Textual Matters
Textual Matters
Clutter is the disease of American writing. We are a society strangling with unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills, and meaningless jargon.
– William Zinsser
Carefully written words and well-constructed sentences make up the building blocks of writing. Now it’s time to discuss how you can put these blocks together for the best results. In this module, we will discuss the basic parts of paragraphs and some tips on organizing your paragraphs.
The Basic Parts
The 3 Basic Parts of a Paragraph:
Topic Sentence: The topic sentence is the first sentence in a paragraph. It introduces the main idea of the entire paragraph. It is also called the ‘controlling sentence’ because it gives the writer direction on where the discussion within that paragraph should go.
Supporting Sentence: Supporting sentence(s) expand your topic sentence. They comprise the main body of your paragraph. There can be more than one supporting sentence in a paragraph, and they should be arranged in the best logical order.
Closing Sentence: The closing sentence is the last sentence in a paragraph. It reminds the reader what the paragraph is all about, often by restating the main idea behind the entire discussion or offering a conclusion. The closing sentence is like a ‘clincher’ statement.
Brief check
Understanding the three basic parts of a paragraph ensures that your writing is clear and focused.
Note that not all paragraphs have to contain these three basic parts, but these parts serve as a good guideline for creating cohesive paragraphs.
Organization Methods
The following are some tips for organizing your paragraphs:
- Keep your main idea central. Before you begin writing any business document, you have a central idea that you wish to impart. If you’re writing a proposal, for example, your main idea might be that ‘this solution is what would solve the problem most satisfactorily.’ Keep this idea in mind, and weed out information that does not support your main idea.
- Decide how to best explain your main idea. Once you have the main idea, decide what facts or topics best support your idea. Present them in logical order.
- Whenever possible, outline first before starting on any writing. It will give you an idea of how the topic will play out.
Below is an example of an outline:
Main Idea:
- Supporting Idea 1.
- Supporting detail for Idea 1
- Supporting detail for Idea 1
- Supporting detail for Idea 1
- Supporting Idea 2.
- Supporting detail for Idea 2
- Supporting detail for Idea 2
- Supporting detail for Idea 2
- Supporting Idea 3.
- Supporting detail for Idea 3
- Supporting detail for Idea 3
- Supporting detail for Idea 3
Use linking words
Linking words are words that assist build clear connections between ideas. They also help guarantee that phrases and paragraphs flow together smoothly, which makes them simpler to read.
The most prevalent group of connecting terms in business writing is broken down and summarized in the following table:
| Function | Signals | Examples |
| Addition | And | Your salary adjustment has been reviewed and approved by the operations committee. |
| Addition | In addition | In addition to cleaning the valve, the entire machine was inspected. |
| Addition | Also | The parts are cheap and they are also well made. |
| Addition | Moreover | The supplier will deliver the unit. Moreover, he will supervise its installation on site. |
| Addition | Furthermore | You are requested to submit the drawing for the Gas Project. Furthermore, inform us of the starting date. |
| Cause and Effect | Because (of) | The flight was delayed because of fog. |
| Cause and Effect | Due to | Internet users had a hard time accessing the web due to the international hacking competition yesterday. |
| Cause and Effect | Therefore | The pay rate is not clearly defined. Therefore, it is recommended that the contract should not be signed yet. |
| Cause and Effect | As a result | The morale and overall capabilities of our trainees have shown a remarkable improvement as a result of your efforts. |
| Cause and Effect | Consequently | The spare parts did not arrive on time. Consequently, I contacted the suppliers. |
| Cause and Effect | Hence | The number of trainees has been increased. Hence, we should monitor their attendance and performance. |
| Contrast | But |
The software is expensive, but it meets our requirements. |
| Contrast | However | The meeting scheduled for Monday was cancelled. However, we will meet sometime next week. |
| Contrast | Yet | This is acceptable, yet it could be better. |
| Contrast | Although | Although no complaints have been received, we think that the use of the internet must now be monitored. |
| Purpose | In order to |
We are writing to you in order to clarify certain confusing points. |
| Purpose | So that | The new employees must be trained in a practical hands-on manner so that we can bring their performance up to acceptable levels.
|
| Purpose | So | Our office printer is running low on ink, so please refrain from printing unimportant documents for the time being. |
| Concession | Despite | Despite being issued a warning letter, your attendance record has not improved. |
| Concession | In spite of | In spite of previous memos, private car owners are still parking their cars in the administration building areas. |
| Alternatives |
Either . . . or . . .
|
We plan either to adjust your salary or to promote you to operations supervisor. |
| Alternatives |
Neither . . . nor . . . |
We have neither the spare parts nor the manpower to carry out this task. |
| Alternatives | Or | Do you need to receive your order in one day or in three days? |
Brief check
Avoid using difficult words when simple words will communicate your message.
As you write, remember that the goal of business writing is to communicate with your readers, not to impress them with your vocabulary.
Below are good examples of simple words to be used rather than difficult ones in order to convey your message clearly to your readers.
Unclear: He discerned that the promulgated policy would work.
Clear: He knew the proposed policy would work.
Unclear: As stipulated, we extrapolated the budget figures for two years.
Clear: required, we estimated the budget figures for two years.
Unclear: Will you utilize instruction manuals during the obligatory training period?
Clear: Will you use instruction manuals during the required training period?
Unclear: We anticipate that most of the options will be fundamental enough to meet our needs.
Clear: We expect that most of the options will be basic enough to meet our needs.
Unclear: Remember to incorporate all the other good writing principles you have learned in this course.
Clear: Remember to include all the other good writing principles you have learned in this course.
Practical Application
Karen needed a paper that was comprehensive and informative regarding the existing business plan. It was necessary for her to organize the concepts she wanted to convey in her writing into paragraphs so that she could do so more effectively. The first thing she did was create an outline for her paper. This enabled her to see her thoughts laid out in a manner similar to a map, which facilitated the process of organizing them into a coherent whole. After that, she made each paragraph make more sense and increased their readability of them by grouping the sentences into the theme sentence, the sentences that supported the topic sentence, and the sentences that closed the paragraph. She took a step back and looked at her work, and when she did, it was precisely how she had envisioned it.
