Structure within paragraphs
Writers need to divide their texts into paragraphs to help readers navigate on the page. To ensure the text is easy to read, you should aim at 3-10 sentences per paragraph and make sure each page of running text consists of at least two paragraphs. One sentence cannot form a paragraph, and in essays, two sentences is usually too short to provide the information that needs to go into each paragraph.
Before looking at ways of structuring paragraphs, it should be mentioned that there are two ways you can indicate where a new paragraph begins. Both these formats are found in university writing, and students are asked to check what is required.
Indentation
One way to mark a new paragraph is to indent the first line. Usually, the very first paragraph after an essay title or section heading should not be indented, however. In your word-processing programme, you can set indentations according to requirements.
Line spacing
You may instead be expected to insert a blank line in-between paragraphs. This format is common in online writing, for instance, as it can increase screen readability.
How do I structure a paragraph?
Paragraphs can be metaphorically likened to building blocks that make up sections of a text. To ensure that the structure of the text is solid, paragraphs, too, have to be well structured. A paragraph typically consists of three elements: a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence.
In the topic sentence (which is often the first sentence), the topic or focus of the paragraph is presented. The topic sentence thereby serves as a focal point, foregrounding the content of the whole paragraph. By signalling to the reader what the paragraph deals with, the topic sentence increases the readability of the text. Although it is possible for the topic sentence to appear anywhere in a paragraph, it usually appears at the beginning.
The main part of the paragraph consists of what are often called supporting sentences or development: this is where the argument that explains and/or proves the topic sentence is delivered.
At the end of the paragraph, there may be a concluding sentence or transition sentence, which sums up the argument of the paragraph, and sometimes creates a transition to the next paragraph. Such a transition provides the text with a smoother flow between paragraphs.
The following paragraph comes from an article in Animal Behaviour about begging behaviour among young meerkats.
Example:
- Begging provides offspring with benefits in the form of 'free food' (reviewed in Wright & Leonard 2002). Such benefits to offspring occur at a cost to the adults that provide the food (Pugesek 1990; Wheelwright et al. 2003). This produces a conflict of interest between the offspring and the adults (Trivers 1974), such that offspring are expected to benefit from extending their begging period and attendant food supply, while adults benefit from stopping providing food to begging offspring. Eventually, all offspring cease demanding ‘free food’ and stop begging. Why do individuals stop begging, and so lose a low-cost source of nutrition? Three mechanistic explanations have been suggested, and these could apply to either vocal or nonvocal begging displays.
Madden, J. R., Kunc, H.-J. P., English, S., & Clutton-Brock, T. H. (2009). Why do meerkat pups stop begging? Animal Behaviour, 78(1), 85–89. doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.03.011
A closer look at the sentences that make up the paragraph reveals its structure:
Topic sentence
The topic of the paragraph is stated in an introductory sentence which catches the essence of the paragraph and directs the reader to the issue under discussion - begging behaviour in young animals:
"Begging provides offspring with benefits in the form of 'free food' (reviewed in Wright & Leonard 2002)."
Supporting sentences
What is stated in the topic sentence is then followed up by three supporting sentences. The first and the third supporting sentences ("Such benefits to offspring occur..." and "Eventually...") provide further information and clarification, whereas the second supporting sentence ("This produces...") offers an example of the statement that has been presented:
“Such benefits to offspring occur at a cost to the adults that provide the food (Pugesek 1990; Wheelwright et al. 2003). This produces a conflict of interest between the offspring and the adults (Trivers 1974), such that offspring are expected to benefit from extending their begging period and attendant food supply, while adults benefit from stopping providing food to begging offspring. Eventually, all offspring cease demanding 'free food' and stop begging.”
Concluding sentences
The last two sentences conclude the argument of the paragraph and also create a transition to the next paragraph, where the explanations referred to are explained more in detail:
"Why do individuals stop begging, and so lose a low-cost source of nutrition? Three mechanistic explanations have been suggested, and these could apply to either vocal or nonvocal begging displays."
