As a writer or user of English Language, you should be mindful of crafting texts that involve some boring paragraphs if you hope to see your readers savor them like some coffee. But, how can you avoid these writing cruises? No need to be worried, this topic will take you through the rudiments of a paragraph. Just take your coffee and sip gently as you read.
1.
How
to avoid boring paragraphs: #1 Understanding the definition of a paragraph
1.
How
to avoid boring paragraphs: #2 be familiar with the features of a paragraph
·
The
Topic sentence
This is the chief component of a paragraph that
defines its peculiar direction. It is the main idea a paragraph depends on for
other supporting or developmental ideas. It gives directives to readers by
clearly stating the point the paragraph is driving at.
It is an introductory sentence that may be in form of question or statement and may appear initially, medially or terminally in a paragraph depending on what the writer prefers. Most times, it appears at the initial stage owing to the fact that it makes reading and digestion easy for readers. Some well-experienced writers avail it medially or terminally according to their interests.
·
The
Backups
Backups are tons of sentences used by a writer to
exemplify the topic sentence of a paragraph. They are used coherently to
establish a well-defined and highly crafted paragraphs. In other words, they
are loads of sentences that connect to one another to achieve a better flow of
reading. The presence of these sentences in a paragraph is to demystify the
topic sentence; thus, writers make use of techniques such as the transitional
words to achieve this. Also, the backup sentences involves using the
transitional words to chronologically arrange the sentences and link them to
one another.
There are no stipulated rules concerning the length
of a paragraph. Although, it is always within the length of 4–5 sentences but
the real thing is, a good writer does not end a paragraph until he adequately
clarify the topic sentence.
·
Conclusion
Every paragraph deserves completeness that will prepare the reader ahead for another paragraph unless in cases where the paragraph intertwines with the other. However, prior to a concluding sentence, a good writer must have given his readers ample backups as evidence for the topic sentence. Hence, a concluding sentence would be stated to affirm the illustrated facts and statistics given by the writer to endorse the topic sentence.
1. How to avoid boring paragraphs: #3 Identifying Boring paragraphs
The joy of a writer is to perceive the fervent
desire, his audience has towards his writing. Most times, when it is otherwise,
it is as a result of inadequate attention towards some essential writing
features such as the paragraph which many writers do not take their time to
construct well. Whereas, their inability to construct their paragraphs well
equals to achieving a boring paragraph.
A boring paragraph is a paragraph that has lost its
sense of taste and does not have the strength or supplement it takes to engage
readers. As a result, this paragraph cannot hold them to continue reading. One
funny fact about this paragraph is, readers will keep feeling like they
shouldn’t read the text but they cannot figure why they keep losing interest.
Unknowingly to them, the problem is right there starring at them—the boring
paragraph. (Smiles)
2.
How
to avoid boring paragraphs: #4 Be Familiar with features that has to be avoided
to make a good paragraph
To avoid boring paragraphs, here are necessary
features to be regarded:
·
Stick
to your paragraph: be certain you know the kind of
paragraph you chose; is it the introductory paragraph, the main, or the
concluding paragraphs? Answer this and let your topic sentence match in
relation to it.
·
Thematic
unity: when you are deciding on your topic sentence, make
sure you understand it; stand on a point and don’t allow yourself to be dragged
by the wind. If you want to solve a problem—do! If you want to oppose—do with
valid supportive sentences. Do not advocate for both advantage and
disadvantage, just make sure you deal and focus on one issue. Put it in mind
that: a topic sentence can ever be more than one in a paragraph; therefore you
have to be on a side.
·
Coherence:
this is one part of a paragraph that needs higher concentration. Coherence is
an aspect of writing that is common within the backup sentences. It involves
linking ideas logically and semantically to establish a meaningful flow of
reading. With coherence, the reader finds it easy to understand the meaning of
each sentences and get the idea of what the writer foregrounds. Coherence
involves being stylish in terms of crafting and this makes a paragraph more
lively and comprehensive. A good paragraph demands coherence and to achieve
this, one must:
a) Maintain consistency:
consistency means uniformity and to maintain this in paragraph, a writer must
be able to choose a style and uphold it. Example of this is using a first
person point of view throughout such as “I was there when it happened and
mummy… do not get to a stage and change the tone to “The three friends were
there when it happened…
b) Work with style and choose
conformity words: you can achieve this by separating the
length of your sentences in order to make it more interesting to reader and most
importantly, not to look busted
c) Make use of transitional words:
transitional words are words that serve as a clue to help readers analyse the
idea of a paragraph. Examples are: following this, consequently, in addition
to, surprisingly etc.
·
Cohesion:
an aspect of writing that means “working together.” It is used to link
sentences, mostly backup in paragraphs and makes it possible for readers to
understand the relationship between sentences in a paragraph. Examples of such
are: pronouns, conjunctions, and articles.
· Spelling and Grammar Jam: a good paragraph deserves to be reviewed for spelling and grammar as loads of misspelled words and ungrammatical sentences bore readers to stupor. If your paragraphs are meshed with these, readers will not regard your work as quality; they will rather vacate your page. To avoid this:
a) Do not belittle any of your words: The fact is a three or four letter words can be misspelt if not careful. So it is advisable to use a writing tool like Grammarly, that would easily help you check and fix your spelling error.
Read Also: Variety of easily misspelled words
b) Pay attention to your grammar:
use accurate word class for sentences; use correct tenses and words.
Many English users make mistakes when using the ‘do’ verb; click here to read how to use the 'do' verbs correctly.
a) Check your paragraphs for
punctuation errors; make sure you insert period, comma,
colon, semi-colon, dashes, and others where necessary.
b) Review your paragraphs:
for capitalization of proper nouns such as Lagos, Lawrence and so on.
Paragraph is one feature of writing that cannot be ignored else, your writing will look too congested to read. However, it is necessary to understand the essentials of paragraph in order not to keep writing texts that are filled with boring paragraphs.