Every piece of academic writing is structured by paragraphs and headings. The number, length and order of your paragraphs will depend on what you’re writing—but each paragraph must be: Show
To walk you through the process of writing strong paragraphs, we’ll use an example from our interactive essay about the history of the Braille reading system. With each step, we will gradually build up the structure of a paragraph. Table of contents
Step 1: Identify the paragraph’s purposeFirst, you need to know the central idea that will organize this paragraph. If you have already made a plan or outline of your paper’s overall structure, you should already have a good idea of what each paragraph will aim to do. You can start by drafting a sentence that sums up your main point and introduces the paragraph’s focus. This is often called a topic sentence. It should be specific enough to cover in a single paragraph, but general enough that you can develop it over several more sentences. Although the Braille system gained immediate popularity with the blind students at the Institute in Paris, it had to gain acceptance among the sighted before its adoption throughout France. This topic sentence:
Step 2: Show why the paragraph is relevantThe topic sentence tells the reader what the paragraph is about—but why does this point matter for your overall argument? If this isn’t already clear from your first sentence, you can explain and expand on its meaning. This support was necessary because sighted teachers and leaders had ultimate control over the propagation of Braille resources.
Scribbr Citation CheckerNewThe AI-powered Citation Checker helps you avoid common mistakes such as:
Learn more Step 3: Give evidenceNow you can support your point with evidence and examples. “Evidence” here doesn’t just mean empirical facts—the form it takes will depend on your discipline, topic and approach. Common types of evidence used in academic writing include:
Make sure to properly cite your sources. Many of the teachers at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth resisted Braille’s system because they found the tactile method of reading difficult to learn (Bullock & Galst, 2009).
Step 4: Explain or interpret the evidenceNow you have to show the reader how this evidence adds to your point. How you do so will depend on what type of evidence you have used.
This resistance was symptomatic of the prevalent attitude that the blind population had to adapt to the sighted world rather than develop their own tools and methods.
Steps 3 and 4 can be repeated several times until your point is fully developed. Use transition words and phrases to show the connections between different sentences in the paragraph. Over time, however, with the increasing impetus to make social contribution possible for all, teachers began to appreciate the usefulness of Braille’s system (Bullock & Galst, 2009). Access to reading could help improve the productivity and integration of people with vision loss.
Step 5: Conclude the paragraphFinally, wrap up the paragraph by returning to your main point and showing the overall consequences of the evidence you have explored. This particular paragraph takes the form of a historical story—giving evidence and analysis of each step towards Braille’s widespread acceptance. It took approximately 30 years, but the French government eventually approved the Braille system, and it was established throughout the country (Bullock & Galst, 2009).
Step 6: Read through the whole paragraphWhen you think you’ve fully developed your point, read through the final result to make sure each sentence follows smoothly and logically from the last and adds up to a coherent whole. Although the Braille system gained immediate popularity with the blind students at the Institute in Paris, it had to gain acceptance among the sighted before its adoption throughout France. This support was necessary because sighted teachers and leaders had ultimate control over the propagation of Braille resources. Many of the teachers at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth resisted learning Braille’s system because they found the tactile method of reading difficult to learn (Bullock & Galst, 2009). This resistance was symptomatic of the prevalent attitude that the blind population had to adapt to the sighted world rather than develop their own tools and methods. Over time, however, with the increasing impetus to make social contribution possible for all, teachers began to appreciate the usefulness of Braille’s system (Bullock & Galst, 2009). Access to reading could help improve the productivity and integration of people with vision loss. It took approximately 30 years, but the French government eventually approved the Braille system, and it was established throughout the country (Bullock & Galst, 2009). Not all paragraphs will look exactly like this. Depending on what your paper aims to do, you might:
The introduction and conclusion paragraphs will also look different. The only universal rule is that your paragraphs must be unified, coherent and relevant. If you struggle with structuring your paragraphs, you could consider using a paper editing service for personal, in-depth feedback. When to start a new paragraphAs soon as you address a new idea, argument or issue, you should start a new paragraph. To determine if your paragraph is complete, ask yourself:
Don’t think of paragraphs as isolated units—they are part of a larger argument that should flow organically from one point to the next. Before you start a new paragraph, consider how you will transition between ideas. Cite this Scribbr articleIf you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.
|