We explain what a paragraph is, the types that exist, how they are recognized and their characteristics. Also, examples of various kinds.
All texts contain paragraphs, even if it is only one.What is a paragraph?
The units of text made up of a finite number of prayers written sequentially, addressing the same topic, into which any document can be divided.
The word "paragraph" comes from the Greek paragraphs, composed of the prefix for- ("Next to") and graphos (“writing"Or" letter "). Seen this way, a paragraph is nothing more than the set of writing that goes together or that corresponds to a unit. If the letters form words, and the words form sentences, then the sentences form paragraphs.
All texts contain paragraphs, even if it is only one. They are easily recognized in writing because they start with capital letters and end with a full stop. They usually end when one idea or perspective on a topic has been exhausted by the author, that is, when he no longer has anything else to add about it, and for that reason he opens a new paragraph and continues with other ideas or perspectives.
The jump from one paragraph to another usually occurs through connectors or links, which allow to arrange the information in hierarchical paragraphs, cohesive and organized in logical sequence. Thus, the final text is coherent and cohesive, enjoyable for reading.
Thus, a long, one-paragraph text can be exhausting to use. read, since it does not give the reader any rest, while a text broken down into too many paragraphs can appear disjointed, fragmentary or scattered.
Paragraph characteristics
In general, paragraphs are characterized by the following:
- They are made up of a variable set of sentences: from a single word to many sentences, but it always has a main or essential sentence, the information of which constitutes the thematic nucleus of the paragraph, that is, its central idea. This sentence can be explicit or implicit, both at the beginning, middle or end of the paragraph.
- The rest of the sentences, which are not the main one, therefore, are secondary sentences that expand their meaning, contextualize it or complete it.
- The paragraphs must be coherent and cohesive, that is, they must be able to be understood in themselves (with respect to their parts), and at the same time their link with the previous and / or subsequent paragraphs must be understood.
- They always start with capital letters and end with a full stop, separating their sentences with periods and followed. The organization of sentences within the paragraph is usually free, especially in fictional texts, but in general an internal organization of the paragraph that starts with the most general and goes towards the specific, or vice versa, is preferred.
Paragraph types
Paragraphs can be classified in many different ways. For example, according to its positioning within the text, a paragraph can be introductory, middle or closing. On the other hand, they can be classified according to the visual or graphic organization of their sentences, in:
- Ordinary, normal or Spanish paragraphs, the most frequently used, whose distinctive feature is the indentation in the first line, with the rest framed at the same width and without separating the following paragraphs with blank spaces.
- Modern, block or German paragraphs, on the other hand, do not use indents in any case, but use a white line (interline) to separate from the next paragraph.
- Summary or French paragraphs are the counterpart of the Spanish, since all their lines are indented except the first. They are usually used in dictionaries, bibliographies or indexes.
Paragraph examples
Here are some examples of paragraphs of different types:
- Example of ordinary paragraphs:
- Example of modern paragraphs:
It did not stop. With desperation that bordered on madness, ignoring the pain, he hurried up the slope until he reached the top of the hill behind which his companion had disappeared. Only his gait was even more grotesque and comical than the faltering limp of the one who had preceded him. When he reached the ridge, what came into view was a shallow valley completely devoid of life. He fought the fear again, mastered it, pushed the bundle further to his left shoulder and stumbled down the slope.
The bottom of the valley was flooded with a water that the thick moss held, like a sponge, on the surface. With each step small jets leaped, and each time he lifted a foot the action culminated in a sucking sound, as if the moss were reluctant to release its prey. He moved from swamp to swamp, following in his companion's footsteps along and through the steep rows of rocks that emerged like islets in a sea of moss.
(Text taken from the story "Love of life" by Jack London)
- Example of summary paragraphs:
Example
1. m. Case or fact that happened in another time, which is proposed, either to be imitated and followed, if it is good and honest, or to be avoided if it is bad.
2. m. Action or conduct that may incline others to imitate it.
3. m. Fact, text or clause that is cited to verify, illustrate or authorize an assertion, doctrine or opinion.
(Text taken from the Dictionary of the Language of the Royal Spanish Academy).
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