There’s nothing quite like the pressure of needing to write a clear, engaging paragraph and not knowing how to start. The opening sentence of a section can set the tone for what’s to come, helping readers understand and follow your train of thought. Whether you’re working on an essay or looking for tips on how to write paper faster, mastering paragraph structure can save you time and frustration. This blog will teach you how to start a paragraph. You’ll learn strategies for writing clear, compelling paragraphs instantly capturing the reader’s attention and improving overall flow and impact.
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What are the Key Elements of a Paragraph?
There’s a lot to get right when you’re writing an essay. And a critical skill is knowing how to start a paragraph effectively. That first sentence counts! So why are paragraphs such an essential tool in effective writing?
Here’s why:
- They keep your reader captivated.
- They help your reader to follow your argument or narrative.
- They keep your writing in easily digestible chunks of information!
Mastering the Paragraph’s Incipit
And an essential part of all that is nailing the start of your paragraphs. Honestly! Start strong, and your reader will know precisely what you will do next and how your information relates. Top marks here you come, and for the low cost of some clever vocab! Start your paragraphs weakly without setting up effective signposting and transitions, and they’ll get lost. You might have to re-read your essay to make sense of it.
What Should Your Paragraphs Contain?
If you’re writing an academic essay, there are a lot of popular conventions and guides about what a paragraph should include. Academic writing guides favor well-developed paragraphs that are:
- Unified and coherent
- Contain a topic sentence
- Provide adequate development of your idea
You should always start a new paragraph for each idea or point. New ideas should always start in new paragraphs. If you have an extended idea that spans multiple paragraphs, each new point within that idea should have its paragraph.
Paragraph Structure (The PEEL Method)
Academic paragraphs often follow a standard structure to guide your reader through your argument, although not always! It goes like this:
- Start with a topic sentence
- Give 1-2 sentences supporting evidence for (or against) your argument.
- Write a sentence analyzing this evidence concerning your argument or topic sentence.
- Conclude by explaining the significance of this stance, or providing a transition to the following paragraph.
A topic sentence introduces the idea your paragraph will focus upon and makes summarizing easy. It can occur anywhere, but placing it at the start increases readability for your audience.)
A Framework for Clarity
One popular acronym for creating well-developed academic paragraphs is PEEL. This stands for Point, Evidence, Explanation, Link. Using this method makes it easy to remember what your paragraph should include:
- Your point (the topic sentence)
- Some evidence
- Analysis of how it supports your point,
- Transitional link back to your essay question or forward to your following paragraph.
How Do I Know When to Start a New Paragraph?
You should start a new paragraph when:
- You begin a new idea or point. New ideas should always start in new paragraphs. If you have an extended idea that spans multiple paragraphs, each new point within that idea should have its paragraph.
- To contrast information or ideas. Separate paragraphs can contrast sides in a debate, different points in an argument, or any other difference.
- When readers need a pause, breaks between paragraphs are short “breaks.” Adding these will help your writing be more readable.
- You would create a break if the paragraph becomes too long or the material is complex.
- When you end your introduction or start your conclusion, your introductory and concluding material should always be in a new paragraph. Many introductions and conclusions have multiple paragraphs depending on their content, length, and the writer’s purpose.
Note: You shouldn’t start all your paragraphs the same way or use the same word for every sentence in your section, it’s distracting and won’t earn you good marks from your reader.
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How to Start a Paragraph
1. What’s the Point of Your Paragraph?
Before starting a paragraph, it’s crucial to understand its purpose. Why are you writing this paragraph? Are you introducing a new concept or idea? Will you provide pieces of evidence in the section? Are you writing to explain a concept? Are you transitioning between ideas? Determining the purpose of a paragraph will ensure you write clear, focused, and coherent ideas.
Tailoring Paragraph Structure to Writing Objectives
You can choose a relevant paragraph type based on the particular purpose of your writing. For example, prefer an expository paragraph if you’re starting an introductory paragraph for an essay. Similarly, if you start a story paragraph, your preferred tone should be narrative, and so on.
After knowing the purpose of the section, you should also consider its structure to organize your ideas properly.
2. Choose a Transition Word
In a well-structured piece of writing, there’s a smooth flow and connection between paragraphs. For this, transition words are used. Transition words are phrases or words that connect paragraphs within a writing. Choosing a suitable transition word is best for starting a new idea or introduction.
