can an essay be 1 paragraph

Can an Essay Be One Paragraph? How To Write a One Paragraph Essay

You may have written a lot of essays in your academic journey. So you might have come across a descriptive, an expository, a narrative, or a persuasive essay.

Some people may not have written an essay their entire life and don’t know the writing procedures. So, whether you are an experienced essay writer or a newbie, you might be wondering; Can an essay be one paragraph?

Often, a standard essay is considered to have three or five paragraphs. However, the number of paragraphs in an essay would be influenced by the author’s objectives, instructions, word count, etc.

To answer the question above, kindly read through this article.

Can an Essay Be One Paragraph?

It is possible to have a one-paragraph essay, especially for question and answer essays.

A one-paragraphed essay comprises all the three major components of an essay, an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

Such an essay would have a topic sentence, a short introduction of 1-3 sentences, followed by some additional lines stating your main points and the conclusion.

The problem with such kind of an essay is it may lack sufficient quality content. The supporting sentences that substantiate the chief points in a one-paragraphed essay contain minimal information.

Also see: How to make a paper longer

Can a Short Essay Be One Paragraph?

A short essay can be one paragraph. 100-300 is the number of words a short essay would often consist of.

A one-paragraph short essay comprises three elements: a topic sentence to draft the chief concept, a body comprising of the supporting sentences, and a concluding statement.

You can find all the three components written in one paragraph if the writing is a short essay. Such essays cover easy topics, those which require few details to explain fully.

Can I Write One Paragraph for an Essay?

You could write one paragraph for an essay especially when the essay aims at giving a short answer.

Many writers could argue that one-paragraph writing is a memo or simply a brief answer. However, this is not the case.

You can write a complete essay with an introduction, a body, and a conclusion that is only one paragraph long.

In a single paragraph essay, you exclude the comprehensive details and only write briefly on the main statements. Keep your main points as few as possible to avoid your essay being too long and wordy.

When writing a one-paragraph essay, make sure that your details are as concrete as they would be in a standard complete essay. Leave no room for a reader getting dissatisfied due to shallow content.

How Long is a One Paragraph Essay?

A single-paragraph essay is often comprised of 10-14 sentences. This length depends on the number of concrete details the author has included in the essay.

For example, a one-paragraph sentence would have one line for the topic sentence, nine sentences for three main points and their commentaries, and two sentences for the concluding statement.

The length of such an essay is twelve sentences and is very standard.

Also see: Can I survive college if I am bad at writing essays?

Can a Paragraph Be 500 Words?

A standard paragraph cannot be 500 words. A 500 words paragraph is estimated to be a full page with too much content for a single paragraph.

A good paragraph represents a single thought and the thought’s eloquent progression, explained by closely associated sentences. The universally used paragraph form comprises a topic, a body, token sentences, and a wrap.

Even if a paragraph elaborates a complex point or thought, less than 300 words should be enough. A 500-word paragraph would be too wordy and may fail to observe the objectives of the paragraph.

A well-written paragraph is often considered less than 200 words long, depending on the intensity of the idea being explained. Such a paragraph is expected to be no more than 15 sentences.

How Long is a Short Paragraph?

A paragraph that is made up of a single word can be said to be a short paragraph. A paragraph that consists of a sentence, two, three, four, five, or six sentences may also be considered short.

There is no definite length for a paragraph to be considered short. The length depends on the objectives and the topic that the paragraph is covering.

Many writers, however, consider a paragraph that is less than 150 words to be short. Such a paragraph would contain up to eight sentences.

How Do You Write a One Paragraph Essay?

One-paragraph essays are rare to find but indeed not unavoidable. Writing such an essay is not a walk in the park. As a writer, one paragraph might seem inadequate to present a compelling essay.

Below are some valuable tips to help you write a one-paragraph essay;

Utilize your words

To maintain the structure of the essay, which is supposed to be short, use few words without additional illustrations. Explain the main thoughts and points with words that are direct to the point.

