Once I talked on the Language Lady Facebook page about how many times I had said “A paragraph is a unit of thought” in three days of teaching. (Too many to count!) And promised a post about designing paragraphs, paragraph breaks, and general paragraph help. Here you go!

Dividing paragraphs is one of the most challenging aspects of writing for young writers and adults alike (along with many other challenging aspects!). That is why when people who do not write a lot write a full page with no paragraph breaks. That is also why middle school writers start writing and have no idea when to indent–so they randomly pick a spot (“Hmmm….looks like I’ve written enough to change paragraphs now…”) and indent.

While paragraph division isn’t always simple to determine (I admit to looking at a lengthy paragraph and thinking those middle school thoughts myself at times!), there are some tips that can make the process easier.

1. Think of the “main idea.”

Remember all of those achievement tests that had you color in the little oval for a reading selection’s main idea? Well, turns out that is actually a skill you might need!

When you are writing (assuming you don’t have an amazing outline to write from–see next item!), ask yourself what the main idea of the paragraph you are writing is? Then keep writing until you start writing something that is not about that main idea!

I know that sounds simplistic, but it truly is the way to determine paragraph breaks–because, as I mentioned earlier–a paragraph is a unit of thought. When that thought changes, you should change paragraphs. Then you have a new “main idea” of the paragraph.

2. Write from an outline.

I know, outlines are for people who have more time than you have. However, if you want to write clear, concise paragraphs, you should learn to outline. (Stay tuned to Language Lady. I will teach you how to outline painlessly. Honest!)

In the fifty curriculum books that I have written over the past dozen years, every single writing project I have created has a student commit to the paragraph’s topic in an outline before anything else. I use dozens of outlining techniques in my books–Paragraph House for second graders, split paper technique for comparing/contrasting writing, formal outline for research papers, scene outlines for stories. But every type of outline I teach has one common characteristic: the Topic of Paragraph line.

When you create a paragraph-by-paragraph outline, you learn to write strong paragraphs without even realizing that you are learning to write strong paragraphs. Why? Simply because you are committing to what each paragraph will contain right off the bat. And you are forced to change paragraphs (start a new one) at the right time. Try it!

3. A paragraph generally contains three or more sentences.

I say generally because nowadays, especially on blog posts and inspirational writing, this rule of thumb is broken all the time. However, for those in school turning in reports and essays, it is still an important rule of thumb.

A paragraph might contain three or four sentences, or might contain eight or nine, but generally, a paragraph of fewer than three sentences is not truly a paragraph. And a paragraph of twelve sentences probably needs to be broken into two paragraphs (with the first paragraph being Part I of the topic and the second paragraph being Part II of the topic!).

This rule of thumb is a help to a new writer on the shorter end of the spectrum. A new writer needs to know that he can write three or four sentences for a paragraph, and it will still be a paragraph. (Let’s give those new writers every break we can!)

4. Teach very new writers to write the “paragraph is a unit of thought” way by having them write on a subject with clear paragraph topics.  

I know some of you adults are tuning me out here, and I understand! Language Lady has a diverse audience of adults who want to know where to put commas in and how to speak and write eloquently in the work place to teachers and homeschooling parents and students! So I will try to give you a little of everything!

In this instance, though, if you are a parent or a teacher (or both), this little tip can really help your young writers. (I’m all about making learning easier for young ones!) In my younger books, I like to expand from one paragraph writings to multi-paragraph writings by taking a topic that is simple to divide: Three Best Pets, Four Great Presidents, Five Zoo Animals.

By making the paragraph breaks so obvious, a new writer can’t go wrong! He is not going to write about cats in his dog paragraph. In this way, it is really like writing three one-paragraph reports and “squeezing” them together. It starts new writers out in a fool-proof method–and gives them immediate success.

So whether you are a teacher instructing a little guy in his first two

-paragraph essay or a college student writing eighteen pages of a final

research paper, always keep in the forefront of your mind that a paragraph is

a unit of thought. (And don’t forget to outline!) Smile…)

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I also remember the teacher giving my paper back to me and telling me to divide it into paragraphs. What I don’t remember is any lessons on paragraphs. I think those would have come in handy! 🙂

When new students come to my writing classes, the first “writing” problem they encounter is that of paragraph breaks. And I would expect no less. Paragraph breaking is difficult. We tell them that when they change topics, they should change paragraphs—but the entire paper is about the same topic! We tell them that each paragraph should be a unit of thought—but the whole paper feels like a unit of thought to them!

Poor kids!

I love kids too much to leave them stuck in that continuous cycle of “I don’t know how to break my paper up into paragraphs!”

And the way I have gotten around that in my classes and all seventy of my books is to teach students to commit ahead of time as to what each paragraph will contain. Then they label each outlining space with each paragraph’s topic. Easy peasy. This approach works. (Check out two week samples of Meaningful Composition here to see how I use this outlining technique in all of my lessons.)

I have been enjoying Facebook Live and have gotten a lot of good feedback on my teaching videos. Thank-you for your encouragement!

So to demonstrate how to teach Paragraph Division, I created a video of me teaching this concept to some amazing fourth through sixth grade students. We had a lot of fun—and it clearly demonstrates how committing to each paragraph’s topic ahead of time really works!

The post Dividing Paragraphs appeared first on Character Ink.

