AN APPROACH TO PARAGRAPHS
Getting off to a good start
Still an Unequal World, Human Development Report (Washington, D.C.: United Nations Development Programme, 1995), p. 29.
“Clearing the Killing Fields,” The Economist 347, no. 8066 (2 May 1998): 73.
“Word of Mouse,” The Economist 347, no. 8066 (2 May 1998): 57.
W. John Moore, “An Albatross Named Bill,” National Journal 26, no. 42 (15 October 1994): 2406.
Solange De Santis, “Nice Bagpipes, Man, But Don’t You Feel a Draft in That Skirt?” Wall Street Journal, 12 October 1994, sec. A, p. 1.
Paul Krugman, “Not for Ordinary Folk,” (www.redherring.com/mag/school.html) issue 38.
“Triumphant abroad,” in Survey: Asia’s Emerging Economies, The Economist 321, no. 7733 (16 November 1991): 7.
Meg Greenfield, “Unsexing the Military,” Newsweek 129, no. 24 (16 June 1997): 80.
E. M. Forster, Aspects of the Novel (New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1955), p. 83.
Summing up
A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., “Breaking Thurgood Marshall’s Promise,” New York Times Magazine, 18 January 1998, sec. 6, p. 29.
Jonathan Broder, “Tangier,” Smithsonian 29, no. 4 (July 1988): 100.
“The Last Communists,” The Economist 346, no. 8051 (17 January 1998): 21.
“From Morgan’s Nose to Milken’s Wig,” in Survey: International Finance, The Economist 319, no. 7704 (27 April 1991): 12.
“The Somali Spectre,” The Economist 333, no. 7883 (1 October 1994): 20.
1. UNIFY YOUR PARAGRAPHS AROUND STRONG POINTS
Be clear about your subject
“Where the Old China Lives On,” The Economist 334, no. 7897 (14 January 1995): 33.
“The Interminable Net,” The Economist 338, no. 7951 (3 February 1996): 70.
Make a strong point
“Sacking the Powers-That-Be,” The Economist 333, no. 7884 (8 October 1994): 99.
“No Going Back,” The Economist 335, no. 7917 (3 June 1995): 17.
“China Odyssey,” The Economist 337, no. 7937 (21 October 1995): 91.
Be sure every sentence bears on the point
“Nobel Game Theory,” Wall Street Journal, 12 October 1994, sec. A, p. 14.
Stephen Kinzer, “A Climate for Demagogues,” Atlantic 273, no. 2 (February 1994): 21–22.
“Risk and Reward,” in Survey: Asia’s Emerging Economies, The Economist 321, no. 7773 (16 November 1991): 6.
Repeat a key term
“The Death of Distance,” The Economist 336, no. 7934 (30 September 1995): 6–7.
“Scribble, Scribble, Mr Gibbon,” The Economist 334, no. 7897 (14 January 1995): 75.
David Shribman, “Mr. Speaker,” New York Times Book Review, 21 April 1996, sec. 7, p. 15.
Repeat a sentence structure—for sentences doing the same work
David Shribman, “Mr. Speaker,” New York Times Book Review, 21 April 1996, sec. 7, p. 15.
“If Wall Street Falters,” The Economist 340, no. 7973 (6 July 1996): 19.
Herbert Stein, “High Life on the Potomac,” Slate (www.slate.com) 17 April 1997.
Count the elements
Herbert Stein, “Reading the Inaugurals,” Slate (www.slate.com), 10 January 1997.
“Still an Unequal World,” The Human Development Report 1995 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), p. 29.
“Just Like Ringing a Bell,” in Survey: The Music Business. The Economist 321, no. 7738 (21 December 1991): 4.
Signal what’s to come
“Can Labour Learn to Love Profit?” The Economist 334, no. 7897 (14 January 1995): 49.
“The Voice of Economic Nationalism,” Atlantic 282 no. 1 (July 1998): 100.
“The Shan Connection,” The Economist 338, no. 7947 (6 January 1996): 27.
Stick to one subject
“Endicott Peabody,” The Economist 345, no. 8047 (13 December 1997): 80.
“How to Kill Your Multimedia Industry,” The Economist 333, no. 7889 (12 November 1994): 87.
“It Seems to Me,” Slate (www.slate.com), 6 February 1997.
Stick to one verb form
“Paradise Retained,” The Economist 338, no. 7951 (3 February 1996): 72.
Henry R. Luce, The American Century (New York: Farrar and Rinehart, 1941), p. 32.
