THE AMERICAN ENGLISH EXPRESS Chapter 2 page 11

                    What is a Paragraph?

A paragraph is a group of sentences that express an idea. 

Paragraphs usually begin with a topic sentence. This is the main sentence of the paragraph that tells what the paragraph is about. For beginning writers, it is best to think of the topic sentence as the first sentence in the paragraph. 

As a beginning reader, be aware that the topic sentence of a paragraph could be anywhere in the paragraph: the beginning, the end or even the middle.

Paragraphs must often be indented, especially if you are handwriting and not typing your work! This is a common error when learning English.  When handwriting, always indent the paragraph five spaces. This is easy on a keyboard or typewriter; the standard tab setting is 5 spaces.

     YOU CANNOT WRITE A ONE-SENTENCE PARAGRAPH IN A FORMAL ESSAY.

     Paragraphs cannot be only one sentence.

     Do not make this mistake!

     Your paragraphs should be several sentences long, but at least three.

I find that students often find it useful to try thinking of each paragraph as having the following components:

1. Make a statement or ask a question related to the topic. (Sometimes this is called the topic sentence.)

2. Define any terms that you are using that your reader might interpret differently than you do. 

3. Explain why the statement or question is important to the topic.

4. Give an example or two.

5. Use a transition technique to move to the next paragraph.

In this way, your paragraphs will have enough sentences in every paragraph.

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