How to Practice Writing With Paragraph Topics

Paragraph topic excerises are a good way to practice organizing your ideas in writing.

Writing well takes patience and practice, regardless of the grade level or skill. Paragraph writing exercises allow writers to hone their skills at organizing their thoughts, transitioning their points and concluding their work. These paragraph topics have an infinite number of subjects and can be answered in many ways. The basic process of writing a paragraph topic remains the same, regardless of subject matter or type of paragraph.

Instructions

1. Identify the main question. One thing that every paragraph topic exercise has is a main subject that answers a question, which may be unspoken. Or the exercise may require a paragraph written as an answer to a specific question, such as on an essay. Determine what the subject of the paragraph is by looking for certain clue words, such as ""best," "most important," or "your opinion." These are all clue words to tell you the direction the answer must take.

2. Organize the response. Write down at least three details that support your belief about the paragraph subject or that outright disclaims it. If the subject is the smartest dog breeds, for example, write down the three types of dogs you believe are the smartest. Write down your reasons why you feel the way you do.

3. Write the introductory sentence. The first sentence of any paragraph is the introduction to the author's thoughts. It must set the bar for the information that is about to follow. It should be attention-getting and as direct as possible, especially for a short paragraph answer. A paragraph about smart dogs would start off something like, "Many dog owners believe their dogs to be the smartest, but certain dog breeds have gained reputations of being smarter than their canine relatives."

4. Add supporting details and sentences. The middle of your paragraph topic exercise will include the majority of your opinion and information. Here is where you will write the details to support the claim or subject outlined in your introductory paragraph. Smart dog breeds would be described and facts to support the claims would be offered. This section can vary from a minimum of one sentence to page-long paragraphs--although longer paragraphs are very difficult for readers to comprehend.

5. Create the conclusion sentence. This sentence is the final sentence of your paragraph and should support the rest of the presented information. It may summarize what was said in a longer paragraph or it can be a final bit of information that you want to include. A paragraph on smart dogs may end with "Border collies, poodles and retrievers may be considered smarter dogs, but my Chihuahua is the smartest dog I have ever owned." or "Dogs may exhibit traits of particular breeds, but intelligence is also individual to the dog."

Tips & Warnings

• Keep your paragraph on point, with one point per paragraph. Don't jump to other topics within your topic exercise.

References

• University of Richmond: Writing Effective Paragraphs
• Purdue University: Online Writing Lab: Paragraphs and Paragraphing