Unit The Academic Paragraph

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Read this unit in order to answer the following questions with your tutor:
1. What is a paragraph?
2. How many parts should a good academic paragraph have?
3. What is a topic sentence?
4. Which are the components of a topic sentence?
5. How should the body of a paragraph be built?
6. How should we end a good academic paragraph?

Definition and Characteristics

A paragraph is a communication unit formed by several sentences which develop
only one main idea. Regarding its form, a paragraph starts with a capital letter and ends in a
period. There is not an exact number of sentences for a paragraph; however, it is suggested it
varies from seven to fifteen (Smalley & Hank, 1982). Its length will depend on the
complexity of the topic and the depth with which the writer develops it.

Parts of an Academic Paragraph

It is formed by three parts: the topic sentence, the body and the concluding sentence.

The Topic Sentence

It is the core sentence of the paragraph. It is the sentence that states what the
paragraph is about. It is always a complete sentence, never a phrase. Its position can vary: it
can be at the beginning or in the middle of the paragraph. Nevertheless, it is a good option to
write it at the beginning because readers can know from the very first moment they read the
paragraph what they will find in it. A good topic sentence is formed by two elements: the
topic of the paragraph and the controlling idea. It is like a formula:

Topic sentence = TOPIC + CONTROLLING IDEA

The topic is the subject of the paragraph, and the controlling idea is a word or
phrase that limits what the writer says about the topic. Read the paragraph about air pollution
on page 20. The sentence that contains this information is the first one, so it is the topic
sentence.

One of the main causes of air pollution is the emission of

chemical gases by cars
and industries to t he air

TOPIC CONTROLLING IDEA

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 To identify the topic in a paragraph, readers can ask: “What is the text about?” The
answer will be the topic; in this case, the answer is air pollution.

To identify the controlling idea, the question to ask is “What does the writer say
about the topic?” In this paragraph, what does the writer say about air pollution? She states
that it is caused by the emission of chemical gases by cars and industries to the air; hence, all
the supporting ideas in the body of the paragraph will explain why these emissions lead to air
pollution.

The controlling idea has an important function because it determines what is said
about the topic and keeps unity in the paragraph. Many things could be said about air
pollution, for instance, its consequences, ways to avoid it, even other causes. However, by
choosing “the emission of chemical gases by cars and industries” as controlling idea, this
writer knew that she had to focus on explaining how the gases released by cars and industries
produce air pollution. Remember: a paragraph develops only one main idea.

In order to write a good topic sentence, writers must narrow down the topic and make
the controlling idea specific. Look at these two topic sentences:

1. The rulers of England have governed the country in different ways.

2. The national economic policies of Queen Elizabeth differed from those of Queen
Victoria.

The first one is too general. It would be impossible to include differences about all
the Kings and Queens of England considering their policies and contributions in just one
paragraph. The second one is more specific. The topic was narrowed down: instead of
contrasting all the Kings and Queens of England, two were chosen. In addition, the
controlling idea limits the information to be given about them: only their economic policies in
the country. In conclusion, number two is the best topic sentence for a paragraph.

The Body of the Paragraph

The body develops the topic sentence by providing detailed information about it. The
body is what gives substance to the paragraph because it is in this part where writers include
descriptions, direct or indirect quoting, examples and any other kind of evidence to support
the main idea of the text. There are two types of supporting ideas in a paragraph: main
supporting ideas and subsupporting ideas.

Main supporting ideas are concise sentences that present the points that substantiate
the topic sentence; in other words, they are the facts that show the truth or correctness of the
main idea of the paragraph. They differ from each other, but all of them support the topic
sentence. A balanced paragraph has two or three main supporting ideas. When including
more than three, two situations could happen: either the paragraph will be very long if they
are developed in details or each one of them will have few details to avoid having such a long
paragraph. None of these situations is ideal. What should writers do when they have more
than three main supporting ideas with plenty of details? They should distribute the
information in several paragraphs, keeping in mind that just one specific aspect should be
developed in each paragraph.

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 Subsupporting ideas are detailed explanations that provide evidence of the main
supporting ideas to prove the topic sentence. They are the ones that give substance to the
paragraph.

In the following paragraph about air pollution, the main supporting ideas are in
orange, and the subsupporting ideas in blue:

Air Pollution
(1) One of the main causes of air pollution is the emission of chemical gases by cars
and industries to the air. (2) Automobiles are the main source of air pollutants since they
release harmful chemicals to the environment. (3) Some of these chemicals form these
pollutants by reactions with other substances that are present in the air. (4) For example,
hydrocarbons, which are made of hydrogen, oxygen and carbon atoms, are released into the
atmosphere due to incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and fuel evaporation (Clean Air
Systems, 2008). (5) They react in the presence of nitrogen oxides and sunlight to form
ground-level ozone, a major component of smog (Environmed Research, 1995). (6)
Additionally, industries are another source that contributes to air pollution by the
emission of chemical gases to the air. (7) One of the major industrial pollutants is sulphur
dioxide; this is a non-flammable, colorless gas with a very strong odor, product of the fossil
fuel-burning power plants and industrial boilers. (8) It reacts easily with other substances to
form dangerous components, such as sulphuric acid and sulphate particles that change the
quality of air compounds. (9) Briefly, automobiles and industries cause air pollution by the
emission of gases to the environment.

In this paragraph, there are two main supporting ideas: sentences 2 and 6. They show
two different facts that explain why air pollution is produced:

A. Automobiles are the main source of air pollutants since they release harmful
chemicals to the environment.
B. Industries contribute to air pollution by the emission of chemical gases to the air.

Each of these is associated to the controlling idea, which keeps the unity of the
paragraph. They are different among themselves, but both substantiate the topic sentence.

Regarding the subsupporting ideas, the author includes them to explain thoroughly
how the emission of gases by cars and industries can produce air pollution. Writers should try
to give clear and explicit explanations of each main supporting idea so that readers
understand each aspect without confusions and without having to make inferences that could
lead to misunderstanding due to lack of information in the paragraph.

Different kinds of information can be used as subsupporting ideas. The most common
ones are the following:

1. Examples
2. Descriptions
3. Researches
4. Direct or indirect quoting
5. Statistics and figures

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