How Many Sentences In The Average Paragraph?
Answer to ‘How Many Sentences Are In A Paragraph? As a general rule of thumb there are 3 to 7 sentences in a paragraph. Each sentence can have 10 to 20 words on average. The average paragraph length is 100 words.
In practice, three to five or more sentences per paragraph is standard practice when writing essays or reports.
How to write paragraphs people want to read
A paragraph is defined as a group of sentences dealing with the same topic. Each paragraph must have a topic sentence and this is usually found in the first sentence after the introductory opening.
Everything that follows after that will be a support detail to the original topic sentence. For easy understanding, no more than 5 sentences are recommended.
In this article, we will examine how many sentences there should be in a paragraph and why it matters.
What is a 5 sentence paragraph rule?
It is a generally accepted rule that you should not have more than five sentences in a paragraph, but there are also instances when you might want to have only one sentence or two sentences depending on your writing style.
Video – How many sentences should be in a paragraph?
Blog posts for mobile need short paragraphs, that contain one or two sentences to keep readers interested.
When you have too much text, it can be intimidating and readers will be less likely to finish reading the whole article. If you want to write for mobile then you must consider having short paragraphs with one or two sentences.
How long is a paragraph when it’s too much?
Longer paragraphs encourage people to read for longer periods of time, but they can become bored.
Readers will be more willing to read long paragraphs if broken up with images or charts. A reader can skip over parts that they don’t like if most of the piece has been written in a short paragraph style.
How many sentences must a paragraph have?
Do Longer Sentences Make Your Writing Better?
What is a 5 sentence paragraph best for?
If you are writing for print then it is true that slightly longer paragraphs can be better to read.
If your page width is smaller than 80-100 characters then you will tend to have short paragraphs because the reader doesn’t get to see as much of the sentence and this can be irritating for some people.
How does sentence length affect writing?
However, if you write in a long paragraph style then you will get your message across by including more details, therefore your readers won’t feel like they have only been given a short snippet of information.
When people read online then they don’t really care about how long is a paragraph because they are not reading on paper. It’s much more important to space the sentences out, so readers are not presented with big blocks of text.
If writing a citation styles classroom essay then paragraph length will be modified somewhat by the subject and coverage required. However, it’s a general rule that short paragraphs tend to help the main ideas communicate to the reader.
Tips On Writing A Paragraph – Short Paragraphs Make for Easy Reading
Many people believe that a really good paragraph is one that has had a lot of thought and time put into it.
The problem with this is that most readers notice this, which can put them off, and they will be inclined to skip over them thinking that they are not worth reading.
A really good paragraph does not have to be long, you can have paragraphs with only one or two sentences as long as they are interesting and written in a style which the reader will like.
How many sentences are in a paragraph – Elite Content
How many paragraphs should a blog post have?
The length of a paragraph is totally dependent on the content that you are sharing with your readers.
In some instances, you will be able to convey your message within a single paragraph. In other circumstances, it will require additional paragraphs to be written so that you can be more informative.
You must also remember that the number of paragraphs in a blog post is not as important as the amount of quality information you provide when writing blog posts.
How many sentences in one paragraph of a blog post?
How Many Sentences Should Run On One Page?
If you have really long paragraphs and they run onto two pages then this can seem overwhelming and intimidating.
This is particularly tough for your reader if they are just scanning or looking for something specific.
How long does it take to write an article?
If you are writing for print then it can take around 8 hours or more to write 1,000-word articles.
For online writing, you can complete articles within a much smaller amount of time and sometimes in less than an hour.
You must have a proper draft which contains all the facts and information before starting so that this will speed up your writing time.
How many words does the average paragraph have?
If you are writing for print then you will tend to have paragraphs that have between 150-550 words. While there is no minimum number of words, the average is 300 words. You have to be realistic – a single word or single sentence just won’t cover good ideas.
Online writing should be much shorter than this because it is supposed to be easy for the reader to read and understand so that they stay on your page. However, single-sentence paragraphs are never a good idea.
How Many Sentences Are There In A Paragraph Of Writing?
How many sentences makes a good paragraph?
