A good paragraph usually contains these three elements:

1. A topic sentence
2. Body sentences
3. A punch sentence

A Topic Sentence

A topic sentence in a paragraph should:

• Clearly state the topic of the paragraph.
• Clearly link the topic of the paragraph to the essay topic.
• Make a smooth transition between the previous paragraph and the present paragraph.

Generally the topic sentence comes at the beginning of each paragraph.

A topic sentence might be:

• Cats are among the easiest pets to keep.
• George Bush got off to a tricky start as President.
• In many ways it is more difficult to be a teenager today than it was fifty years ago.

The rest of the paragraph, the "body sentences", would then go on to explain and give evidence to support these topic sentences.

Body Sentences

Which are a discussion or explanation of the point in the Topic Sentence.

Often students do not explain or discuss their topic sentence in enough detail within a paragraph for the reader to really understand how they are thinking. Discussion and explanation are an important part of a well-developed paragraph and should be based on concrete examples, statistics, or facts.

Therefore always provide evidence to support the topic sentence and the explanation and development. Try to follow any generalization with a good example.

A Punch Sentence

This sentence at the end of the paragraph expresses the paragraph's relation to the essay topic as a whole. It is called "punch" because it should say something in a striking way that the reader will notice and remember.

Some paragraphs end with a transitional sentence that links the paragraph to the next one, but also here a punch sentence should appear near the end of the paragraph.

Writing Task

Write three or four body sentences to support these topic sentences. If you need ideas, look at the the ideas.

Cats are among the easiest pets to keep.

George Bush got off to a tricky start as President.

In many ways it is more difficult to be a teenager today than it was fifty years ago.