Unit-7

Paragraph Development
What is writing?
Paragraph writing means to convert idea into linguistic symbols in
meaningful order to convey it to the reader.
What is the minimal unit of writing?
I. A letter II. A word III. A sentence IV. A paragraph
- A paragraph is the smallest unit of writing because any a speech or
writing can be completely meaningful only if it conveys the complete
message.
- In writing it is paragraph that conveys the meaning and not the
sentence.
What is paragraph?
- A paragraph is the group of sentences or a sentence that forms a unit. In
other words, its a group of related sentences that expresses a single
idea.
- A paragraph may express an opinion or provide information through
the facts and details.
- Writing a paragraph demands controlling ideas.
- While writing any a paragraph, a writer should think of these questions.
who is my target audience?
what do I want to say?
why am I writing it?
-This process is known as brain storming
Central components of a paragraph.
Topic sentence
- A sentence that express the main idea of a paragraph.
- This sentence is known by a key or theme sentence.
Supporting sentences
- All other sentences in a paragraph that illustrate or explains the main
sentence are called supporting sentences.
Concluding sentence
- At the end of the paragraph there should be one sentence that
concludes the whole paragraph.
Coherence:
- Coherence is sequencing or ordering ideas where you need to think
what comes frst, what come last etc.
- Coherence refers to the clear and logical linking of ideas in a paragraph.
There are four basic mechanical considerations in coherence
Use of Pronouns
- Pronouns quite naturally connect ideas because they always refer the
reader to something earlier in the text. In writing it must be perfectly
clear that what a pronoun refers to.
Repetition of key words and phrases
- Writer often resist connecting ideas by repeating key words and
phrases.
You can fool some of the people all of the time, and
all of the people some of the time, but you can not
fool all of the people all of the time.
- A. Lincoln
We need to interpret the interpretation to interpret
the thing.
- Montaign
Using Transitional tags
- Providing transitions between ideas is largely a matter of attitude.
- You must not assume that your readers know what you know.
- In fact it is good idea to assume that not only that your readers need all
the information that you have and need to know how you arrived at the
point you are at, but also that they are not quite as quick as you are.
- Transitional tags include your simple conjunctions like and, but, so and
transitional expressions like moreover, however, nevertheless, on the
other hand etc.
Parallelism
- Parallel structures are a particularly powerful way to communicate
information as they create structural repetitions that emphasize and
connect the ideas.
- Whenever there is something new to say the writer should start with
new paragraph.
Unity
- Unity refers to the extent to which all of the ideas contained within a
given paragraph hang together in a way that is easy for readers to
understand.
- In writing unity is important because it aids the reader in going along
with the writers idea.

Adequate development
- A paragraph needs to be adequately developed when describes or
supports the topic sentence.
- Generally speaking, a paragraph which consists of only two or three
sentences is under developed.
There are fve steps involved in developing the paragraph.
1.Formula of controlling ideas
2.Explanation of controlling ideas
3.Example
4.Explanation (of examples)
5.Transition on the next paragraph
Techniques for paragraph development
Illustration-
- Providing examples to explain the main idea.
Comparison or contrast-
- Bringing out similarities and diferences to develop the ideas.
Cause and Efect-
- Explaining reasons for the end result
Classifcation-
- Breaking the main idea into specifc categories
Problem and Solution-
- Discussing solution to the problem posed.
A combination of any two or three of these can be used in a single paragraph.
Length:
- Length doesnt mean the number of sentences used in a single
paragraph but it is the unity and coherence of ideas in a single
paragraph.
- The length of the paragraph generally depends on Its content and
The type of document
Following rules are applicable to the length of the paragraph.
Mark the paragraph divisions based on unity.
Question the unity of all long paragraphs.
If you fnd more than one topic, put each topic into a separate paragraph.
Construct short paragraphs for writing memos, circulars etc. As far as
possible try to maintain equal length for most paragraphs.