Use a one-paragraph paper design

A one-paragraph paper design ensures that the readers of your essay can conveniently follow your line of thoughts. A design paper also ensures that your essay is not too long or too short.

Select a suitable topic

One-paragraph essays should present topics that are simple to cover. Select a topic whose coverage can comfortably fit in a one-paragraph essay.

Conduct a necessity test

Apply this test when your essay is giving you trouble condensing to the correct length. Drop some sentences one by one to see if they affect the weight of your content.

Replace those that affect the strength of the essay.

Use the correct writing outline

A one-paragraph essay’s format consists of four main components. These components are a thesis sentence, concrete details, their commentaries, and the concluding sentence.

Write a fitting summary

Make sure your concluding statement is meaningful. Wrap up your essay by convincing your reader about the exactness of the explanations in your essay.

Also see: Will My Instructor Tell If I Hired An Online Essay Writer?

Wrapping up

It is pretty clear the length of your essay is a vital aspect to take note of. You want to leave the readers of your essay satisfied. You do so by composing an essay that is neither too short nor too long. So, can an essay be one paragraph?

Yes, it can but only for topics that do not need too much content and explanations eg. a question-answer essay

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Can An Essay Have One Body Paragraph? (Quick Answer)

by Antony W

February 16, 2023

Have you ever been tempted to make an essay one paragraph but instead stopped to wonder whether it’s the right approach to adapt?

Or maybe you feel like you don’t have many ideas for the topic and you feel like a one-paragraph write up would suffice? You’re not alone.

Like you, there are hundreds of students out there who wonder if they can make their essay one paragraph, regardless of how long it is.

So we’ll answer this question once and for all, so you know how to structure your essay properly and earn the grades you want.

Can an Essay Be One Paragraph?

You can’t make an essay one paragraph. Your instructor expects you to break the assignment into sections, each with a paragraph that covers an idea more in-depth. Considering the structure of an essay, your outline must have an introduction paragraph, followed by a subsequent series of paragraphs, and end with a conclusion.

Every subsequent paragraph after the opening sentence starts with a topic sentence, which explains the main subject of the essay.

Then, you proceed to developing the paragraph to make your ideas clear. After, you’ll conclude with a link sentence, which will lead to a different idea, within the topic on to the next subsequent paragraph.

Of course, you could take all your ideas and dump them into one block of text, but that’s already a recipe for disaster.

Doing so not only shows that you don’t appreciate the ultimate guide to writing winning essays but also you’re not being as helpful as you should be.

After all, a big wall of text is hard to read. It signals that your ideas are all over the place, with your thoughts not as highly organized, as they should.

Again, the quality of the paper is highly likely to suffer, and your college professor may not even bother to give the essay a second glance.

How Many Paragraphs Should An Essay Be?

Let’s get the basics out of the way first:

An essay has three sections: an introduction paragraph, the body section, and the concluding paragraph.

You cannot skip the introduction or the conclusion, as they introduce the topic and give an overall summary of the subject. So your essay should be at least 5 paragraphs long.

With the introduction and conclusion paragraph figured out, you have the body section to fiddle with, as there’s no minimum or maximum number of recommended paragraphs to write in this section.

It all depends on the instructions in the essay prompt, the depth of your research, or the magnitude of the topic.

Simple essay topics tend to be easy to cover, and, in such a case, your instructor may advice you to make it as short as between 350 and 700 words.

Given such a word limit, it’s easy to fall into the temptation that you can have that too many words for one paragraph.

But the thing is that it doesn’t matter if the essay is long or short, you have to stick to the structure (or accepted standards) from start to finish.

Even an essay as short as 550 words will require three parts. The thesis mist be clear, the body paragraphs must answer the question asked thoroughly, and the conclusion should be on point. And if you can’t have more paragraphs for your essay, at least you must have three.

The Three Parts of an Essay Explained

Below are the three main part your professor expects to see in any type of essay that they ask you to write:

Introduction Paragraph

The introduction paragraph is the section where you capture your readers’ attention by telling them what to expect in the essay.

