How to Write a Body Paragraph

Writing a paragraph might seem simple on the surface—it just needs a starting point, an ending point, and some related sentences in between to fill it out. However, a quality paragraph states a clear main idea, supports and analyzes this main idea based on strong evidence, and ties it all into the overall focus of your essay. This is especially true of body paragraphs, which make up the heart of your essay between the introduction and conclusion.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Planning Before Writing

1
View each body paragraph as a mini essay. Paragraphs aren’t just a way to break your essay up into smaller pieces. Instead, think of them as individual building blocks that come together to create your essay. Like a building block, each paragraph is its own self-contained entity, but it must also tie into all the other blocks around it.^{[1]XResearch source}
- As a mini essay, each paragraph needs to have a main point (or thesis), supporting evidence, analysis of that evidence, commentary, and a recap of the main point based on the evidence and analysis. Your topic sentence acts as the thesis for the paragraph, providing a road map of what you'll discuss.
- Each paragraph should feel complete if you read it on its own, but also logically connect to the other paragraphs in the essay.
- For instance, a topic sentence might look like this: "As the length of playoff games expand, baseball fans lose interest in the game."
- Supporting evidence for this topic sentence could include statistics of how many fans watched the games, results of fan polls, and quotes from reliable sports articles.
2
Build momentum with each sentence by pushing your ideas forward. Each sentence in your paragraph should advance your ideas, not restate what you've already said. Imagine the paragraph as a freight train picking up steam. At the beginning its potential is made clear, and its power increases step-by-step with each sentence. Your original claim (the main idea) should, by the end, transform into a compelling, convincing argument.^{[2]XResearch source}
- Like that freight train, your paragraph should move in only one direction—forward toward your end point. Each sentence needs to build on the last.
- So, before you start writing, jot down the concept for the paragraph’s main idea and start thinking how the paragraph will advance it forward.
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3
Gather the supporting materials you’ll draw from. Once you’ve figured out the concept of the main idea and have considered the way you’ll advance it forward, start picking out the pieces of evidence that you’ll use. Draw from your research to find statistics, quotations, examples, other people’s arguments, and other materials you may be able to utilize.
- A body paragraph is only as good as its evidence. Your main idea will fall flat if you have flimsy evidence—or no evidence—to advance it forward.
- If you don’t have adequate evidence to support your proposed main idea for the paragraph, you’ll either have to do additional research or adjust your claim to suit your evidence.
- Great sources of evidence include books, journal articles, reliable websites, and newspaper articles.
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Writing the Paragraph

