How to write a paragraph

1. One main idea Your main idea should be very narrow. If you were asked to write a paragraph about friends, there would be too many topics having to do with friends to fit into one paragraph. Instead, you should choose one of those many topics. Ex. How to be a good friend Warning signs that you’re not really friends What you like about your group of friends How to make friends How you met your best friend. You would choose only ONE of these topics as your main idea, and then make the entire paragraph about that ONE idea.

2. Topic Sentence Once you have chosen your main idea, you will need to introduce that idea by creating your topic sentence. Ex. If you want to have good friends in your life, then you need to be a good friend. There are many ways to know that someone is not a true friend. I have the best group of friends. Making new friends can be hard, but there are some things that you can do to make it easier. I met my best friend during an orientation week at my college.

3. 5-7 Sentences These sentences should support your topic sentence. They SHOULD NOT stray for the topic. Make sure that every sentence stays on topic.

4. Closing sentence Your closing sentence should: Summarize the main idea Give final thoughts or opinions Transition to the next paragraph (this will only be for multi- paragraph essays)

5. Indent; spelling and punctuation Make sure that you always indent your paragraph. When you are finished writing, go back over your paragraph and check for spelling and punctuation errors.