Paragraphs are meant to make reading a text easier. When a writer composes for school or work purposes, paragraphs help promote the brevity, clarity, and simplicity expected of formal writing. Each new paragraph signals a pause in thought and a change in topic, directing readers to anticipate what is to follow or allowing them a moment to digest the material in the preceding paragraph. Reasons to start a new paragraph include
Once a writer is satisfied with their paragraph content, they take their readers into consideration. They revise and edit to make their paragraphs both engaging and easy to read. Key considerations for revising and editing paragraphs are length, variety, clarity, and transitions.
Effective paragraphs vary in length. Paragraph lengths should invite readers in, neither seeming too daunting nor appearing incomplete. Paragraphs of more than one double-spaced page will appear too dense and too long to be inviting. However, short paragraphs can appear choppy and undeveloped. In fact, one-sentence paragraphs are rarely effective. Not only can a one-sentence paragraph seem abrupt, but it can also leave readers puzzled. A sentence that makes a point about a topic will typically need at least one or even more sentences to illustrate and explain that point.
For complex concepts such as those in persuasive essays that demand detailed explanation and supporting evidence, longer paragraphs are necessary. However, when narrating an example or explaining a process, shorter paragraphs will best emphasize the order of ideas or importance of each step.
Most people have experienced a lecture or presentation given by someone who talks in a monotone. It probably puts the audience to sleep. The equivalent of such monotony in writing occurs when sentences have the same structure and the same length. Once the content of the writing is solid, an experienced writer revises, paying attention to sentence variety. Strong paragraphs contain a variety of sentence structures, sentence types, sentence openings, and sentence lengths.
One method for gaining sentence variety is to use all of the below sentence structures in your paper.
1. Simple Sentence = one independent clause with no subordinate clause
Music is life itself (Louis Armstrong).
2. Compound Sentence = two or more independent clauses with no subordinate clauses
One arrow is easily broken, but a bundle of ten can’t be broken.
independent clause, [conjunction] independent clause
3. Complex Sentence = one independent clause with one or more subordinate clauses
If you scatter thorns, don’t go barefoot.
subordinate clause, independent clause
4. Compound-Complex Sentence = at least two independent clauses and at least one subordinate clause
Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you [what you are].
independent clause, [conjunction] independent clause [subordinate clause]
Another method for adding variety is to use different sentence types:
Declarative sentences will naturally be used the most in academic writing. But imperative and interrogative sentences can make the content stronger and add sentence variety. Exclamatory sentences are used rarely in academic writing and professional writing but can occasionally be effective, depending on context, audience, and purpose.
Another way to add sentence variety is with sentence openings. Many writers fall into a pattern of starting sentences the same way, generally with the subject of the sentence. Here is a sample of what can be done with the simple sentence “John broke the window.” The different openings not only add variety, but also create more interesting content.
Inverted word order should not be overused. But occasional use at an important point where the writer wants to grab the reader’s attention can add surprise and drama as in the following example:
o Normal Word Order: The Christmas treats, the bright, beribboned presents, and the charitable love of the season are all gone.
o Inverted Word Order: Gone are the Christmas treats, the bright, beribboned presents, and the charitable love of the season.
A final way to vary sentences is with length. Experienced writers strive to compose sentences that are short, medium, and long in length. They can check sentence length by beginning each sentence of a paragraph on a separate line, so they can scan the lengths. Here is an example:
The varied lengths are easy to see at a glance. If the writer decides the paper’s sentences need to be more varied in length, much can be done. For example, clauses can be converted to phrases: Sentence one in the paragraph above could be changed to the following:
Sentences can be combined. Sentences three and four above could become the following:
Long sentences can be divided. Sentence two above could become the following:
Phrases can become one or two words. Sentence four above could become the following:
These changes do not necessarily make the sentence better, but they serve as good examples of what can be done to change sentence length and add sentence variety.
Sentence clarity requires grammatical correctness; however, mixed constructions, faulty predication, and inconsistent or incomplete comparisons are common causes of garbled sentences that writers must check for when revising and editing.
A mixed construction occurs when a sentence begins with one grammatical pattern and concludes with a different grammatical pattern, as if the writer started writing a sentence, was interrupted, and then finished it without referring back to the beginning.
An easy way to identify mixed constructions is to read a paper backwards, one sentence at a time so that each sentence is isolated.
Faulty predication occurs when the predicate of a sentence does not logically complete its subject. Most often, faulty predication involves the verb “to be.” We know that “to be” verbs act like equal signs between the subject and predicate:
However, if the predicate is logically inconsistent with the subject, the sentence will confuse readers.
When making comparisons, the writer must make sure they are consistent and complete.
Inconsistent and incomplete comparisons are common in speech. Context, facial expression, and body language supply the missing information. But in formal writing, care must be taken to compose clear sentences.
Transitions are one of the methods used to make paragraphs flow smoothly. Transitions are connectors or bridges between thoughts. When the reader knows the relationship between concepts or sentences, the thoughts flow smoothly and the paragraph is easier to read. Writers use both transition words and transition sentences.
Transitional expressions work well between sentences when the relationship between sentences is not already evident. Transitional expressions can also be used between paragraphs so that the content of one paragraph leads logically into the next paragraph. In these cases, the transition highlights the relationship that is already clear. If someone reads the word “however,” they know that the next thought will be in contrast to the previous one. The word acts as a bridge explaining the relationship between the two thoughts. If someone reads the word “meanwhile,” they know that the next event is happening at the same time as the event discussed previously. The word explains the simultaneous relationship between the two events.
Example of Transition Words and Expressions
For more sophisticated transitions between paragraphs, writers use whole sentences. Types of transition sentences include the following:
. . . Throughout the story, the husband’s word is considered law, and the wife barely dares to question it.
This unequal marriage fits perfectly into the historical period of the setting. . .
The italicized phrase echoes the idea in the previous paragraph, providing a bridge to the next paragraph.
. . . Shirley Jackson shows the uselessness of the lottery and the selfishness of human nature through Mr. Warner’s ignorance.
This selfishness of human nature is shown very clearly through Tessie in the story….
The repetition of key words demonstrates the relationship between the ideas in the two paragraphs.
…These first two stanzas set up the theme of triumph in life.
In contrast to this victory, stanza three moves to the issue of dying….
In the italicized sentence, the first phrase (“in contrast to this victory’) looks backward at the ideas of the preceding paragraph. The second clause (“stanza three moves to the issue of dying”) looks forward to the ideas in the next paragraph.