PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE
Most paragraphs in an essay have a three-part structure—introduction, body, and conclusion. You can see this structure in paragraphs whether they are narrating, describing, comparing, contrasting, or analyzing information. Each part of the paragraph plays an important role in communicating your meaning to your reader.
Introduction: the first section of a paragraph; should include the topic sentence and any other sentences at the beginning of the paragraph that give background information or provide a transition.
Body: follows the introduction; discusses the controlling idea, using facts, arguments, analysis, examples, and other information.
Conclusion: the final section; summarizes the connections between the information discussed in the body of the paragraph and the paragraph’s controlling idea.
5 Tips for Structuring and Writing Better Paragraphs
- Make the first sentence of your topic sentence. …
- Provide support via the middle sentences. …
- Make your last sentence a conclusion or transition. …
- Know when to start a new paragraph. …
- Use transition words.
How do you write an outline for a paragraph?
- Brainstorm all of the ideas you want to include in your paper.
- Group related ideas.
- Sequence the ideas in a logical order.
- Label your ideas with headings and subheadings. The labels should be precise enough that they help you develop a topic sentence for each section of the outline. …
- Write a draft of your outline.