These words must be selected based on the purpose of the previous paragraphs and the one you’re starting. Here are some examples of transition words:
- That is why
- Furthermore
- In contrast
- In addition to this
- Generally
- However
- For instance
- In summary
3. Start the Paragraph With a Topic Sentence
Now comes the actual step of starting a paragraph. A paragraph begins with a topic sentence, which is the first line. The topic sentence sets the cornerstone and overall tone of your paragraph. Follow the tips below to write an outstanding topic sentence. It needs to include the main keyword and reflect the topic of your paragraph.
Crafting Focused and Succinct Paragraphs
You should avoid over-explaining and write only what is necessary. Add the above chosen transition phrase at the start of the topic sentence. Use concise and understandable wording; avoid jargon. Ensure that the topic sentence states a single topic or idea; avoid targeting multiple issues in a single sentence.
4. Write Supportive Sentences
After writing the topic sentence, you need to write supportive sentences to explain the paragraph topic further. In these sentences, mention the pieces of evidence, examples, facts, quotes, etc.
5. Wrap Up Your Paragraph
Write a concluding sentence to wrap up your paragraph. The purpose of the concluding sentence is to state the consequences, output, or result of the details stated in a paragraph. It explains how all the ideas tie together in a paragraph. Below are the valuable tips to effectively wrap up a paragraph with a concluding sentence.
In the wrap-up, summarize all the main points of your paragraph. The end line or concluding sentence should reinforce the topic. It should give a sense of paragraph completion.
6. Proofread and Improve Your Paragraph
Writers often can’t develop a perfect paragraph in the first draft. It mostly has some grammatical, structural, and readability slip-ups. So, after completing your paragraph, proofread it for grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes. Ensure that your paragraph is easier to read, simple to understand, and that the sentences are coherent.
Suppose you find all the above-mentioned challenging to start a paragraph. Don’t worry; there’s an advanced and effortless way to help you generate high-quality paragraphs in seconds, utilizing an AI paragraph generator.
How to Start an Introductory Paragraph
Nailing the introduction of your essay is simultaneously one of the most critical and hardest sections to write. A great introduction should set up your topic and explain its significance. One of the primary goals of a practical introduction is to clearly state your “thesis statement” (what your essay is about, and what you are setting out to achieve with your argument).
Thesis-First Introductions
A popular (and easy) introduction technique is to begin your first paragraph immediately stating your thesis statement. Here are some examples of how to start a paragraph with your thesis statement:
- This paper discusses…
- In this paper, you will find…
- This essay argues that …
- This thesis will evaluate…
Beyond the Thesis
This article will explore the complex socio-political factors that contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire between the reign of Constantine (312-337AD) and the fall of Rome in 476AD. Nevertheless, starting your introductory paragraph effectively is not about immediately stating your thesis!
How to Start a Body Paragraph
Unless you’re writing an introduction or conclusion, you’ll write a body paragraph. Body paragraphs comprise most of your essay and should include all your main points, data, evidence, analysis, deductions, and arguments. Each paragraph should have a particular purpose and be centered around one idea.
Building Coherence
Your body paragraphs might be analytical, evidential, persuasive, descriptive, etc. To help your reader understand your essay’s body, it’s essential to guide them with signposts and transitions. These usually occur at the start of your paragraphs to demonstrate their relationship to preceding information.
That means many different techniques for starting your body paragraphs! So, for 70+ words and phrases to start a body paragraph effectively, keep reading!
How to Start a Concluding Paragraph
Concluding paragraphs are slightly different from other paragraphs because they shouldn’t present new evidence or arguments. Instead, you aim to draw your arguments together and tie loose ends neatly. You might find them part of a smaller sub-section within a more extended academic dissertation or thesis.
Or as part of the conclusion of your essay. When starting your conclusion, it’s always a great idea to let your reader know they’ve arrived by signposting its purpose. This is especially true if your essay doesn’t contain any headers!
Here are some examples of how to start your concluding paragraph:
- In conclusion, this paper has shown that …
- In summary, we have found that …
- A review of these analyses indicates that …
This essay has demonstrated that we must act immediately to halt the drastic dwindling of our global bee population.
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70+ Top Words and Phrases for a Winning First Sentence
Kickstarting Your Paragraphs with Clear Structure and Signposting
Academic writing isn’t just about what you say, but how you say it. That’s why it’s essential to consider the structure of your essay and the individual paragraphs that make it up. Readers should be able to follow your argument easily, and this clarity can be achieved by starting your paragraphs with effective opening sentences that introduce the next section of your writing.
