Whether the drafting of a paragraph begins with a main idea or whether that idea surfaces in the revision process,
once you have that main idea, you’ll want to make sure that the idea has enough support. The job of the paragraph
body is to develop and support the topic. Here’s one way that you might think about it:

• Topic sentence: what is the main claim of your paragraph; what is the most important idea that you want
your readers to take away from this paragraph?
• Support in the form of evidence: how can you prove that your claim or idea is true (or important, or
noteworthy, or relevant)?
• Support in the form of analysis or evaluation: what discussion can you provide that helps your readers
see the connection between the evidence and your claim?
• Transition: how can you help your readers move from the idea you’re currently discussing to the next
idea presented? (For more specific discussion about transitions, see the following section on “Developing
Relationships between Ideas”).
For more on methods of development that can help you to develop and organize your ideas within paragraphs,
see “Patterns of Organization and Methods of Development” later in this section of this text.

Now that we have a good idea what it means to develop support for the main ideas of your paragraphs, let’s talk
about how to make sure that those supporting details are solid and convincing.

Good vs. Weak Support

What questions will your readers have? What will they need to know? What makes for good supporting details?
Why might readers consider some evidence to be weak?

If you’re already developing paragraphs, it’s likely that you already have a plan for your essay, at least at the most
basic level. You know what your topic is, you might have a working thesis, and you probably have at least a couple
of supporting ideas in mind that will further develop and support your thesis.

So imagine you’re developing a paragraph on one of these supporting ideas and you need to make sure that the
support that you develop for this idea is solid. Considering some of the points about understanding and appealing
to your audience (from the Audience and Purpose and the Prewriting sections of this text) can also be helpful in
determining what your readers will consider good support and what they’ll consider to be weak. Here are some
tips on what to strive for and what to avoid when it comes to supporting details.

Good support
• Is relevant and focused (sticks to the point).
• Is well developed.
• Provides sufficient detail.
• Is vivid and descriptive.
• Is well organized.
• Is coherent and consistent.
• Highlights key terms and ideas.

Weak Support
• Lacks a clear connection to the point that it’s meant to support.
• Lacks development.
• Lacks detail or gives too much detail.
• Is vague and imprecise.
• Lacks organization.
• Seems disjointed (ideas don’t clearly relate to each other).
• Lacks emphasis of key terms and ideas.

Breaking, Combining, or Beginning New Paragraphs

Like sentence length, paragraph length varies. There is no single ideal length for “the perfect paragraph.” There
are some general guidelines, however. Some writing handbooks or resources suggest that a paragraph should be at
least three or four sentences; others suggest that 100 to 200 words is a good target to shoot for. In academic writing,
paragraphs tend to be longer, while in less formal or less complex writing, such as in a newspaper, paragraphs
tend to be much shorter. Two-thirds to three-fourths of a page is usually a good target length for paragraphs at
your current level of college writing. If your readers can’t see a paragraph break on the page, they might wonder
if the paragraph is ever going to end or they might lose interest.

The most important thing to keep in mind here is that the amount of space needed to develop one idea will likely
be different than the amount of space needed to develop another. So when is a paragraph complete? The answer
is, when it’s fully developed. The guidelines above for providing good support should help.

Some signals that it’s time to end a paragraph and start a new one include that
• You’re ready to begin developing a new idea.
• You want to emphasize a point by setting it apart.
• You’re getting ready to continue discussing the same idea but in a different way (e.g. shifting from
comparison to contrast).
• You notice that your current paragraph is getting too long (more than three-fourths of a page or so), and
you think your writers will need a visual break.
Some signals that you may want to combine paragraphs include that
• You notice that some of your paragraphs appear to be short and choppy.
• You have multiple paragraphs on the same topic.
• You have undeveloped material that needs to be united under a clear topic.

Finally, paragraph number is a lot like paragraph length. You may have been asked in the past to write a five paragraph essay. There’s nothing inherently wrong with a five-paragraph essay, but just like sentence length and
paragraph length, the number of paragraphs in an essay depends upon what’s needed to get the job done. There’s
really no way to know that until you start writing. So try not to worry too much about the proper length and number
of things. Just start writing and see where the essay and the paragraphs take you. There will be plenty of time
to sort out the organization in the revision process. You’re not trying to fit pegs into holes here. You’re letting your
ideas unfold. Give yourself—and them—the space to let that happen.