Which came first–the chicken or the egg? Or which comes first–the body or the opening paragraph? I have some strong opinions about this that I answer in today’s blog video/live class! 🙂 Additionally, this post contains a video lesson on creating opening and closing paragraphs for research reports. I teach my students (and I use this approach in my books) that there are over a dozen ways to create an opening paragraph. (See idea list below.) I also teach them that in upper level writing, they should be very specific in their opening and closing paragraphs. No more summarizing here and there (or restating everything you say in the paper!). I teach them HOW to write the various opening and closing types so that they can use them in their writing. Watch today’s video and follow along with a few pages of the text we used. (Jump Start II–coming out this month!)

Here are some of the opening/closing paragraph types that I teach and include in my publications.

(Many of them have templates that students use for outlining–sort of fill-in-the-blank outlines that are easy for students to fill in and write from!)

1) Statistics

2) Story

3) Dialogue

4) Quote

5) Verse

6) Newspaper report

7) Informative

8) Summary

9) Song

10) Rhyme/Poetry

Download the portion of the lesson containing this teaching and watch the video to learn more! (P.S. There’s a Prepositional Phrase Sentence Opener lesson near the of the video too!) And check out MC sample lessons (at the end of this blog post) for more opening and closing paragraph information!

P.S. If you are stuck teaching prepositions, or your students only know a token 30 (of the 230+), check out my Preposition Packet!

Click below to see free two-week samples of all of my Meaningful Composition books!

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I love teaching Opening and Closing Paragraphs! By this time, my students have their amazing essays or reports written—and they are ready to show them off by writing poignant openings that draw readers in and closings that leave the reader satisfied.

Many of my students are very serious and conscientious about their Opening and Closing Paragraphs (as seen in the video below!), and they make me super proud of their efforts!

There are many ways to open and/or close an essay or report. Here are some general tips about opening paragraphs and closing paragraphs that writers of longer essays and reports (four paragraphs or more) should consider:

1) While you want to have your Thesis Statement (statement declaring what your entire paper is about) written ahead of time (at least a “Working Thesis Statement”), it is usually better to write your Opening and Closing Paragraphs after you have written the body of your paper. By this time, you know exactly what your paper contains, and you can draw your reader into your paper more.

2) An Opening and/or Closing Paragraph should be three sentences or more in length. If either of these is shorter than that, the sentence(s) should just be tacked on to the beginning of your first paragraph or the end of your last paragraph—rather than writing a short two sentence paragraph in either spot.

3) There are many ways to open and close an essay or report. Be creative and think outside the box! What would draw you into your paper?

4) Be wary of just saying, “This paper is about…” Be more creative than that!

5) Write your Opening and Closing Paragraphs in the same person as the body of your paper unless your Opening Paragraph is personal (it involves you)—then you can write in the first person (I, me, my) then change to the formal third for the body. If your Closing Paragraph is a challenge, then you can write it in the second person (you) even if your body is in formal third person.

6) Be sure your Thesis Statement is somewhere in the Opening Paragraph (or the first sentence of the first paragraph of the body).

7) Consider these types of Opening Paragraphs (these are specifically for a biographical paper, but they can apply to many types!):

a. Direct questions–One of the best ways to create interest is to ask questions. The simplest way to do this is to ask the questions directly.

b. Cause reader to ask questions–In addition to asking questions directly, there are other ways to “ask questions.” If, for example, you start with a person’s humble birth, the readers will ask themselves “How did this person make an impact on the world?” Notice they will ask themselves this question—you don’t have to do it.

c. Story or anecdote–If you start with a clever story or anecdote, the reader will want to learn more about this per- son.

d. List of accomplishments–If you start with a list of accomplisments, the reader will wonder how the person accom- plished those things.

e. “Bookend” your paper with an Opening Paragraph and a Closing Paragraph that are linked to each other.

Here are some ideas you might want to use for “bookending” a paper about an influential person:

i. Start with birth and end with impact of the person

ii. Start with impact the person had and end with birth

iii. Start with birth and end with death

iv. Begin and end with a story about the person (i.e. a continuing story)

v. Open with a list of accomplishments and close with the impact of those accomplishments

vi. Open with obstacles person faced and end with accomplishments

8) Be sure your Closing Paragraph includes a Thesis Statement “Reloaded.” Consider these tips:

a. Remember, a Thesis Statement “Reloaded” is a statement that “closes” your paper–sums up what your entire paper is about.

b. It should be a sentence or two in length and should close your essay.

c. It may be at the very beginning of your Closing Paragraph or at the end of your Closing Paragraph.

d. It should bridge the gap between your catchy Closing Paragraph and the body of your essay.

e. It should leave your reader with a feeling of satisfaction after reading your paper.

f. It may repeat something catchy from your opening or may repeat the title of your essay, if desired.

g. Be sure your Thesis Statement “Reloaded” is not identical to your Thesis Statement—it should be “reloaded” with the key words still in it.

9) Be sure your Opening Paragraph and your Closing Paragraph fit the tone and emphasis of your paper. (Watch the video below for more on this!)

10) Consider starting something in your Opening Paragraph and continuing it in your Closing Paragraph—like a story, quote, etc., if it fits your paper. (This is called bookending and can be an effective way to open and close.)

Now that you studied those tips, watch the video below in which I teach a group of 8th through 10th graders how to write their Opening and Closing Paragraphs for their research reports on countries.

Note: All Meaningful Composition books at our store have two weeks of free sample lessons (per books—22 books!). Many of these contain lessons like the ones in the video below!

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