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Almost all forms of writing need body paragraphs as components of a solid body part. They should be engaging and well-structured to support the paper’s main idea.
The Definition of a Body Paragraph
A body paragraph is a piece of a writing project which provides supporting evidence to the thesis statement, be it in a report, article, essay, or story. A well-structured body paragraph needs three parts. They are a topic sentence (or a key sentence), supporting sentences, and a relevant closing (a concluding sentence and transition to the next paragraph). These parts make a body paragraph concentrated around the main idea and help better understanding and clearness of the entire piece.
A classic essay consists of five paragraphs. They are an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. This structure is common for most academic essays, articles, or reports. However, you can include as many body paragraphs in your essay as you need. That will help you explain the main idea thoroughly and control its clearness throughout the essay.
The Structure of a Body Paragraph
So, a well-structured body paragraph has three parts. These key components are a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence. Let’s explain what details each of them should include.
A Topic Sentence
A topic sentence is often called a key sentence. Normally, it is the first sentence of the paragraph. It introduces the information in this paragraph to readers. In fact, it is a short outline of the following ideas, so it is mandatory for everybody paragraph. Such a sentence is significant to introduce new information.
Supporting Sentences
Since body paragraph deals with the information, which backs up your main idea, it should contain one or several supporting ideas, examples, research results, statistics, findings from previous studies, and in-text citations. These supporting sentences usually follow the topic sentence and provide explanations for it. They can also involve analysis and definitions.
All such components should be followed by examples and evidence from either primary or secondary sources.
A Concluding Sentence
A concluding sentence of a body paragraph does not provide the conclusion to the entire text. It is mostly related to the information given in this paragraph. It sums up its main idea and evidence to make a start to a new body paragraph. It also briefly summarizes the whole information in the paragraph and provides a reasonable transition to the following ideas in a new section.
Tips on Writing a Body Paragraph
Here are some helpful tips to make your writing more consistent and effective.
Purposeful Writing
Your body paragraphs need to support the thesis statement. You can do it by providing details, describing different viewpoints, or just giving the background information.
Of course, you should decide beforehand how many body paragraphs your essay will include based on the instructions and necessary scope of writing.
However, do not add paragraphs that miss important information. Any irrelevant ideas to the thesis statement or main idea make your essay overloaded and unclear. Stick to the topic and be sure that all evidence you provide relates to it.
Use of Counterarguments
Counterarguments are essential when you are writing an analytical or argumentative essay. One of your body paragraphs should obviously be devoted to explaining them to your audience. Provide backgrounds and main points of every counterargument to show that your thesis statement is stronger and more relevant. When you consider your topic from a different angle, you will obtain more trust and credibility on the part of your readers.
A Paragraph Break
Lengthy body paragraphs look too boring. You need to use paragraph breaks to avoid a dull structure with too much detail. You also need a paragraph break to start a new topic, introduce a new viewpoint or speaker, contrast several ideas, or just make a pause for your reader to reconsider all the information within one paragraph.
Do not overload your essay with many new ideas in one paragraph because your reader’s attention span is limited, and after a lengthy passage, they will feel completely lost. Moreover, by using paragraph breaks, you can generate a necessary emotion, feeling, or attitude that can help your reader perceive the information more easily and effectively.
Revision
Proofread and revise each body paragraph carefully. Pay attention to any redundancies or wordy statements which are not clear enough. Your writing should be understandable and concise, so eliminate everything that you feel may prevent clearness.
Your essay will look more authoritative and informative if you avoid lengthy unclear considerations and confusing phrases.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, essay writing a well-structured and informative body paragraph is not a difficult task at all. You need to remember that a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence are obligatory if you want to make your writing clear and efficient enough. Do not forget to use transition phrases between the paragraphs. Check whether all the ideas and pieces of evidence correspond to your thesis statement.
If you do not include any unnecessary or irrelevant information in your essay, it will be concise and understandable. You will get a high grade and proceed with your academic progress.