1
Build a transition from the previous paragraph. In most body paragraphs, the first sentence serves two roles. While most of it is dedicated to establishing the main idea, it also should provide a quick but logical transition from the previous paragraph.^{[3]XResearch source}
- For instance, if your previous paragraph focused on revealing how exciting baseball’s World Series has been in recent years, you might start by writing, “While there’s no doubt the World Series has provided numerous exciting moments recently,...”
- Repeating a key phrase can also make a good transition. To keep with the baseball theme, you might repeat the phrase “big hit” in the last sentence of the previous paragraph and the first sentence of the current one.
2
Express the paragraph’s main idea very early on. Typically you should present this main idea in the first sentence, right after the brief transition from the last paragraph. Aim for a clear, concise claim that you can further develop and support with the evidence you’ve collected. Also, make sure it is connected to the main thesis of your overall essay, but not simply a restatement of the thesis.
- The main idea should be a claim that you can make a convincing argument to support, not a statement of fact.
- For instance: “While there’s no doubt the World Series has provided numerous exciting moments recently, the increasing amount of time it takes to complete each game likely decreases overall interest.”
3
Present the evidence for your main idea. You’ve made your claim, and now you need to back it up. Draw from your research to provide at least one, and more likely two or three, pieces of evidence that relate directly to the paragraph’s main idea. They should also connect in some way to the overall thesis of your essay.^{[4]XResearch source}
- For example: “The average Major League Baseball playoff game (as of 2017) takes over three-and-a-half hours to complete, an increase in more than thirty minutes from the average length of World Series games in 1988.”^{[5]XResearch source}
- Also: “Since World Series games start after 8 pm in the Eastern Time Zone, they often don’t end until midnight or later for many viewers in the U.S.”
4
Add quotations as a powerful form of evidence. While they aren’t suited to every paragraph topic or main idea, properly-used quotations often provide strong support to your claims. You can use quotes from interviews, from primary source materials, or from relevant secondary sources.
- While including longer quotes can sometimes be helpful, it’s usually best to incorporate smaller snippets from quotations into your own sentence.
- Introduce the quote with “asserts,” “claims,” “proposes,” or similar: “As 12-year old Boston Red Sox fan Tim Green bemoans, ‘I haven’t been able to watch the end of a single game of the World Series,’ due to the length of the games.”
- Make sure to provide a citation with the source of the quotation, according to the citation style you’re using.
5
Analyze how the evidence supports your main idea. Even if the evidence you’ve provided seems self-explanatory to you, it’s important to put into words the connection between your main idea and the evidence. Use a sentence or two near the close of the paragraph to provide this analysis.^{[6]XResearch source}
- Your analysis might include anticipating counter-perspectives to your evidence: “While many baseball fans embrace the notion that it’s one of few sports without a game clock, it’s hard to imagine that anyone finds it easy to stay engaged and enthused—if tuned in at all—to a four-plus hour game.”
6
Evaluate your main idea’s impact as the paragraph ends. While the last sentence or two of your paragraph should circle back to your main idea, they should do more than simply restate it in different words. If your paragraph has successfully built forward momentum, you’ll be able to add to your main idea by strengthening it, expanding it, or both.
- Imagine that you're answering the question, "So what?" What should people take from your paragraph? How should they feel about your topic?
- For instance: “The long games and late conclusions during baseball’s showcase time of year threaten to alienate fans, especially the younger ones who are essential to the sport’s future.”
- Closing the current paragraph with an enhancement of your main idea provides a solid transition into the next paragraph, without having to write an actual transition (as you did at the start of the paragraph).
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Revising Your Work

1
Confirm that the main idea is clearly stated. When you read back through the paragraph, make sure the main idea is easily identifiable right near the start. You should be able to underline the specific phrase or sentence that makes up your main idea—if you can’t, you need to revise the paragraph to improve its focus.^{[7]XResearch source}
- Try having a friend or family member read the paragraph, then ask them, “What’s it about?” They should answer with some version of your main idea.
2
Make sure each sentence supports the paragraph’s focus. There’s no perfect length for a paragraph, but longer is definitely not better if there are unnecessary sentences bloating the overall length. Each sentence should feel essential to the overall focus of the paragraph.^{[8]XResearch source}
- Try cutting sentences or sections you’re not sure about and see if they are missed—if not, get rid of them permanently.
3
Strengthen the “bridges” between related elements. “Bridges” in this context come in two forms. Logical bridges relate to the forward momentum your paragraph should have—that is, establishing each element of your main idea in a rational sequence. Verbal bridges are the actual words you use to carry the paragraph from one element to the next.^{[9]XResearch source}
- Make sure each sentence builds logically from the one before it, and leads logically into the one after it. Try rearranging content if necessary.
- Verbal bridges can be transitions (“Also,” “However,” “So,” etc.), or you can use strategies like repetition or synonyms to link each sentence to the next.
4
Proofread the paragraph carefully. Typos and misspellings will always reduce the impact of a paragraph, no matter how persuasive the claims or strong the evidence. Read over it carefully multiple times, and have someone you trust look over it for errors. Don’t let a simple mistake marr a great body paragraph!
- It’s very easy to miss mistakes in your own writing, so have a fresh set of eyes look over your work whenever possible.
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