Category: Other

Ah, the oft-misunderstood paragraph. Most of us learned the basics of standard paragraph construction during our elementary school years and beyond. The first sentence should contain your main point and the following sentences should substantiate that point. Simple, right? As straightforward as paragraph development seems, I often see dissertation writers struggling with this construct. The result is sprawling paragraphs with main points that shift several times throughout or underwritten paragraphs with a substantial idea never fully supported. A paragraph is a small story unto itself: Think of it as a mini-thesis. It should be meaningful and (to some degree) stand alone as a key contributing thread to your overall research story.