The members can live far away from each other or not know each other. But they work together. They belong to the same group. The efficiency of virtual teams is remarkable, which we can see in high tech industry. Because of Internet, virtual teams occur. This is a significant stage of business field. Internet is medium that I can connect with my family and friends even though all of us are live in different countries. I can use Internet to not only connect with the people whom I want to attach but also to do meaningful research . Internet makes people easily to find information that they want.

The paragraph is not unified around a main point (i.e., virtual teams, medium to connect with family, do meaningful research: these are three separate topics which should be discussed in separate paragraphs).
The main point is not stated in the beginning (i.e., the main point appears to be “because of Internet, virtual teams occur.”)
The rest of the sentences do not support the main point.

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Elements of Effective Paragraph

There are four essential elements that an effective paragraph should consistently contain:

A Clear Topic Sentence
Unity
Good Paragraph Development
Coherence with Clear Transition Markers

A Clear Topic Sentence

The topic sentence is the most important part of your paragraph; it tells the reader the general idea of your paragraphs and should essentially “hook” them into wanting to read more! The topic sentence helps to provide a “general summary” for your paragraph. A reader should encounter the topic sentence and have a general idea of what the paragraph will continue to discuss.

Unity

Unity refers to the singleness or “oneness” of purpose. All the detail sentences clearly point to or support the topic sentence. In order for a paragraph to maintain a sense of unity, the paragraph must focus solely on a single idea, point, or argument that is being discussed. Therefore, the paragraph should not begin to stray and develop new ideas. If you begin to write sentence that wander from the paragraph’s main idea, then it is time to start a new paragraph.

Good Paragraph Development

Now that your paragraph has a topic, it is essential that this topic be sufficiently developed. Do not limit yourself to a set number of sentences. Yes, your paragraph should not be too short or too long, but it should be an appropriate length to flesh out the entirety of your paragraph’s idea. A reader should not be left with questions after a sufficiently development paragraph. In order to achieve this, you can provide examples, cite work, provide necessary definitions, describe, analyze, and organize your ideas. Support and evidence provided by the writer can be explained in different ways, These details can be provided by giving or using:

Narration – narrating or telling a story
Description – painting something or someone by use of words
Comparison – showing how two subjects are similar
Contrast – pointing out how two subjects are different from each other
Example – providing illustrations or representatives of an idea or topic
Classification – organizing or grouping together subjects with the same qualities or characteristics
Division – taking out a part from the whole to fully discuss or emphasize how the part is integral to the whole
Definition – giving the meaning of a term, idea, or concept
Process analysis – telling how something is achieved or came to be; or telling how to do something
Cause and effect – showing reasons/results of a phenomena/process

Coherence with Clear Transition Markers

Coherence is more commonly referred to as the flow of your writing. When a paragraph flows, the reader will be able to understand the main idea that you have presented. How can you ensure that your paragraph maintains a flow? Well, after presenting your main idea in your topic sentence, each sentence following must build upon each other in an organized manner. After writing your paragraph, go back and read aloud what you have written to make sure your ideas are clearly presented. If they are, you have developed a coherent paragraph!

Coherence means all the sentences and ideas in the paragraph flow smoothly together to make clear and logical points about the topic. Coherence can be achieved through the use of:

A natural or easily recognized order
1. Time Order (Chronological) – arranging details or sentences as they happen according to time; usually used in writing narratives
2. Space / Direction Order (Spatial) – arranging evidence in relation to space, direction or location
3. Importance Order (Emphasis) – arranging details in order of importance or emphasis
4. Step-by-Step (Sequential or Procedural) – arranging information according to numbers.
Transition Words and Phrases – used to show the connection from one sentence to another, or to signal a new train of thoughts. Some common transitions:
1. For continuing a common line of reasoning: consequently, clearly, then, furthermore, additionally, and, in addition, because, besides that, in the same way, also, in the light of…
2. To change the line of reasoning: however, on the other hand, but, yet, nevertheless, on the contrary
3. For the final points of a paragraph or essay: finally, lastly
4. Transitional chains: to use in separating sections of a paragraph which is arranged chronologically such as:
  1. first, second, third…
  2. generally, furthermore, finally…
  3. in the first place, also, lastly/finally…
  4. in the first place, just in the same way, finally…
  5. basically, similarly, as well as…
5. To signal conclusion: therefore, this, hence, in conclusion, indeed
6. To restate a point within a paragraph in another way or in a more exacting way: after, afterwards, as soon as, at first, at last, before, before long, finally, in the first place, in the meantime, later, meanwhile, next, soon, then
Repetition of Key Words – important words or phrases (and their synonyms) may be repeated throughout a paragraph to connect the thoughts into a coherent statement.
Substitution of Pronouns for Key Nouns – use a key noun in one sentence and then use a pronoun in its place in the following sentences. When using pronouns consider the nouns to be replace by checking the nouns’:
1. number – is the noun to be substituted singular of plural
2. function in the sentence – is the noun to be replaced use as a possessive, a subject, or object
3. gender – is the noun to be replaced a male, a female, a common noun or a neuter
4. person – is the noun to be replaced in the first, second, or third person.
Parallelism – use of the same grammatical structure in several sentences to establish coherence. The use of similar phrasing helps tie ideas and sentences together.

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Works Cited

Tutoring and Writing Services. (n.d.) Paragraphs. Monmouth University.
Driscoll, Dana Lynn & Brizee, Allen. (2015). OWL at Purdue University. Accessed on July 28, 2017 at https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/606/01/
McCloud-Bondoc, Linda. (n.d.) Writing Effective Paragraphs. Accessed on July 28, 2017 at http://write-site.athabascau.ca/documentation/Sample%20of%20a%20coherent%20paragraph.pdf

Effective Paragraph