How to Write Paragraph:
A paragraph is a group of sentences related to one topic or developing one point. These sentences are closely related in meaning and are arranged in a systematic order. A paragraph may stand independently or may be a part of a longer composition like an essay. The essential features of a good paragraph are unity, coherence, proper emphasis and variety.
1. Unity:
The first and most important feature to be observed in constructing a paragraph is that of unity. Just as each sentence deals with one thought, each paragraph must deal with one topic or idea – and with no more than one. And every sentence in the paragraph must be closely connected with the main topic of the paragraph. The paragraph and every part of it must be the expression of one theme or topic. Since a paragraph happens to be a short composition, the unity of theme is of utmost importance in it. Unity may be achieved by relating all the sentences to the central theme.
2. Order:
The second principle of paragraph construction is order – that is logical sequence of thought or development of the subject. Events must be related in the order of their occurrence and all ideas should be connected with the leading idea and arranged according to their importance or order. In a descriptive paragraph, spatial order has to be observed. If the subject is reflective, the ideas should be so inter-connected that one idea leads to a specific conclusion.
Unity can also be achieved by using linking expressions, such as – therefore, moreover, however, thus, as a result of etc. But there must not be too many of these linking expressions in a paragraph, or they will distract the reader.
3. Variety:
When we talk of variety of theme in a paragraph, it is not the variety in its theme. A paragraph needs unity of theme – but the variety in sentence construction. In order to produce a better effect, the various sentences constituting a paragraph should be different in length and be varied in their form. Variety is the important feature of a paragraph as it helps to avoid monotony of a paragraph. The paragraph of a composition should be of different lengths, and not always of the same sentence construction.
◇》Sum up the main features of writing a good paragraph:
■》Think about the subject and select one of its aspects to write about. If a narrative subject, choose only one event; if a descriptive subject, choose the striking aspects to describe the subject, scene or person; in case of school reflective subject, you should have a clear point of view from which the central idea of the subject is reflected.
■》 Give a suitable title of the paragraph which will give a clear and vivid idea about the paragraph which you are going to write and readers are going to read.
■》You may also give sub-title or sub-heading of each paragraph which will express in a word or brief phrase the subject or the paragraph.
■》 Note down all the points relevant to the aspect you have chosen. Carefully exclude digressions and irrelevant ideas.
■ 》Arrange these points in a logical manner.
■》Develop the subject in a well-connected sentences.
■》Variety of sentences is essential for an effective paragraph to avoid the monotony of paragraph. The sentences must not be always too long or too short.
■》The sentence of a paragraph must have an air of finality about the paragraph. It must have the impression that you have adequately said what you wanted to say.
■》There is no hard and fast rule about the length of paragraph. It should be only as long as your subject demands. For the examination purpose you should maintain the length of paragraph when the words are limited or mentioned.