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Scholarly Writing
As the building blocks of academic papers, paragraphs are groups of sentences that focus on the same idea. In scholarly writing, there are three main types of paragraphs: introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions.
In general, paragraphs are used to categorize similar content, providing visual markers that help your reader follow the logic of your argument. However, different kinds of paragraphs serve different purposes. Explore the flip cards below to learn more about the purposes of introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions.
The opening paragraphs of academic papers, introductions provide your reader with background information and set up your argument.
Body paragraphs make up the middle of your paper, between the introduction and conclusion paragraphs. Each body paragraph focuses on a single idea or point that supports your central argument.
Conclusions, or closing paragraphs, wrap-up your argument and provide a sense of closure.
Because paragraphs are organizational tools, outlining can be helpful for deciding the focus of each paragraph, as well as the order in which paragraphs appear within your paper.
Because different paragraphs serve different purposes, each type of paragraph includes different elements. Explore the tabs to learn more about what to include in each type of paragraph.
Background information orienting readers to your topic
A statement summarizing your central argument (i.e., a thesis statement)
A topic sentence that expresses the paragraph’s main idea
Evidence (preferably from an expert source) that supports the paragraph’s main idea
An analysis of the evidence—in other words, an explanation of how the evidence supports the main idea
A closing sentence that wraps up the paragraph
A reminder of your thesis
A brief recap of the main ideas supporting your thesis
An explanation of your topic’s significance
A final sentence that provides readers with a sense of closure
Paragraphs are groups of sentences that work together to support the same idea. In scholarly writing, they are used to organize similar information, so that related content appears within the same paragraph. While there is no set number of sentences required for an academic paragraph, be sure that each of your paragraphs fulfills its specific purpose:
Do you need more practice with academic paragraphs? Try the Organize and Develop Paragraphs Module.
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