A well-developed paragraph should have at least five to eight sentences. Therefore, a good-quality essay should have at least fifteen and at most eighteen sentences.
The number of sentences in an essay depends on how much you want to say about a particular topic. Even if you cover a broad range of topics in one essay, each one should still be developed into a complete sentence with a beginning, middle, and end. A sentence does not need to be a full page long but it should contain enough information for someone reading it to understand what the main idea is. For example, here is a sentence from George Washington's "Farewell Address": "He warned that a nation which allows its government to be controlled by its citizens will eventually lose its freedom and become a dictatorship." This sentence explains why America chose to have a written Constitution instead of a monarchy or a dictatorship. Without getting too detailed, Washington believed that our country needed rules and limitations because people were not always going to be nice to each other.
In addition to being well-written, your essay should also be proofread carefully, without errors in grammar or spelling.
A reasonable rule of thumb is that a paragraph should include at least two (ideally three) sentences, but a passage can be as short as one phrase. Many literary critics divide passages into "units" of varying length; some prefer to think in terms of lines or stanzas.
The term "passage" is used here in the same sense it has in academic writing: as a brief section of text appearing by itself in a book or article. It may be a single paragraph, a sub-section, or even an entire chapter. The definition of "unit" varies somewhat from critic to critic; some would include within their definition shorter pieces such as phrases or words, while others would not. For example, some might argue that since pauses occur regularly at the end of sentences, a passage could be defined as any sequence of sentences ending with a period or full stop.
It is important to remember that a passage will usually have a purpose. This may be stated explicitly in the form of a question or argument, or it may be inferred from the context. For example, if I were writing about famous musicians, I might begin with a general discussion of music history before moving on to mention several individuals who had influential careers in the field.
Various instructors teach rules controlling paragraph length. They may specify that a paragraph should be between 100 and 200 words long, or that it should include no more than five or six phrases. A excellent paragraph, on the other hand, should not be assessed in characters, words, or phrases. The ultimate measure of your paragraphs should be the ideas they contain.
As you write longer documents, you will need to divide them into paragraphs more frequently. Even a short article such as this one contains several paragraphs. A few common types of paragraphs are introduction paragraphs, conclusion paragraphs, supporting paragraphs, and parenthetical paragraphs.
An introduction paragraph gives readers information they did not know before they started reading. For example, an introduction paragraph for this article might state that it will discuss how long sentences can be and what that relationship means for writing effective articles.
A conclusion paragraph brings readers up to date with what has happened since they last read. For example, if you were to conclude this article now, your conclusion paragraph would probably say something like "In summary, then, longer sentences are not always better. Sometimes a short sentence is best."
Supporting paragraphs provide evidence for the argument being made in a section of the document or across multiple sections. For example, if there was a part of this article that discussed how long sentences were used in academic papers, this article would be supported by reference to other sources where this topic was explored in greater detail.
Each paragraph has 6 to 7 sentences. You must only use brief sentences (fewer than 15 words). Long words must be avoided (more than three syllables). Retyping communication to make small changes is not recommended. Instead, draft a new letter.
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