Every paragraph should contain a topic sentence, multiple main points, two or more support sentences to back up each main point, and conclusion.

• The topic sentence tells you what the paragraph is going to tell you.
• The main points tell you.
• The support sentences reinforce the importance of the main points.
• And the conclusion tells you what the paragraph told you.

Topic Sentences:

A topic sentence should be explicit. It should have a point of view. And it should be stated clearly without sounding like an announcement.

1. A good topic sentence is explicit. A good topic sentence lays out exactly what is going to be written in the paragraph. In other words, the topic sentence should tell you everything that is going to be included in the paragraph. A good topic sentence should briefly list each of the main points that will be included in the paragraph.

A vague topic sentence about the problem of pigeons in a city might be:

            Pigeons cause many problems in this city.

An explicit topic sentence about the problem of pigeons in a city would be:

In the city of New York, the population of pigeons needs to be controlled because they crowd the parks, ruin statues with their droppings, and spread disease to the people who live there.

• A good topic sentence will have a point of view. It will be about something that can be argued one way or another, and it will choose a side of the argument. For example, a topic sentence about the right to bear arms will either argue for or against the right.

A bad topic sentence about the right to bear arms would say:

The constitution of the United States grants us the right to bear arms.

A good topic sentence about the right to bear arms would say:

The writers of the constitution of the United States made a mistake when they granted us the right to bear arms.

Or,

The writers of the constitution of the United States were completely justified to grant us the right to bear arms.

• A good topic sentence does not announce. It is stated in clear language that explains what the paragraph is going to be about without using unneeded words or phrases.

An announced topic sentence about mowing the lawn might be:

In this paragraph, I am going to tell you that people in my neighborhood mow their lawns because they like the way cut grass looks, the way cut grass smells, and the way they feel when they work out in the sun.

            A concise topic sentence about mowing the lawn would be:

People in my neighborhood mow their lawns because they like the way cut grass looks, the way cut grass smells, and the way they feel when they work out in the sun.

Main points:

The main points of a paragraph are where the actual discussion of the paragraph takes place. The main points are laid out in the paragraph in the order they are listed in the topic sentence, and they expand what was briefly mentioned in the topic sentence into full and coherent sentences. Each main point should start with a transition word and should be followed up with two or more support sentences. And each main point should support the topic sentence maintaining the point of view and further explaining the paragraph.

1. The main points of the paragraph are laid out in the same order as they are listed in the topic sentence. If the topic sentence of a paragraph says:

In the city of New York, the population of pigeons needs to be controlled because they crowd the parks, ruin statues with their droppings, and spread disease to the people who live there.

• The first main point will be about pigeons crowding the park
• The second main point will be about statues being ruined with pigeon droppings.
• The third main point will be about the diseases that pigeons spread.

• Each of the main points should be set apart from the rest of the paragraph with transition words. If the paragraph is organized in time order, you should use transition words like first, second, or third. If the paragraph is organized in emphatic order, you should use transition words like importantly, more importantly, and most importantly.

Using time order and writing them out into full sentences, the main points of the topic sentence about pigeons in New York could look like this:

First, people will notice the pigeons covering more and more of the public parks when their population begins to increase.

Second, the statues in the park will start to turn white because of all the pigeon droppings.

Third, the rate of influenza among the people of the city will begin to rise because the pigeons are a perfect carrier for the disease.

Support sentences:

Support sentences are the sentences that come between main points. Good support sentences will explain the main point it follows, give a specific example of the main point it follows, or work as a transition to the next main point. Every main point should be followed up by two or three support sentences.

If you were writing a paragraph using this main point:

The statues in the park will start to turn white because of all the pigeon droppings.

            A support sentence that explains the main point could sound something like this:

As it stands, the statues in the park already have a problem with pigeon droppings; imagine how bad they would look if the population of pigeons went up even fifteen percent.

A support sentence that gives an example might sound something like this:

The last time the population of pigeons got this high, the layer of pigeon droppings on the statues averaged an inch and a half thick.

            A support sentence that transitions to another point might sound something like this:

If we want to avoid such unsightly conditions in our parks, we must do something about the spike in pigeon population soon.\

Conclusion:

At the very least, a conclusion restates the topic sentence in different words. But a strong conclusion offers a little bit more. It can offer a new spin on what was learned throughout the paragraph, or it can act as a transition to the ideas that will be discussed in the next paragraph. Also, conclusions often start with transition words like  in conclusion, to sum things up, in summary, or any number of other possibilities.