Sequentially Transitioning into Your Next Point
A sequential transition is one of the most important types of transitional phrases to help you start a paragraph. These signposting transitions are significant for academic arguments because they allow you to present your points in order without losing the reader.
Sequential connectives and transitions create order within your narrative by highlighting the temporal relationship between your paragraphs. You’ll often find them in combination with other paragraph-starting phrases.
Here are some examples to help guide the readers of your essay:
- Before considering X, it is essential to note that …
- Following on from Y, we should also consider…
- The first notion to discuss is …
- The next point to consider is …
- Thirdly, we know that Y is also an essential feature of…
- As outlined in the previous paragraph, the following steps are to…
- Having considered X, it is also necessary to explore Y…
Providing Evidence, Examples, or Citations
Once you’ve made your claims or set out your ideas, backing them up is essential. You’ll probably need to give evidence, quote experts, and provide references throughout your essay. If you have more than one piece of evidence, it’s best to separate them into paragraphs.
Using Examples Effectively
Sequential signposting can be a helpful tool to help you and your reader keep track of your examples. If your paragraph is all about giving evidence for a preceding statement, why not start with one of these phrases:
- For example, X often…
- This stance is clearly illustrated by…
- Consider the example of Y, which …
- This concept is well supported by…
Attribution and Authority
If you want to quote or paraphrase a source or expert, introducing their views is a great way to start your paragraph. You can also use phrases like these to help you clearly show their role in your essay:
- [Author], in particular, has argued that…
- According to [source], Y is heavily influenced by…
- [Source] for example, demonstrates the validity of this assertion by…
- This [counter-] argument is supported by evidence from X, which shows that …
Always provide references for your sources in the manner most appropriate for your field, i.e., footnotes and author-date methods.
Giving Emphasis to Your Point
Not all points and paragraphs in an essay are made equal. You’ll want to highlight specific ideas and evidence for your readers to ensure your argument persuades them. So, to emphasize what you’re about to discuss, be obvious. You may need to be more direct than you think:
- This detail is significant because…
- Undoubtedly, this experience was…
- Indeed, there are ramifications for…
- The last chapters, in particular, are revealing of X…
Acknowledging Uncertainty
In academia, it’s common to find a little uncertainty in your evidence or results, or within the knowledge of your field. That’s true whether you’re a historian exploring artifacts from Ancient Greece, or a social scientist whose questionnaire results haven’t produced a clear answer. Don’t hide from this uncertainty; it’s a great way to point ahead to future research that needs to be done.
Highlighting Knowledge Gaps
You might be doing it in your essay! Why not try one of these examples to highlight the gaps in your academic field or experiment?
- Whether X is the case remains debatable, as current explorations cannot…
- Although not proven, it is commonly understood that X…
- Whilst the likelihood of X is debatable…
- Given the age of the artifacts, it is impossible to say whether Y accurately…
- Although we cannot know for sure, the findings above suggest that…
- Untangling the causes of X is a complex matter, and it is impossible to say for sure whether…
Showing the Relationships Between Your Points
As your essay progresses, you’ll need to guide your reader through a succession of points, ideas, and arguments by creating a narrative for them to follow. An essential part of this task is using signposting to demonstrate the relationship between your paragraphs. Do they support each other?
