What Makes A Paragraph Tick?

There is no mystery about what makes good paragraphs: orderliness, coherence, completeness, and unity. Stylistically, these four attributes are usually accomplished by concrete topic sentences and smooth logical connections among ideas. Within paragraphs, writers usually connect ideas, thereby creating coherence and orderliness, by using combinations of the four methods described below. Capital letters indicate the words that help to establish the exact connections.

Four Methods For Writing Good Paragraphs

To heat the sample, TUNGSTEN-HALOGEN LAMPS are used below and above the fused silica tube. THESE LAMPS contain a tungsten filament and bromide gas inside a quartz bulb. By resistive heating alone, THE LAMPS can attain temperatures of 300° C to 400° C.

The film is not completely oriented in a single direction, and the system includes a number of ENTANGLEMENTS. THESE ENTANGLEMENTS become frozen into position as the film crystallizes.

When A SUBJECT VIEWS an object initially as a CIRCLE, that image becomes imprinted ON THE BRAIN. Even when the EYE AND BRAIN can distinguish an ellipse from the CIRCLE, memory tricks THE SUBJECT into seeing A CIRCLE.

The addition of oxygen promotes soot formation, particularly at low temperatures. ON THE OTHER HAND, oxygen also removes aromatic rings and active intermediates by oxidation, thus suppressing soot formation at high oxygen concentrations.

BECAUSE the wire is flexible, the sonde can rely on its own weight to pull it down the hole, essentially doing a free fall. THEREFORE, the sonde tends to get stuck easily in highly deviated holes.

Norris describes THREE FORMS of exit morphology. In the FIRST FORM, development has spread to both sides of the intersecting road, but is still limited to one side of the interstate. In the SECOND FORM, development exists on both sides of the highway, and in the THIRD FORM, which Norris labels full development, services are located along both sides of the intersecting roads and along ancillary feeder roads.

Of course there are other ways of linking sentences, such as by time, and the above methods are not meant to suggest that writing a good paragraph is a purely mechanical act——a matter of just plugging in transition words or giving juxtaposed sentences similar subjects. But well-written paragraphs tend to rely on the four methods detailed above. As you write and revise your paragraphs, especially when you sense that flow is needed, look for opportunities to exploit the above methods judiciously and you will be improving your writing.

 

Topic Sentences

Most paragraphs need to have topic sentences. Remember that topic sentences come in many forms and need not be the first sentences in paragraphs. However, if you have a paragraph that must be tidied up or you are composing a paragraph from scratch, writing a clear topic sentence as an opening statement is a good way to start.

In technical writing, topic sentences take a number of forms. They often simply provide a general statement for the paragraph to support:

The role of coal in the hydrology of strip mines receives little attention in the literature. Most groundwater analyses of potential or current strip mines are simply concerned with . . .

Often topic sentences simply kick off a list of examples:

There are obvious advantages associated with the real-time information that a measurement-while-drilling system supplies. The first advantage is . . .

Other topic sentences supply background or announce scenarios:

Ceramic tubes are now being used in the most aggressive environments. In industry . . .

Some topic sentences combine the listing of examples and background material:

Three points about the geologic activity of wind and the development of landscapes in dry lands are relevant here. First . . .

Clearly, a simple, straightforward topic sentence is usually the best way to introduce general background, examples, scenarios, arguments, or even to establish a direct linkage to the preceding paragraph. Good writers use concrete and efficient topic sentences to control and unify their paragraphs. If you use the topic sentence as a tool to organize your thoughts, your paragraph content will fall into place more readily.

 

Transition Words

What follows is a handy list of common transition words and their functions. If you open sentences appropriately with these words it will help your writing to flow. Always keep the literal meaning of a transition word in mind as you use it——therefore, do not use "for example" unless you truly are introducing an example that links to the preceding information; do not use "nevertheless" unless you truly are offering a contrasting point. Note how this paragraph has required a minimal use of transition words; they should not be forced in where they do not belong. When you do use them, keep their broader functions (i.e., "contrast," "emphasis," etc.) directly in mind.

Causality Emphasis Amplification
Accordingly Above all Again
Consequently Certainly Apparently
Hence Indeed Besides
Therefore In fact Equally important
Thus In short Finally
Obviously First, Second, etc.
Intention Of course Further
For this purpose In addition
In order to do this Closure Moreover
To this end In conclusion
With this in mind In sum Detail
On the whole Especially
Location To summarize In particular
Beyond Namely
Here Similarity Specifically
Nearby Likewise To enumerate
Opposite Similarly
Overlying (underlying) Comparison/Contrast
There Time However
To the right (left) Afterward In contrast
At the same time In relation to
Concession Before Nevertheless
At any rate Earlier On the other hand
At least In the meantime Still
Later
Example Next Interpretation
For example Preceding This Fortunately
For instance Simultaneously Interestingly
To illustrate Sometimes Significantly
Soon Surprisingly