Developing Relationships Between Ideas

So you have a main idea, and you have supporting ideas, but how can you be sure that your readers will understand
the relationships between them? How are the ideas tied to each other? One way to emphasize these relationships
is through the use of clear transitions between ideas. Like every other part of your essay, transitions have a job
to do. They form logical connections between the ideas presented in an essay or paragraph, and they give readers
clues that reveal how you want them to think about (process, organize, or use) the topics presented.

Why are Transitions Important?

Transitions signal the order of ideas, highlight relationships,
unify concepts, and let readers know what’s coming
next or remind them about what’s already been
covered. When instructors or peers comment that your
writing is choppy, abrupt, or needs to “flow better,” those
are some signals that you might need to work on building
some better transitions into your writing. If a reader
comments that she’s not sure how something relates to your thesis or main idea, a transition is probably the right
tool for the job.

When Is the Right Time to Build in Transitions?

There’s no right answer to this question. Sometimes transitions occur spontaneously, but just as often (or maybe
even more often) good transitions are developed in revision. While drafting, we often write what we think, sometimes
without much reflection about how the ideas fit together or relate to one another. If your thought process
jumps around a lot (and that’s okay), it’s more likely that you will need to pay careful attention to reorganization
and to providing solid transitions as you revise.

When you’re working on building transitions into an essay, consider the essay’s overall organization. Consider
using reverse outlining and other organizational strategies presented in this text to identify key ideas in your essay
and to get a clearer look at how the ideas can be best organized. This can help you determine where transitions are needed.

Let’s take some time to consider the importance of transitions at the sentence level and transitions between paragraphs.

Sentence-Level Transitions

Transitions between sentences often use “connecting words” to emphasize relationships between one sentence
and another. A friend and coworker suggests the “something old something new” approach, meaning that the idea
behind a transition is to introduce something new while connecting it to something old from an earlier point in the
essay or paragraph. Here are some examples of ways that writers use connecting words (highlighted with red text
and italicized) to show connections between ideas in adjacent sentences:

To Show Similarity
When I was growing up, my mother taught me to say “please” and “thank you” as one small way that I could show
appreciation and respect for others. In the same way, I have tried to impress the importance of manners onmy own
children.
Other connecting words that show similarity include also, similarly, and likewise.

To Show Contrast
Some scientists take the existence of black holes for granted; however, in 2014, a physicist at the University of North
Carolina claimed to have mathematically proven that they do not exist.
Other connecting words that show contrast include in spite of, on the other hand, in contrast, and yet.

To Exemplify
The cost of college tuition is higher than ever, so students are becoming increasingly motivated to keep costs as
low as possible. For example, a rising number of students are signing up to spend their first two years at a less costly community college before transferring to a more expensive four-year school to finish their degrees.
Other connecting words that show example include for instance, specifically, and to illustrate.

To Show Cause and Effect
Where previously painters had to grind and mix their own dry pigments with linseed oil inside their studios, in
the 1840s, new innovations in pigments allowed paints to be premixed in tubes. Consequently, this new technology
facilitated the practice of painting outdoors and was a crucial tool for impressionist painters, such as Monet,
Cezanne, Renoir, and Cassatt.
Other connecting words that show cause and effect include therefore, so, and thus.

To Show Additional Support
When choosing a good trail bike, experts recommend 120–140 millimeters of suspension travel; that’s the amount
that the frame or fork is able to flex or compress. Additionally, they recommend a 67–69 degree head-tube angle,
as a steeper head-tube angle allows for faster turning and climbing.
Other connecting words that show additional support include also, besides, equally important, and in addition.

A Word of Caution

Single-word or short-phrase transitions can be helpful to signal a shift in ideas within a paragraph, rather than
between paragraphs (see the discussion below about transitions between paragraphs). But it’s also important to
understand that these types of transitions shouldn’t be frequent within a paragraph. As with anything else that
happens in your writing, they should be used when they feel natural and feel like the right choice. Here are some
examples to help you see the difference between transitions that feel like they occur naturally and transitions that
seem forced and make the paragraph awkward to read:

Too Many Transitions: The Impressionist painters of the late 19th century are well known for their visible
brush strokes, for their ability to convey a realistic sense of light, and for their everyday subjects portrayed in
outdoor settings. In spite of this fact, many casual admirers of their work are unaware of the scientific innovations
that made it possible this movement in art to take place. Then, In 1841, an American painter named John
Rand invented the collapsible paint tube. To illustrate the importance of this invention, pigments previously had
to be ground and mixed in a fairly complex process that made it difficult for artists to travel with them. For
example, the mixtures were commonly stored in pieces of pig bladder to keep the paint from drying out. In
addition, when working with their palettes, painters had to puncture the bladder, squeeze out some paint, and
then mend the bladder again to keep the rest of the paint mixture from drying out. Thus, Rand’s collapsible
tube freed the painters from these cumbersome and messy processes, allowing artists to be more mobile and
to paint in the open air.

