{"id":618,"date":"2016-05-27T19:24:39","date_gmt":"2016-05-27T19:24:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=618"},"modified":"2016-08-30T16:27:11","modified_gmt":"2016-08-30T16:27:11","slug":"text-paragraph-structure","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/chapter\/text-paragraph-structure\/","title":{"raw":"Text: Paragraph Structure","rendered":"Text: Paragraph Structure"},"content":{"raw":"<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Paragraphs<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">The manner in which your essay presents material is vital. As you know, an essay (or any academic text) is built up around paragraphs. These help the reader understand the organization of your essay and grasp its main points. A paragraph is a series of sentences that are organized and coherent, and are all related to a single topic. The main rule is:<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\r\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>One paragraph = one new point in your argument<\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><b><\/b><span class=\"s1\">Each paragraph typically contains a three-part structure:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">1. <b>Introduction<\/b>: includes a topic sentence and transition words\r\n2. <b>Body<\/b>: discusses the topic, using various forms of evidence\r\n3. <b>Conclusion<\/b>: comments and draws connections<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Paragraph Principles<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\r\n \t<li class=\"li4\"><span class=\"s1\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-620 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2016\/05\/27192255\/2308730816_8351ce4d82_z-300x264.jpg\" alt=\"A small paragraph of text receding into the left of the image. White and yellow font against a dark background.\" width=\"300\" height=\"264\" \/>Each paragraph should contain one new point related to the essay's overall thesis.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"li4\"><span class=\"s1\">Each paragraph should be able to stand on its own and have its own internal structure.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"li4\"><span class=\"s1\">Each paragraph should state its purpose, in the form of a topic sentence.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Try extracting the first line from your essay paragraphs and see if you can follow your main line of argument. If you can\u2019t, they your essay is not so easy to follow as you might want it to be. (Of course, not every argument has to be organized this way. But try to look up a few articles in some \u201cserious\u201d newspapers: you will find this structure widely used!)<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">The reason why paragraphs should be \u201cheadlined\u201d with reference to the overall argument is to keep that argument in the reader\u2019s mind, thereby making it easier for them to see the relevance of the rest of the paragraph. This way, the reader doesn\u2019t lose track, and neither do you as you write.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Connecting Paragraphs Together<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Ideally, paragraphs should be well connected to each other. Order paragraphs so that each one follows logically from the previous one. To make this logic more obvious, you can use transition words (or \u201cconnectors\u201d), so that the paragraphs flow better and the reader is always kept on track.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"p2\">As the author, you know why one paragraph relates to the next, because you've put a lot of effort, research, and thought into the planning of this document. Your reader isn't as well-versed in the subject as you are, however. Adding transition words and phrases helps cue your reader into the connections between ideas you've already made for yourself.<\/p>","rendered":"<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Paragraphs<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">The manner in which your essay presents material is vital. As you know, an essay (or any academic text) is built up around paragraphs. These help the reader understand the organization of your essay and grasp its main points. A paragraph is a series of sentences that are organized and coherent, and are all related to a single topic. The main rule is:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>One paragraph = one new point in your argument<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><b><\/b><span class=\"s1\">Each paragraph typically contains a three-part structure:<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">1. <b>Introduction<\/b>: includes a topic sentence and transition words<br \/>\n2. <b>Body<\/b>: discusses the topic, using various forms of evidence<br \/>\n3. <b>Conclusion<\/b>: comments and draws connections<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Paragraph Principles<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li4\"><span class=\"s1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-620 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2016\/05\/27192255\/2308730816_8351ce4d82_z-300x264.jpg\" alt=\"A small paragraph of text receding into the left of the image. White and yellow font against a dark background.\" width=\"300\" height=\"264\" \/>Each paragraph should contain one new point related to the essay&#8217;s overall thesis.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li4\"><span class=\"s1\">Each paragraph should be able to stand on its own and have its own internal structure.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li4\"><span class=\"s1\">Each paragraph should state its purpose, in the form of a topic sentence.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Try extracting the first line from your essay paragraphs and see if you can follow your main line of argument. If you can\u2019t, they your essay is not so easy to follow as you might want it to be. (Of course, not every argument has to be organized this way. But try to look up a few articles in some \u201cserious\u201d newspapers: you will find this structure widely used!)<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">The reason why paragraphs should be \u201cheadlined\u201d with reference to the overall argument is to keep that argument in the reader\u2019s mind, thereby making it easier for them to see the relevance of the rest of the paragraph. This way, the reader doesn\u2019t lose track, and neither do you as you write.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Connecting Paragraphs Together<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Ideally, paragraphs should be well connected to each other. Order paragraphs so that each one follows logically from the previous one. To make this logic more obvious, you can use transition words (or \u201cconnectors\u201d), so that the paragraphs flow better and the reader is always kept on track.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">As the author, you know why one paragraph relates to the next, because you&#8217;ve put a lot of effort, research, and thought into the planning of this document. Your reader isn&#8217;t as well-versed in the subject as you are, however. Adding transition words and phrases helps cue your reader into the connections between ideas you&#8217;ve already made for yourself.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-618\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Revision and Adaptation. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Paragraph Structure. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Academic Writing. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/academicwriting.wikidot.com\/paragraph-structure\">http:\/\/academicwriting.wikidot.com\/paragraph-structure<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Image of paragraph. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: JuanRax. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/4w1ReJ\">https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/4w1ReJ<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":19,"menu_order":22,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Paragraph Structure\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Academic Writing\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/academicwriting.wikidot.com\/paragraph-structure\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Image of paragraph\",\"author\":\"JuanRax\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/4w1ReJ\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Revision and Adaptation\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"f4ad3585-aa82-40fa-b389-491357691f61, d255208d-94ac-470e-8b0f-f485f1070c50","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-618","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":19,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1922,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/618\/revisions\/1922"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/19"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/618\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=618"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=618"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}