Art of Leadership 1

Shrier

SEVEN TYPES OF PARAGRAPHS: WHAT THINKING DO THEY

ENCOURAGE?
- We will discuss the following eight types of paragraphs:
narrating, describing, explaining a process, explaining with
examples, comparing or contrasting, classifying, and defining.
- Understanding these paragraph styles has the following
benefits:
o Enables us to write a paper with more focus.
o Adds variety and structure to our writing.
o Assists our thought process by leading us to
consider different kinds of questions.
- Before considering these paragraphs, it is helpful to understand
basic paragraph structure:
o Elementary paragraph structure consists of a topic
sentence, the body of the paragraph, and the conclusion.
o Topic sentence (“Tell them what you are going to tell
them”)
ƒ A good topic sentence includes the subject that you
will discuss and an attitude toward that topic.
ƒ Topic can be an idea, an event, a policy, a teaching,
etc., or a comparison among two or more of these
items.
• Examples of topics include the prose and
cons of individual leadership, a comparison of
individual and group leadership, creating
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unity, reaching goals, enjoying work, training

workers, etc.
ƒ Attitude is “a statement that expresses an emotion,
an opinion, an approach, or a commitment to your
subject; attitude is what you want to say about your
subject” (Donald et al., 4). An attitude expresses
your position on a matter.
• Examples of attitudes include “the pros
outweigh the cons of team leadership in our
church,” “I enjoy studying,” “I think that we
need to improve our training of leaders,” etc.
ƒ Good topic sentences are specific and narrow.
ƒ Example of specific:
• Bad: “The picture on my desk causes me to
pause and consider my behavior.”
• Good: “The color photo on my desk of my
five-year-old son at the beach last summer
causes me to pause and consider what kind of
parent I have become.”
ƒ Example of narrow:
• Good: The color photo on my desk of my five
year old son at the beach last summer causes
me to pause and consider how the extra time
away I have spent at work has affected my
friendship with my son.”

o Middle or Body (“Tell them”)

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ƒ Provide the evidence, or explain the content of the

topic sentence.
o Conclusion (“Tell them what you have told them”)
ƒ Provides judgment or closure to your topic
sentence, summarizing the significance of the
material in the body of the paragraph.

- These paragraphs can be briefly described as follows:

1. Narrating:
a. A narrative paragraph tells a story of one specific event.
b. The topic sentence will identify the event clearly and
signal your value judgment, feeling, thoughts, etc.
concerning the event.
c. Questions: Does anything stand out in my memory? Do I
think of something about it frequently? Why was it done?
Why is it important enough to write about? What did I
learn from it? Answers to these questions can signal your
attitude in the topic sentence. For example: “When no
one showed up for the meeting to discuss a new ministry
to single mothers at our church, I felt as though we had
abandoned our community.”
d. Keep your story flowing, tell it in chronological order, tell it
in an interesting fashion, and make sure that you
emphasize the main ideas.
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e. Re-create the story for readers who were not there. The
picture that you create is the only picture they have of
what happened.
2. Describing:
a. Can be used to explain an object, event, person, process,
position, express and clarify thoughts and emotions,
strengthen your conclusions of narrating and other
paragraphs.
b. Topic sentence ought to identify and provide your central
impression, approval or concern about the event, person,
idea, or institution that you are describing. For example, “I
am pleased with our pastors’ friendliness and at the same
time concerned that their exclusion of the congregation
from decisions shows a lack of respect.”
c. This type of paragraph causes us to think in more detail
about a person, place, event, or situation.
3. Explaining a Process:
a. Topic sentence identifies a process and presents an
attitude toward the process. The process can be efficient,
inefficient, careful, insensitive, kind, a marvel, awkward,
streamlined, bulky, etc.
b. Causes us to consider what processes a the leaders of a
group use to make decisions. This is very helpful to
consider before passing judgment on the style and
effectiveness of the group’s leadership
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4. Explaining with Examples:

a. These paragraphs can clarify or convince, refute or
support.
b. A topic sentence will present an idea and signal your view
of this idea.
c. The paragraph will then include at least three examples
that support your conclusion, as well as an valid counter-
examples that oppose it. If there are several counter-
examples, another paragraph out to be used to outline
them and then explain why they are insufficient to
overrule your judgment.
d. This type of paragraph requires you to marshal specific
arguments to support your views. This kind of thinking
may cause you to change your opinion when the counter-
examples are stronger than your examples. Very helpful
for clarifying your views.
5. Comparing or Contrasting:
a. Choose two individuals, situations, groups, etc. that you
want to compare or contrast. Your attitude statement
should provide an explicit and clear reason where and
why you think these two items are similar or different.
b. Provide specific examples to support your comparison.
These can be point by point – A does this and B does
this, or they can be block – A does this, this and this, and
B does this, this and this.
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c. This kind of paragraph causes you to explicitly consider

comparisons that you are making in your mind.
d. Conclusion ought to summarize what our
comparison/contrast revealed.
6. Classifying:
a. Dividing items into classes, groups, or categories.
b. Topic sentence ought to identify the subject to be
classified, and give the number, name, and significance of
the classifications (can be explicit or implied by the
classification).
c. Categories need to remain consistent, both in name and
criteria for classification. For example do not mix team
and individual leadership with situational and charismatic
leadership in the same paragraph.
d. Categories need to be representative of all member of the
group. For example, individual leadership and
authoritarian leadership are not the same thing. Need t
make sure that you are using the best classification for
the group that you are discussing.
e. This form of paragraph helps us to consider what larger
group one person or thing actually belongs with. Allows
us to make and test generalizations. Generalizations will
allow us to consider further characteristics of the person
or thing by comparing them to others in the group.
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7. Defining:
a. A paragraph that precisely explains what something is or
how it looks or works, its purpose, etc.
b. This type of paragraph answers the question, “What do
you mean?” For example, what do you mean by “Biblical
authority”? Requires at least a paragraph, and more
likely a whole book, to explain your version.
c. Topic sentence identifies the subject and the focus of the
definition. For example, I will the term “university”
differently for an architect than for a student.
d. Causes us to consider what we are discussing, who we
are discussing it for, and why. Need to define terms,
ideas, etc. for readers who do not have the same
knowledge or understanding that you have. For example,
I would briefly define my use of the term “hermeneutics” in
a journal article, but I would carefully define it in a second
year Biblical studies class.