The Main Body Section

This is the part where you argument your statements and support your claim. It’s here that you use a series of paragraph to explain the key points to help the reader to understand your topic better.

There’s no limit to the number of paragraph to use here. Just exhaust your points and present your ideas in the best way possible.

The Concluding Paragraph

It’s important to finish your essay with a concluding paragraph. Your professor will want to see this section to determine if you’ve correctly summarized your argument and highlighted a solution.

Can My Professor Instruct Me to Write an Essay in a Certain Way?

It’s highly unlikely that your professor will ask you to write a one-paragraph essay, so we rule out that possibility.

Your professor knows the standard structure of an essay, and they’ve taught you to stick to it regardless of the type of essay they ask you to write.

Teaching you a different concept from what’s already accepted in the academic space would be a total disaster.

They may touch on how long they expect the essay to be depending on the complexity of the topic, but they’ll never encourage you to make an essay one paragraph.

After all, your instructor knows that squeezing everything into one paragraph denies you the writing room to write a thorough document that fulfills the requirement of the essay prompt.

Conclusion

We’ve been writing essays at Help for Assessment for over 5 years now, and we can tell you with confidence that making an essay one paragraph is a suicide mission.

Sure, you can write all you want, but you won’t end up with a quality piece of writing.

At the end of the day, one paragraph will never be equal to an essay. It’s just not enough to make a claim and provide sufficient evidence to support your position or argument.

So rather than trying to squeeze everything into a single paragraph and fail terribly at making your ideas fit, break your ideas into several paragraphs to make those ideas clear and well explained.

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About the author

Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.

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Knowledge Base

The Beginner's Guide to Writing an Essay | Steps & Examples

An academic essay is a focused piece of writing that develops an idea or argument using evidence, analysis, and interpretation.

There are many types of essays you might write as a student. The content and length of an essay depends on your level, subject of study, and course requirements. However, most essays at university level are argumentative — they aim to persuade the reader of a particular position or perspective on a topic.

The essay writing process consists of three main stages:

Preparation: Decide on your topic, do your research, and create an essay outline.
Writing : Set out your argument in the introduction, develop it with evidence in the main body, and wrap it up with a conclusion.
Revision: Check your essay on the content, organization, grammar, spelling, and formatting of your essay.

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Essay writing process, preparation for writing an essay, writing the introduction, writing the main body, writing the conclusion, essay checklist, lecture slides, frequently asked questions about writing an essay.

The writing process of preparation, writing, and revisions applies to every essay or paper, but the time and effort spent on each stage depends on the type of essay .

For example, if you’ve been assigned a five-paragraph expository essay for a high school class, you’ll probably spend the most time on the writing stage; for a college-level argumentative essay , on the other hand, you’ll need to spend more time researching your topic and developing an original argument before you start writing.

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Before you start writing, you should make sure you have a clear idea of what you want to say and how you’re going to say it. There are a few key steps you can follow to make sure you’re prepared:

Understand your assignment: What is the goal of this essay? What is the length and deadline of the assignment? Is there anything you need to clarify with your teacher or professor?
Define a topic: If you’re allowed to choose your own topic , try to pick something that you already know a bit about and that will hold your interest.
Do your research: Read primary and secondary sources and take notes to help you work out your position and angle on the topic. You’ll use these as evidence for your points.
Come up with a thesis: The thesis is the central point or argument that you want to make. A clear thesis is essential for a focused essay—you should keep referring back to it as you write.
Create an outline: Map out the rough structure of your essay in an outline . This makes it easier to start writing and keeps you on track as you go.

Once you’ve got a clear idea of what you want to discuss, in what order, and what evidence you’ll use, you’re ready to start writing.

The introduction sets the tone for your essay. It should grab the reader’s interest and inform them of what to expect. The introduction generally comprises 10–20% of the text.

1. Hook your reader

The first sentence of the introduction should pique your reader’s interest and curiosity. This sentence is sometimes called the hook. It might be an intriguing question, a surprising fact, or a bold statement emphasizing the relevance of the topic.

