A capstone manuscript is held together by paragraphs, not sentences. A clean paragraph has one idea, evidence, and a link to the next paragraph. This lesson sets the standard you will hold every body paragraph to.
Anatomy Of A Strong Paragraph
Element
Sentence
Purpose
Topic sentence
1
States the paragraph's idea
Evidence
1-3
Cited support
Analysis
1-2
Says what the evidence means
Link forward
1
Bridges to the next paragraph
Words Per Paragraph
Length
Words
When Used
Tight
60-90
Definitions, transitions
Standard
100-160
Body paragraphs
Extended
170-220
Synthesis paragraphs
Too long
250+
Split it
Self-Check Questions
For every paragraph, ask:
Can a reader summarise this paragraph in one sentence?
Does the paragraph cite at least one source (in Chapter 2)?
Does the analysis tell me what the citation means?
Does the last sentence point me toward the next paragraph?
Anti-Patterns
Anti-Pattern
Fix
Two ideas in one paragraph
Split
No citation in Chapter 2 paragraph
Add or remove the paragraph
Citation-stacking with no analysis
Add a sentence explaining what the citations mean together
Discussion
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