A paragraph, according to Sir Ernest Gowers, the British advocate of a plain style in official documents and letters, "is a unit of thought, not a unit of length" (The Complete Plain Words, edited by Greenbaum and Whitcut [London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1986], page 170).Gowers puts the essential about paragraphs in a nutshell. Yes, a paragraph is a subdivision of text, consisting of a number of sentences, marked off from the rest by beginning on a new line. Yes, the first line of a new paragraph is usually indented, or a blankline space is left between the end of one paragraph and the beginning of the next. But, crucially, a paragraph is a container for thought.The golden rule for dividing text into paragraphs is, One idea or topic, one paragraph. A paragraph should consist of a particular thought and the explanatory or illustrative material required for its presentation. The indentation at the beginning of a paragraph and the line break at its end have the same role as the capital letter and the period that define the beginning and the end of a sentence. They indicate to the reader that this portion of text forms a unit. It is about something particular. It is substantially complete in itself. It presents one thought. When you have dealt with that thought and wish to describe or discuss something else, you should begin a new paragraph.The Function of the ParagraphThe primary function of the paragraph, therefore, is to present, in a relatively compact and self-contained form, a particular idea that contributes to your argument or a particular aspect of something that you wish to describe. When the reader has read through the set of sentences that make up the paragraph, he or she should have become acquainted with one significant element in an ongoing narrative or discussion, together with its attendant details or supporting evidence. At that point, he or she might like to pause momentarily and think about what has been said.To understand the function and the value of paragraphs, it is only necessary to consider what text is like when it is not divided up into smaller units. A writer who does not use paragraphs delivers ideas and information in a continuous stream, providing no places where the reader can pause, no obvious opportunity for the reader to go back a manageable distance and reconsider what he or she has just read. The text proceeds in a relentless onward march. Ideas or pieces of description follow one after the other, and there is nothing to indicate where one ends and the next begins. Amid the flow of undifferentiated text, it may become difficult for the reader to distinguish matters that are particularly important or to see at a glance that certain ideas belong together. In short, by not using paragraphs, the writer foists a great deal of organizational labor onto the reader, who may be unwilling to accept the burden.Whether they are motivated by a concern not to overburden their readers, most writers will want to keep their hands on the levers of communication: They will want to control the rate and the manner in which the information they are providing is fed to their readers. Most writers, therefore, need paragraphs as much as their readers do, because paragraphs are their principal means of exercising that control. They would prefer a reader to pause in order to make sure that he or she has fully grasped a particular idea—and perhaps to appreciate the skill with which the idea has been presented—rather than to go rushing on receiving perhaps only a general and rather inaccurate impression of what was said. They welcome (or ought to welcome) the opportunity that the paragraph offers to deliver information in portions of manageable size, which are precisely organized so as to produce just the right response from the reader.There are cases where a writer deliberately chooses to forgo the advantages of paragraphing and puts down a length of unbroken text in order to achieve a special effect. Stream-of-consciousness writing is the obvious example. Outside specialized literary writing, however, undivided text is rarely if ever needed. Generally speaking, writers produce it not so much as a deliberate policy, but because they are in a hurry or on a roll, drafting furiously to catch the ideas as they unfold.As has been said before, anything goes when you are writing a draft. You may choose to dispense with punctuation altogether, let alone such sophisticated mechanisms as paragraph breaks. This is fine as long as you realize that you will have to go back at the revision stage and put your material into proper form. Do not be tempted to omit paragraph breaks because you believe that the reader might enjoy sharing the excitement that you felt when you were in the flow. In 999 cases out of 1,000, to do so is a mistake. Even a fast-paced narrative is usually divided into paragraphs. Dialogue is always presented in separate paragraphs, as we shall see later in this chapter (page 131). The fact that each speaker's contribution is presented in a separate paragraph does not diminish the impression that a conversation is in progress or suggest that there is always a pregnant pause before the next utterance. The skilled writer is able to maintain a sense of flow across paragraphs, while still dividing up the text