Let’s say we’re writing an essay about the development of Braille (the raised-dot reading and writing system used by visually impaired people). Our hook can make a strong statement about the topic:

The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability.

2. Provide background on your topic

Next, it’s important to give context that will help your reader understand your argument. This might involve providing background information, giving an overview of important academic work or debates on the topic, and explaining difficult terms. Don’t provide too much detail in the introduction—you can elaborate in the body of your essay.

3. Present the thesis statement

Next, you should formulate your thesis statement— the central argument you’re going to make. The thesis statement provides focus and signals your position on the topic. It is usually one or two sentences long. The thesis statement for our essay on Braille could look like this:

As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness.

4. Map the structure

In longer essays, you can end the introduction by briefly describing what will be covered in each part of the essay. This guides the reader through your structure and gives a preview of how your argument will develop.

The invention of Braille marked a major turning point in the history of disability. The writing system of raised dots used by blind and visually impaired people was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. In a society that did not value disabled people in general, blindness was particularly stigmatized, and lack of access to reading and writing was a significant barrier to social participation. The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new, but existing methods based on sighted systems were difficult to learn and use. As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness. This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.

Write your essay introduction

The body of your essay is where you make arguments supporting your thesis, provide evidence, and develop your ideas. Its purpose is to present, interpret, and analyze the information and sources you have gathered to support your argument.

Length of the body text

The length of the body depends on the type of essay. On average, the body comprises 60–80% of your essay. For a high school essay, this could be just three paragraphs, but for a graduate school essay of 6,000 words, the body could take up 8–10 pages.

Paragraph structure

To give your essay a clear structure , it is important to organize it into paragraphs . Each paragraph should be centered around one main point or idea.

That idea is introduced in a topic sentence . The topic sentence should generally lead on from the previous paragraph and introduce the point to be made in this paragraph. Transition words can be used to create clear connections between sentences.

After the topic sentence, present evidence such as data, examples, or quotes from relevant sources. Be sure to interpret and explain the evidence, and show how it helps develop your overall argument.

Lack of access to reading and writing put blind people at a serious disadvantage in nineteenth-century society. Text was one of the primary methods through which people engaged with culture, communicated with others, and accessed information; without a well-developed reading system that did not rely on sight, blind people were excluded from social participation (Weygand, 2009). While disabled people in general suffered from discrimination, blindness was widely viewed as the worst disability, and it was commonly believed that blind people were incapable of pursuing a profession or improving themselves through culture (Weygand, 2009). This demonstrates the importance of reading and writing to social status at the time: without access to text, it was considered impossible to fully participate in society. Blind people were excluded from the sighted world, but also entirely dependent on sighted people for information and education.

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The conclusion is the final paragraph of an essay. It should generally take up no more than 10–15% of the text . A strong essay conclusion :

Returns to your thesis
Ties together your main points
Shows why your argument matters

A great conclusion should finish with a memorable or impactful sentence that leaves the reader with a strong final impression.

What not to include in a conclusion

To make your essay’s conclusion as strong as possible, there are a few things you should avoid. The most common mistakes are:

Including new arguments or evidence
Undermining your arguments (e.g. “This is just one approach of many”)
Using concluding phrases like “To sum up…” or “In conclusion…”

Braille paved the way for dramatic cultural changes in the way blind people were treated and the opportunities available to them. Louis Braille’s innovation was to reimagine existing reading systems from a blind perspective, and the success of this invention required sighted teachers to adapt to their students’ reality instead of the other way around. In this sense, Braille helped drive broader social changes in the status of blindness. New accessibility tools provide practical advantages to those who need them, but they can also change the perspectives and attitudes of those who do not.

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Checklist: Essay

My essay follows the requirements of the assignment (topic and length ).

My introduction sparks the reader’s interest and provides any necessary background information on the topic.

My introduction contains a thesis statement that states the focus and position of the essay.

I use paragraphs to structure the essay.

I use topic sentences to introduce each paragraph.

Each paragraph has a single focus and a clear connection to the thesis statement.

I make clear transitions between paragraphs and ideas.

