Paragraph Organization

WHAT IS PARAGRAPH ORGANIZATION?

Have you ever wondered why certain texts are relatively easier to follow or to read than others? The answer often lies not in the complexity of the ideas, but in their organization. PARAGRAPH ORGANIZATION refers to the way sentences are structured and ordered to create a unified and cohesive body of text.

There are many features to consider in paragraph organization: topic sentence, supporting details, organizational patterns, and signal words. Together, these features develop a topic and connect ideas from one point to the next, logically and effectively.  

TOPIC SENTENCE

A topic sentence works at the paragraph level to express the focus and general point of an individual paragraph. A topic sentence has two parts: 

1) the topic that is being discussed throughout the paragraph and;

2) a controlling idea that limits the focus on the topic to one point or idea. 

Each additional sentence in the paragraph then develops or expounds on that point with supporting details.

SUPPORTING DETAILS

In a paragraph, the topic is developed with supporting details.

Topic Sentence: The economy also plays a role in an increase in prescription pain reliever addiction.

Example: The economy also plays a role in an increase in prescription pain reliever addiction. According to Jungeun Olivia Lee, a social work professor at University of Southern California, “The relationship between joblessness and substance abuse is strongest among people from low socioeconomic brackets, who might not be able to afford healthier ways to relieve their stress” (2017, as cited in Khazan, 2017, para. 8). Additionally, every point the unemployment rate rises, opioid-related death rates rise by almost 4 percent (Khazan, 2017). Unemployment makes it not only difficult for those suffering from pain to afford medication or healthy alternatives, but it can also contribute to depression and varying degrees of self-medication and addiction. 

ORGANIZATIONAL PATTERNS

Just as a paragraph can contain different types of supporting details, a paragraph may also include more than one organizational pattern. Listed here are some common patterns for organizing a paragraph:

SIGNAL WORDS

Signal words are clues to a paragraph’s organization: what it is about and how it is organized. Listed here are signal words associated with different types of paragraph organization.