Page 5 Writing about Life

Identifying the purpose of communication will make your writing effective.


In biographies, non-fiction paragraphs may be written in chronological or sequential order. However, because paragraphs exist for the reader, the most common organization is main idea first.


Paragraph Writing



  • Readers should be able to zoom in on the key points by reading only the first sentence of the paragraph, the topic sentence. 

The topic sentence should let the reader know how the writer will approach the topic. The rest of the paragraph develops the single idea.

The topic sentence is represented by the top hamburger bun in Figure 1 below.

  • The middle or supporting sentences provide a smooth transition from the beginning to the end of the paragraph.

In Figure 1 the paragraph body is represented by the meat, lettuce, cheese, onions, and pickles.

  • The last sentence sums up the main point and is the most emphatic.

The concluding sentence is represented by the bottom hamburger bun in Figure 1.

An editor may use the paragraph symbol ( ) to indicate a new paragraph is needed.





Figure 1

Anybody can have ideas, the difficulty is to express them...[in] one glittering paragraph. ~ Mark Twain


  Please contact your teacher if you have questions.