into units of manageable size. And the reader, after all, is in all likelihood approaching the text in a much more sober frame of mind than the writer who excitedly penned it.To sum up then, the function of the paragraph is, first, to provide a container for thought and, second, to provide readers and writers alike with a measure of control over the flow of the text. It also has one further practical function. Text looks better and reads more easily when it is broken up into paragraphs. To have to work through a long stretch of unbroken text tires the reader's eyes, as well as his or her mind; indeed, a page that presents a solid block of words wedged in between the margins may actually deter the reader from reading it. The look of text on the page is not the first priority of a writer, but it is nonetheless important. The combination of words and clear space that results when there are a number of paragraphs aligned down a page usually produces the best effect.The Length of ParagraphsThere is no set length for a paragraph any more than there is for a sentence. A paragraph may consist only of a single sentence—and, since a sentence may contain only a single word, one-word paragraphs are neither unknown nor inherently incorrect, though they are relatively rare. As a general rule, a paragraph should contain at least two or three sentences. A paragraph that contains more than six or seven sentences—that is, given an average sentence length of around 15 words, more than 100 words or so—is starting to grow into a long paragraph.The length of your paragraphs will be determined, like the length of your sentences, partly by the kind of readership you have in mind. If your readers can cope better with short sentences, then they will also prefer short paragraphs. The function of a particular paragraph within a longer section of text may also have a bearing on its length. Introductory and concluding paragraphs tend to be shorter than "body" paragraphs, as do so-called transition paragraphs. (For more information on the different types of paragraph, see the subsection immediately following.)As always, variety is important. Vary the length of your paragraphs both to suit the demands of your material and to keep your reader's attention. As always too, brevity is what usually grabs attention. A very long paragraph amid a set of short ones will obviously stand out, but it is not in the nature of long paragraphs to deliver a telling punch. A short paragraph in the midst of several long ones, however, can often be used as a point of focus, especially if it encapsulates a particularly significant piece of information.Types of ParagraphMost pieces of writing conform to a standard pattern. They begin with an introduction, move into the body of the text in which the main ideas are presented and discussed, and end with a conclusion. This basic pattern—introduction, body, conclusion—recurs at many levels in writing and can be used, as we shall see, as a guide to the construction of paragraphs as well as of longer units.Paragraphs are sometimes labeled in accordance with their place within this scheme. There are four different types: introductory paragraphs, concluding paragraphs, body paragraphs, and transition paragraphs.The function of introductory and concluding paragraphs is obvious from their names. Body paragraphs, as their name suggests, make up the bulk of any text. They convey information, continue a narrative, or develop an argument. Transition paragraphs are paragraphs that writers sometimes insert when they have to change from one topic to another and wish to announce the fact to the reader. They frequently contain a brief conclusion or farewell to the earlier topic and an equally brief introduction to the topic that is to be dealt with next.Most of the discussion in this chapter centers on body paragraphs, so they need no further treatment here. The other three, more specialized types of paragraph are dealt with briefly below.Introductory ParagraphsAn introductory paragraph briefly sets out what you intend to show within a particular section of the work. It is usually a mistake to allow an introductory paragraph (or an introduction of any kind) to become too lengthy for the simple reason that the same material is going to be covered in full in the body paragraphs that follow. An introductory paragraph has the additional task of awakening the reader's interest, so it pays to make it lively.A paragraph such as the following, for example, does not make a particularly effective introduction to a text:This article is the fruit of a lengthy period of research into the historical reasons for the particular hostility shown by the Bush administration toward France in general, and the French government in particular, as a result of France's failure to participate in and support the military action against Iraq undertaken by the United States and its allies in 2003. We shall endeavor to show that the roots of the grievance go back in part to the period of World War II and its immediate aftermath. Not only did U.S. military personnel make extraordinary sacrifices during the Normandy landings of 1944 and the subsequent battles to liberate France, but the U.S. government of the time committed itself to a lengthy diplomatic effort to ensure the establishment of a free