2. MAKE YOUR POINTS IN COMPELLING WAYS
Lead with the point and support it
“Unjammed,” The Economist 347, no. 8069 (23 May 1998): 74.
Ken Wells, “The Ancient Baobab Is a Sight to Behold, and That’s the Rub,” Wall Street Journal, 20 March 1997, sec. A, p. 1.
“For Richer, for Poorer,” The Economist 333, no. 7888 (5 November 1994): 20.
Lead with the point and conclude with a comment
“Geo-political Earthquake,” The Economist 335, no. 7917 (3 June 1995): 45.
Thomas T. Samaras, “Let’s Get Small,” Harper’s 289, no. 1736 (January 1995): 32–33.
“Banking on the Fed,” The Economist 337, no. 7937 (21 October 1995): 80.
“The Fundamentals of Editing,” The Economist 338, no. 7957 (16 March 1996): 82.
“At Last, a People’s Art,” The Economist 346, no. 8051 (17 January 1998): 77.
Lead with the point and, using conjunctions, join details
“The Trouble with Teams,” The Economist 334, no. 7897 (14 January 1995): 61.
“Blood Disorder,” The Economist 338, no. 7958 (23 March 1996): 49.
Lead with the point and list disparate details
Jeffrey Goldberg, “Our Africa,” New York Times Magazine, 2 March 1997, sec. 6, p. 76.
“One Swallow,” The Economist 342, no. 8009 (22 March 1997): 65.
Lead with the point and follow it with a bulleted list
UNDP—World Bank, Water and Sanitation Program Annual Report, July 1994–June 1995 (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1996), pp. 64–65.
UNDP, Human Development Report 1995 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), p. 39.
Conclude with the point after introducing the subject
“Slicing the Cake,” The Economist 333, no. 7888 (5 November 1994): 13.
Paul Krugman, “The CPI and the Rat Race,” Slate (www.slate.com), 21 December 1996.
Conclude with the point after listing disparate details
“To Bury or to Praise,” The Economist 337, no. 7937 (21 October 1995): 23.
“The Mall of Dreams,” The Economist 339, no. 7964 (4 May 1996): 23.
Make the point in the middle
“The Aspic of History,” The Economist 338, no. 7947 (6 January 1996): 67.
Richard Rorty, “Demonizing the Academy,” Harper’s 289, no. 1736 (January 1995): 13.
Undermine a premise at the end of a paragraph
“The Age of Social Transformation,” Atlantic 274, no. 5 (November 1994): 64.
“Owners vs. Managers,” The Economist 333, no. 7884 (8 October 1994): 20.
Undermine a premise immediately
Russell Jacoby, “The Ivory Tower Obscurity Fetish,” Harper’s, 289, no. 1732 (September 1994): 26.
Herbert Stein, “The Cubist Republican,” Slate (www.slate.com), 15 May 1997.
Undermine a premise in the middle of the paragraph
“The Age of Social Transformation,” Atlantic 274, no. 5 (November 1994): 59.
“Under New Management,” The Economist 333, no. 7884 (8 October 1994): 21.
Start with a question and answer it immediately
“Short Guys Finish Last,” The Economist 337, no. 7946 (23 December 1995): 19.
“The Survival of the Fittest,” The Economist 337, no. 7937 (21 October 1995): 92.
“Doubts, Hesitancy, Determination,” The Economist 346, no. 8055 (14 February 1998): 51.
“A Sobering View,” The Economist 334, no. 7897 (14 January 1995): 74.
Start with a question and answer it in succeeding sentences
“The Poor Get Richer,” The Economist 333, no. 7888 (5 November 1994): 39.
Marcy Lamm, “A New York Court May Decide When a Cough Drop Gets Stale,” Wall Street Journal, 18 June 1996, sec. B, p. 1.
Start with a question and answer it at the end
“The Philosopher’s Pupil,” The Economist 338, no. 7948 (13 January 1996): 77.
“On the Rocks,” in East Asian Economies Survey, The Economist 346, no. 8058 (7 March 1998): 7.
Ask several questions and answer each immediately
“To Bury or to Praise,” The Economist 337, no. 7937 (21 October 1995): 27.
Paul Krugman, “In Praise of Cheap Labor,” Slate (www.slate.com), 20 March 1997.
Imply the point in a series of details or examples
“The Ups and Downs of Two Italian Rivals,” The Economist 342, no. 8008 (15 March 1997): 56.
