A paragraph in an essay addresses one idea in depth that supports the essay's thesis. Each paragraph in the paper's body should comprise a theme statement, supporting information to back up the main phrase, and a conclusion sentence. These components are not always present in every essay, but they are common features of good writing.
An essay consists of several paragraphs. A paragraph is a unit of analysis used by writers to structure their ideas. The basic unit of composition for essays is the sentence. But other elements can also be combined to form a complete thought or idea. These include phrases, clauses, and words. To coordinate these elements into a unified whole, we use punctuation and space properly.
The purpose of a paragraph is to provide clarity and cohesiveness to your essay by focusing on a single topic for several sentences. Although there are no fixed rules regarding how many paragraphs are required for an essay, generally speaking, more is better. An essay that contains six relevant paragraphs has content coverage of 50 percent while one with three paragraphs has 75 percent content coverage. This means that you are covering a lot of ground with three paragraphs!
When writing an essay, it's important to keep in mind that the goal is not just to write about different topics but rather to show the reader how each topic relates to the main idea.
Make the topic phrase of the paragraph the basis for the essay's thesis sentence.
Select Topic Sentences to Support Each body paragraph begins with a subject phrase that establishes and then builds on one facet of your thesis. Each subject phrase, like the thesis statement, should be detailed and backed by concrete data, facts, or explanations. Avoid using generalities as topic sentences; these are better suited for side comments.
The first body paragraph of your essay should begin with a topic sentence that ties back to your thesis statement. This introductory sentence can be as short as necessary but should make it clear what topic you will be discussing in detail in the rest of the essay.
Here is an example of a topic sentence used to introduce a new idea: "In conclusion, modern music is a product of many factors including but not limited to technology, society, and art." This sentence tells the reader that the artist will now discuss some other factor that has influence on modern music (such as technology or society).
A good body paragraph should contain a topic sentence that connects its content directly to the main idea of your essay. This connection should be evident by reading the paragraph independently from the thesis statement but should also remain consistent throughout the paragraph. For example, if your topic sentence states that "music is a product of many factors including but not limited to technology, society, and art," then every other sentence should reflect this idea by explaining one of those three topics further.
The last paragraph should summarize the article. In your conclusion, restate the thesis and link it to the body of the essay using a phrase that illustrates how each point supports the argument. Your concluding phrase should clearly and compellingly support your primary thesis. It should not merely repeat information from earlier in the paper or give a summary of the entire work.
For example, if the essay's title is "A History of Ancient Greece from the Foundation of Athens until the Battle of Ipsus," the concluding sentence might state "Ancient Greece fell into decline after the battle of Ipsus, which proved to be its downfall." This concluding sentence ties the history back to its initial premise by mentioning one specific event (the battle of Ipsus) that occurred during an important time period (ancient Greece), and uses language that relates specifically to the topic at hand (Greek history).
Although there is no set number of words that should be used in the concluding paragraph, it is important that you do not go over three sentences or so. Either include too much information or not enough, but do not mix content with length. A well-written final sentence will leave readers with a clear understanding of the main idea while still leaving open for discussion or debate.
As you can see, the concluding paragraph is very important for bringing together all the different parts of the essay and tying them together into one big picture.
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