My conclusion doesn’t just repeat my points, but draws connections between arguments.

I don’t introduce new arguments or evidence in the conclusion.

I have given an in-text citation for every quote or piece of information I got from another source.

I have included a reference page at the end of my essay, listing full details of all my sources.

My citations and references are correctly formatted according to the required citation style .

My essay has an interesting and informative title.

I have followed all formatting guidelines (e.g. font, page numbers, line spacing).

Your essay meets all the most important requirements. Our editors can give it a final check to help you submit with confidence.

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An essay is a focused piece of writing that explains, argues, describes, or narrates.

In high school, you may have to write many different types of essays to develop your writing skills.

Academic essays at college level are usually argumentative : you develop a clear thesis about your topic and make a case for your position using evidence, analysis and interpretation.

The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order:

An opening hook to catch the reader’s attention.
Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.

The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay .

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

It gives your writing direction and focus.
It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

A topic sentence is a sentence that expresses the main point of a paragraph . Everything else in the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence.

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

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What this handout is about

This handout will help you understand how paragraphs are formed, how to develop stronger paragraphs, and how to completely and clearly express your ideas.

What is a paragraph?

Paragraphs are the building blocks of papers. Many students define paragraphs in terms of length: a paragraph is a group of at least five sentences, a paragraph is half a page long, etc. In reality, though, the unity and coherence of ideas among sentences is what constitutes a paragraph. A paragraph is defined as “a group of sentences or a single sentence that forms a unit” (Lunsford and Connors 116). Length and appearance do not determine whether a section in a paper is a paragraph. For instance, in some styles of writing, particularly journalistic styles, a paragraph can be just one sentence long. Ultimately, a paragraph is a sentence or group of sentences that support one main idea. In this handout, we will refer to this as the “controlling idea,” because it controls what happens in the rest of the paragraph.

How do I decide what to put in a paragraph?

Before you can begin to determine what the composition of a particular paragraph will be, you must first decide on an argument and a working thesis statement for your paper. What is the most important idea that you are trying to convey to your reader? The information in each paragraph must be related to that idea. In other words, your paragraphs should remind your reader that there is a recurrent relationship between your thesis and the information in each paragraph. A working thesis functions like a seed from which your paper, and your ideas, will grow. The whole process is an organic one—a natural progression from a seed to a full-blown paper where there are direct, familial relationships between all of the ideas in the paper.

The decision about what to put into your paragraphs begins with the germination of a seed of ideas; this “germination process” is better known as brainstorming . There are many techniques for brainstorming; whichever one you choose, this stage of paragraph development cannot be skipped. Building paragraphs can be like building a skyscraper: there must be a well-planned foundation that supports what you are building. Any cracks, inconsistencies, or other corruptions of the foundation can cause your whole paper to crumble.

So, let’s suppose that you have done some brainstorming to develop your thesis. What else should you keep in mind as you begin to create paragraphs? Every paragraph in a paper should be :

Unified : All of the sentences in a single paragraph should be related to a single controlling idea (often expressed in the topic sentence of the paragraph).
Clearly related to the thesis : The sentences should all refer to the central idea, or thesis, of the paper (Rosen and Behrens 119).
Coherent : The sentences should be arranged in a logical manner and should follow a definite plan for development (Rosen and Behrens 119).
Well-developed : Every idea discussed in the paragraph should be adequately explained and supported through evidence and details that work together to explain the paragraph’s controlling idea (Rosen and Behrens 119).

How do I organize a paragraph?

There are many different ways to organize a paragraph. The organization you choose will depend on the controlling idea of the paragraph. Below are a few possibilities for organization, with links to brief examples:

Narration : Tell a story. Go chronologically, from start to finish. ( See an example. )
Description : Provide specific details about what something looks, smells, tastes, sounds, or feels like. Organize spatially, in order of appearance, or by topic. ( See an example. )
Process : Explain how something works, step by step. Perhaps follow a sequence—first, second, third. ( See an example. )
Classification : Separate into groups or explain the various parts of a topic. ( See an example. )
Illustration : Give examples and explain how those examples support your point. (See an example in the 5-step process below.)