Andrew Jacobs, “Where Prices Are out of This World,” New York Times, 18 November 1997, sec. A, p. 16.
Imply the point in a series of questions
Norman Myers, Ultimate Security: The Environmental Basis of Political Stability (Washington D.C.: Island Press, 1993), p. 153.
“To Bury or to Praise,” The Economist 337, no. 7937 (21 October 1995): 23.
“A Disease of Society,” The Economist 333, no. 7888 (5 November 1994): 48.
Imply the point by presenting two sides
“How to Sit on a Useless Pile,” The Economist 335, no. 7917 (3 June 1995): 33.
Bruce Stokes, “Out of the Rubble,” National Journal 26, no. 42 (15 October 1994): 2398.
Imply the point in an analogy or syllogism
“From Morgan’s Nose to Milken’s Wig,” in Survey: International Finance, The Economist 319, no. 7704 (27 April 1991): 12.
“Your Obedient Servant,” in Survey: International Finance, The Economist 319, no. 7704 (27 April 1991): 43.
Deirdre N. McCloskey, The Rhetoric of Economics (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1985), p. 3.
3. LINK YOUR PARAGRAPHS
Repeat a word or phrase from the end of the preceding paragraph
“O Rare John Smith,” The Economist 335, no. 7917 (3 June 1995): 32.
“The Fundamentals of Editing,” The Economist 338, no. 7957 (16 March 1996): 81.
Turn the repeated word into a question
“Who Speaks for Cyberspace?” The Economist 334, no. 7897 (14 January 1995): 64.
“Sad Dreams by the Nile,” The Economist 335, no. 7917 (3 June 1995): 35.
Repeat an opening word or phrase
“Model Behaviour,” The Economist 346, no. 8057 (28 February 1998): 80.
“The Aspic of History,” The Economist 338, no. 7947 (6 January 1996): 67.
Signal what’s to come
Julie Kosterlitz, “The Second Wave,” National Journal 26, no. 42 (15 October 1994): 2393.
“Fazed,” The Economist 335, no. 7917 (3 June 1995): 69.
Establish pairs across paragraphs
Edward Luttwak, “The CIA Is Déclassé,” Slate (www.slate.com), 29 March 1997.
Ask a question at the end of one paragraph and answer it at the beginning of the next
“A Blue Chip on a New Block,” The Economist 334, no. 7897 (14 January 1995): 65.
“Italy’s Millennial Tangle,” The Economist 345, no. 8047 (13 December 1997): 46.
Ask a question at the beginning of the second paragraph
“Gold: A Repulsive Metal but a Noble One,” The Economist 335, no. 7917 (3 June 1995): 76.
“Consciences and Consequences,” The Economist 335, no. 7917 (3 June 1995): 13.
“Germany’s ‘Silverbullet,’ ” The Economist 346, no. 8051 (17 January 1998): 69.
Make a comment
“Mediterranean Blues,” The Economist 334, no. 7897 (14 January 1995): 14.
“The Many-Handed Mr. Eizenstat,” The Economist 346, no. 8052 (24 January 1998): 30.
Count
“Valuing Virtue,” The Economist 347, no. 8070 (30 May 1998): 57.
“Scribble, scribble Mr. Gibbon,” The Economist 334, no. 7897 (14 January 1995): 75.
Place paragraphs in time
“The Russians Are Coming,” The Economist 334, no. 7897 (14 January 1995): 34.
“The Fundamentals of Editing,” The Economist 338, no. 7957 (16 March 1996): 81.
Announce an example
“Can Labour Learn to Love Profit?” The Economist 334, no. 7897 (14 January 1995): 49.
“Let the Law, at Least, Be Clearheaded,” The Economist 346, no. 8059 (14 March 1998): 25.
String examples together
“Leadership on the Cheap,” The Economist 339, no. 7964 (4 May 1996): 30.
“Principles of Surgery,” The Economist 334, no. 7897 (14 January 1995): 52.
Undermine
Bruce Stokes, “Out of the Rubble,” National Journal 26, no. 42 (15 October 1994): 2398.
“On a Roll,” The Economist 345, no. 8038 (11 October 1997): 74.
“Jam Tomorrow,” in Survey: Business in Eastern Europe, The Economist 320, no. 7725 (21 September 1991): 4.
EXEMPLARY PARAGRAPHS
“A Golden Age of Discovery,” The Economist 337, no. 7946 (23 December 1995): 56–58.