Page 177 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing

Writing Body Paragraphs

1 Identify the four characteristics of an

effective body paragraph.

A paragraph is the smallest multiple-sentence unit of communication

in the English language. But simply lumping sentences together does

not make a paragraph. A body paragraph is a paragraph that

supports a larger idea: the unity, coherence, and thesis statement of

an essay. An effective body paragraph has four characteristics:

direction, unity, coherence, and support.

1. Direction means that the body paragraph has a strong topic

sentence that states the main idea and sets the course that the

paragraph will follow.

2. Unity means that the paragraph makes one main point and

sticks to that point.
3. Coherence means that the ideas in the paragraph are logically

connected and easy to follow.

4. Support means that the paragraph contains a specific and

detailed discussion of the idea stated in the topic sentence.