45 Paragraph Basics
Good paragraphs in English have elements that a reader expects and looks for:
- A topic sentence that tells your reader what the paragraph is about
- A controlling idea in the topic sentence that limits the scope or direction of the topic
- Body sentences that add to the information in your topic sentence and develop the controlling idea of the paragraph
- Cohesion, which means that the paragraph is unified. It contains only information related to the topic sentence
- Coherence, which means that relationships among the sentences in the paragraph are clear and easy to follow
- Optionally, a concluding sentence might be used to end a paragraph.
Here is an example topic sentence with a topic and a controlling idea:
Multicultural individuals (topic) enjoy the benefit of their multicultural status in terms of how people perceive them and categorize them in cultural groups. (controlling idea)
Examples adapted from Lee (2016) “Why Managing Multiple Cultural Identities Matters”
Now we can add body sentences to the topic sentence:
Multicultural individuals enjoy the benefit of their multicultural status in terms of how people perceive them and categorize them in cultural groups. When individuals can connect to and identify with both or more cultures, they may be perceived by multiple cultural groups as one of them. They can hence more easily play the role of cultural bridge and facilitate mutual understanding and collaboration. Sometimes, when someone has multiple cultural backgrounds or does not identify oneself with one single culture, other people may have difficulty in categorizing this person neatly into one cultural group. As a result of such decategorization, that person may receive more individualized treatment and be seen as more neutral from all the cultural groups and considered as “fair” to assume the leadership role. I have had the privilege to observe concrete examples in which individuals with multiple cultural identities effectively achieved significant results in organizational settings.
What happens to the paragraph if the body sentences lack unity or cohesion?
Multicultural individuals enjoy the benefit of their multicultural status in terms of how people perceive them and categorize them in cultural groups. When individuals can connect to and identify with both or more cultures, they may be perceived by multiple cultural groups as one of them. They can hence more easily play the role of cultural bridge and facilitate mutual understanding and collaboration. Good communication skills are also crucial for getting along with others. Sometimes, when someone has multiple cultural backgrounds or does not identify oneself with one single culture, other people may have difficulty in categorizing this person neatly into one cultural group. As a result of such decategorization, that person may receive more individualized treatment and be seen as more neutral from all the cultural groups and considered as “fair” to assume the leadership role. I have had the privilege to observe concrete examples in which individuals with multiple cultural identities effectively achieved significant results in organizational settings. I have also noticed that animal lovers are the friendliest colleagues to work with.
* Notice how confusing the paragraph is with sentences that do not “fit” with the topic sentence.
This paragraph is also coherent. Notice the words and phrases that show relationships among the ideas:
Multicultural individuals enjoy the benefit of their multicultural status in terms of how people perceive them and categorize them in cultural groups. When individuals can connect to and identify with both or more cultures, they may be perceived by multiple cultural groups as one of them. They can hence more easily play the role of cultural bridge and facilitate mutual understanding and collaboration. Sometimes, when someone has multiple cultural backgrounds or does not identify oneself with one single culture, other people may have difficulty in categorizing this person neatly into one cultural group. As a result of such decategorization, that person may receive more individualized treatment and be seen as more neutral from all the cultural groups and considered as “fair” to assume the leadership role. I have had the privilege to observe concrete examples in which individuals with multiple cultural identities effectively achieved significant results in organizational settings.
Some paragraphs (but not all) include a concluding sentence; for example:
These benefits and proven results should encourage companies to recruit and hire multicultural employees.
