JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE WRITING CENTER The Paragraph Unity Order Emphasis Coherence Definition A paragraph is a group of closely related sentences which deal with and develop one idea The first sentence of a paragraph usually introduces the idea it is called the topic sentence All writing of any length is as you know divided into paragraphs and the first line of a new paragraph is indented Structure By the structure of a paragraph is meant the building or composition of it The definition of a paragraph indicates that the sentences must be related they must have a particular structure This structure is determined by the relationship of the ideas and it is by constructing the paragraph properly that you develop the idea To develop an idea is to unfold or reveal it For instance when someone asks you how to do a mathematical problem you explain the process by giving the steps in order The last sentence of your explanation is of course the last step of the problem The development of an idea in a paragraph follows the same procedure The topic sentence may inform the reader that washing a cocker spaniel is a rather difficult process From that point you proceed in the order in which you would if you were in fact washing a dog The final sentence should bring the paragraph to a complete end that is it must leave the reader feeling that you have told him all you have to say Such an ending may be Now the dog is clean and shiny all ready in his opinion to go out and roll over in the dirt If you follow this method of developing your idea your paragraph will be well organized Not only will your paragraph be well organized it will have one of the most important qualities of all paragraphs COHERENCE Coherence means a sticking together A coherent paragraph has all the sentences so well arranged that not one could be interchanged with another For example in the paragraph about washing the cocker spaniel you would not put the instructions about brushing the dog ahead of those about drying him All facts follow in a coherent paragraph Every good paragraph must have UNITY Unity means oneness That is a paragraph must deal with only one idea In the paragraph about washing a cocker spaniel you might feel that you should describe the way your dog behaves when you wash him this description breaks the unity of your paragraph Although it might be entirely appropriate to explain how you control the dog in the bath that is not the place to tell a story about your dog When you finish your paragraph look it over and cross out any sentence that is not doing its work which is developing the topic sentence The third and last requirement of a well constructed paragraph is EMPHASIS Emphasis means force or stress You may have a fairly well organized coherent unified paragraph that is lacking in emphasis The main idea of the paragraph must be stressed in C Documents and Settings blove JCCC EMPLOYEE Desktop WritingCenter PARAGRAPH HANDOUT Unity Order Coherence doc Revised January 18 2005 2 every sentence It must not be hidden in a mass of useless details and unnecessary explanations For instance you should tell what kind of soap is best for washing a cocker spaniel but you should not describe the soap or discuss the kinds of soap that will not do such facts weaken the emphasis of your paragraph You can be sure that you are stressing the main idea by keeping the same subject in every sentence whenever this is possible In the paragraph about washing the cocker spaniel the subject of each sentence could be you understood Such a subject would be better than dog because then each simple predicate would have too many helping verbs and the object of all good writing is to avoid unnecessary words In this way you are likely to improve the unity because it will not be so easy to go off the track You are much less likely to introduce unrelated ideas if you are not changing subjects Detailed development is just as important in a paragraph as in a whole composition indeed no essay can be rounded out unless its paragraphs are COMPLETENESS Poor Why I Came to College My chief reason for coming to college was to prepare myself for a position that would allow me to have a larger income than I would be likely to obtain as a high school graduate There is no question that college graduates make more money Another reason for coming to college was to provide myself with a cultural background that would help me to make a more satisfying use of my leisure time A third reason for coming to college was to increase my social experience Getting along with people is important and college teaches a man to be a good mixer Improved Why I Came to College My chief reason for coming to college was to prepare myself for a position that would allow me to have a higher income than I would be likely to obtain as a high school graduate Even though some high school graduates make reasonably good wages these days their economic opportunities are limited in two ways without a college degree they are not eligible for most of the good jobs and without a degree they have less chance of promotion I want to be an engineer If I graduate with an engineering degree I can expect within fifteen years of graduation to have a responsible position in management at a salary between eight and twelve thousand dollars If I have only a high school diploma about the most 3 I can eventually hope for is to become a foreman at five or six thousand dollars There is no question that in my field college graduates make more money Another reason for coming to college was to provide myself with a cultural background that would help me to make a more satisfying use of my leisure time I won t be an engineer 24 hours a day When I come home from the plant or office I expect to take an interest in what is going on in state and national politics I expect to take an active part in community affairs I expect to read good books listen to good music and engage in good talk with my wife and friends I will owe it to myself my wife and my children to provide the kind of home environment in which these interests receive attention By providing me with a wide variety of interests college should make it easier for me to escape the limitations of my job no matter how interesting or significant that job may be A third reason for coming to college was to increase my social experience An engineer works as much with men as he does with machines He must know how to get the cooperation of workmen how to