and democratic government in France at a time when the Communist Party was particularly strong and enjoyed immense prestige through having taken a leading role in the resistance to German occupation. Furthermore, the United States provided massive financial and material assistance to the country at the end of the 1940s through the Marshall Plan. We shall show by quotations from speeches and from published sources, that the events of the immediate postwar period were very much in the minds of leading members of the Bush administration and helped to shape their attitude toward French nonparticipation in efforts to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein. It should also be remembered that the approaching 60th anniversary of the Liberation—felt by many to be the last occasion in which surviving veterans of World War II would be able to participate in acts of commemoration in large numbers—gave particular prominence to this period of history in 2002–03. We shall therefore begin by outlining the role played by the United States in the restoration of France after one of the darkest periods in its history. The writers of this passage, we might say, show too much of their hand too early. The third and fourth sentences (Not only did U.S. military personnel … Furthermore, the United States …) and the sixth sentence (It should also be remembered …) in particular start to go into too much detail. Simply excluding them produces a better result:This article is the fruit of a lengthy period of research into the historical reasons for the particular hostility shown by the Bush administration toward France in general, and the French government in particular, as a result of France's failure to participate in and support the military action against Iraq undertaken by the United States and its allies in 2003. We shall endeavor to show that the roots of the grievance go back in part to the period of World War II and its immediate aftermath. We shall show by quotations from speeches and from published sources, that the events of the immediate postwar period were very much in the minds of leading members of the Bush administration and helped to shape their attitude toward French nonparticipation in efforts to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein. We shall therefore begin by outlining the role played by the United States in the restoration of France after one of the darkest periods in its history. Now, the three sentences in question have been omitted not because they contain information that is irrelevant to the subject as a whole but simply because that information is irrelevant in the context of an introductory paragraph. In this instance, it is enough to state the general thesis—the attitude of the administration in 2003 was partly shaped by historical events—to indicate the period of history during which those events occurred, and to provide a lead-in to the discussion proper in its final sentence. The omitted sentences went some way toward "outlining the role played by the United States" and consequently stole the thunder of the paragraphs that follow.We will have a good deal to say about relevance as a criterion for the organization of material in paragraphs in the rest of this section. There, it will be mainly a question of the relevance of subsidiary matters to the central idea. But the function of a particular paragraph also has a bearing on what belongs inside it. If the function of a paragraph is to introduce something, then it should do that and no more.Deleting the unnecessary sentences has considerably improved the above example. Nonetheless, it could benefit from some further work to tighten and liven it up. It contains, for instance, three sentences beginning with the same two words—We shall—and the repetition serves no pressing rhetorical purpose.Posing a question is often an effective way of catching the reader's attention from the outset. In this instance, if we pose a question in the first sentence, answering the question in the second will also enable us to get rid of one We shall:… Why did the Bush administration feel so aggrieved at the failure of France to undertake or support military action against Iraq in 2003? The answer, we believe, lies in part in "the period of World War II and its aftermath …" However, a simple statement that centers on the matter in hand—and not on the person or persons who are writing about it or on the effort that they have expended to compile their material—can be equally effective:The Bush administration showed particular hostility toward France in general, and the French government in particular, as a result of France's failure to participate in and support military action against Iraq in 2003. The reasons for the sense of grievance felt by the administration and expressed in the speeches and publications of some of its leading members are in part historical. They go back to World War II and its immediate aftermath, for the debt of gratitude that the French owed to the United States and was, in the administration's view, refusing to honor, dates from that period. We shall therefore begin by outlining the role played by the United States in the restoration of France after one of the darkest periods in its history. These four sentences adequately state the subject matter of the