PARAGRAPHS AND PARAGRAPH DEVELOPMENT IN COMPOSITION WRITING

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INTRODUCTION

Sentences make up a paragraph and paragraphs make up an essay or a composition. Paragraphs are used to express thoughts and there are two aspects of a good paragraph- the thematic and the structural aspects.

3.1 Thematic Aspect of a Paragraph

Three things are important while discussing the theme of a paragraph and these are unity, coherence and emphasis.

3.1.1 Unity

One of the essential features of a paragraph is unity. To achieve this, a paragraph must deal with one central theme. This theme is what will be fully developed through the other sentences in the paragraph. All the sentences in a paragraph must be related to the theme that the paragraph is emphasising. Occasionally, writers get carried away with an aspect of the central theme of a paragraph to the extent that they digress. This digression may eventually make their write-up or paragraph uncoordinated or disjointed. You must guide against this. Below is an example of a paragraph that lacks unity.

The management committee at its meeting on December 8th agreed that the personnel manager should be instructed to employ more staff. The committee also recommended that the canteen be closed down because of poor management. The managing director complained about the leaking tap in his personal office. The management committee booked an appointment for a visit with the Managing Director.

This paragraph violates paragraph unity in that all the sentences look like topic sentences which could be fully developed in separate paragraphs each. Sentence1 talks about the actions of the committee. Sentence 2 talks about another action of the committee which looks unrelated to the first. Sentence 3 is not about the actions of the committee at all. Instead, it is about the complaints of the managing director concerning the leaking tap in his personal office. The paragraph looses its unity further here. The last sentence also mentioned one of the actions of the committee. Go through the paragraph below which is an example of a paragraph that has unity.

The management committee on December 8th agreed that the personnel manager should be instructed to employ more staff. The management committee had been meeting for hours before they took some vital decisions concerning the company. The committee noted that the company had been short-staffed and that production had dropped drastically. The few members of staff had written a letter of protest on excess work load without pay to the management committee recently.

All the sentences in this paragraph have something to do with the central theme on the decision of the management committee. Actually, the first sentence is the topic sentence and the other three sentences when summarised express the need for more staff as a result of recent happenings in the company. Sentence 2, explains the fact that the committee had to meet for hours before the decision to employ more staff was taken.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

Go through the paragraph below and say whether it has unity or not. Justify your answer.

Since compositions basically serve the purpose of

communicating ideas, it is particularly important that

they are written in simple and straightforward language.

The vocabulary (i.e. the words used) should not be

unnecessarily difficult. Common, everyday words---if

they are equally effective---should be preferred to the

rarely used ones. We should not aim at sending the

audience to the dictionary with every word. And the

sentences used should generally be as short as possible:

none of them should be so long and involved that it

becomes a major task getting at the meaning it seeks to

express. We impress no one, but perhaps ourselves, when

our composition fails as a piece of communication.

Aremo (2001:02)

3.1.2 Coherence

Another quality of a good paragraph is coherence. This has to do with having the parts of a paragraph in a meaningful order. The ideas presented in a paragraph must be orderly and understandable. There must be a logical sequence of ideas. These can be attained through the use of conjuncts or transitional words such as however, nevertheless, in addition, consequently, indeed, finally, as a result, in spite of, in contrast to, again etc. Coherence can also be achieved through the precise use of pronouns to avoid repetition of some nouns. The third way by which coherence can be achieved is through the repetition of specific ideas, although not necessarily the same words or phrases. You should try to avoid sentences that start with ‘This is because---‘. The pronoun ‘this’ could be vague in such sentences.

3.1.3 Emphasis

Emphasis is another quality that a paragraph can have which can give it paragraph unity. This can be achieved through the use of contrasting sentences, and repetition of ideas. Look at the passage below and discuss how emphasis has been used to drive home the writer’s point.

Delivery is deemed to have taken place when the vehicle is taken over at the workshop by the customer or his authorised representative. n case of delivery at a place other than the workshop, this is at the customer’s risk. If the customer fails to take delivery within 7 days of being notified that the vehicle is ready, a garage fee is chargeable. Despatch of the invoice to the customer shall be deemed to be notification that the vehicle is ready for delivery.

(Extract from; The use of English a Text (Department of English OAU pg 193).

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

Write a well constructed paragraph of about 150 words on any of the following topics.

1. My future career

2. My favourite film star

3.2 Structural Aspects of a Paragraph

A paragraph is a composite whole which should include at least three of the following parts-topic sentence, development, documentation, application or conclusion (if it is an only paragraph or a last paragraph in a writeup).

3.2.1 The Topic Sentence

A paragraph deals with one main idea which should be relevant to what the whole essay is all about. This main idea is contained in the topic sentence. The other sentences should be closely connected with the topic sentence and this gives the paragraph its unity and internal consistency. The topic sentence need not be the very first sentence. The writer may decide to discuss an issue first and then conclude towards the end by putting the topic sentence last.