Different writing styles and purposes have different numbers of sentences in their paragraphs.
For example, a thriller novel needs to have simple sentence structure and plenty of dialogue to break up large chunks of text. If not, the reader will become bogged down in too much text.
How many sentences should a paragraph be in a blog post?
A blog post has a completely different structure. Over 60% of blog visitors use mobile phone, which compress the text blocks sideways in, so that it fits nicely on the screen.
If a paragraph has too many sentences then the user sees a big block of text, which is difficult to read. That’s why this blog post has only one or two sentences per paragraph.
Paragraphs with more than one or two sentences are difficult to read on mobile devices
I often find that informational websites like wikipaedia, edu and gov domains have big blocks of text, often uninterrupted by any images or tables to break the monotony.
How Many Sentences Are in a Paragraph? – Study.com
Table – Writing styles compared – number of sentences per paragraph
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Writing purpose |
Average sentences per paragraph |
Average words per sentence |
Reading age (years) |
|
Crime novel |
5 |
15 |
13 |
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Non-fiction |
7 |
25 |
17 |
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Legal document |
12 |
30 |
20 |
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Blog post |
2 |
13 |
15 |
How much sentences is 5 paragraphs?
The number of sentences in 5 paragraphs depends on the purpose of the writing:
- Blog post – 10 sentences/paragraph
- Crime novel – 25 sentences
- Non-fiction – 35 sentences
- Legal – 60 sentences per paragraph
- Business Writing – 20 to 40 sentences
Is 12 sentences too long for a paragraph?
It all depends on the purpose of the writing. There’s no hard and fast rule! (See table above.)
The only criteria really is to ask yourself questions:
- Is the writing going to be in print or on the internet? (Think mobile viewers)
- If you break the 12 sentences into smaller chunks, does it still make sense?
- Is grouping 12 sentences together essential for the overall intent and meaning of the text?
Can a paragraph be 500 words?
A paragraph can be as many words as you like, but 500 words is an awful lot for one paragraph, even in academic text.
For example, if writing a blog post of 1500 words, that would make 3 paragraphs. It would look awful on any internet device and needs breaking up into smaller paragraphs.
How many sentences in a paragraph – Calculator
How long is a 100 word paragraph?
A 100 word paragraph for a novel is about 8 to 10 sentences, depending on line breaks.
How many sentences should be in a paragraph?
This is entirely up to the writer. You need to assess the range of reading skills of your audience and what is the purpose of the writing before deciding on the length of paragraphs.
Novels have short paragraphs so that the reader can move quickly down the page and get drawn into the story.
Questions people ask relating to sentence and paragraph length:
Can 4 sentences be a paragraph?
Yes, 4 sentences can be a paragraph, but it depends on what you are writing for. For an essay for college, 4 sentences might be seen as a little short by your teacher the body of the paragraph might be a little short.
If writing for advertising copy, then you might just have 1 sentence per paragraph! This one sentence would be strong and punchy, making a big impression with a few words.
If writing blog posts for the internet, you need to realise that about 60% of surfers use mobile devices. If paragraphs are long it’s hard to read on a small screen, as all the user sees is a big block of text, which is a bit overwhelming. The main purpose is to always cover the main idea of the paragraph, using transition sentences to relate lengthy paragraphs.
How long is a 5 sentence paragraph?
If a sentence has 17 words (the average is 15 to 20 words) then a 5 sentence paragraph would be 85 words long. This is good length, both for reading and also delivering information.
How long is a paragraph in 7th grade?
A 7th grade teacher usually stipulates 8 sentences as the ideal length for an essay paragraph. At 15 words per sentence, that makes a 7th grade paragraph about 120 words long.
Can a paragraph have 2 sentences?
Yes, a paragraph can indeed have 2 sentences, and this is quite common on the internet, particularly for mobile readers. However, strictly speaking it shouldn’t be considered a paragraph because a 2 sentence paragraph doesn’t convey much information.
I would consider a group of 3 or 4 of these ‘mini-paragraphs’ as a standard essay paragraph.
How long is a paragraph in high school?
As a general rule, a high school essay paragraph should be 5 to 7 sentences long, with each sentence length between 15 to 20 words.