article as a whole and lead into the exposition of the first piece of evidence that the writers offer in support of their thesis. That is all that they are required to do.Concluding ParagraphsEndings are often even more difficult to write than beginnings. A concluding paragraph should sum up the argument that has gone before and present the writer's verdict on it. The verdict is the important part. The reader may need reminding of the means by which the writer arrived at the verdict—especially if the preceding argument has been long and complex—but does not need to be taken through the whole process again. A concluding paragraph should not, as a rule, contain new material other than the verdict, if that has not been given before, because the reader would expect all the relevant aspects of the subject to have been fully discussed in the body of the piece of writing. So, like an introductory paragraph, a concluding paragraph should usually be kept short.Consider the following example:Let me then give you my considered opinion on the matter. Because undertaking the project would require us to take on specially trained staff, because we know that there is a general shortage of staff with such training, and because we have neither the facilities nor the personnel to train new recruits ourselves, I believe that the project is not a practical proposition for this company at this time. I should be grateful if you would communicate my opinion to the other members of the board. Sincerely yours, The writer neatly and forcefully sums up the situation, as he or she sees it, and leaves the impression that there is no more to be said at this stage. Notice how the points that lead up to the verdict, which would have been fully argued in earlier paragraphs, are presented in subordinate clauses—in this case a series of because clauses. If you wish to remind the reader of information or arguments that you have made before without seeming repetitious or giving them undue prominence, then remember the usefulness of subordinate clauses. The reminders can be put into subordinate clauses, and the verdict, delivered in the main clause. That, if your material will allow it, is the best principle to adopt in a concluding paragraph.Transition ParagraphsA transition paragraph is a short paragraph inserted between two longer ones to act as a bridge when you are moving from one major topic to the next. The following example consists of a transition paragraph placed between the last and first sentences of longer paragraphs:… As a result, the committee decided to reject the proposal to open the competition to nonmembers and, as in previous years, restricted entry to registered members of the club.
When they came to this decision, the members of the committee seem to have been completely unaware that they were acting in a way that might leave them open to a legal challenge. Few if any of them, apparently, were familiar with the details of their own constitution. They were in for a considerable surprise.
A legal action was brought by Mr. Cuthbert Johanssen of Taos, New Mexico, who claimed that … The paragraph preceding the transition paragraph deals with the reasons why the committee rejected the proposal; the paragraph after the transition paragraph sets out the grounds for Mr. Johanssen's action. The three sentences in the transition paragraph bridge the gap in the story and prepare the way for the new topic. The first sentence actually does most of the work. It refers to the end of the preceding paragraph—the noun decision echoes the verb decided—and also contains a pointer to what is to follow inasmuch as it mentions a "legal challenge."A transition paragraph is perhaps better compared to a hinge than a bridge. It turns the argument in a new direction. But transition paragraphs are only needed occasionally, usually between two long paragraphs or two series of shorter paragraphs, and only when there is good reason to emphasize a change of topic.When to Insert a Paragraph BreakThe basic rule that determines when a paragraph should end has already been given. When you have dealt fully with one particular idea—or with one particular aspect of a complex idea that it takes you several paragraphs to cover appropriately—you should finish a paragraph and begin another. How this works in practice will be shown in making paragraphs (page 133).Changing the Point of ViewIt is also usual to begin a new paragraph when you change the point of view from which you are writing. This can occur quite frequently in narrative, when the writer presents a scene or an incident from the point of view of one character and then switches to another character to present his or her possibly very different perception of the same scene or incident. Such is the case in the following example:Mary suddenly became conscious that she was saying things that she did not necessarily want the rest of the company to overhear. She huddled down in her chair and leaned closer to the wall, at the same time picking up the handkerchief that lay in her lap and placing it over the mouthpiece of the telephone. Not satisfied that these measures alone sufficed to ensure her privacy, she also dropped her voice to a very low whisper. Her mother, at the other end of the line, was completely nonplussed when Mary's speech suddenly