ESL002: Intermediate English as a Second Language

Paragraphs

In academic writing, a paragraph is a group of sentences that are all about one main idea. One paragraph in a longer piece of academic writing, such as an essay, is very different from a paragraph you might see in newspapers, magazines, websites, or in a fictional story. Let's take a look at the basic structure of a paragraph in more detail.

Key Elements

In academic writing, a paragraph usually has three specific parts: a topic sentence, some supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence. Each part of an academic paragraph plays a special role:

• A clear topic sentence:
  • tells the reader what the whole paragraph will be about;
  • expresses the topic and the controlling idea;
• Supporting sentences:
  • provide more information explaining the main idea;
  • use as many sentences as needed to explain your idea clearly and completely;
    • at least 3-4 supporting sentences;
  • include further examples, descriptions, definitions, explanations, and specific details (time, date, place, number, and other facts) for each support;
  • use transition words and phrases to show the organization pattern of the paragraph;
• A concluding sentence:
  • closes the paragraph by helping the reader return to the big picture of the topic sentence;
  • can be the restated topic sentence, a summary of the paragraph, or a prediction/suggestion about the topic.

This paragraph structure is often pictured as a burger or sandwich. Thinking about paragraphs this way could help you more easily remember these three elements and their roles. Let's watch an explanation of how a paragraph is similar to a sandwich.

As you can see, the idea of a sandwich or hamburger is a common way to look at paragraph structure. Let's review it!

• The top part of the bun is the topic sentence. This sentence tells you what the paragraph is about, and it looks appealing. Just as the top of the hamburger makes you want to eat the whole thing, the first sentence should make you want to read the whole paragraph.
• The main part of the hamburger is the supporting sentences. This is where you will find the tasty, juicy material. When you eat a hamburger, the best part is the meat, cheese, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, mustard, mayonnaise, and so on. When you read a paragraph, the best information should be in the supporting sentences. This is where you will find details such as examples and numbers.
• The bottom of the hamburger is the concluding sentence. No one really enjoys the bottom part of the bun - it's tasteless, and it doesn't have anything exciting in it. It's there just to hold the hamburger together. The concluding sentence in your paragraph is the same - don't include new and tasty information here. Its purpose is to signal the end of the paragraph.

Paragraph DOs and DON'Ts

Topic sentence

DO

• make it clear to the reader what your paragraph is about.

DON'T

• write the topic sentence as a question; instead, make it a statement.
• say, "I am going to talk about …" Instead, think about what you want to say about it.
• make it too general. "Food is important" is too general!
• include too many ideas - you only have one paragraph.
• just give a fact, e.g., "Canada produces salmon." What do you want to say about this salmon?

Supporting sentences

DO

• Make sure everything in the paragraph is connected to the topic sentence.
• Use details (e.g., examples and numbers) to support your topic sentence.
• Introduce different points with words like First, Next, In addition, Moreover, Finally.

DON'T

• use general statements; try to include specific details.

Concluding sentence

DO

• give the main idea again, but in different words.

DON'T

• introduce new information here.
• forget to write it! It needs to be there to signal the end of your paragraph.

Now that we know more about paragraphs, let's take a closer look at a specific type of paragraph and how we can write one.

 Source: Adapted from LibreTexts, Rachel Bailey, and Enokson; Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, Source 4, Source 5, Source 6
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