Subtle Transitions that Aid Reader Understanding: The Impressionist painters of the late 19th century are
well known for their visible brush strokes, for their ability to convey a realistic sense of light, for their everyday
subjects portrayed in outdoor settings. However, many casual admirers of their work are unaware of
the scientific innovations that made it possible for this movement in art to take place. In 1841, an American
painter named John Rand invented the collapsible paint tube. Before this invention, pigments had to be ground
and mixed in a fairly complex process that made it difficult for artists to travel with them. The mixtures
were commonly stored in pieces of pig bladder to keep the paint from drying out. When working with their
palettes, painters had to puncture the bladder, squeeze out some paint, and then mend the bladder again
to keep the rest of the paint mixture from drying out. Rand’s collapsible tube freed the painters from these
cumbersome and messy processes, allowing artists to be more mobile and to paint in the open air.

Transitions between Paragraphs and Sections

It’s important to consider how to emphasize the relationships not just between sentences but also between paragraphs in your essay. Here are a few strategies to help you show your readers how the main ideas of your paragraphs relate to each other and also to your thesis.

Use Signposts

Signposts are words or phrases that indicate where you are in the process of organizing an idea; for example, signposts might indicate that you are introducing a new concept, that you are summarizing an idea, or that you are
concluding your thoughts. Some of the most common signposts include words and phrases like first, then, next,
finally, in sum, and in conclusion. Be careful not to overuse these types of transitions in your writing. Your readers
will quickly find them tiring or too obvious. Instead, think of more creative ways to let your readers know where
they are situated within the ideas presented in your essay. You might say, “The first problem with this practice is…”
Or you might say, “The next thing to consider is…” Or you might say, “Some final thoughts about this topic are….”

Use Forward-Looking Sentences at the End of Paragraphs
Sometimes, as you conclude a paragraph, you might want to give your readers a hint about what’s coming next.
For example, imagine that you’re writing an essay about the benefits of trees to the environment and you’ve just
wrapped up a paragraph about how trees absorb pollutants and provide oxygen. You might conclude with a forward-
looking sentence like this: “Trees benefits to local air quality are important, but surely they have more to
offer our communities than clean air.” This might conclude a paragraph (or series of paragraphs) and then prepare
your readers for additional paragraphs to come that cover the topics of trees’ shade value and ability to slow water
evaporation on hot summer days. This transitional strategy can be tricky to employ smoothly. Make sure that the
conclusion of your paragraph doesn’t sound like you’re leaving your readers hanging with the introduction of a
completely new or unrelated topic.

Use Backward-Looking Sentences at the Beginning of Paragraphs
Rather than concluding a paragraph by looking forward, you might instead begin a paragraph by looking back.
Continuing with the example above of an essay about the value of trees, let’s think about how we might begin a
new paragraph or section by first taking a moment to look back. Maybe you just concluded a paragraph on the
topic of trees’ ability to decrease soil erosion and you’re getting ready to talk about how they provide habitats for
urban wildlife. Beginning the opening of a new paragraph or section of the essay with a backward-looking transition
might look something like this: “While their benefits to soil and water conservation are great, the value that
trees provide to our urban wildlife also cannot be overlooked.”

Evaluate Transitions for Predictability or Conspicuousness

Finally, the most important thing about transitions is that you don’t want them to become repetitive or too obvious.
Reading your draft aloud is a great revision strategy for so many reasons, and revising your essay for transitions
is no exception to this rule. If you read your essay aloud, you’re likely to hear the areas that sound choppy or
abrupt. This can help you make note of areas where transitions need to be added. Repetition is another problem
that can be easier to spot if you read your essay aloud. If you notice yourself using the same transitions over and
over again, take time to find some alternatives. And if the transitions frequently stand out as you read aloud, you
may want to see if you can find some subtler strategies.