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Paragraphs: The main part of the essay -

structure and linking
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This section should be read in parallel with that which

looks at the production of introductions and conclusions (next
module). Here the emphasis is on the writing which occurs
between the two, the main body of the essay. It takes practice
to manage the material you use in analysing and interpreting a
work of literature. With this in mind it should be stressed that
it is important to plan the essay in advance. Even in timed
conditions such as exams you must take the time to think
about the structure of the essay. Think about what points
you want to make beforehand, and then think about the best
way of arranging this material in sequence. The order in which
you make the points will go a long way to determining how
clear the arguments you put forward will be. You do not have
to say everything there is to be said about a given subject and
you should try to develop a feel for the most important
elements.

An essay should be the development of argument,

interpretation and analysis through an extended and
flowing sequence of points and illustrations. This entails
work at the level of the sentence, of course, but also, very
importantly, you need to work at the level of the paragraph.
The paragraph is a coherent passage of logically
connected sentences usually concentrating on no more
than one or two ideas relevant to your argument. Do not
use very short and unconnected staccato sentences, and
develop your use of linking words by which the various
sentences of a paragraph are bound together. It takes
experience and practice to develop a sense of when a new
paragraph is needed and when it has run its course. Examine
the general guide to essay writing to get some sense of
how the paragraphs, or 'idea units' as they have also been
called, have been constructed, and how their 'natural'
beginnings and ends appear.

The first sentence of the paragraph should generally be a

'strong' one, used to signal or indicate the idea to be
discussed within the paragraph. Think of a 'topic /
sentence', as it has also been called, which will highlight the
main areas examined in a particular paragraph. Connecting
and signposting words and phrases should be learnt, used, and
practised (examples are 'furthermore', 'moreover', 'in
addition', 'to qualify the above', 'however', 'in order to', 'in this
connection', 'having established that' etc.). The argument
should develop through the language you use and therefore in
a short essay sub-headings are unnecessary.

Your essay will be the representation of an argument on a

given subject or subjects. It will include only points which are
relevant to the subject, so be careful to get rid of material
that is not directly relevant. Although students sometimes
complain that the lengths demanded of essays are too long,
most of the essays you will write are really relatively short.
Part of the skill of writing is to write concisely and
economically, without wasting material or 'padding' the work
with irrelevant diversions and repetition. Once the points have
been chosen they should be presented logically and coherently,
so do not leap about from point to point. Each point generally
will have some connection to the preceding one and the one
which follows. If you do leave one part of the essay to move
onto another, but intend later to go back to the point you have
left and show, for example, how the points may be connected
or related, then it can be useful to say so by 'signposting',
e.g. 'this point will be picked up later', 'this point will be
returned to later, after taking into consideration ...'. After each
draft of the essay check that each point is presented in a
logical and coherent order. Read each draft carefully and
critically. Is there a significant idea you have not included in
the essay? Do you need to expand some of the points you
have chosen to write about? Are some of the points, after due
consideration, not really relevant? Have you been too long-
winded or repetitive? If so, cut out and/or reduce some of the
text. Does your argument need to be clearer, and do the links
between some of the main points need more emphasis? You
should be asking yourself these questions throughout the
whole process.

Strong sentences are essential in terms of the flow of your

essay. When signalling the fact that they now want to begin a
discussion about the imagery of the text in question, students
often begin paragraphs with a sentence such as the following:
'I will now go on to discuss the imagery, which plays an
important role in this story.' Whilst this would be fine in a first
draft for more refined essay writing there are much better
alternatives and methods. What is wrong with this particular
sentence? To start with there is no real need to introduce the
subject so mechanically: as you are writing about literature it
will come as no great surprise to the reader that imagery is to
be discussed at some point. Secondly, as the student has
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chosen to write about the imagery there is no need to state
that it is important. If it was not important then the student
should not have chosen to write about it. (Please note that
there would be no objection to a sentence such as 'I will now
go on to discuss the imagery, which is fundamental to a full
understanding of the story', although it would be even better if
the type of imagery was identified. This says something
different. Do not repeat these phrases mechanically in your
essays - the imagery will not always be absolutely key to
understanding the story. Use your common sense.)

You can introduce the subject of imagery in a strong

sentence, at the beginning of a paragraph, by simply starting
to discuss it straightaway. If you have identified a number of
images, metaphors, etc., but have decided that, in the end,
they can be collected under two separate headings, then it is a
good idea to say so. As an example, here is a paragraph which
starts to deal with the literary language in Graham Greene's
'The Destructors'. This paragraph would ideally come about a
third or half way into the essay, as it comes after the
introduction and signals the fact that some analysis has
already been carried out.

