How to Write a Good Paragraph: A Writing Guide
Writing a paragraph is simple, but perfecting it is quite challenging.
Last week, I had an assignment on making an essay about a certain social issue.
My instructor gave us a week to do it.
And like a good student, I didn’t do it till the day of the deadline.
My reason? I don’t like doing essays. It’s so tiring!
In short, I procrastinated.
I spent the week doing nothing but playing games.
And, I regretted it.
I didn’t bother to finish the task that could have been easily made within an hour.
But, luckily I passed it seconds before the set deadline.
You might wonder, “How did you do it?”
Well, keep on reading to find out.
A lot of students hate doing essays and I hate it too!
Doing essays makes my brain hurt and I just couldn't bring myself to sit and just write it out.
But, I have a secret in doing my essays so I can pass them on time.
The secret? By making good paragraphs.
Remember, good paragraphs make up a great essay.
But, How does one make a good paragraph?
Writing a Good Paragraph:
Writing a simple paragraph is not easy, let alone writing a good one.
A paragraph is a block of text that divide a big piece of writing such as essays, short stories, novels, and many more. Its main purpose is for the reader to be able to easily read and understand a given piece of written literature.
When done correctly, good paragraphs are a vital writing skill for many kinds of literature, and competent writers may significantly improve the readability of their writings.
A paragraph should ideally outline a thought. A paragraph was generally a single thought — and often a single sentence, usually a very long one.
An essay normally consists of 5 paragraphs.
- The introduction
- The body or the 3 main points
- The conclusion
But, we’ll only focus on the body since that’s where the important contents are commonly found.
In making a good paragraph, I usually use the P-E-E method.
What is the P-E-E method, you say?
PEE or the — Point, Evidence, and Explanation — is a method commonly used by students to provide a structure to a statement.
It entails declaring the point, providing evidence to support that position, and providing a clear explanation of how that evidence supports your view on the issue at hand.
If you were given a given topic such as “Death Penalty”. You’ll then have to think about your point.
For example, (this is just an opinion):
“The Death penalty does not deter crime, therefore, we should oppose its implementation.”
This, right here, would be your point or the topic sentence. The point that you want to make in that statement is that we should oppose or neglect the death penalty since it doesn’t deter crimes.
Then after you write your point, you would need a piece of evidence to back it up, to make it credible.
For instance, your evidence should be like this:
“According to the ACLU, the murder rate in jurisdictions with capital punishment was 25–46 percent higher than in those without the death sentence between 2000 and 2010. The Center’s statistics closely support the ACLU’s claim; murder rates in capital penalty jurisdictions were 23–47 percent higher that decade.”
This would be your evidence to back your point up. Now, your paragraph has a point and evidence and the only thing that’s missing is the explanation.
Providing an explanation to your paragraph will further strengthen it as it will become credible and would truly convince your audience.
Explanation gives the connection between your point and evidence so it should concise and clear.
Your explanation should go like this:
“With this valid statistic, it is reasonable to infer that the death penalty will cause more harm than good. We should oppose its implementation. Before reconsidering the proposed punishment, I believe we should first address our defective judicial system and provide everyone with equitable access to justice regardless of their socioeconomic status. After all, the death penalty deprives a man — whether innocent or not — of many things in life, not to mention life itself.”
Combining all the three (Point, Evidence, and Explanation) creates a well-defined paragraph that should look like this:
“The Death penalty does not deter crime, therefore, we should oppose its implementation. According to the ACLU, the murder rate in jurisdictions with capital punishment was 25–46 percent higher than in those without the death sentence between 2000 and 2010. The Center’s statistics closely support the ACLU’s claim; murder rates in capital penalty jurisdictions were 23–47 percent higher that decade. With this valid statistic, it is reasonable to infer that the death penalty will cause more harm than good. We should oppose its implementation. Before reconsidering the proposed punishment, I believe we should first address our defective judicial system and provide everyone with equitable access to justice regardless of their socioeconomic status. After all, the death penalty deprives a man — whether innocent or not — of many things in life, not to mention life itself.”
With this Point, Evidence, and Explanation, one should be able to create a decent and well-structured paragraph.
Final Thoughts
Writing a good paragraph can be challenging.
But using this PEE method, it can be a lot less harder as it provides a concise and clear structure and can be used for any type of essay.
Remember, if you’re making an essay always use the PEE method!
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