Essays are like the recipe for your favorite meal – each ingredient, or paragraph, builds to create a final product that is well-developed (and satisfying!) Although many students will define paragraphs through length (5 – 8 sentences), the purpose of a paragraph is to explain one idea that supports the argument of your paper. Since paragraphs exist to support the thesis, you will first need a working thesis statement to guide your paragraphs. Need help with thesis statements? Check out this handout before writing a paragraph.
What is a Paragraph?
All paragraphs should be unified, cohesive, and well-developed. But what does this mean?
Unified paragraphs are bonded together by one central idea (usually found in the topic sentence – more on this later).
Cohesive paragraphs are arranged in a logical way and refer back to the central idea introduced in the topic sentence. Cohesive paragraphs include transitions, evidence, and analysis.
Well-developed paragraphs include evidence and analysis to explain the paragraph’s central idea and its relation to the thesis of the paper.
To make sure paragraphs are unified, cohesive, and well-developed, consider this formula when writing:
Topic Sentence + Evidence + Analysis = Paragraph
TEA, or topic sentence, evidence, and analysis, is an easy way to remember the key components of a well-developed paragraph. The topic sentence is the unifying or controlling idea of the paragraph – without a topic sentence, the paragraph will lack direction. The evidence of a paragraph convinces the reader of your argument’s validity. The analysis will uncover meaning and significance by asking questions like “why?” or “how?” Analysis is the act of dividing a whole into its parts to reveal meaning.
Let’s Practice
Use this outline to create a paragraph:
- Topic sentence – what is the main idea of this paragraph?
- Evidence – which quotes or paraphrased/ summarized information will you use to support the paragraph’s main idea? Remember to cite any words or ideas that are not your own. For examples and citation help, visit the Shapiro Library’s citation pages.
- Analysis – how does this main idea and evidence support the argument of your paper? Answer the “so what?” question in your analysis.
Let’s say the student is asked to write a paper about the role of women in Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
The student’s thesis for this paper might read:
“Although Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow details the misogyny of colonial America, women are indeed at the core of society through the female perspective of local folklore and storytelling, the gendering of the region of Sleepy Hollow, and the supernatural banishment of the story’s main character, Ichabod Crane.”
Here’s an example of how this student might write a paragraph, using the thesis statement as a guide:
(Topic Sentence) Although not a feminist short story, Irving’s the Legend of Sleepy Hollow depicts women as the keepers of the region’s folklore. (Evidence) The Legend itself derives from the hearth of housewives, “Another of Ichabod’s sources was to pass long winter evenings with the old Dutch wives, as they sat spinning by the fire... and listen to their marvelous tales of haunted bridges and haunted houses, and particularly the headless horseman” (p. 18). (Analysis) The image of women sitting by the hearth recalls the traditional view of witchcraft and the supernatural. Although a woman is not conjuring the horseman in the short story like in Tim Burton’s adaptation, the legend told by women is the undoing of Ichabod Crane. Ultimately, the story’s female influence allows women in the domestic sphere to reclaim power and emasculate the two main characters, Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman, through storytelling.
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