Suggested Model

A discussion of the imagery can reinforce the general

points made above; broadly speaking there are two main sets
of images and metaphors, dealing firstly with the tensions
between the individual and the community, to which I will turn
later, and secondly focusing on Christian symbolism. A number
of the images have religious connotations. It is significant that
Old Misery's house was designed by Christopher Wren, who
was the seventeenth century architect of St. Paul's cathedral.
By mentioning Wren Greene is attempting to show the
presence of the past in the present and how irrelevant it seems
to the boys: 'Who's Wren?' asks Blackie, the initial leader of
the gang. Their experience of massive destruction has eroded
references and deprived them of values. Instead of the
integration and shared common values illustrated by, among
others, the fact that Wren designed both a public place of
worship and a private home, the post-war period leaves them
with fragmentation and mutual distrust: the gang are aware of
rival gangs, there is distrust between the generations - shown
by the gang's suspicion of Old Misery's gift of sweets - and T.
rejects all values. For him 'All this hate and love [is]soft, it's
hooey. There's only things.' For Greene, the ideological vacuum
is reflected in the wasteland in which the gang organises its
activities.

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 The next paragraph might begin:

Furthermore, the passage describing the destruction of the

house is an ironic parody of the opening chapter of Genesis.
The vocabulary is similar: Blackie notices that 'chaos had
advanced', an ironic reversal of God's imposing of form on a
void. Furthermore, the phrase 'streaks of light came in through
the closed shutters where they worked with the seriousness of
creators', used in the context of destruction, also parodies the
creation of light and darkness in the early passages of the
Biblical book.[...]

There might be another paragraph, or two, on religious

metaphors, or the next paragraph might begin:

Images and metaphors concerning the individual and

community are centred on Trevor, and are also linked to the
theme of leadership. [...]

General Comments

What are the advantages of such a sequence of

paragraphs? Notice that the opening sentence in each
paragraph is a strong one. There are several strong points
about the first paragraph:

The fact that literary language (metaphors, symbols,

images) are now the focus is signalled efficiently and
economically, through the strategy of launching the discussion
directly. The main extended images are mentioned in the first
sentence, which is preferable to 'I am now going to discuss the
imagery of Graham Greene's story.'
The first sentence, however complex, is clear and does a lot of
work by clearly situating the reader in the overall structure of
the essay .
The paragraph refers back to analysis already done, thus
emphasising the clear structure of the essay and enhancing
the interrelationships of its parts. Importantly, whilst it is
obvious that there is to be some reference to ideas already
mentioned, it is also clear that there is to be no repetition.
Instead, the analysis is to be deepened and extended.
The paragraph also refers ahead to analysis still to come. The
anxious reader, who might be wondering why the important
theme of the individual and the community has not been
mentioned, can relax and enjoy the analysis of the religious
symbolism in the full knowledge that the former theme has not
been neglected.
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The images are not merely identified, pointed out and listed.;
there is active interpretation and analysis of what they actually
mean. In other words the writer is actively engaging with
Greene's story.

What of the second paragraph? Firstly one might ask why

a second paragraph is needed, given that the theme is still
that of religion. True, but the first paragraph is becoming quite
long, it is reaching the 'natural' length of a paragraph. There
are no hard or fast rules and regulations here - no writing
committee has decreed that a paragraph should contain an
ideal number of words or sentences or run a certain length
over a page. Extended writing practice will give you a 'feel' and
an instinct for realising that a paragraph is complete and it is
time to start a new one. More importantly here there is a very
strong sense that the first paragraph in the model is 'full'. The
writer has identified a link between the house and the
ideological vacuum in which the gang exist and has tried to
interpret and explain it. Next s/he wants to highlight the links
between Greene's vocabulary and that of the book of Genesis.
The theme is still religion, but the writer is now going to
approach a different aspect of it.

The third paragraph begins to produce what has been

promised: an analysis of the theme of the individual and the
community. Note how this is done. There is no need to state
mechanically that this is the theme that is now to be
discussed. It has already been anticipated and the 'full' nature
of the first sentence makes clear what is being discussed.
Again, the reader is being clearly led through the arguments in
a well structured and thought out manner.