The PEEL format
You may also have come across the so-called PEEL model, which is another way of presenting paragrpah structure. This model highlights the different moves of the paragraph, that is, what happens in the paragraph. The acronym PEEL stands for Point - Evidence - Explanation - Link and this model can be used as hands-on instructions for writers:
Point: Open your paragraph with a sentence in which you present the point you wish to make in your paragraph (cf. topic sentence).
Evidence: Follow up by supporting your point with evidence, for instance in the form of examples.
Explanation: Then say something on how the evidence backs up your point.
Link: If relevant, end the paragraph with something that sums up and also helps you transition to the next paragraph.
This paragraph from an article on children's play in an eighteenth-century European context follows the PEEL format.
Example:
- Together with Comenius's pathbreaking Orbis pictus (1658) and François Fénelon's De l'éducation des filles (1687), John Locke's Some Thoughts Concerning Education comprises one of the first pedagogical treatises to accord a central role to play. In this work, Locke advances an alternative to the traditional Latin-school education, at least for the sons of the nobility who are the focus of his concern. His critique of grammar-school education is two-pronged. First, he claims that its prime goal, the mastery of classical languages, serves "no purpose" for the majority of pupils, who don't go on to pursue scholarly or ecclesiastical careers. Furthermore, he maintains that its principal method, coercion through corporal punishment, is counter-productive, generating an "Aversion" to books and to learning (Some Thoughts, 113). While the model of education he proposes sees significant value in academic subjects (with modern languages and sciences complementing the classical curriculum) it sets as its "great and main End" the cultivation of virtue (Some Thoughts, 132). According to Locke, parents and private tutors, rather than school teachers, are best positioned to help children achieve the goals of this education, and he argues that they can do so most effectively not through "the Discipline of the Rod" (Some Thoughts, 134), but rather through playful means: "I have always had a Fancy, that Learning might be made a Play and a Recreation to Children" (Some Thoughts, 208; original emphasis).
Schreiber, E. (2021). The Virtue of Play: Games and Stories for Children in Three Pedagogical Texts of the Enlightenment. Eighteenth-Century Studies54(3), 613-632. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/ecs.2021.0041
Point
The first sentence identifies central titles in eighteenth-century educational writing, and the point made here is that Locke's work is an early treatise on the importance of play:
“Together with Comenius's pathbreaking Orbis pictus (1658) and François Fénelon's De l'éducation des filles (1687), John Locke's Some Thoughts Concerning Education comprises one of the first pedagogical treatises to accord a central role to play".
Evidence
In the following four sentences, the author presents evidence (with examples) of his initial claim:
"In this work, Locke advances an alternative to the traditional Latin-school education, at least for the sons of the nobility who are the focus of his concern. His critique of grammar-school education is two-pronged. First, he claims that its prime goal, the mastery of classical languages, serves "no purpose" for the majority of pupils, who don't go on to pursue scholarly or ecclesiastical careers. Furthermore, he maintains that its principal method, coercion through corporal punishment, is counter-productive, generating an "Aversion" to books and to learning (Some Thoughts, 113)".
Explanation
The second last sentence provides an explanation or comment by the author that connects back to the point of his argument (that Locke's work is an early proponent of children's pla).
"While the model of education he proposes sees significant value in academic subjects (with modern languages and sciences complementing the classical curriculum) it sets as its "great and main End" the cultivation of virtue (Some Thoughts, 132).
Link
While the last sentence may not clearly sum up the argument of the paragraph, it helps the reader to transition to the next paragraph, which talks about the importance of free play:
"According to Locke, parents and private tutors, rather than school teachers, are best positioned to help children achieve the goals of this education, and he argues that they can do so most effectively not through ‘the Discipline of the Rod’ (Some Thoughts, 134), but rather through playful means: ‘I have always had a Fancy, that Learning might be made a Play and a Recreation to Children’ (Some Thoughts, 208; original emphasis)".
Further reading
Instructional video from the online MOOC "Writing in English at University" which was developed at Lund University in 2016. All videos from this MOOC are available on YouTube.