Channel Button

There are 9 articles on this title. You are reading the article ranked and rated #1 by Helium's members.

Arts & Humanities   >

Writing & Rating at Helium

Get a Widget for this title

Taking care of the little things in articles: Understanding paragraphs

A paragraph is a unit of measure for an article; a sequence of paragraphs forms an article. Taking care of these little parts of your article helps the overall quality of articles. Refresh your knowledge on paragraphs to improve your rank placement and earnings on Helium.

Three considerations should be kept in mind:

1. A paragraph should focus on a part of an explanation or argument. It should form a complete part. An exception would be if completing the part required an over-long paragraph. Spacing considerations outweigh content at times. Ask yourself: Is this paragraph getting too long to hold the reader's attention? Am I moving into a new topic, or should this material stay connected to the previous paragraph? If you have only one more sentence, stick with the previous paragraph. If the previous paragraph is getting long, and you have a few more sentences to add to this, move into another paragraph.

2. A paragraph should begin by introducing that topic and conclude with summarizing that topic. Or, the paragraph may form a transition in the discussion.

3. A paragraph should not be too short or too long. Exceptions for short length involve using dialogue, where each speaker change requires a new paragraph. Related to this is the issue of spacing: The article must be broken into paragraphs to give the reader visual breaks. Over-long texts prove too taxing for readers. Using the guidelines of three to five sentences may prove helpful.

In Strunk and White's "Elements of Style," this summary statement is insightful:
"Moderation and sense of order should be the main considerations in paragraphing."

In terms of order, the paragraphs in an article should provide an orderly march through a topic, whether direct or with clearly marked detours. Some forethought as to the structure of a given piece must guide the writer. They should have a written outline or imagined map before proceeding. Yet, much of writing requires thinking an issue through while one is writing. In this case, use a rough draft first. See if the paragraphs follow a logical order; reorganize as needed.

The principle of moderation suggests keeping paragraphs to a reasonable length. At times, a particular topic within a paragraph needs much more discussion than one paragraph can handle. Break up as needed to keep your paragraphs of moderate length.

Ultimately, the content must not be the only guide in determining paragraph length. One has to view his/her article from the perspective of the reader. Do my paragraphs


Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

Taking care of the little things in articles: Understanding paragraphs

  • 1 of 9

    by Barbara Whitlock

    A paragraph is a unit of measure for an article; a sequence of paragraphs forms an article. Taking care of these little parts

    read more

  • 2 of 9

    by Jeanne Gibson

    When I taught 9th grade English one year, I assigned a 500 word paper to my students and was surprised to find that with

    read more

  • 3 of 9

    by Brenna Mae

    We learned about paragraphs in elementary school, but how much do you really know about them? Why do we have them? Why don't

    read more

  • 4 of 9

    by Allen Teal

    Having previously taken on the exciting topics of commas and semi-colons, I believe I am ready to pursue bigger game: the

    read more

  • 5 of 9

    by Sheree Zielke

    Paragraphs are as necessary to good writing as solid pathways are to hiking. Both offer us (the reader and the hiker) the

    read more

View All Articles on:
Taking care of the little things in articles: Understanding paragraphs

Add your voice

Know something about Taking care of the little things in articles: Understanding paragraphs?
We want to hear your view. Write_penWrite now!

Helium Debate

Cast your vote!

Should you begin Helium articles by repeating the article's title?

Click for your side.

86996

Featured Partner

Capitol News Connections (CNC)

Capitol News Connection (CNC) is an independent and innovative multimedia news service that brings politics home' wit...more

What is Helium? | Buy Web Content | Contact Us | Privacy | User agreement | DMCA | User Tools | Help | Community | Helium’s Official Blog | Link to Helium

Helium, Inc.
200 Brickstone Square Andover, MA 01810 USA