Graduate Writing: Paragraphs

A paragraph represents one point or idea in an essay, and so it is an important building block. If you struggled with writing well-composed paragraphs in Graduate Writing I, we recommend the resources below: an interactive webinar, an audio podcast, and a writing exercise. 

Paragraphs are the building blocks of academic papers, and writing a strong paragraph can be harder than it seems. But don't worry! In this interactive webinar, we'll share a method--loved by students and faculty--for strengthening your paragraphs. In this webinar, we discuss the role of a paragraph in an academic paper, learn the MEAL Plan strategy for paragraph organization, and practice evaluating paragraph(s) using the MEAL Plan. After the presentation, pause the webinar and use our Paragraph Checklist to evaluate and revise a paragraph(s) of your own.

• Webinar recording, slides, and transcript

Note: This webinar replaces an earlier webinar titled, "Writing Effective Academic Paragraphs."

The Writing Center produces an audio podcast that covers topics in scholarly writing. For tips on building strong paragraphs for Graduate Writing I, listen to Episode 3: Creating a Successful Paragraph.

Analyzing your own writing can help you identify what's missing. In Graduate Writing I, you learned about the MEAL Plan for paragraphs, meaning that every academic paragraph should have a Main Idea, Evidence, Analysis, and a Lead-Out. For this exercise, you will examine one of your own paragraphs to determine if you've included all the components. 

1. Locate one of your assignment submissions from Graduate Writing I or another course you have taken.

2. Select a paragraph at random.

3. Read through the paragraph, highlighting each sentence to indicate what role it plays in the paragraph. Is it the paragraph's main idea? Does it include evidence (information, statistics, study findings)? Is it your own analysis and explanation of the evidence? Or does it summarize the paragraph in a lead-out? (Note: You might have more than one sentence of evidence, or evidence and analysis might come in the same sentence.)

4. Look over the highlights. Is there a component missing? Is there enough analysis to fully explain the evidence and its importance? 

5. Edit the paragraph to add the missing component or strengthen weak components. 

6. Repeat as needed for other paragraphs in your assignment.

Tip: You can use this same highlighting method to examine others' writing. This might help you determine the main points and details of your selected journal article, for instance.