This means the average high school paragraph should be between 100 to 150 words long.
Roundup – How Many Words and Sentences For the Perfect Essay?
A good rule of thumb is to keep your paragraphs at around three sentences long. There is no exact formula for this, but most articles will fall somewhere between two and four sentences. Never forget the main idea of a paragraph is to thoroughly explain the subject presented.
A paragraph can be as short as three sentences, but it is more effective to have at least two. The length of each paragraph will depend on the length of the main body of the text. For example, a three-sentence paragraph can have up to 900 words. Creative writing is very flexible in this regard.
How many words are in a 3 sentence paragraph?
The average paragraph is 100-200 words long, or three to ten sentences. A good rule of thumb is that the first sentence should convey the main idea, and the rest should be supporting information and a conclusion.
Paragraph length can vary, depending on the style of writing, font size, and number of sentences in a paragraph. A short paragraph length is fine for an essay, but you may want to try writing more than that if you’re worried about length.
Can a short sentence be a paragraph?
To make your writing more readable, use shorter sentences. A short sentence focuses the reader’s attention on the content, while long, structure sentences can be hard to read.
If you use uniform sentence lengths, your reader will find your paragraph difficult to follow and understand. This can lead to uneven, unbalanced writing that detracts from the overall content. In addition, busy readers don’t have the time to deconstruct long sentences. As such, keeping sentences short will show them respect.
Can a paragraph be three sentences?
The answer isn’t really a simple yes or no. Some paragraphs are composed entirely of one sentence. Others contain several. There’s no universally accepted length for a paragraph.
For the most part, paragraphs should be three to four sentences long, though it’s possible to write a paragraph of eight lines. Regardless of the length, the goal is to make your writing more readable and human-friendly.
How many sentence should a paragraph have in general?
The problem with these arbitrary rules is that ideas are nebulous and difficult to package. If they aren’t properly packaged, they are unlikely to stay in their proper places. Instead, a paragraph is complete when the author determines that it is.
This misguided effort by educators has led to rules about paragraph length that have no scientific basis. For example, a paragraph can be as long as it takes to reach the end naturally.
How long should 2 paragraphs be?
Traditionally, a paragraph should contain no more than three sentences and should be between 100 and 200 words long. This length is not affected by font size or stylistic preferences. A general rule of thumb is to introduce your main idea in the first sentence and then provide supporting details and a conclusion.
However, it is important to remember that many teachers prefer longer paragraphs to see if you are aware of the topic.
How long is 2 paragraphs?
2 paragraph will contain 20 to 40 sentences on average. Here are some tips for writing longer paragraphs:
While paragraphs can be as short as one sentence, they are not as rigidly defined as we may think. Ideas are slippery and difficult to package. They are unlikely to stay in the designated places. Instead, they may get wrapped around another idea.
Regardless, a paragraph is complete when the author feels it is. Paragraph length guidelines are the result of misguided attempts by educators to teach basic writing skills to children.
Resources relating to number of sentences in a paragraph:
Purdue Online Writing Lab
How Many Sentences in a Paragraph? – Word Counter Blog
How Many Sentences Are in a Paragraph? – Capitalize My Title
Writing Guide: Paragraphs
How Long is a Paragraph? – Grammarly
What is Too Long For a Paragraph?
Some useful information about paragraphs in school and college
This article aims to answer the question: “What is too long for a paragraph?” in high school and college. For 7th graders, how many words are in a paragraph? As well as defining the length of a paragraph, we’ll also explain why shorter paragraphs are better.
A short paragraph contains less information than a long one. Shorter paragraphs have fewer ideas and are not as well developed as long ones. Further research should be done in order to extend the length of the paragraph.
How many sentences is a paragraph in high school?
Throughout elementary and secondary school, you might have been told that a paragraph should be five or six sentences long. While that might be true, the length is not the only factor. You can write a paragraph that is only one sentence long, or a paragraph that is several pages long.
Whatever the length, your paragraph should be effective and convey the main idea of your topic. Listed below are some guidelines for composing a good paragraph.
How many sentences should a 12th grade paragraph be?
