What Is a Paragraph?

What if a writer or novelist decided to write a 300-page book with no breaks in the text for new
ideas, new chapters, or even character dialogue? It would be so overwhelming that the reader
would probably take one look and close the book forever. When writing is divided up into
manageable parts that are cohesive, it's much easier for the reader to take in and process.
A paragraph is a distinct segment of writing, often includes more than one sentence, and is
separated from other paragraphs and text by a space.
Paragraphs break up text into manageable chunks that are easily read and visually make it more
appealing and less daunting. The word paragraph comes from the Latin word paragraphos,
which is roughly translated to mean a short-stroke marking a break in sense. The term graph is
Latin for writing.
There is often some confusion about what the difference is between a paragraph and an essay.
The best way to understand the difference is to think of the essay as a bigger version of a
paragraph. A paragraph is made up of a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding
sentence. An essay has all the same parts; only instead of sentences, an essay is made up of
paragraphs.
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Basic Paragraph Format

It is important to note that a paragraph does not have a minimum or maximum number of
sentences that it must have to fit the definition of a paragraph. Some writers will opt to use very
short paragraphs, while others will include dozens of sentences in their paragraphs. It is also
important to know that most writers separate lines of dialogue into paragraphs, so if a character
only speaks a single line, it will be its own paragraph.
Keeping that in mind, there is a general agreement on the format of a standard paragraph, which
especially applies to informational and argumentative or persuasive writing. A paragraph should
be divided into three distinct sections that each serve a purpose to the paragraph as a whole.

1. Topic Sentence - The topic sentence is the sentence that lays out a preview of what the
paragraph will be about. Think of it as a preview of the paragraph. It puts the reader's
mindset into the right place to digest the information.
2. Supporting Sentence - The supporting sentence is the most important part of the
paragraph and provides details to support the topic sentence. If the topic sentence is about
frogs, then the details should be about frogs as well. This section can be longer or shorter
depending on the content and the writer's preference.
3. Concluding Sentence- The concluding sentence wraps up the paragraph and ties back to
the topic sentence. A conclusion could be a reiteration of the topic, an opinion based on
the topic, or a way to wrap up the paragraph with a more general statement.

The following paragraph is an example of a simple paragraph that follows the basic paragraph
form.
1 There are many different kinds of animals that live in China. 2 Tigers and leopards are animals
that live in China's forests in the north. 2 In the jungles, monkeys swing in the trees, and
elephants walk through the brush. The cities in China are filled with millions of people. 2 There
are camels in the deserts in China that people use for transportation. 3 Lots of different kinds of
animals make their home in China.

 In the example paragraph, the topic sentence, labeled with a 1, states the paragraph's main
idea. The reader can rightfully assume that the content will have to do with animals in
China.
 The supporting sentences, indicated by the 2, are separated into sentences that give more
specific information about animals that live in China. Each detail directly supports the
main topic.
 The concluding sentence, indicated by 3, restates the topic sentence in a slightly different
way to help wrap up the paragraph.
 The highlighted sentence in the paragraph is important to note because it is a detail that
does not relate closely enough to the topic sentence to be included in the essay. While the
sentence does mention China, it would be better placed under a paragraph about people in
China or the cities of China.

Along with the general format of a paragraph, two kinds of paragraphs bear mentioning. They
are a brief paragraph and a piece paragraph. A brief paragraph is fairly straightforward since it
contains the definition in its name. A brief paragraph is a short paragraph generally consisting of
less than ten sentences in total.