Until
they know how to write a paragraph, students don't feel they are
doing "real writing," even though the hardest part of writing
is the preparation.
Below is an overview of concepts and ideas that you need to teach
paragraph writing.
Essential paragraphs
Students need to know how to write three different kinds of paragraphs.
Body or expository paragraphs
The body paragraph is also called the expository
paragraph. Body paragraphs contain the evidence
to support the thesis. When we talk about teaching how to
write a paragraph, we usually mean teaching body paragraph writing.
In writing that uses the thesis + support pattern, body paragraphs
typically begin with a topic
sentence that tells what the paragraph is about. If the topic
sentence isn't the opening sentence of a body paragraph, it is
most likely to be the last sentence.
In academic writing, evidence is presented in the same way
evidence is presented in conversation. I call the familiar
three-step process of developing evidence
the evidence waltz.
Within the paragraph transitional words and phrases function
like road signs to show readers how one idea is like or
unlike the previous one. Linking
devices are the glue that makes sentences into paragraphs.
Transitional expressions and linking devices may be combined
to create transition
sentences.
Introductory paragraphs
The introductory
paragraph prepares the reader to understand the thesis, which
is usually the last sentence of the introduction.
Although introductions are the first things readers see, introductions
should be one of the last paragraphs students write. Get tips
for teaching introductory paragraphs.
Conclusion paragraphs
The conclusion
or ending paragraph lets the reader know the writer has finished.

Like all other components of writing skills, how to write a paragraph
needs to be taught repeatedly in short sessions over many months.