degenerated into a series of barely audible sounds in the middle of what had appeared to be a perfectly normal conversation. Her first thought was that there was something wrong with her phone…. There is an obvious shift in perspective here. We are presented first with a description of Mary's actions, then with a description of her mother's reactions. The point of view changes, and to mark that change the writer begins a new paragraph.Shifts in point of view are not restricted to narrative, however:There are cases where a writer deliberately chooses to forgo the advantages of paragraphing and puts down a length of unbroken text in order to achieve a special effect. Stream-of-consciousness writing is the obvious example. Outside specialized literary writing, however, undivided text is rarely if ever needed. Generally speaking, writers produce it not so much as a deliberate policy, but because they are in a hurry or on a roll, drafting furiously to catch the ideas as they unfold. As has been said before, anything goes when you are writing a draft. You may choose to dispense with punctuation altogether, let alone such sophisticated mechanisms as paragraph breaks. This is fine as long as you realize that you will have to go back at the revision stage and put your material into proper form. Do not be tempted to omit paragraph breaks because you believe that the reader might enjoy sharing the excitement that you felt when you were in the flow…. This passage occurs a little earlier in this chapter. The first three sentences speak of writers generally and impersonally. The remainder of the passage addresses the reader (as writer) directly. The shift from general description to direct address constitutes a change in angle of attack, so to speak, which is tantamount to a change in point of view. At the point of change, therefore, a new paragraph begins.DialogueIt is usual practice to present the words of each speaker in a dialogue or conversation as a separate paragraph. The "attribution" of the words used—that is, a phrase that tells the reader who is speaking, such as he said, Mrs. Hollinger remarked, or they chanted in unison—should be included in the same paragraph, as should any material that describes the way in which the words are uttered or what the speaker is doing when he or she utters them.Grant leaned across the table and said softly, "Don't turn your head, but that woman's just come into the restaurant."
"Which woman?" Despite Grant's warning, Josie swiveled around in her seat to see.
A tall, thin woman in a long black evening gown was already making her way toward their table. She walked with unsteady steps and was holding a glass in her hand.
"Oh my God!" exclaimed Josie and immediately looked away again.
"Who is it? What's the matter?"
"It's my mother!" There are several points to note in this short passage. First, as at the end of the passage, it is not necessary to attribute spoken words to a particular person explicitly if it is obvious from the context who says them. But note that this can be done with safety only when there are no more than two, or perhaps at most three, people involved in the exchange. Second, it is not necessary to use a reporting verb—that is, a verb such as said, exclaimed, muttered, or whispered that explicitly describes a speech act—to attribute words to a particular person. The writer makes it quite clear that Josie speaks the words "Which woman?" by simply going on, in the same paragraph, to describe the action that accompanies those words. Third, material that is not directly connected with any spoken words—in this instance, the sentences that describe Josie's mother—is placed in a separate paragraph.The reason this particular piece of description is placed in a separate paragraph—indeed, why most pieces of contextual information that fall within passages of dialogue are similarly separated out—relates back to the rule set out in the previous subsection: There is a change in the point of view. If this scene were in a movie, the director would probably show Grant and Josie exchanging their opening remarks in close-up, then change to a different camera to give a broader view of the whole room and show the woman in black moving toward their table. The writer has chosen to present the scene in the same way, moving from a narrow focus on the couple to a broader and more general perspective, thus requiring a new paragraph.It would, however, be possible to introduce the woman in black, not from the angle of an independent observer somewhere in the room, but from the angle of Josie herself, as he swivels around and spots her. In that case, the paragraphing would be done rather differently:Grant leaned across the table and said softly, "Don't turn your head, but that woman's just come into the restaurant."
"Which woman?" Despite Grant's warning, Josie swiveled around in her seat and saw a tall, thin woman in a long black evening gown making her way toward their table, walking with unsteady steps and holding a glass in her hand.
"Oh my God!" exclaimed Josie, and immediately looked away again…. Once the woman in black becomes something that Josie perceives as she swivels in her seat, she can be appropriately accommodated in the same paragraph as Josie's spoken words.
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