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Mini-module: Quick Guide to Writing Parapraphs

1. What are Paragraphs and what are they for?Page 1 of 7

Decorative

Facts: 

  • Paragraphs are the building blocks of your academic essays, and they are also important for reports. 
  • Paragraphs usually focus on just one point. Of course, when you write an essay, you probably need to make a number of points, so you will need a new paragraph for each point. 
  • One of the important skills that people learn at university is how to arrange the paragraphs in the best order.
  • It's a good idea to help the reader by putting linking words into paragraphs.  
  • Paragraphs always start on a new line. 
  • For academic writing, paragraphs are usually at least three sentences long.

 

Example:

Good - An example of the form of an academic-style paragraph:

"Quantum computing presents significant advantages over conventional technology, but also some new challenges. Ford (2010) maintains that quantum computing will result in significant changes in the 2030s. Many authors (Ambrosio, 2017: Jones, 2018; Day et al., 2020) found that processing speeds could reach one million times present day levels. Working on this assumption, Walker and Hashimoto (2021) did a study of a major company which revealed that present day practices in organisations will be inappropriate in the coming quantum computing environment. Most authors agree that quantum computing will present significant benefits. However, this will not come without challenges, as will be seen." 

Bad - An example of a not very good academic paragraph:

"Quantum computing will result in significant changes in the 2030s (Ford, 2010). Processing speeds could reach one million times present day levels (Ambrosio, 2017). Present day practices in organisations will be inappropriate in the coming quantum computing environment (Walker and Hashimoto, 2021)."

Exercise:

At the bottom of each page you will see buttons to go back to the previous page or go on to the next page.