Illustration paragraph: a 5-step example

From the list above, let’s choose “illustration” as our rhetorical purpose. We’ll walk through a 5-step process for building a paragraph that illustrates a point in an argument. For each step there is an explanation and example. Our example paragraph will be about human misconceptions of piranhas.

Step 1. Decide on a controlling idea and create a topic sentence

Paragraph development begins with the formulation of the controlling idea. This idea directs the paragraph’s development. Often, the controlling idea of a paragraph will appear in the form of a topic sentence. In some cases, you may need more than one sentence to express a paragraph’s controlling idea.

Controlling idea and topic sentence — Despite the fact that piranhas are relatively harmless, many people continue to believe the pervasive myth that piranhas are dangerous to humans.

Step 2. Elaborate on the controlling idea

Paragraph development continues with an elaboration on the controlling idea, perhaps with an explanation, implication, or statement about significance. Our example offers a possible explanation for the pervasiveness of the myth.

Elaboration — This impression of piranhas is exacerbated by their mischaracterization in popular media.

Step 3. Give an example (or multiple examples)

Paragraph development progresses with an example (or more) that illustrates the claims made in the previous sentences.

Example — For example, the promotional poster for the 1978 horror film Piranha features an oversized piranha poised to bite the leg of an unsuspecting woman.

Step 4. Explain the example(s)

The next movement in paragraph development is an explanation of each example and its relevance to the topic sentence. The explanation should demonstrate the value of the example as evidence to support the major claim, or focus, in your paragraph.

Continue the pattern of giving examples and explaining them until all points/examples that the writer deems necessary have been made and explained. NONE of your examples should be left unexplained. You might be able to explain the relationship between the example and the topic sentence in the same sentence which introduced the example. More often, however, you will need to explain that relationship in a separate sentence.

Explanation for example — Such a terrifying representation easily captures the imagination and promotes unnecessary fear.

Notice that the example and explanation steps of this 5-step process (steps 3 and 4) can be repeated as needed. The idea is that you continue to use this pattern until you have completely developed the main idea of the paragraph.

Step 5. Complete the paragraph’s idea or transition into the next paragraph

The final movement in paragraph development involves tying up the loose ends of the paragraph. At this point, you can remind your reader about the relevance of the information to the larger paper, or you can make a concluding point for this example. You might, however, simply transition to the next paragraph.

Sentences for completing a paragraph — While the trope of the man-eating piranhas lends excitement to the adventure stories, it bears little resemblance to the real-life piranha. By paying more attention to fact than fiction, humans may finally be able to let go of this inaccurate belief.

Finished paragraph

Despite the fact that piranhas are relatively harmless, many people continue to believe the pervasive myth that piranhas are dangerous to humans. This impression of piranhas is exacerbated by their mischaracterization in popular media. For example, the promotional poster for the 1978 horror film Piranha features an oversized piranha poised to bite the leg of an unsuspecting woman. Such a terrifying representation easily captures the imagination and promotes unnecessary fear. While the trope of the man-eating piranhas lends excitement to the adventure stories, it bears little resemblance to the real-life piranha. By paying more attention to fact than fiction, humans may finally be able to let go of this inaccurate belief.

Troubleshooting paragraphs

Problem: the paragraph has no topic sentence.

Imagine each paragraph as a sandwich. The real content of the sandwich—the meat or other filling—is in the middle. It includes all the evidence you need to make the point. But it gets kind of messy to eat a sandwich without any bread. Your readers don’t know what to do with all the evidence you’ve given them. So, the top slice of bread (the first sentence of the paragraph) explains the topic (or controlling idea) of the paragraph. And, the bottom slice (the last sentence of the paragraph) tells the reader how the paragraph relates to the broader argument. In the original and revised paragraphs below, notice how a topic sentence expressing the controlling idea tells the reader the point of all the evidence.