One further point, by way of providing another model. The

analysis in the second paragraph could lead in the following
direction. 'The Destructors' deals with, obviously,
destruction, whilst the book of Genesis deals with creation. The
vocabulary is similar: Blackie notices that 'chaos had
advanced', an ironic reversal of God's imposing of form on a
void. Furthermore, the phrase 'streaks of light came in through
the closed shutters where they worked with the seriousness of
creators', used in the context of destruction, also parodies the
creation of light and darkness in the early passages of the
Biblical book. Greene's ironic use of the vocabulary of the Bible
might be making the point that, for him, the Second World War
signalled the end of a particular Christian era. Now, it is
perfectly arguable that the rise of fascism is linked to this, or
that it is the cause. The cult of personality and secular
leadership has, for Greene, taken over from the key role of the
church in Western societies. In this way the two main themes
identified above - the tension between individual and
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community, and religion - are linked. In terms of essay writing
this link could well be made after the discussion of the theme
of the individual and the community, and its links with the
theme of leadership. This might be the general conclusion to
the essay. After thoughtful consideration and interpretation a
student may well decide that this is what 'The Destructors'
boils down to: Greene is making a clear link between the rise
of fascism and the decline of the Church's influence. Despite
the fact that fascism has been recently defeated, Greene sees
the lack of any contemporary values which could provide social
cohesion as providing the potential for its reappearance.
However, whilst this is the conclusion the student has come to,
this should not be mentioned for the first time in the
conclusion / concluding paragraph. This is the climax to the
essay, but the concluding paragraph should generally be a brief
paraphrase or synthesis of the essay. This also adheres to the
generally held view that the conclusion should not introduce
new ideas.

Coherent Paragraphs

Paragraphs need to be coherent, which will be only

achieved through the careful arrangement of the sentences
within them. Staying with an analysis of Graham Greene's 'The
Destructors', let us see how this can be achieved.

Student Example

(1) The apple is compared to Old Misery's house and this

house symbolises perhaps the Church. (2) Actually it may
mean that the Church is losing its credibility, first from inside,
and then, when everything will be lost, a single push could
destroy it. (3) But why the Church? (4) We know that as well
as the destruction of everything this house symbolises
temptation too; hence the image of the apple: it refers to
Adam and the temptation. (5) If Adam ate the apple, all his
happiness would be destroyed. (6) For Trevor, the house is the
only thing that tempts his urge to destroy.

General Comments

This is by no means a terrible paragraph, but there are

weaknesses within it, the chief of them being that whilst it
demonstrates that the student is going beyond superficial
summarising and interpreting the story, the ideas are
struggling to make themselves heard. Some of the sentences
lack detail or are a little ambiguous, and at times there is a
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lack of tight connection between several of the sentences.
Various ideas are referred to and introduced without ever
being fully explained or analysed. For example there is no
explanation for the introduction of the notions of happiness
and temptation. To some extent the reader has to guess what
the writer is really trying to express. This is a crucial point:
you must present your arguments clearly and unambiguously,
and grades will we lost if the marker has to try to guess what
is being said.

Detailed Comments

(1) In the first sentence there is a lack of detail and also

inappropriate emphasis. First of all, no apple has been
mentioned before in the essay and its introduction here is a
little confusing. This is because in the story the apple is not
compared to a house, but it is the house which is compared to
an apple. Furthermore there is no evidence provided for the
assertion that the house can be linked to a church. In addition,
the 'perhaps' does not inspire confidence that the student is
fully on top of the idea. (2) There are several problems with
the second sentence. Most importantly there is no clear
connection with the preceding and succeeding sentence. Also,
the 'actually' is too informal and, equally importantly, it
suggests that the idea to come has just popped into the
student's mind. The first 'it' is ambiguous, and it is not exactly
clear what it refers to. Finally, the overall idea - that
weaknesses within the church make it vulnerable to attacks
from the outside - is not very clearly expressed. (3) There is
no problem with the third sentence, and a question can be a
good way of introducing or emphasising a particular subject.
The problem with this paragraph lies in the other sentences.
(4) The fourth sentence does not really address the question
just asked in any coherent way. 'The destruction of everything'
is too sweeping and needs more detail. The phrase 'it refers to
Adam and the temptation' is a poor one - it should be 'it refers
to the tempting of Adam'. The main problem with this sentence
is that it has become detached from the first sentence of the
paragraph, and one of the problems of the paragraph is that
the theme of temptation is referred to and hinted at without
ever being fully interpreted and analysed. (5) The fifth
sentence is far too vague and empty, and introduces a subject
- Adam's happiness - which is not picked up on. Where in the
story could the religious references suggest that this is a
significant point? Why happiness? (6) The sixth sentence
contains some of the problems of some of the other sentences.
The writer shifts the emphasis from Adams's temptation -
which has not been analysed - to Trevor's temptation, without
explanation. There is some dislocation in that whilst there was
an earlier suggestion or hint (again unclearly expressed) that
the church was destroying itself, now there is a suggestion that
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Trevor is solely responsible for the destruction of the church, in
the symbolic form of the house. Furthermore, there is a
weakness in the comparison in that Trevor's destruction of the
house is in no way punished.

