Types of paragraphs

1. TYPES OF PARAGRAPHS
By: Angela Caballero
Mónica María Cabrera

2. Paragraph
A paragraph is a linguistic unit that presents formal characteristics and
content that differentiates it from other parts of the text.
● It consists of one or several sentences that communicate an idea.
● It offers an organization of thought that are all related to the same
idea.
● Communicates the fundamental idea expressively or implicitly.

3. types of paragraphs
Descriptive, narrative, argumentative, persuasive
and expository paragraphs are the most
commonly used.
We can classify paragraphs by their: content,
location and their logical structure.

4. types of paragraphs: By content:
● Argumentative: is an opinion supported by facts. This paragraph presents a strong point of view and
provides evidence for the point of view chosen to defend.
● Descriptive: requires to record a series of detailed observations. Description is not what you saw per se,
but rather, what readers need to see in order to imagine the scene, person, object, etc. themselves.
● Narrative: It is a sequential presentation of the events that finish into a story. Narration usually contains
characters, a setting, a conflict and finally, a resolution
● Persuasive: To persuade people to change their minds or it is presented as a call to action, more is
needed than your opinion or sense of conviction, you must provide evidence.
● Expository: Exposition is explanatory writing. Exposition can be either an incidental part of a
description or a narration, or it can be the heart of an article.
● Conceptual: A conceptual paragraph is used to express the definition of a topic, concept or term that
will be used later in a book or in an article (scientific or in technical texts).
● Chronological: This class of paragraph expresses a series of events in the exact order that they
occurred.
● Enumerative: This paragraph is composed of a series of characteristics that allude to the same subject
and an organizing phrase that allows us to understand what is being ordered.
● Explicative/Explanatory: These paragraphs are useful for expanding upon or further specifying the
topic which is being addressed.

5. argumentative Example:
There are many reasons why I don’t smoke. First,
smoking is unhealthy. It can cause lung cancer, and it
can lead to an early death. Furthermore, smoking is
expensive. A pack of cigarettes costs five dollars. If I
bought one pack of cigarettes every day, I would
spend over $1500 each year. Lastly, cigarettes smell
bad. When people smoke, you can smell the cigarettes
on their clothes all day. For example, the other night, I
went to a restaurant that allowed smoking. After I left,
all of my clothes smelled terrible, as did my hair. If I were
a smoker, I would smell that way all the time. To sum up,
I don’t smoke because it is unhealthy, expensive, and
unattractive.

6. DESCRIPTIVE Example:
Have you ever had a moment that was set in your memory
like a snapshot? I have one, and it is of my Grandma. Her
hair was brown and wavy resting just below her shoulders.
Her face, fair and smooth, was adorned with brown tinted
glasses through which her beautiful brown eyes shown
brightly when the light caught them just right. You could
have mistaken her smile for a movie star's. It could have
brightened a whole city! Her laugh could encourage
anyone to laugh along with her. She had a light inside her
that anyone could see. She was wise beyond her years. She
taught me new things in the years she was here. This is why I
hold this "snapshot" close to my heart.

7. narrative Example:
I remember when I first arrived in the United States. Even before
the plane landed, the little windows in the airplane revealed
snow and ice-covered houses and buildings. As I walked off the
plane, cold air crept through the corrugated ramp that led to the
airport terminal. Some people inside the airport were wearing big
coats and hats, which I had seen on television, but never up
close. I felt a little dizzy and needed to sit down, and then my cell
phone rang. It was my Aunt Sophia. She was waiting for me
outside in the passenger pick-up area, so I walked quickly to the
exit, forgetting all about my luggage. When the sliding glass door
opened to the outside, there was my aunt--a woman I hadn't
seen in over ten years--wearing a parka and waving her arms
frantically in my direction.

8. CRONOLOGICAL Example:
The life and death of a star begins somewhere in space.
Astronomers claim that a star begins as a cloud of
hydrogen and helium. As the cloud moves about it collects
bits of dust and more floating gases. Then the cloud begins
to warm as more dust and gases are pulled into it. After a
long period of time as the cloud becomes denser, heat
and friction cause the atoms to explode. That is how a star
is born. The star will burn for about ten billion years as it
radiates heat and energy. When the hydrogen begins to
burn out the star becomes even larger. At this stage, it gives
off a lot of light but not much energy. The star may
continue to burn brightly but dies when it runs out of
hydrogen. This is the life cycle of a star.

9. explicative / explanatory Example:
There are many advantages to purchasing fresh fruit and vegetables
as an alternative to popular processed food items at your local
grocery store. While potato chips and donuts are tasty and frozen
food is convenient, a habit of eating food prepared in a factory leads
to overall poor nutrition and can cause bad health. These ill effects
result in increased visits to the dentist or the family physician. A bag of
apples might cost more than a bag of Cheetos, but savings in health
costs far outweigh the immediate savings at the cash register. Besides,
pound for pound, fresh food often turns out to be cheaper than
packaged food. Many people forget that when they buy something
that is packaged or frozen, they are also buying the packaging which
lures shoppers into buying the product. Commercials on television
successfully convince consumers that the decisions to buy packaged
food is logical, but facts about nutrition and value prove otherwise.