In grammar class, your teacher probably taught you that a paragraph should be five or six sentences long. If it is over two sentences, you’re probably over the word limit. That’s because a paragraph that is 200 words long is too long and difficult to read.
If your paragraph is longer than that, consider breaking it up into subparagraphs. If your paragraph is longer than five sentences, consider adding a subparagraph. A good paragraph should contain one main idea, several supporting details, and a conclusion.
How many sentences is a paragraph in college?
What is the correct length for a paragraph? In college, a paragraph can be as short as two sentences, or as long as four. Generally, a paragraph should have at least one idea and should be as long as needed to cover the theme.
Your professor may not specify a specific length, but he or she wants you to develop the subject matter fully, so a paragraph with two or four sentences is appropriate.
The length of a paragraph should vary based on the genre of the writing assignment. For instance, journalism and some sciences tend to write in short paragraphs. For academic writing, however, a paragraph should be at least five sentences long. Here are some guidelines for writing a paragraph:
How many words are in a paragraph on average?
A good rule of thumb for article length is to aim for 100 to 200 words to cover the main point or the central idea. This will keep readers engaged with your content, and give you a chance to elaborate on important points in a more in-depth way.
For example, if you’re writing about cheating on ixl, you might want to make it as long as possible to help people avoid committing this common mistake.
However, in order to ensure your readers’ continued interest, it’s also necessary to make sure that the article is as accurate as possible.
How long is an average paragraph?
In addition to subject and style, word count will differ. News articles, for example, have short, punchy paragraphs, while an academic paper will have lengthy ones.
Usually, four to five sentences are considered to be one paragraph. Depending on the genre of writing, you may need to separate longer paragraphs into smaller sections. Likewise, you may not need to separate short paragraphs.
Also, different writing styles will have different word counts for each paragraph. For example, commercial writing aims to attract readers, who are usually from low-education backgrounds. To do this, the author might use white space to attract readers.
How many sentences are in paragraph for 7th grade?
The correct answer to the question, “How many sentences are in a paragraph for seventh grade?” depends on the topic and length of the document. Educators prefer paragraphs to have three to five sentences. A paragraph must start with a topic sentence, then have supporting information and a conclusion.
It cannot exceed seven hundred words. If it does, it is too long. If your paragraph has more than seven hundred words, it is too long and may be difficult for your reader to follow the idea.
How many sentences should a 7th grader write in a paragraph?
Typically, a paragraph should have six to seven sentences. It can be longer, but it is a good rule of thumb to keep sentences to under 20 words. In addition, a paragraph can have one or two supporting sentences.
A 5-paragraph essay is generally two to four pages long and is usually made up of about one to five sentences per page. A five-paragraph essay can contain two to ten sentences, depending on the professor.
How many sentences are in a body paragraph?
If you’re trying to write a body paragraph, you’re probably wondering: how many sentences should I include? One rule of thumb is that a paragraph should contain six to seven sentences, and there’s no limit to the number of supporting sentences.
The rest of the paragraph should contain information related to your main idea, supporting information, and a concluding statement. Make sure your body paragraph is long enough to reach the end.
What is included in a body paragraph?
Too many sentences in a body paragraph can be problematic, but it should always One common problem is that a paragraph ends abruptly. This is caused by token sentences that do not recap what came before. Another common problem is that authors sometimes write up their wrap sentence as the beginning of a new paragraph.
In this case, the wrap1 sentence is buried at the beginning of the new paragraph, leaving the topic2 sentence unanswered.
How many sentences are in 5 paragraphs?
What is the correct length for a paragraph? In primary and secondary school, you were likely taught that paragraphs should not exceed five or six sentences, or 200 words. Those guidelines are great for ensuring that your writing flows well and is human-friendly, but how many sentences should I write in my paragraph?
The answer to this question depends on what you want your reader to learn from your paragraph. If you want to impress your teacher, write long paragraphs with lots of supporting information.
How many sentences is a 5 paragraph essay?
For online writing, it’s recommended to keep sentences under three lines per paragraph, with no more than five. Nevertheless, you should try to shoot for eight lines per paragraph, if your writing style calls for more.
