Effective Paragraph Writing

Effective Paragraph Writing

In this lesson, you will learn how to write an effective paragraph.

Topic Sentence

The key to writing an effective paragraph is to include a strong, clear topic sentence that states the subject or main idea of the paragraph. All the sentences that follow should relate to the same subject. Understanding how to write a topic sentence will make your writing focused and easy to understand.

***Note that the topic sentence does not have to be the first sentence in your paragraph.

In the next example, Cecilia is writing a statement to present at the next city council meeting. Help identify her topic sentence.

Skill Check...

My name is Cecilia Barnes, and I have lived in Shelby County for over 35 years. I strongly urge the city council to reconsider eliminating the #71 bus line. I, along with many people in Shelby County, rely on the #71 to commute to work or school. Without it, we will have to leave our homes 60 minutes earlier and arrive home that much later. I know times are tough, but cutting the #71 would make our lives even tougher. Might running smaller, more cost-efficient busses during off-peak hours be possible rather than cutting service? If you care about the people in this community, please keep the #71 bus line running.

Skill check...

Multiple Choice

What is the topic sentence in the paragraph?

• A. My name is Cecilia Barnes, and I have lived in Shelby County for over 35 years.

• B. I strongly urge the city council to reconsider eliminating the #71 bus line.

• C. Without it, we will have to leave our homes 60 minutes earlier and arrive home that much later.

• D. If you care about the people in this community, please keep the #71 bus line running.

Supporting Details

The sentences in a paragraph should provide details that explain or develop the main idea of the paragraph.

Think about supporting details in terms of a job interview. It is not enough to say, “I feel I am a qualified candidate for this job.” You have to back up that statement with reasons why you are qualified and include details such as your training, special skills, and work experience.

The most effective details are those that include facts (information that can be proven true), logical reasons, and examples of things that have actually happened rather than personal opinions or beliefs.

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To develop adequate support for an idea, make sure that you back up your claim with relevant evidence or information. Take a look at the claims below and decide which evidence is relevant to the topic sentence.

1. Brian began a post in his baseball blog with this sentence:

The Dodgers have the best chance of winning the World Series this year.

Multiple Choice

Which of the next details would best support Brian's statement?

• A. They have by far the coolest uniforms in the National League.

• B. They’re from Los Angeles, and I have a cousin who lives out there.

• C. Their starting pitcher won the Most Valuable Player award last year.

Multiple Choice

Michelle is writing an email to convince her company that replacing current company cars with hybrids would be a good financial and environmental investment. Which fact best helps her make her case?

• A. The options for choosing a hybrid vehicle were limited in the past, but now most car manufacturers sell hybrids and offer a wide range of styles and colors.

• B. The upfront cost of hybrid cars will be offset by the longterm savings in fuel costs and tax breaks.

• C. Hybrid cars are becoming increasingly popular. Many celebrities drive hybrid cars.

Unified Paragraphs

You will know your paragraph is unified if:

**all the sentences in the paragraph belong there. Remember that a paragraph is about one subject. If a sentence is not about that subject, delete it.

**your main idea is clearly stated. You want your reader to know exactly what you are writing about.

**all your ideas support your main idea. Delete or change ideas that contradict, repeat unnecessarily, or do not relate to your main idea. Ideas that do not relate are called irrelevant.

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**all your ideas are clear. If anything seems confusing to you, it will be confusing to your reader. Figure out what makes it confusing, and fix it.

**your ideas are clearly connected. If one idea seems to jump to the next, with no clear connection, you can add a word or phrase that shows how it relates to the idea that precedes or follows it.

Multiple Choice

Skill Check: Unifying Paragraphs

On an application for a small business loan, Ernesto has to write one paragraph to explain why the bank should give him money for his flower shop. Which of these statements should he keep, and which should he delete?

1. I have experience running a small

business; I have managed my uncle’s flower business for over 15 years.

• A. Keep

• B. Delete

Multiple Choice

2. I coached my son’s soccer team to win the state championship last year.

• Keep

• Delete

Multiple Choice

3. My business will be the only shop of its kind in the area—a one-stop wedding service offering cakes, flowers, tuxedo rentals, invitations, and much, much more.

• Keep

• Delete

Multiple Choice

4. If I receive the loan, I will be able to secure a showroom on W. High Street, the highest traffic shopping area in town.

• Keep

• Delete

Multiple Choice

5. I have talked to other shop owners on W. High Street, and in their opinion, business is better than ever.

• Keep

• Delete

Multiple Choice

6. I was voted “Most Likely to Succeed” by my classmates at Woodrow Wilson High School.

• Keep

• Delete

Skill Check: Write a Paragraph

Now that you know everything that makes a strong, unified paragraph, you can practice writing one of your own. Write a paragraph of at least four or five sentences on the subject. Write your paragraph in a Google Doc in your Google Classroom or if you work in Canvas, do it on a Word Page.

Remember to follow a good writing process: **choose your topic **write your draft **then proofread it. Check that your final paragraph has all the key elements of a unified paragraph:

**A clear topic sentence that explains your purpose

**Adequate support for your claim

**Only relevant information that furthers your argument