Paragraph:
A paragraph is a short group of structured sentences with a single theme, cohesiveness, and flow. This article will provide you with an overview of the many types of paragraphs with examples of each.
Paragraph Types:
One may categorize paragraphs based on their structure into four main types. They all have various features, and they will benefit many parts of your content.
You can use paragraphs in countless ways to depict or illustrate various things. However, it is a must to have a thorough understanding of the use of the different paragraph types appropriately for any given purpose.
The different kinds of paragraphs are as follows:
- Descriptive Paragraph
- Expository Paragraph
- Narrative Paragraph
- Persuasive Paragraph
Find Grammar, spelling, style, and more writing issues with the Sentence checker.
Descriptive Paragraph:
A “descriptive paragraph” is a piece of writing in which the writer enlightens the reader with details on a specific topic. Writers often draw inspiration from personal experiences. The author employs vivid imagery to entice the reader’s senses. It makes it easier for the reader to envision themselves existing in the environment that the author depicts. In short, descriptive paragraphs do precisely what their name implies. They provide a thorough account of a particular person, thing, or event.
Descriptive Paragraph’s Illustration:
“The lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun, and now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music, and the opera of voices pitches a key higher. Laughter is “easier minute by minute, spilled with prodigality, tipped out at a cheerful word. The groups change more swiftly, swell with new arrivals, dissolve and form in the same breath; already there are wanderers, confident girls who weave here and there among the stouter and more stable, become from a sharp, joyous moment the center of a group, and then, excited with triumph, glide on through the sea-change of faces and voices and color under the constantly changing light.” (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
It is an extract from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. You can get a good sense of the environment in which the narrative is taking place by reading the paragraph. If you want to get better at writing descriptive paragraphs, you should practice addressing every facet of the external reality in your practice.
What Doesn’t This Paragraph Kind Serve For?
Don’t use this paragraph type if you want to tell a story. Put another way, you can’t use the descriptive type to narrate a tale or give hints about what a character in the book is thinking or feeling.
Expository Paragraph:
This type of paragraph provides an explanation and guidance. It may also explain how to do something and lead the reader through each step. This kind of paragraph needs a lot of research by the writer. But they may also rely on their own experience and knowledge.
Expository Paragraph’s Illustration:
“All toilet flush tanks work about the same. When the toilet is flushed, the trip handle lifts the tank ball, opening the outlet and letting water flow into the bowl. When the tank is nearly empty, the ball falls back in place over the outlet. The float falls with the water level, opening the water-supply inlet valve just as the outlet is being closed, and the tank is refilled through the filler tube. Water also flows through the bowl refill tube into the overflow pipe to replenish trap-sealing water. As the water level in the tank nears the top of the overflow pipe, the float closes the inlet valve, completing the cycle.”
This passage is an extract from Reader’s Digest’s Entire DIY Manual. It states that flushing a toilet sends water moving through its system. Even if you’re not a fan of the subject matter, you may find it educational.
What Doesn’t This Paragraph Kind Serve For?
It is not appropriate to use this type of paragraph to voice an opinion or attempt to sway the reader. Avoid using “loaded phrases” that evoke strong feelings, as this will interfere with the factual aspect of your text.
Narrative Paragraph:
A narrative paragraph contributes to the narrative and ensures that the plot continues to progress. Paragraphs that tell a story will have action, incidents, and intriguing phrases to describe them. These paragraphs serve to maintain the reader’s interest in the narrative. A descriptive paragraph can be both narrative and descriptive at the same time.
A narrative paragraph provides the reader with more background information, such as the events that led to or triggered the story’s current events. These paragraphs are also critical for fiction authors, as they let the reader understand the big picture.
Narrative Paragraph’s Illustration:
“It’s been almost ten years since I first ran for political office. I was thirty-five at the time, four years out of law school, recently married, and generally impatient with life. A seat in the Illinois legislature had opened up, and several friends suggested that I run, thinking that my work as a civil rights lawyer, and contacts from my days as a community organizer, would make me a viable candidate. After discussing it with my wife, I entered the race and proceeded to do what every first-time candidate does: I talked to anyone who would listen. I went to block club meetings and church socials, beauty shops and barbershops. If two guys were standing on a corner, I would cross the street to hand them campaign literature. And everywhere I went, I’d get some version of the same two questions.” (Barack Obama)
In the above passage from his book “The Audacity of Hope,” Barack Obama talks about the struggles of a man who got his start in politics. A good story includes three parts: an introduction, a middle section, and a conclusion that piques the reader’s interest. It possesses all three of those components. It keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, wondering what will happen next.
What Doesn’t This Paragraph Kind Serve For?
You don’t use the narrative paragraph to introduce statistics or convince your readers.
Persuasive Paragraph:
If you want to attract the reader’s attention or make them comprehend and embrace your perspective, use a persuasive paragraph. Building an argument typically involves using persuasive paragraphs. These are rhetorical passages that use factual details to support the discussion and make it more credible. Confidence in a writer’s opinion is necessary for readers to believe what they are reading. The author intends to sway the audience’s perspectives.
Persuasive Paragraph’s Illustration:
“If you choose to use your position and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to point not only to the powerful, but also to the weak; If you keep the power of self-reflection in the lives of those who do not have your own benefits, then not only will your proud families celebrate your existence, but the billions and millions of people you have helped change their reality. We do not need magic to change the world with all the power we need within us: we have the power to think better. “ (Anon Writer)
The author put a lot of time and effort into crafting such a compelling piece. A variety of methods are available at your disposal to make your writing more persuasive. It’s safe to say that those that are good at persuasion put in the same amount of effort.
What Doesn’t This Paragraph Kind Serve For?
Going into a detailed narrative or a thorough description of destinations, situations, or incidents will lead the reader out of existence and into a fantasy world.
Final Words:
Your nonfiction writing will have a richer texture if you use the four-paragraph types illustrated above. Likewise, if you use them strategically, your writing will be much more exciting and engaging for the people who read it.
More From Us:
We hope you like the article where we have covered an extensive piece of information regarding different types of paragraphs. However, if you are keen to read more from us, here are some good relatable articles, exclusively for you:
- Are you having a hard time composing descriptive essays for your English work? Worry not as we have compiled an extensive, easy, and detailed article about 7 Basic Steps to Write a Descriptive Essay. You can read that article by clicking here.
- If you are looking to improve your grammar and writing, we have discovered unique mechanics that will help you cover the most ground. Click here to read our detailed article on Top 10 Mechanics to Improve your Writing and Grammar.
- All in all, if you are not interested to learn everything from the roots, we have the ultimate solution for that situation as well. Click Here and we will take you to our FREE grammar, spelling, and punctuation checker. This checker will help correct and improve everything in your content writing journey. Whether you’re a student, a journalist, a teacher, or just a normal person, this tool helps save tons of time and effort by correcting mistakes within context.
