Writing Paragraphs Well

(© DBU University Writing Center)

By Mark J. BooneEdited by UWC staff: Lisa Crawford, Lead Editor

What is a paragraph?

The simple definition of a paragraph is three or more sentences that share the same subject matter.

The first line is indented:

Guinea pigs are cute and fuzzy little creatures, so they make great pets. There is no doubt in my mind that guinea pigs make better pets than mice. Guinea pigs are better pets than gerbils because they’re cuter and they’re more civilized rodents

Paragraphs for an essay.

A paragraph for an essay serves a very specific purpose. It is intended to prove something, so all its sentences should be carefully chosen:

Guinea pigs are cute and fuzzy little creatures, so they make great pets. There is no doubt in my mind that guinea pigs make better pets than mice. Guinea pigs are better pets than gerbils because they’re cuter, and they’re more civilized rodents.

Paragraphs should have topic sentences.The paragraph should begin with a sentence, called the topic sentence, that sums up the paragraph in a few words:

Guinea pigs make great pets. There is no doubt in my mind that guinea pigs make better pets than mice. Guinea pigs are better pets than gerbils because they are both cuter and more civilized rodents. Further-more, guinea pigs are cute and fuzzy, and such creatures always make great pets.

The topic sentence outlines the paragraph. A good topic sentence will serve as an outline for the paragraph.

It will make a statement, and then it will provide two or three reasons why the statement is true.

For the rest of the paragraph, have one or two sentences elaborate on each reason in the same order they appeared in the thesis:

Guinea pigs make great pets because they are cute and fuzzy, better than gerbils, and easy to feed. Their cuteness and fuzziness can please their owners for hours. Guinea pigs are better pets than gerbils because they are more civilized. Furthermore, guinea pigs are easy pets to feed because they can eat common vegetables like carrots and lettuce, as well as grass.