ENGL000: Pre-College English

The above paragraph is a nice example of what an effective paragraph essay looks like. Let's look at how it is put together. Keep in mind that this is going to be a very broad overview of ideas that we will discuss in far more detail in future chapters. 

The first sentence of any paragraph is called the topic sentence. The job of a topic sentence is to preview what a paragraph will be about. Another way to think about a topic sentence is that it will raise a question which the paragraph that follows will answer using evidence, explanation, and elaboration (the three Es). 

In this case, the topic sentence is: "I really love my job at The Corner Store for many reasons". This statement raises the question, "What are those reasons?" or "What do you love about your job at The Corner Store?" As readers, we are expecting to find answers to these questions as we continue reading the paragraph.

The body of a good paragraph is generally going to look at three main ideas which support the topic sentence. In this case, those three main ideas will be three reasons the author loves her job.  In this paragraph, those three main ideas (reasons) are: easy work, good people, and good benefits.  Note that each of these main ideas opens with a sentence using what is called a transition (a word or phrase that connects ideas together – don't worry, we'll talk more about transitions in chapter seven which is all about the flow of your writing): "For one thing, the work is easy". "Second of all, I work with really great people". "The final reason I really love my job at The Corner Store is the awesome pay and benefits".

I'd also like for you to notice that each of these main ideas raises a question. 

When we read, "For one thing, the work is easy," we are likely to ask, "How is it easy?" 

When we read, "Second of all, I work with really great people," we are likely to ask "Like whom?" and "How are they great?" 

When we read "The final reason I really love my job at The Corner Store is the awesome pay and benefits," we are likely to ask "What is the pay?" and "What are the benefits?"

The author goes on after each of these main ideas, to give examples and details which answer these questions.  

Think of good writing as simply swinging back and forth between general statements that raise questions and specific statements that answer questions. Our goal as writers is to get to a level of specificity that our readers will no longer have questions.  

The last thing to note here is the closing sentence, "I feel incredibly fortunate to have such a wonderful job with great work, people, and benefits". A closing sentence should not bring up any new ideas (which would raise new questions for readers) and should basically restate the topic sentence bringing the paragraph to a conclusion. 

Here is an outline of how this paragraph was put together:
Topic Sentence: I really love my job at The Corner Store for many reasons.

1. Easy work
   1. Ring up customers, stock shelves, and make sure there is fresh coffee
   2. It's never busy so I can sit behind the register and do homework
2. I work with good people
   1. Coworkers help me out if I need it
      1. When I needed someone to cover for me so I could attend a field trip to the local art museum for my art history class, Mohamed took my shift for me
      2. One night when I had a big test the next morning, I was supposed to finish inventory before I left and my coworker Katie agreed to stay late and finish for me
   2. My boss, Alicia does a lot of nice things for us
      1. She always gives us a ten dollar gift card for our birthdays
      2. She sometimes orders a pizza for all of us when business is slow
3. Great pay and benefits
   1. $12 an hour
   2. Free fountain beverages during my shift
   3. A great schedule
      1. I always get 32 hours
      2. Alicia changes it for me every semester so it works around my classes

Please notice that as ideas get more specific, the outline moves down and to the right. A nice way to think about this is to think of moving down and to the right to add details every time an item raises a question. Below is an example of how this works looking at the last main idea in the outline.

3. Great pay and benefits - What is great about the pay and benefits? (A., B., and C. give answers to this question)
   1. $12 an hour - This doesn't raise any questions
   2. Free fountain beverages during my shift - This doesn't raise any questions
   3. A great schedule - What is great about it? (a. and b. give answers to this question)
      1. I always get 32 hours
      2. Alicia changes it for me every semester so it works around my classes

Source: Erin Severs
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