Writing Strong Paragraphs

A paragraph is a distinct and separate piece of writing that forms part of an overall text. Each paragraph contains one key idea or topic and at least one controlling idea. When writing a larger text, such as an essay, the writer must also consider how the ideas in each paragraph connect to each other. Writers structure their text into paragraphs to help the reader better digest their meaning.

Different genres of writing may have different expectations when it comes to paragraph structure and paragraph length. For instance, it is common to use short paragraphs in emails to help the reader quickly understand the important information. In an academic essay, however, your paragraphs will be longer and will likely convey evidence to support an argument.

If you are used to writing five-paragraph essays, you should note that your university writing assignments will likely have more than five paragraphs, and you will have to learn where to add paragraph breaks. The number of paragraphs in your writing will depend on the length of the text, the content, and the conventions of the genre you are writing.

This chapter explores how body paragraphs should connect to your thesis statement and provides a useful academic structure for a basic body paragraph and the elements that contribute to its cohesiveness.

How Do Body Paragraphs Relate to the Thesis?

If your thesis gives the reader a roadmap to your essay, then the body paragraphs should closely follow that map. The reader should be able to predict what follows your introductory paragraph by simply reading the thesis statement.

The body paragraphs present the evidence you have gathered to confirm your thesis. Before you begin to support your thesis in the body, you must find information from a variety of sources that support and give credit to what you are trying to prove.

Identify primary support for your thesis

Without primary support, your argument is not likely to be convincing. Primary support can be described as the major points you choose to expand on your thesis. It is the most important information you select to argue for your point of view. Each point you choose will be incorporated into the topic sentence for each body paragraph you write. Your primary supporting points are further supported by supporting details within the paragraphs.

In order to fulfill the requirements of good primary support, the information you choose must meet the following standards:

• Be specific. The main points you make about your thesis and the examples you use to expand on those points need to be specific. Use specific examples to provide the evidence and to build upon your general ideas. These types of examples give your reader something narrow to focus on, and if used properly, they leave little doubt about your claim. General examples, while they convey the necessary information, are not nearly as compelling or useful in writing because they are too obvious and typical.
• Be relevant to the thesis. Primary support is considered strong when it relates directly to the thesis. Primary support should show, explain, or prove your main argument without delving into irrelevant details. When faced with lots of information that could be used to prove your thesis, you may think you need to include it all in your body paragraphs. But effective writers resist the temptation to lose focus. Choose your examples wisely by making sure they directly connect to your thesis.
• Be detailed. Remember that your thesis, while specific, should not be very detailed. The body paragraphs are where you develop the discussion that a thorough essay requires. Using detailed support shows readers that you have considered all the facts and chosen only the most precise details to enhance your point of view.

Choose evidence that supports your thesis

To support your thesis, you need evidence. Evidence includes anything that can help support your stance. The following are the kinds of evidence you will encounter as you conduct your research:

• Facts. Facts are the best kind of evidence to use because they often cannot be disputed. They can support your stance by providing background information on or a solid foundation for your point of view. However, some facts may still need explanation. For example, the sentence “The most populated state in the United States is California” is a pure fact, but it may require some explanation to make it relevant to your specific argument. In academic writing, facts often come from peer-reviewed sources that present research based on systematic analysis.
• Judgments. Judgments are conclusions drawn from the given facts. Judgments are more credible than opinions because they are founded upon careful reasoning and examination of a topic.
• Testimony. Testimony consists of direct quotations from either an eyewitness or an expert witness. An eyewitness is someone who has direct experience with a subject; he adds authenticity to an argument based on facts. An expert witness is a person who has extensive experience with a topic. This person studies the facts and provides commentary based on either facts or judgments, or both. An expert witness adds authority and credibility to an argument. In academic writing, testimony often comes in the form of quotations.
• Personal observation. Personal observation is similar to testimony, but personal observation consists of your testimony. It reflects what you know to be true because you have experiences and have formed either opinions or judgments about them. For instance, if you are one of five children and your thesis states that being part of a large family is beneficial to a child’s social development, you could use your own experience to support your thesis.

T.E.E.L. Structure for Paragraphs in Academic Writing

To present the primary support and evidence in your body paragraphs, consider using the T.E.E.L. paragraph structure.

Here’s where the acronym comes from:

T  –  Topic sentence with a controlling idea

E  –  Explain and make a claim (about the controlling idea)

E  –  Evidence from academic sources (plus evaluate how this supports the claim)

L  –  Link back to the key idea or argument (or to the topic of the next paragraph)

This simple paragraph structure will introduce your ideas to the reader, add additional explanations and evidence for support and then link all this information back to the main idea of the overall paragraph or essay. While there are definitely other ways to structure paragraphs, the T.E.E.L. structure offers a good starting point.

What Is a Topic Sentence?

A topic sentence makes a connection between the overall topic or main idea of the essay and a controlling idea. For example, the overall topic of an essay could be sustainable energy. The controlling ideas might examine solar, wind, and hydroelectricity. Each controlling idea becomes the basis for a paragraph, whereas the overall topic remains the same throughout the essay.

