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HomeWriting GuidesParagraphs & Topic Sentences
Paragraphs & Topic Sentences
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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