If so, all paragraphs should have between three and ten full sentences. All in all, a strong and coherent paragraph starts and ends itself, and so there's no need to count paragraphs when the argument is clear and directed. In sum, remember the point of paragraphs is to show the structure of your thoughts.
A paragraph should encompass one thought—that is, it should have some idea guiding it—which is then divided into separate sentences all of which address and advance that idea.
So, insert a paragraph break when you are making a transition between ideas, or adding a new line of thought, or when you've finished summing up, as I'll do right now. So, for instance, journalists tend to write in many short paragraphs. The same is true in some of the sciences. Honestly, every teacher has different ideas on this subject, but my current english teacher has taught nothing on how long they feel it should be.
I have a paragraph that is a page long, and was just wondering if it was too long! I think that a paragraph should be at least 75 words or more. I am in my honors english class 9th grade honors and I just googled how many words in a paragraph, and did not see anything, so I am just estimating and sharing. I believe technology, texting, spell check, the internet, etc.
I have actually madea practice of only using it when in a hurry, or in a bind. Of course I am not near the caliber of most others in these comments, writers, teachers, etc.
How Long Should a Paragraph Be? By Mark Nichol. Stop making those embarrassing mistakes! Subscribe to Daily Writing Tips today! You will improve your English in only 5 minutes per day, guaranteed! You'll also get three bonus ebooks completely free! Try It Free Now.
Laura on October 18, pm Great article! Can I use this with my composition students? Big paragraphs scare away readers at the first glimpse, let alone read them. Thanks for the informative write-up. Silvia Altamirano on October 19, pm Luckily, I was never told in school, or anywhere, how long a paragraph should be.
Vallypee on February 24, am I agree, but when teaching academic writing to non-nativespeakers, the topic-highlighting-concluding structure works well because they often do not have a feel for where a paragraph should logically come to an end. In reality, though, the unity and coherence of ideas among sentences is what constitutes a paragraph. Length and appearance do not determine whether a section in a paper is a paragraph. For instance, in some styles of writing, particularly journalistic styles, a paragraph can be just one sentence long.
Ultimately, a paragraph is a sentence or group of sentences that support one main idea. Before you can begin to determine what the composition of a particular paragraph will be, you must first decide on an argument and a working thesis statement for your paper.
What is the most important idea that you are trying to convey to your reader? The information in each paragraph must be related to that idea.
In other words, your paragraphs should remind your reader that there is a recurrent relationship between your thesis and the information in each paragraph. A working thesis functions like a seed from which your paper, and your ideas, will grow. The whole process is an organic one—a natural progression from a seed to a full-blown paper where there are direct, familial relationships between all of the ideas in the paper.
There are many techniques for brainstorming; whichever one you choose, this stage of paragraph development cannot be skipped. Building paragraphs can be like building a skyscraper: there must be a well-planned foundation that supports what you are building.
Any cracks, inconsistencies, or other corruptions of the foundation can cause your whole paper to crumble. What else should you keep in mind as you begin to create paragraphs? Every paragraph in a paper should be :. There are many different ways to organize a paragraph. The organization you choose will depend on the controlling idea of the paragraph.
Below are a few possibilities for organization, with links to brief examples:. For each step there is an explanation and example. Our example paragraph will be about human misconceptions of piranhas. Paragraph development begins with the formulation of the controlling idea.
Often, the controlling idea of a paragraph will appear in the form of a topic sentence. Controlling idea and topic sentence — Despite the fact that piranhas are relatively harmless, many people continue to believe the pervasive myth that piranhas are dangerous to humans. Paragraph development continues with an elaboration on the controlling idea, perhaps with an explanation, implication, or statement about significance. Our example offers a possible explanation for the pervasiveness of the myth.
Elaboration — This impression of piranhas is exacerbated by their mischaracterization in popular media. Paragraph development progresses with an example or more that illustrates the claims made in the previous sentences.
Example — For example, the promotional poster for the horror film Piranha features an oversized piranha poised to bite the leg of an unsuspecting woman. The next movement in paragraph development is an explanation of each example and its relevance to the topic sentence.
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