Original paragraph

Piranhas rarely feed on large animals; they eat smaller fish and aquatic plants. When confronted with humans, piranhas’ first instinct is to flee, not attack. Their fear of humans makes sense. Far more piranhas are eaten by people than people are eaten by piranhas. If the fish are well-fed, they won’t bite humans.

Revised paragraph

Although most people consider piranhas to be quite dangerous, they are, for the most part, entirely harmless. Piranhas rarely feed on large animals; they eat smaller fish and aquatic plants. When confronted with humans, piranhas’ first instinct is to flee, not attack. Their fear of humans makes sense. Far more piranhas are eaten by people than people are eaten by piranhas. If the fish are well-fed, they won’t bite humans.

Once you have mastered the use of topic sentences, you may decide that the topic sentence for a particular paragraph really shouldn’t be the first sentence of the paragraph. This is fine—the topic sentence can actually go at the beginning, middle, or end of a paragraph; what’s important is that it is in there somewhere so that readers know what the main idea of the paragraph is and how it relates back to the thesis of your paper. Suppose that we wanted to start the piranha paragraph with a transition sentence—something that reminds the reader of what happened in the previous paragraph—rather than with the topic sentence. Let’s suppose that the previous paragraph was about all kinds of animals that people are afraid of, like sharks, snakes, and spiders. Our paragraph might look like this (the topic sentence is bold):

Like sharks, snakes, and spiders, piranhas are widely feared. Although most people consider piranhas to be quite dangerous, they are, for the most part, entirely harmless . Piranhas rarely feed on large animals; they eat smaller fish and aquatic plants. When confronted with humans, piranhas’ first instinct is to flee, not attack. Their fear of humans makes sense. Far more piranhas are eaten by people than people are eaten by piranhas. If the fish are well-fed, they won’t bite humans.

Problem: the paragraph has more than one controlling idea

If a paragraph has more than one main idea, consider eliminating sentences that relate to the second idea, or split the paragraph into two or more paragraphs, each with only one main idea. Watch our short video on reverse outlining to learn a quick way to test whether your paragraphs are unified. In the following paragraph, the final two sentences branch off into a different topic; so, the revised paragraph eliminates them and concludes with a sentence that reminds the reader of the paragraph’s main idea.

Although most people consider piranhas to be quite dangerous, they are, for the most part, entirely harmless. Piranhas rarely feed on large animals; they eat smaller fish and aquatic plants. When confronted with humans, piranhas’ first instinct is to flee, not attack. Their fear of humans makes sense. Far more piranhas are eaten by people than people are eaten by piranhas. A number of South American groups eat piranhas. They fry or grill the fish and then serve them with coconut milk or tucupi, a sauce made from fermented manioc juices.

Problem: transitions are needed within the paragraph

You are probably familiar with the idea that transitions may be needed between paragraphs or sections in a paper (see our handout on transitions ). Sometimes they are also helpful within the body of a single paragraph. Within a paragraph, transitions are often single words or short phrases that help to establish relationships between ideas and to create a logical progression of those ideas in a paragraph. This is especially likely to be true within paragraphs that discuss multiple examples. Let’s take a look at a version of our piranha paragraph that uses transitions to orient the reader:

Although most people consider piranhas to be quite dangerous, they are, except in two main situations, entirely harmless. Piranhas rarely feed on large animals; they eat smaller fish and aquatic plants. When confronted with humans, piranhas’ instinct is to flee, not attack. But there are two situations in which a piranha bite is likely. The first is when a frightened piranha is lifted out of the water—for example, if it has been caught in a fishing net. The second is when the water level in pools where piranhas are living falls too low. A large number of fish may be trapped in a single pool, and if they are hungry, they may attack anything that enters the water.

In this example, you can see how the phrases “the first” and “the second” help the reader follow the organization of the ideas in the paragraph.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Lunsford, Andrea. 2008. The St. Martin’s Handbook: Annotated Instructor’s Edition , 6th ed. New York: St. Martin’s.

Rosen, Leonard J., and Laurence Behrens. 2003. The Allyn & Bacon Handbook , 5th ed. New York: Longman.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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