what is a paragraph

A paragraph is a self-contained unit of discourse in writing dealing with a particular point or idea. It is a series of sentences that are organized and coherent, and are all related to a single topic. Paragraphs are a conventional means of organizing extended segments of prose, and they show a reader where the subdivisions of an essay begin and end, thus helping the reader see the organization of the essay and grasp its main points. A well-written paragraph must have a topic sentence which states the main idea: what the paragraph is about. The rest of the sentences in the paragraph support, elaborate, and/or further explain the main idea expressed in the topic sentence. Paragraphs can contain many different kinds of information, such as brief examples, long illustrations, descriptions of places, characters, or processes, narration of events, comparison or contrast of two or more things, classification of items into categories, or description of causes and effects. Regardless of the kind of information they contain, all paragraphs share certain characteristics, such as unity and coherence of ideas among sentences, and a controlling idea that supports one main idea.