Paragraph Size

How Big Is a Paragraph?

A PARAGRAPH IS ONE IDEA LONG

Paragraphs are not (or should not be) measured by word count. They are small essays that develop a Thesis. Call it a Main Idea. They may contain supporting points, evidence, illustrations, and other material that develops the Main Idea, but they DO NOT CONTAIN another Main Idea.

If your 1000-word essay contains just three paragraphs, you’re sending the message to your readers that you don’t have much to say. You have a one-paragraph Introduction, a single Main Idea for the body of your argument, and a one-paragraph Conclusion. If your argument is truly that flimsy, you have a bigger problem than deciding where to break your paragraphs.

As I scroll your arguments through my monitor, I track the size of your paragraphs with keen attention. If they bleed off both the top and the bottom of my screen, I scan the argument to “feel” for natural breaks, where one idea gives way to the next. If I feel no such breaks, I suspect there might not be much going on in the essay.

Yesterday I read an article in The Atlantic about accusations of genocide that South Africa has lodged with the United Nations against Israel. Even before I scanned the document for its arguments, I noticed that the paragraphs almost always fit my screen as I rolled past them. I may return to this article in the future to illustrate that each contains just one Main Idea, but for today I just want to “screen” the text for you to demonstrate Paragraph Size.

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2024/01/why-israel-taking-genocide-case-seriously/677191/?utm_campaign=atlantic-daily-newsletter&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20240119&utm_term=The+Atlantic+Daily