It is often taught that each new paragraph represents a new topic, though in actuality the topic remains the same and the controlling idea changes.

What Is a Controlling Idea?

A controlling idea limits, restricts, or controls what is being discussed in relation to the main topic.

For example:

• Sustainable energy (topic) has long been a topic of discussion and solar energy (controlling idea), in particular, has had a great deal of attention.

This signals to the reader that the essay is about sustainable energy, though in this particular paragraph only solar energy will be discussed. Therefore, the topic is restricted to only solar energy (controlling idea). It may go on to discuss both the positive and negative attributes of solar energy, however, it is still being controlled by one idea.

In the next paragraph, the topic will remain sustainable energy, but the controlling idea will change to wind power; the third paragraph will discuss hydro power. When you understand the building blocks behind good paragraph structure, the essay begins to write itself.

What Am I Explaining to the Reader?

The next sentence or sentences should elaborate on the controlling idea and may make an assertion or claim about it.

For example:

• Modern Australian homeowners are turning to solar panels to offset their electricity costs (fact); however, their effectiveness is greatly depleted in sustained cloudy weather (claim).

What Is the Evidence Meant to Support?

Given that the claim is often unsupported initially, the next sentences should provide supporting information for the controlling idea and the claim made in relation to it.

For example:

• According to Energy Australia (2020), solar panels operate at 10-25% capacity in cloudy weather, although this varies depending on the type of panel.

Writers can build on their discussion or argument by adding more evidence to support the claim. Use reputable academic sources.

What Am I Evaluating?

It is important not to assume that the reader will make the mental connection between the claim and the evidence. Therefore, evaluate the relevance and explicitly state the connection to the reader.

For example:

• This demonstrates that solar energy, while environmentally supportive, may not be a solution to all of Australia’s energy needs.

How do I link my topic, claim, and evidence?

If we use the analogy of the gears working together, think of the linking sentence as the one that turns back in on the contents of the paragraph and locks it all together.

For example:

• Sustainable energy is currently being debated and solar power offers one alternative, though it may be less productive on cloudy days depending on the quality of solar panels being installed on Australians’ roofs.

A linking sentence can also be used to draw the reader to the next paragraph and provide a mental bridge between controlling ideas for the reader. This creates good cohesion and coherence throughout the essay.

For example:

• While there are benefits to using solar energy to offset household electricity costs, even if somewhat inconsistent in cloudy weather, wind power (the next controlling idea) also offers a more sustainable energy source than our finite fossil fuel supplies.

The next paragraph could discuss how wind power is infinite and therefore far more sustainable than fossil fuels.

Now let’s put it all together:

Sustainable energy (topic) has long been a topic of discussion and solar energy (controlling idea), in particular, has had a great deal of attention. Modern Australian homeowners are turning to solar panels to offset their electricity costs (fact); however, their effectiveness is greatly depleted in sustained cloudy weather (claim). According to Energy Australia (2020), solar panels operate at 10-25% capacity in cloudy weather, although this varies depending on the type of panel (evidence). This demonstrates that solar energy, while environmentally supportive, may not be the solution to all of Australia’s energy needs (evaluation and explanation of evidence). **Sustainable energy is currently being debated and solar power offers one alternative, though it may be less productive on cloudy days depending on the quality of solar panels being installed on Australians’ rooves (links back to claim).

Or

**While there are benefits to using solar energy to offset household electricity costs, even if somewhat inconsistent in cloudy weather, wind power (next controlling idea) also offers a more sustainable energy source than our finite fossil fuel supplies (links to next controlling idea in the essay).

How Long Should My Paragraphs Be?

Paragraphs will vary in length depending on the genre that you are writing. One good way to check to see if your paragraphs are the right length is to look at good examples of the genre and count the words in a paragraph.

Also, remember that paragraphs are about readers. A paragraph gives the reader a place to pause and take a breath. If your paragraphs get too long, there is a good chance that your reader will get frustrated with your writing. One good rule of thumb is to double-check any paragraph over 250 words to see if you can split it.

Summary

These are the basics of writing a well-structured academic body paragraph. Repeat this process to structure an essay demonstrating a logical progression of thoughts, claims, and supporting evidence. T.E.E.L. is an easy acronym to remember and great to fall back on if you get lost in your writing. You can augment your paragraphs with further evidence, explanations, and elaborations; you are not limited to only two “E” sentences.

References

Energy Australia. (2020). 8 surprising facts about solar. Energy Australia Blog. https://www.energyaustralia.com.au/blog/better-energy/8-surprising-facts-about-solar

Attributions

“Writing Strong Paragraphs” by Nancy Bray, Introduction to Academic Writing, University of Alberta, is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 and was adapted from:

• “22 Basic Paragraph Writing” by Patricia Williamson, Academic Writing Skills, The University of Queensland Australia is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
• “9.2 Writing Body Paragraphs” by [Author removed at the request of original publisher], Writing for Success, Minnesota Libraries Publishing Project is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0