Paragraph Review Worksheets

We ask you to read through paragraphs and perform a number of tasks. These can be super helpful for you.

Paragraph Review For Organization
You look for topic sentences, transitional words, and you determine the organization of the paragraphs. We ask you to do a great deal on this one. You might want to make a few passes through it to make sure you get everything.

Topic Sentences For Paragraphs
Determine if you are shown a topic sentence or a supporting detail. Find the topic sentences and supporting details for this one.

Choosing Topic Sentences
Look for the best topic sentence for each detail. Find the best possible topic sentences in each case.

Paragraph Breakdown
We focus on classifying the organization of the paragraphs. We focus on the organization of each passage and ask you if the passage is an example of chronological, spatial, descriptive, simple listing, cause & effect, or compare/contrast.

Topic Sentences and Details
We mix all the skills in this one. The goal here is to master the concept of topic sentences and their use in paragraphs.

Writing Topic Sentences
We ask you to dream up some wonderful topic sentences. We ask you to write the complete sentences for us. A great activity for you.

How to Write a Well-Planned Paragraph

Writing well is one of the most valuable skills a person can have in today's world. The level of written correspondence that we do daily has increased manifolds than our earlier generations have.

Knowingly and unknowingly, we write a lot more than those before us because of the vast armada of mediums available to us for communicating. Also, with the advent of emails and other social media platforms, words today can have a far more significant impact than they ever did before.

Writing well is indeed a precious art. Our words carry great weight, be it at school for academic purposes or in the office for official reasons.

We all have discovered at some point that it is more important to write well than it is to write more. The scarlet thread in writing well is most definitely writing well-developed paragraphs.

Elements of a Well-Developed Paragraph

A well-developed paragraph is usually not a work of coincidence. It requires deliberate effort and a certain degree of forethought, which you will discover in the succeeding paragraphs.
Four basic key elements distinguish an ordinary paragraph from a well-crafted paragraph.

1. Unity

Unity is the first and perhaps most important element, which makes us a good paragraph. There should be a unity of thought demonstrated by writing sentences around a single, controlling idea. If you want to write too many ideas in one paragraph, you will most likely confuse the reader about the bottom line being conveyed in what you've written.

2. Order

The second element is order. A well-developed paragraph has a certain degree of organization in it. The sentences usually logically develop an argument.

However, the chronological order of events can also be useful in conveying what you intend to convey. Usually, by the pattern established by the organization of sentences, the reader can grasp and assimilate what you say quickly and effectively.

3. Coherence

Coherence is the third element of a well-developed paragraph. Coherence is the quality that makes your writing easily understandable for the reader.

Sentences of a paragraph coming together and making sense to the reader is the hallmark of a well-developed paragraph. To achieve coherence, you can use the aids of connecting words, injunctions, and even sentences.

4. Completeness

The last but very important element of a well-developed paragraph is completeness. Completeness in a paragraph is essential. Without completeness, the purpose of having a paragraph is null and void.

It cannot be stressed enough that a paragraph should be ended when a logical end or a logical break is felt in writing. This will assist the reader in understanding the message if you complete an idea and then move on to the next paragraph.

Besides these four elements, here are a few tips that can assist you in your journey to improve your writing skills in general and writing well-developed paragraphs in particular.

Tips on How to Write a Well-Developed Paragraph

1. Begin with the end in mind

This rule is one of the 7 habits of highly successful people, according to Stephen Covey, and it applies just as well to writing well-developed paragraphs.
As you write a paragraph, you should think about what you wish to communicate in that paragraph and in what tone.

Once you have a mental picture of the intended effect, you will be able to structure the sentence properly. Then, your mind will present you with its collection of words that it feels can fit in those particular sentences.

Like most things in life, it helps to have clear, well-defined goals. Once you have clear idea of what you intend to say and how you want to close a piece of writing, you will be able to work towards it effectively. Having this clarity will help you save time and effort while deriving a good result.

2. Proof Read

Despite your competence level, you will always find proofreading as a fruitful exercise. It is quite similar to thinking of things in retrospect.

You can note down things you can improve upon and figure out things you can do better in the future. To write well-developed paragraphs, you need to go through proofreading everything you've written to see how you can say more in fewer words.

With dedicated effort, you will be able to notice how you can restructure your sentences differently while ensuring that the intended message gets delivered to your reader.

This is a time-consuming process initially, but it saves a lot of time in the long run as you learn how to draft better in less time.

You also identify loopholes that can commonly be avoided by simple injunctions of connecting words and sentences. This is a time-tested practice that will yield results.

3. Remember the Sequence "Topic-Support-Conclusion"

If you remember this simple and easy formula, you’ll be able to write much better than before. The first sentence in your paragraph should be the one in which you define your main topic for the paragraph. It could be an opening statement of sorts.

The next 2 to 3 sentences should be used exclusively to support your first sentence. Ideally, these should be logically developed to make it easy for your reader to assimilate the intended message.

The last part of any paragraph is indeed the conclusion. It always helps to have a short and crisp conclusion that your reader can associate with the bottom line.

This small formula will take you big places if you use it well. This formula has near-universal application as it applies to most situations that we face while writing daily.

To Wrap Up

In conclusion, writing well-developed sentences is not as difficult as is usually thought. It's a matter of practice while following certain principles. With time, it is a skill that can be easily developed by anyone who wills it to be.