An essay is written not in large, indigestible lumps but in paragraphs—small units, each more or less self-contained, each contributing some new idea in support of the essay’s thesis. Writers dwell on one idea at a time, stating it, developing it, illustrating it with examples or a few facts—showing readers, with detailed evidence, exactly what they mean.

Paragraphs can be as short as one sentence or as long as a page. Sometimes length is governed by audience, purpose, or medium. Journalists expect newspaper readers to gobble up facts like popcorn, quickly skimming short one- or two-sentence paragraphs. College writers, in contrast, should assume their readers expect to read well-developed paragraphs.

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When readers see a paragraph indentation, they interpret it as a pause, a chance for a deep breath. After that signpost, they expect you to concentrate on a new aspect of your thesis for the rest of that paragraph. This chapter gives you advice on guiding readers through your writing—using opening paragraphs to draw them in, topic sentences to focus and control body paragraphs, and concluding paragraphs to wrap up the discussion.