Do they present opposite sides of a debate? Luckily, there are lots of agreement, opposition, and contextual connectives to help you increase your clarity:
Making a New Point
You’re probably starting a new topic, point, or idea if there’s no connection between your new paragraph and the preceding material. That means it’s less likely (although not impossible) that you’ll need transitional phrases. Nevertheless, it’s still important to clearly state the purpose and position of this new paragraph for your reader. Here are some examples:
- The next point to consider is…
- We know that X…
- This section of the essay discusses …
- We should now turn to an exploration of Y…
- We should begin with an overview of the situation for X…
- Before exploring the two sides of the debate, it is essential to consider…
Presenting Accepted Concepts
If you aim to take a new stance or question an accepted understanding with your essay, a great way to start a paragraph is by clearly setting out the concepts you want to challenge. These phrases are also an effective way to establish the context of your essay within your field:
- It is commonly believed that…
- The accepted interpretation of X is …
- Until recently, it was thought that …
- Historically, X has been treated as a case of…
- Over the past two decades, scholars have approached X as an example of…
- The most common interpretation of Y is…
Adding Similar Points
Agreement connectives are essential for indicating the continuation or positive relationship between similar ideas or evidence you’re presenting. If you’re looking to continue your essay with a similar point, why not try one of these examples:
- Another aspect of X is…
- Another critical point is…
- Y should be explored with equal retrospection for…
- Moreover, an equally significant factor of X is…
- We should also consider…
- Proponents of Y frequently also suggested that…
Demonstrating Contrast
In contrast, if you want to present a counter-argument, the opposite side of a debate, or critique the ideas, evidence, or results in your preceding paragraph(s), you must turn to contradiction and opposition connectives. These phrases will help you to link your paragraphs whilst setting them in contrast within your narrative:
- A contrary explanation is that…
- On the other side of this debate, X suggests that…
- Given this understanding of X, it is surprising that Y…
- On the other hand, critics of X point to…
- Despite these criticisms, proponents of X continue to…
Whilst the discussion in the previous paragraph suggests X to be true, it fails to consider Y…
Note: some paragraph-opening sentences can be modified using connective words to show either agreement or contrast! Here are some examples:
- It could also be said that X does [not]…
- It is [also] important to note that X… OR It is essential to note that X…
- There is [also/however], a further point to be considered…
Presenting Analyses, Arguments, and Results
An essential stage of any essay is the analysis, when you bring your arguments to the table, based on your data and results. Signalling this is essential! Happily, there are plenty of connective words and phrases that can help you out:
Conducting an Analysis and Constructing Your Argument
Once you’ve set out your evidence or data, it’s time to point out the connections within them. Or analyze how they support the argument you want to make. With humanities essays, it is common to explore the impact of your evidence as you present it. In contrast, science essays often contain a dedicated analysis section after the data has been given.
Signposting Connections
You’ll probably need several analytical paragraphs to address each of your points. So, a great way to get started is to dive straight in by signposting the connections you want to make in each one:
- Each of these arguments makes an essential contribution to X because…
- To fully understand Y, we need to analyze the findings from…
- Each model of X and Y changed throughout the experiment because…
- Exploring this dataset reveals that X is not as standard as hypothesized…
- Notwithstanding such limitations, this data still shows that…
- Of central concern to Y, therefore, is the evidence that…
- This interpretation of X is…
- This critique implies that…
- This approach is similar to that of Y, who, as we have seen above, argues that…
- The resulting graphs suggest that…
- Whilst conducting the survey, it was discovered that…
Presenting Results
You may need to present your results after completing your analyses of any evidence (and hopefully persuade your reader of your argument). This is especially relevant for essays that examine a specific dataset after a survey or experiment. If you want to signpost this section of your essay clearly, start your paragraph with a phrase like these:
- The arguments presented above show that…
- In this last analysis, we can see that X has shown…
- As we have seen, the data gathered demonstrates that…
- As demonstrated above, our understanding of X primarily stems from…
Demonstrating Cause and Effect
When writing an academic essay, you should demonstrate the cause-and-effect relationship between your evidence or data and your theories or results. Choosing the correct connective phrases can be important for showing this relationship clearly to your reader. Try one of these phrases to start your paragraph to explain the consequences clearly:
- As a consequence, X cannot be said to…
- Therefore, we can posit that…
- Provided that X is indeed true, it has been shown that Y…
- As such, it is necessary to note that …
- For this reason, the decision was made to…
- The evidence indicates that the primary cause of X was…
- As a result of Y, it was found that…
Summarizing a Topic or Analysis
In general, summary paragraphs should not present any new evidence or arguments. Instead, they remind you of your essay’s path so far. Of course, these concluding paragraphs commonly occur at the end of an essay as part of your conclusion. Nevertheless, they are also used to draw one point or stage of your argument to a close before the next begins.
Context and Progression
Within a larger essay or dissertation, these interludes can be helpful reminders for your reader as they transition between providing context, giving evidence, suggesting new approaches, etc. It’s worth noting that concluding your topic or analysis isn’t always the same as presenting results, although there can be some similarities in vocabulary.
Connect your arguments into summaries with precise linking phrases such as:
- Altogether, these arguments demonstrate that…
- Each of these arguments makes an essential contribution to our understanding of X…
- From this overview of X and Y, we can conclude that…
- We can therefore see that…
- It was hypothesized that X, though, as we have seen…
- Consequently, we can [clearly] see that…
Time to Get Writing Your Paragraphs!
And that’s it! You should now have a much-improved understanding of how to start a paragraph.
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