Summary

Well-written paragraphs and sentences help your readers understand your main message, and they guide readers effectively through your supporting points. To write good paragraphs and sentences, remember these important principles:

• Every paragraph should have one idea, and all the sentences should support that idea.
• The topic sentence should come first and express the main idea; it is the main message of the paragraph.
• The topic sentence should relate the paragraph to what came before it, and it should predict the content of the paragraph.
• Each paragraph should follow a logical pattern of development.
• Connecting techniques should guide your reader through the paragraph, and from one paragraph to another.
• Sentences should be constructed to use coordinating and subordinating words appropriately to state the meaning precisely.

By following these principles to write effective paragraphs and sentences, you will be making it easier for your reader to follow your logic and take appropriate action based on your report.