Writing a Paragraph: A Formula and Tool for Clear Communication

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Writing a Paragraph
A Formula and Tool for Clear Communication

Overview

Though you may tend to associate “writing a paragraph” as part of academic writing, it is not just a tool for academic purposes. Knowing how to write a good paragraph will have an effect on the writing you do for business writing such as memos, letters, reports, and even emails. Basically, knowing how to write a good paragraph will give you the advantage of clarity and cohesion, which will translate into “clear communication.” In addition, there is a “formula” to writing English paragraphs that may not exist in the writing of your first language. Students sometimes complain that this so-called “formula” is “boring” or “stating the obvious”, but the simple fact is this is the pattern that is used in good clear writing in North American academic written discourse.

Paragraph Defined

What do we mean when we say write in paragraph form, or give me a paragraph of writing, or use well-organized and clearly written paragraphs? Simply, a paragraph is a small unit of writing that focuses on ONE idea. Therefore, in one paragraph there should be ONE main idea that is developed by many sentences (or ideas) that support this ONE main thought.

Parts of the Paragraph

This may be a review for some of you, but we should review the parts of a paragraph. Generally speaking, a paragraph will have 3 parts:

1.     Topic Sentence – This is the sentence that introduces the topic of the paragraph. It is often referred to as the main idea of the paragraph. In addition, you usually find this topic sentence to be the first sentence of a paragraph, though it is not necessary for it to be the first sentence. There are 2 parts to the topic sentence:

         a. Topic  = the subject of the paragraph such as “ads on TV”.
         b. Controlling Idea = the writer’s attitude or idea about the topic. This idea is a word or phrase 
             that controls the information in the rest of the paragraph and will indicate what the sentences 
             in the paragraph will discuss such as “ give consumers a lot of information.”

       When you put it all together, a topic sentence might look like the following example:
Ads on TV give consumers a lot of information.                                                

2.     Supporting Details – This explains or develops the topic sentence. These are the sentences that refer to the topic and controlling idea. These support sentences should clarify, illustrate, back up, explain or prove the point you are making in the topic sentence. The support can be facts, details, examples, explanations, narratives, or statistics. Basically, as a writer you must prove to your audience why your topic sentence is true, or what support exists to give you the reason to say what you have said

Example

Which of the following sentences could be used to support the topic sentence in the last example?
  1. Ads let consumers know what products they like, how much they cost, and where they can be purchased.
  2. For example, if Volkswagen wants to sell the Jetta, they would be inclined to show the ad over and over again while highlighting features such as its popular style to the high performance of the engine.
  3. The ad may then go to show how much the car could be purchased with a low financing option, and finally to tell you the exact name of the dealership(s) in your area.
  4. The Mercedes is certainly the best bet for any consumer to consider after seeing TV ads.

Answer

Do you think sentences a, b, and c support the topic sentence? Why or why not?
What about d, is it related or irrelevant? If you said that d does not have a clear connection to the topic sentence, then you have seen this clearly. Although d talks about a car, the support in this paragraph is based on a Volkswagen example reflecting product, cost and place to purchase.

3.     Conclusion – This part of the paragraph summarizes or comments on the topic and controlling idea. If you are writing only one paragraph, the conclusion may be 1 or 2 sentences, but for writing that is more than one paragraph, the conclusion is brief as concluding ideas would be seen more in the last paragraph. A lot of times, this sentence will refer back to the main idea of the topic sentence, and even repeat a key word or phrase from this main idea. 

      Example
The following might conclude the topic sentence and support details of the previous example given in point 2. 
         At the end of the day, car ads (in topic sentence) will expose consumers (in topic sentence) to  
          a lot of information (in topic sentence) to provoke thoughts about buying that new car. 

4.   An Example Paragraph

Let’s put all the ideas together in a paragraph format.

Ads on TV give consumers a lot of information. Ads let consumers know what products they like, how much they cost, and where they can be purchased. For example, if Volkswagen wants to sell the Jetta, they would be inclined to show the ad over and over again while highlighting features such as its popular style to the high performance of the engine. The ad may then go to show how much the car could be purchased with a low financing option, and finally to tell you the exact name of the dealership(s) in your area. At the end of the day, car ads will expose consumers to a lot of information to provoke thoughts about buying that new car.

Coherence and Unity
This idea of coherence and unity will be raised many times when looking at clear writing and speaking. However, we have decided to introduce this idea in this handout so that you can start thinking about it as you start producing more English in your daily life. Simply, the two words imply the following when thinking about clear communication:    

Unity – Each sentence in a paragraph should relate to the topic and develop the controlling idea. If any sentence does not relate to or develop the controlling idea, then we refer to that idea as “irrelevant”. When a paragraph has irrelevant ideas in it, we say that it “lacks unity”, and the unrelated ideas need to be taken out and possibly developed in another paragraph.

Coherence – Each sentence in a paragraph should be logically arranged and ideas should flow smoothly. That is, the reader should not be guessing what you are trying to say. For example, if you were writing about the most important business experiences in you life, you might want to order the ideas according to the years in which these experiences happened. In other words, there is some logic in this type of ordering. “Smooth flow” on the other hand can be a little more complicated, and there are particular language items called transitions that can help you with the flow. Transitions are words like for example, on the other hand, in addition, and so on. We will talk more about the use of transitions, how to use them, and practice using them in later lessons. However (a transition), you should be aware of this concept of coherence at this point in your learning of English, even if you feel this is something you cannot yet apply well to your own communication in English.

Troublespots
Here is a list of common errors often seen in the writing of intermediate to advanced students when they are trying to express ideas clearly in a paragraph:
§  unclear topic sentences;
§  topic sentences that are too broad and have no controlling idea;
§  irrelevant support or details – lack of unity;
§  and lack of coherence between support ideas. 

Implications for Your Learning

Good organization and clarity in writing is key. Without it, the chances for miscommunication increase, and the chances for moving forward efficiently in business decrease. Of course, there are many other factors that influence the success of a communication; however, if the communication is written, it is important in business to start off with a document that clearly represents what you are trying to say in an organized way. In the work that you do for your writing course, you will be asked to assess your paragraphs and the paragraphs of your peers to grasp this concept in more practical terms. We then hope you will take this knowledge into your academic or workplace environment and make your communication in English even more effective!


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