Topic Sentences and Paragraphs

Purpose of Paragraphs

• to develop ideas about a single point that carefully guides readers from the starting point to the final destination

Sometimes...
a writer will include too many ideas in a paragraph or will not show how
those ideas connect to each other

paragraph may include the author’s
ideas, but may not clearly communicate ideas to the reader

need a clear point for the paragraph, and all the points should clearly relate to the main point

develop a single idea and everything included in the paragraph should clearly relate to that idea

Types of Paragraphs

• body paragraphs
• stand-alone paragraphs
• introductions
• conclusions

Body Paragraphs

• appear in longer pieces of writing, such as essays, to develop a larger point
• establishes and strengthens a link in a chain of ideas
• helps the writer communicate a larger point to readers

writing body paragraphs when responding to essay questions
on exams or in research papers

helps develop

• a point related to the larger whole to communicate more clearly and fully the idea the author wants to impart to the reader

For example, if someone who enjoys exploring caves, a spelunker, takes a trip to visit the caves of the Southwestern U.S., he or she might stop at Arizona’s Kartchner Caverns on the way to New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns. The end goal is to reach the Carlsbad Caverns, but the stop at Kartchner Caverns enriches the experience and helps the traveler understand more about the caverns of the Southwest.

Stand-Alone Paragraphs

• self-contained discussions of more limited scope than body paragraphs
• typically must have a narrow focus
• nothing comes before or after a stand-alone paragraph

entire point must be made in this single paragraph

responding to short-answer prompts on exams or when writing discussion question responses

authoring blog responses, responses to email queries, and mission statements for an Etsy site or for an employer

Parts of Paragraphs

primarily made up of three things

• a topic sentence
• support for the main idea
• an explanation of the support

contains one main idea that must be supported fully throughout the paragraph

by the end of a paragraph, the writer’s purpose should be achieved

Topic Sentence

• first sentence of a paragraph tells readers what to expect from the paragraph
• include the main idea of the paragraph
• readers should be able to understand the purpose of the upcoming paragraph
• readers know what to expect, they are better prepared to engage in the reading experience

offers an invitation to the reader

invites and guides by making clear what should be expected from the rest of the paragraph

Support

• Writers explain and prove their main points
• Use evidence (both experience-based and researched evidence), examples, and observations
• Writers must make sure they fully achieve the purpose stated in their topic sentences

without support, writers risk losing communication with readers

college-level writing is not simply to receive a thumbs
up; rather, it is to communicate

writers need to give specific support must avoid unsupported statements

Explanation of Support

• explain all of the evidence,examples, and/or observations discussed
• often forget to explain the usefulness of their evidence and examples, which can cause readers to become confused
• if readers do not understand why evidence and examples are useful, readers will feel that they wasted time reading the paragraph

writer’s purpose cannot be achieved without readers, so do not forget to explain all support thoroughly

once the purpose is stated in the topic sentence, the writer must support the main idea and the purpose throughout the
remainder of the paragraph

most important part of a paragraph is not
the topic, it is the purpose

Concluding Line(s)

• include a brief conclusion, usually one sentence to help readers feel satisfied with a stand-alone paragraph
• complete the writer’s thoughts on the main point of the paragraph should connect that main point with the overall point of the essay
• should connect that main point with the overall point of the essay

References

Chapter 2 of A Writer’s Journey: An Introduction to College Writing