Paragraph Writing
Paragraph is the fundamental unit of composition. A paragraph consists of several sentences
that are grouped together. This group of sentences together discusses one main subject. A
paragraph has three principal parts. These three parts are the topic sentence, body sentences,
and the concluding sentence.
The Topic Sentence
A topic sentence usually comes at the beginning of a paragraph; it is usually the first sentence
in a paragraph. Not only is a topic sentence the first sentence of a paragraph, but, more
importantly, it is the most general sentence in a paragraph. What does "most general"
mean? It means that there are not many details in the sentence, but that the sentence
introduces an overall idea that you want to discuss later in the paragraph.
For example, suppose that you want to write a paragraph about the reasons of popularity of
your hometown. The first part of your paragraph might look like this:
My hometown, Tordher, is famous for several
reasons. First, it is noted for business and commercial
market. People from the surrounding villages come here
for shopping and other business activities. Also it has a
big food market which is quiet rich in fruits and
vegetables……
(Notice how the first sentence begins with "My hometown..." a few spaces to the right of the
paragraph edge. This is an indentation. All paragraphs in English MUST begin with an
indentation.)
Note how the first sentence, My hometown, Tordher, is famous for several reasons, is the
most general statement. This sentence is different from the two sentences that follow it, since
the second and third sentences mention specific details about the town's popularity, and are
not general statements.
Here are some examples of sentences that cannot be used as topic sentences. Can you figure
out why they are inappropriate?
1. My hometown is famous because it a
commercial hub, and because it has a big food
market.
2. There are two reasons why some people like to
buy cars with automatic transmission and two
reasons why others like cars with manual
transmission.
3. Clouds are white.
The problem with sentence #1 is that it contains too many details. Topic sentences are
general, and details should appear later in the paragraph. A better topic sentence would be
like the one mentioned above, My hometown is famous for several reasons.
Sentence #2 is not appropriate as a topic sentence because it mentions two topics, not just
one. Paragraphs are usually about one main thing and so their topic sentences should also be
about only one main thing.
The problem with sentence #3 is that it is too general. It is also very boring! Would you like
to read a paragraph with this topic sentence? Most people would not.
We can rewrite sentences #2 and #3 in the following ways to make it better:
• There are different reasons why some people
like to buy cars with automatic transmission.
OR (in a different paragraph):
• There are two reasons why some people like
cars with manual transmission.
• The shapes of clouds are determined by various
factors.
Supporting Sentences
Consider again the above-mentioned, short paragraph:
My hometown, Tordher, is famous for several
reasons. First, it is noted for business and commercial
market. People from the surrounding villages come here
for shopping and other business activities. Also it has a
big food market which is quiet rich in fruits and
vegetables……
When a reader reads a topic sentence, such as My hometown, Tordher, is famous for several
reasons, a question should usually appear in the reader's mind. In this case, the question
should be like, "What are the reasons that make Tordher famous?" The reader should then
expect that the rest of the paragraph will give an answer to this question.
Now look at the sentences after the topic sentence. We can see that the second sentence in
the paragraph, First, it is noted for the business and commercial market. indeed gives an
answer to this question. The third and fourth sentences also give some explanation for the
fact that Tordher is a famous town.
The second, third and fourth sentences are called supporting sentences. They are called
"supporting" because they "support," or explain, the idea expressed in the topic sentence. Of
course, paragraphs in English often have more than two supporting ideas. The paragraph
above is actually a very short paragraph. At minimum, you should have at least five to
seven sentences in your paragraph. Here we can see our paragraph about Tordher with a
few more supporting sentences in bold font:
My hometown, Tordher, is famous for several
reasons. First, it is noted for the business and
commercial market. People from the surrounding
villages come here for shopping and other business
activities. Also it has a big food market which is quiet
rich in fruits and vegetables. The third reason is that it
is the hometown of several shrines of well known
Sufis including Mian Gul Baba, Sheikh Baba,
Sheikh Awlad Baba etc……
The Concluding Sentence
In formal paragraphs you will sometimes see a sentence at the end of the paragraph which
summarizes the information that has been presented. This is the concluding sentence. You
can think of a concluding sentence as a sort of topic sentence in reverse.
You can see how a concluding sentence (in bold font) might look in our sample paragraph
about Tordher:
My hometown, Tordher, is famous for several
reasons. First, it is noted for the business and
commercial market. People from the surrounding
villages come here for shopping and other business
activities. Also it has a big food market which is quiet
rich in fruits and vegetables. The third reason is that it is
the hometown of several shrines of well-known Sufis
including Mian Gul baba, Sheikh baba, Sheikh Awlad
Baba etc. These three features truly make my
hometown a famous place.
Notice how the concluding sentence, these three features truly make my hometown a famous
place summarizes the information in the paragraph. Notice also how the concluding sentence
is similar to, but not exactly the same as, the topic sentence.
Not all academic paragraphs contain concluding sentences, especially if the paragraph is very
short. However, if your paragraph is very long, it is a good idea to use a concluding sentence.