The paragraph could be rewritten in the following way:

The comparison of Old Misery's house to an apple may

recall the Garden of Eden and the temptation of Adam, given
the many religious images in the text and the fact that T. says
'We'd be like worms, don't you see, in an apple'. Perhaps not
the house in itself but the prospect of completely destroying its
beauty certainly represents a strong temptation for the new
leader. An important difference is obviously the fact that whilst
Adam fell from a state of grace following his transgression, T.
escapes any punishment. This suggests that without a
coherent and integrated system of values contemporary
society has no way of deciding what is right and wrong.

Please note that there is a very large sense in which the

student example cannot really be redeemed, given its
contradictory arguments and lack of clarity. Students should
learn how to interpret literary texts and go beyond a mere
recounting of the plot or themes, for example, but they should
avoid wild extrapolations.

Further model example:the theme of impersonality in

'The Destructors'

The theme of impersonality is embedded in the story in

complex, perhaps ambivalent, ways, reflected by the T.�s
own ambivalence towards the house. T. persuades the gang to
destroy the house he paradoxically admires: he finds the
interior of the house 'beautiful', and is particularly impressed
by the old staircase and 'the opposite forces' which prevent it
collapsing. It should be noted that his finding the house
beautiful initially causes tension within the gang. Blackie is
immediately suspicious and, whilst it is explicitly stated that
this suspicion is related to class, implicitly it is the fact that T.
is making a personal response that is the source of the
tension. Evidence for this is found in the fact that 'it only
needed a single use of his real name and the gang would be at
his heels.' His personal response, symbolic of a set of values,
is not permitted and it threatens the identity he has within the
gang.

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 The power the gang has to name is also linked to
impersonality: one's previous identity, symbolised by a 'real
name', has to be sacrificed in order to join. The gang itself has
the characteristics of a separate society; it has elaborate rules
and punishes the breaking of them, it is disciplined, it elects
leaders, and it is also self-policing, symbolised by the
surveillance carried out during the game of stealing rides. In
other words it is a very impersonal society which permits little
individuality, symbolised by the description of it as 'a hive in
swarm.' Blackie also refuses to take his loss of leadership
personally, and stays because of the potential fame the
impersonal gang might gain.

Old Misery comes to be aware of the impersonal forces

dominating society. Locked in a toilet which has earlier been
described as a 'tomb in a neglected graveyard', which
symbolises a lack of respect and a brutal and callous world, his
cries for help are ignored and he is instead 'rebuked by the
silence', suggesting a lack of personal communication. At the
end of the story the lorry driver insists that his laughter is
'nothing personal', echoing an earlier statement made by an
unnamed member of the gang. Ironically the driver denies his
own humanity and expresses the callousness and
impersonality of world lacking values.

Exercises

After reading this module carefully, choose two subjects/topics/themes

from the list below and write two substantial paragraphs on each of the
two chosen subjects/topics/themes. Each paragraph should consist of a
minimum of five full, preferably rather complex sentences (see module 2,
Sentences). Use clear links and transitions and make sure that the first
sentence of each paragraph is a strong one (see above).

1. The theme of advertising in Larkin's 'Sunny Prestatyn'.

How is it related to stereotyping?

2. The atmosphere evoked by the description of Mr Duffy's

house . ('A Painful Case' by James Joyce.)

3. The function and symbolism of the stuffed animals in

Clanchy's 'The Natural History Museum'.

4. The theme of challenging authority in 'The Conversion

of the Jews' by P. Roth.

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 Feel free to write complete essays on any of the subjects,
or ask your tutors to provide you with more subjects and
themes to write about. Click here to go to Essay questions in
Short Stories and Sample Essays.