10. types of paragraphs: By location:
● Opening: It is the first section that introduces the text. Its function is fundamental, since
the author presents the problem here, raises a thesis, attracts the interest of the reader,
etc. * Typology: Synthesis, phrases or interrogative phrases, anecdotes and outside quotes.
● Transition: Serves to smoothly change topics, functioning as a bridge for the
continuation of the text or to move from one part to the next. It uses expressions such
as: consequently, therefore, nevertheless, in spite of the above, in addition, finally, and so
on, etc.
● Closing paragraphs: In these paragraphs, the general idea of the text is summarized
and a summary of it is provided as well. *It brings all previous points into a unified meaning and
tries to leave a good impression on the reader.

11. types of paragraphs: according to their logical structure:
● Comparative/Comparison: This paragraph presents similarities and differences between two or more
objects, events or ideas.
● Cause and effect: As its name indicates, this paragraph presents a fact which, in turn, creates
consequences that can result from it.
● Paragraph of approach and resolution of a problem: It is structured in two parts:
1) The first part presents the problem, in a clear or hidden manner.
2) In the second one, the solution is revealed and applied in the same way that the problem was
previously presented.
● Sequence or process: These types of paragraphs describe a series of events or a process in some sort
of organized order.
● Deductive: the main idea is placed at the beginning, to build upon it is constructed generally and then
presented specifically in cases.
● Inductive: the main idea is placed at the end. In this way specific cases are used early on to arrive at a
generalization that concludes what was previously affirmed.
● Conclusion: These paragraphs express the closing of a section or a certain topic.

12. comparative/comparison Example:
My hometown and my college town have several things
in common. First, both are small rural communities. For
example, my hometown, Gridlock, has a population of
only about 10,000 people. Similarly, my college town,
Subnormal, consists of about 11,000 local residents. This
population swells to 15,000 people when the college
students are attending classes. A second way in which
these two towns are similar is that they are both located
in rural areas. Gridlock is surrounded by many acres of
farmland which is devoted mainly to growing corn and
soybeans. In the same way, Subnormal lies in the center
of farmland which is used to raise hogs and cattle.

13. cause and effect Example:
In recent decades, cities have grown so large that now about 50% of
the Earth's population lives in urban areas. There are several reasons
for this occurrence. First, the increasing industrialization of the
nineteenth century resulted in the creation of many factory jobs,
which tended to be located in cities. These jobs, with their promise of
a better material life, attracted many people from rural areas.
Second, there were many schools established to educate the
children of the new factory laborers. The promise of a better
education persuaded many families to leave farming communities
and move to the cities. Finally, as the cities grew, people established
places of leisure, entertainment, and culture, such as sports stadiums,
theaters, and museums. For many people, these facilities made city
life appear more interesting than life on the farm, and therefore drew
them away from rural communities.

14. deductive Example:
There are some ways for students to earn money.
First, they work in some place. We can manage the
time for it. For example, we get home from school
on 1 pm, and on 2 pm until 4 pm we are working in
some places. So, although we are working in some
places, we can also doing homework. Second, we
make some efforts like businessman. We can sell
something like food, drinks, book, and many more.
Finally, teach someone who younger than us such
as pre-school students, kindergarten students, senior
high school students, and many more.

15. inductive Example:
Being in middle school is difficult for those moving on from
elementary school. When you are in middle school, the work
gets harder, the amount of homework increases, and your
parents give you more responsibilities because you are older.
Even though you are older, you are still not old enough to
drive or be out for long periods of time by yourself. You are in
an uncomfortable space between being a teenager and
being a little child. The middle school years are not easy.

16. references:
● Enciclopedia de Clasificaciones. (2016). Tipos de párrafos. Recuperado de:
http://www.tiposde.org/lengua-y-literatura/67-tipos-de-parrafos/
● M.L.METZ. (2012, May 24). Redacción y estilo. Retrieved May, 2017, from
http://www.umla.edu.mx/PlataformaDigital/Apuntes%20de%20Alumnos/Comunicacion/2006%20REDACCION%2
0Y%20ESTILO/13%20REDACCION%20Y%20ESTILO.pdf
● SANTOS, M. J. (n.d.). Tipos de párrafos (Según su contenido, su estructura lógica y su ubicación). May, 2007
http://www.monografias.com/trabajos93/tipos-parrafos-segun-su-contenido-su-estructura-logica-y-su-ubicacion
/tipos-parrafos-segun-su-contenido-su-estructura-logica-y-su-ubicacion.shtml
● Chronology - Sample paragraph. Recuperado en:
http://www.sponsoravillage.ca/2010/01/chronology-sample-paragraph/
● Expository paragraphs. Recuperado en:
http://www.learnamericanenglishonline.com/Write_in_English/WL13_expository_paragraphs.html
● Narrative paragraphs. Recuperado en:
http://www.learnamericanenglishonline.com/Write_in_English/WL12_narrative_paragraphs.html
● Inductive paragraph example. Recuperado en:
http://answers.tutorvista.com/372087/inductive-paragraph-example.html#
● The example of deductive paragraph. Recuperado en:
https://myblogfbasyrah.wordpress.com/2013/04/10/the-example-of-deductive-paragraph/
● Cause and Effect Paragraphs. Recuperado en: http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/fwalters/cause.html