RUBISH

Typographical considerations[edit]
Professionally printed material in English typically does not indent the first paragraph, but indents
those that follow. For example, Robert Bringhurst states that we should "Set opening paragraphs
flush left."[3] Bringhurst explains as follows:

The function of a paragraph is to mark a pause, setting the paragraph apart from what precedes
it. If a paragraph is preceded by a title or subhead, the indent is superfluous and can therefore be
omitted.[3]
The Elements of Typographic Style states that "at least one en [space]" should be used to indent
paragraphs after the first,[3] noting that that is the "practical minimum".[4] An em space is the most
commonly used paragraph indent.[4] Miles Tinker, in his book Legibility of Print, concluded that
indenting the first line of paragraphs increases readability by 7%, on average.[5]

When referencing a paragraph, typographic symbol U+00A7 § SECTION SIGN (§) may be
used: "See § Background".

In modern usage, paragraph initiation is typically indicated by one or more of a preceding blank
line, indentation, an "Initial" ("drop cap") or other indication. Historically, the pilcrow symbol ( ¶ )
was used in Latin and western European languages. Other languages have their own marks with
similar function.

Widows and orphans occur when the first line of a paragraph is the last in a column or page, or
when the last line of a paragraph is the first line of a new column or page.

In computing[edit]
See also: Newline
In word processing and desktop publishing, a hard return or paragraph break indicates a new
paragraph, to be distinguished from the soft return at the end of a line internal to a paragraph.
This distinction allows word wrap to automatically re-flow text as it is edited, without losing
paragraph breaks. The software may apply vertical white space or indenting at paragraph
breaks, depending on the selected style.

How such documents are actually stored depends on the file format. For example, HTML uses
the <p> tag as a paragraph container. In plaintext files, there are two common formats. The pre-
formatted text will have a newline at the end of every physical line, and two newlines at the end
of a paragraph, creating a blank line. An alternative is to only put newlines at the end of each
paragraph, and leave word wrapping up to the application that displays or processes the text.

A line break that is inserted manually, and preserved when re-flowing, may still be distinct from a
paragraph break, although this is typically not done in prose. HTML's <br /> tag produces a line
break without ending the paragraph; the W3C recommends using it only to separate lines of
verse (where each "paragraph" is a stanza), or in a street address.[6]

Numbering[edit]
Main article: Dot-decimal notation
Paragraphs are commonly numbered using the decimal system, where (in books) the integral
part of the decimal represents the number of the chapter and the fractional parts are arranged in
each chapter in order of magnitude. Thus in Whittaker and Watson's 1921 A Course of Modern
Analysis, chapter 9 is devoted to Fourier Series; within that chapter §9.6 introduces Riemann's
theory, the following section §9.61 treats an associated function, following §9.62 some properties
of that function, following §9.621 a related lemma, while §9.63 introduces Riemann's main
theorem, and so on. Whittaker and Watson attribute this system of numbering to Giuseppe
Peano on their "Contents" page, although this attribution does not seem to be widely credited
elsewhere.[7] Gradshteyn and Ryzhik is another book using this scheme since its third edition in
1951.

See also: ISO 2145

Section breaks[edit]
Main article: Section (typography)
Many published books use a device to separate certain paragraphs further when there is a
change of scene or time. This extra space, especially when co-occurring at a page or section
break, may contain a special symbol known as a dinkus, a fleuron, or a stylistic dingbat.

Style advice[edit]
The crafting of clear, coherent paragraphs is the subject of considerable stylistic debate. The
form varies among different types of writing. For example, newspapers, scientific journals, and
fictional essays have somewhat different conventions for the placement of paragraph breaks.

A common English usage misconception is that a paragraph has three to five sentences; single-
word paragraphs can be seen in some professional writing, and journalists often use single-
sentence paragraphs.[8]

English students are sometimes taught that a paragraph should have a topic sentence or "main
idea", preferably first, and multiple "supporting" or "detail" sentences that explain or supply
evidence. One technique of this type, intended for essay writing, is known as the Schaffer
paragraph. Topic sentences are largely a phenomenon of school-based writing, and the
convention does not necessarily obtain in other contexts.[9] This advice is also culturally specific,
for example, it differs from stock advice for the construction of paragraphs in Japanese
(translated as danraku 段落).[10]

See also[edit]
 Inverted pyramid (journalism)

Notes[edit]
1. ^ "83+ Paragraph Collection for Students of class 1 to 12 - wikilogy". www.wikilogy.com.
Retrieved 2023-10-28.
2. ^ Edwin Herbert Lewis (1894). The History of the English Paragraph. University of
Chicago Press. p. 9.
3. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Bringhurst, Robert (2005). The Elements of Typographic Style.
Vancouver: Hartley and Marks. p. 39. ISBN 0-88179-206-3.
4. ^ Jump up to:a b Bringhurst, Robert (2005). The Elements of Typographic Style.
Vancouver: Hartley and Marks. p. 40. ISBN 0-88179-206-3.
5. ^ Tinker, Miles A. (1963). Legibility of Print. Iowa: Iowa State University Press.
p. 127. ISBN 0-8138-2450-8.
6. ^ "<br>: The Line Break element". MDN Web Docs. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
7. ^ Kowwalski, E. "Peano paragraphing". blogs.ethz.ch.
8. ^ University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "Paragraph Development". The Writing
Center. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
 9. ^ Braddock, Richard (1974). "The Frequency and Placement of Topic Sentences in
Expository Prose". Research in the Teaching of English. 8 (3): 287–302.
10. ^ com), Kazumi Kimura and Masako Kondo (timkondo *AT* nifty . com / Kazumikmr *AT*
aol . "Effective writing instruction: From Japanese danraku to English
paragraphs". jalt.org. Retrieved 15 March 2018.

References[edit]
 The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 4th ed. New
York: Houghton Mifflin, 2000.
 Johnson, Samuel. Lives of the Poets: Addison, Savage, etc.. Project Gutenberg,
November 2003. E-Book, #4673.
 Rozakis, Laurie E. Master the AP English Language and Composition Test.
Lawrenceville, NJ: Peterson's, 2000. ISBN 0-7645-6184-7 (10). ISBN 978-0-7645-
6184-9 (13).

External links[edit]

 The dictionary definition of paragraph at Wiktionary

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