In my last blog, I noted the problem some of my students had with writing sentences and presented a fairly simple four-step process designed to help them overcome that problem. Paragraphing — while usually less of an obstacle than writing sentences — also gave some students trouble. Some students would start a new paragraph arbitrarily, perhaps believing that any paragraph had a word limit they had to observe. A few students would indent only their first sentence, ending up with an essay that consisted of one very long, not necessarily coherent, paragraph.

In this blog, I’ll look at some standard guidelines for writing a paragraph, and then identify some situations when those guidelines can be overlooked. Most English teachers would agree that paragraphs should do at least two things:

Start with a topic sentence: A topic sentence alerts the reader to the main idea that will be discussed in the remainder of the paragraph. In a nonfiction composition, topic sentences also show the reader how this idea relates to the composition’s thesis.

Be proportional to the composition: Short paragraphs are better for short papers, while longer paragraphs are typically appropriate for longer pieces of writing.

There are also general guidelines for when one paragraph should end and a new one begun.

The writer wishes to present a new idea or point: New ideas should always start in new paragraphs. If the writer has a complex idea that spans multiple paragraphs, each subpoint within that idea should have its own paragraph.

The writer wishes to contrast information or ideas: Separate paragraphs can serve to contrast points in an argument or ideas in an essay.

The writer is ending his or her introduction or starting the conclusion. Even if an introduction covers two or more paragraphs, a new paragraph should be started when the writer moves into the body of his or her composition. Similarly, a new paragraph is needed when the writer has finished covering all the ideas and/or arguments in the body of the composition and wishes to bring the composition to an effective ending.

For the most part, these guidelines are useful for nonfiction writers. They can be useful as well for writers of fiction — but there is at least one exception.

Lengthy descriptions of a person, place, or thing (especially in novels) can justifiably be broken down into two or more paragraphs. Such descriptions, even if well written, can lead to mental fatigue if contained within a single paragraph. I might say, in passing, that this mental fatigue may be something to which 21st century readers are singularly vulnerable. With all the distractions provided by social media, television, streaming services, and a host of other attention-grabbing technologies, readers today might find it challenging to read some of the paragraphs of nineteenth century writers without taking a break. More broadly speaking, the length of a writer’s paragraphs may be influenced by the culture in which he or she is writing.

Jane Austen was one of the greatest writers of all time. But if you look at Chapter 15 of Pride and Prejudice, there are at least two paragraphs with over 400 words each. In Chapter 35, Elizabeth opens a letter which has a paragraph with over 600 words. If she were writing her classic today, I suspect Ms. Austen would break these gargantuan paragraphs into smaller ones for the benefit of her readers.

Paragraphing dialogue brings a whole set of new guidelines into play. I’ll take a close look at these guidelines in my next blog.