Paragraphs are the building blocks of writing. Well-written paragraphs reflect unity and coherence, making use of appropriate transitions and elaboration. A well-developed paragraph makes sense and feels complete.

PARAGRAPH-- group of related sentences that work together to develop a main idea or accomplish a single purpose.

UNITY-- when all the sentences tell about one main idea or serve a single purpose.

COHERENCE-- when the sentences flow smoothly and logically from beginning to end such that the relationship between each sentence is clear to the reader.

CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER-- the order in which things happen in time (first, second, third, etc.)

SPATIAL ORDER-- the order of where things are in a given area (to the left or right, above, below, etc.)

TRANSITIONS-- connecting words that let the reader know how the details in a paragraph are related. Exs. before, after, above, behind, first, last, etc. pg. 642*

TOPIC SENTENCE-- identifies your topic and tells what you want to say about it. It may be the first sentence, or it may appear elsewhere in the paragraph. A good topic sentence does more than state the main idea; it catches the reader’s interest.

IMPLIED MAIN IDEA-- unlike a topic sentence, an implied main idea is not stated directly, but is communicated by all the paragraph’s sentences working together.

ELABORATION-- use of details that support the main idea or help to accomplish its purpose so that nothing is left out.