3.2.2 Paragraph Development

Paragraph development is closely linked with the writer’s thought processes and concepts. Logical processes are involved in the presentation of arguments and ideas. The kind of statements we write should be determined by your perception of the truth, verifiable facts, objectivity and relevant details of what we hope to present. A paragraph should not be developed haphazardly and you should be careful of unnecessary generalisations and fallacies.

1. ‘Exercise is good; therefore, everybody should exercise’

This statement is fallacious because, a person suffering from a heart disease is always advised not to do exercises.

2. ‘If I had not taught you to write, you would never have learnt anything about writing’

The statement above is also fallacious because somebody else would have taught him/her to write.

You must try to develop your paragraphs based on substantiated facts. A paragraph can also have evidence of documentation or application of some kind. In whatever way any of these parts feature in your work, you should try to make sure they are well presented. For example if you are doing some documentation, you should make sure that the references are included and that contributors are acknowledged where necessary.

The following passage contains certain fallacies and illogicalities. Can you identify them?

Students should be allowed to look at their textbooks during examinations. After all, surgeons have x-rays to guide them during an operation; lawyers have briefs to guide them during a trial; carpenters have blueprints to guide them when they are building a house. Why then shouldn’t students be allowed to look at their textbooks during an examination?

Extract from; The Use of English a Text (Compiled by the

Department of English, OAU pg 180)

Paragraph Opening

The way you start your paragraph is very important. The strategy to use depends on the subject matter. The language also depends on the purpose of the write up. If it is a magazine article, the language may be different from when it is a formal essay for presentation as a proposal.

You could start by defining a concept that you hope to write on or the explanation of an idea.

Concluding Paragraph

The concluding paragraph is as important as the opening paragraph. Many people conclude by summarising the main points so that the reader would be reminded of the writer’s line of thinking or argument as the case may be. A lot however depends on the subject matter.

4.0 CONCLUSION

This unit has been able to expose you to the essential details on paragraph development and management. The development of a paragraph is closely linked with the writer’s thought processes and concepts. In an attempt to develop a good paragraph, you should be careful of overgeneralizations and unsubstantiated facts.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit, you have learnt that:

1. paragraphs are used to express thoughts,

2. the two aspects of a paragraph are theme and structure,

3. one of the essential features of a paragraph is unity,

4. a paragraph must deal with a central theme,

5. a paragraph must not violate paragraph unity,

6. another quality of a good paragraph is coherence,

7. coherence has to do with having parts of a paragraph in a meaningful order,

8. coherence can be achieved through the use of conjuncts and transitional words such as however, nevertheless, in addition, consequently, indeed, as a result-- etc

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Write a paragraph of about 100 words on any of the topics listed below. The topic sentence should appear in the paragraph but not necessarily at the beginning.

1. Rebellion is a vice in the youth of nowadays.

2. What I’ll do if I am made the president of Nigeria.

3. Internet services are a blessing to humanity.

4. I would rather have a male child than a female child.

5. The prospect of a good job is refreshing to the soul.

6. Banks offer a wide range of services to their customers.

7. Living in a village could be advantageous.

8. Daily exercise is essential to everyone’s health.

9. Should capital punishment be introduced as a way of curbing societal vices

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

The Use of English: A Text. (Compiled by the Department of English, Obafemi Awolowo University).

Adedeji, E.O. (2005). Grammatical ties in English Discourse in Moji Olateju & Lekan Oyeleye (Eds) Perspectives on Language and Literature. Ile- Ife, Nigeria: Obafemi Awolowo University. pp 157-166.

Aremo, B (2001). (ed). Advanced English Compositions. Lagos, Nigeria: Scribo Educational Books.

Aremo, B. (1995). An Introduction to English Sentences (1). Ibadan, Nigeria: Caltop Publications Nigeria Ltd

Aremo, B. (1997). An Introduction to English Sentences (2). Ibadan, Nigeria: Caltop Publications Nigeria Ltd.

Asiyanbola, A.A. (2005). Sentence Connective Devices as Linguistic Tools for English Reading Tasks in a Nigerian ESL in Moji Olateju & Lekan Oyeleye (eds.). Perspectives on Language and Literature. Ile-Ife, Nigeria: Obafemi Awolowo University. pp 187-184.

Babalola, E.T. (2005). The Grammar of Paragraphs and the Mechanics of Good Written English in Moji Olateju & Lekan Oyeleye (Eds) Perspectives on Language and Literature. Ile-Ife, Nigeria: Obafemi Awolowo University. pp 269-284.

Zandvoort, R.W. (1967). A Handbook of English Grammar. London: Longman Group Limited.