6.2 Effective Means for Writing a Paragraph
Now that you have identified common purposes for writing and learned how to select appropriate content for a particular audience, you can think about the structure of a paragraph in greater detail. Composing an effective paragraph requires a method similar to building a house. You may have the finest content or materials, but if you do not arrange them in the correct order, then the final product will not hold together very well.
A strong paragraph contains three distinct components:
- Topic sentence. The topic sentence is the main idea of the paragraph.
- Body. The body is composed of supporting sentences that develop the main point.
- Conclusion. The conclusion is the final sentence that summarizes the main point.
The foundation of a good paragraph is the topic sentence, which expresses the paragraph’s main idea. The topic sentence relates to the thesis, or main point, of the essay (see Chapter 9 “Writing Essays: From Start to Finish” for more information about thesis statements) and guides the reader by signposting what the paragraph is about. All the sentences in the rest of the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence.
This section covers the major components of a paragraph and examines how to develop an effective topic sentence.