Ultimately, there is no magic formula when it comes to paragraph structure, but it’s a good rule of thumb to remember, as it helps to give your paragraphs aesthetic proportion and flow naturally. Include an introductory sentence, supporting sentences and a concluding sentence.
Is 10 sentences too long for a paragraph?
In writing, it is important to remember that rules are meant to be broken. Our teachers have bombarded us with rules, but famous writers have broken them too. If you have a difficult time determining the length of a paragraph, here are some guidelines to consider.
A paragraph is typically made up of three to four sentences that are between 100 and 120 words. Ancient paragraphs were composed of one sentence or thought.
When composing a paragraph, the writer needs to keep in mind that it may be as long as a single sentence. While a paragraph can contain any number of sentences, the goal is to make it as readable and human-friendly as possible. Ideas are tricky to package, and are unlikely to stay in their rightful places.
How many sentences is too long for a paragraph?
A paragraph is only as long as its author decides it should be. A ten-sentence paragraph may be too long, but it will still accomplish its job.
The length of a paragraph is a personal preference, but the following general rules apply: a thematic sentence, supporting facts, and the final sentence. Paragraphs with more than one idea will confuse the reader and make the paragraph too long.
In addition to the general rule, paragraphs with more than one idea can be cluttered. The length of your paragraph may be too long for the purpose of delivering information, and readers will lose interest if the piece is too wordy.
How many sentences is 100 words?
If you’re composing a 500-word article, how many sentences is one hundred words? Each paragraph is approximately ten words, and therefore each 100-word paragraph is a half page. If you double-space your work, however, the paragraph will be a full page long.
For technical writing, however, it’s best to write a single paragraph. In this case, you will be able to break up your article into two or three small paragraphs.
How long would 100 words take?
To calculate the number of sentences a single-spaced page can hold, divide 100 by two. This will give you a total of five lines of space. That means that one hundred words would be two double-spaced pages, two single-spaced pages, or none at all.
A single page of text requires ten or twenty words, or about six sentences. This means that you would be required to type about three minutes per page. However, if you spend fifty minutes doing research, this number could become much higher.
What is the topic sentence of the paragraph?
Different topics have different treatments, with a transition sentence the previous paragraph and the next paragraph. The first sentence of the paragraph is the opening sentence and introduces a single topic.
The supporting sentences deliver the point of the paragraph and is considered a subdivision of a written composition with a single controlling idea. the first line should be a single thought and a complete sentence.
News writers are very good at defining the core idea and rounding out the complete idea with the other sentences in the paragraph. Additional sentences are intended to support the point of view.
Are there set rules for paragraph construction?
Whatever the writing style a coherent paragraph starts with a strong introductory sentence – it’s possible the most important sentence. Even a top university course will teach these basics. Paragraph breaks are expected in professional writing and your English teacher will insist on separation of ideas.
Next, an effective topic sentence is a must. and the last sentence should try to conclude the main idea. While there are no strict rules, it’s a good idea to have as many sentences as needed to express the main point of the text. In general, one-sentence paragraphs are frowned upon, unless writing blog posts targeting mobile phones.
Separate sentences with full-stops or period always and ensure the introduction paragraph is very strong, as it contains the whole idea for the whole paper or essay.
What’s the difference between paragraph writing for college students vs middle school?
While it’s true that paragraph rules don’t specify a set amount of sentences, or any maximum guideline for number of words, the same basic rules apply – always include as many sentences as needed to convey the main point without being too wordy or making it too difficult to read.
Online readers in particular demand short pieces of text for internet consumption. It’s a great idea to present new information to engage interest but also give lots of background information as supporting information.
Key takeaways relating to paragraph sentences
- Always remember that the reader’s attention is critical and news articles make good use of short, even one-sentence paragraphs, to engage the reader. A good rule of thumb is to transition well from the previous paragraph with the first and last sentence.
- The final sentence is important as it introduces the next paragraph after a short white space. A paragraph should start with an effective topic sentence as it represents the main idea of the paragraph.
- Once the paragraph has fully described main idea cut to the next paragraph with a final transition sentence.
- Grammarly blog write prompts are a favorite tool and can help structure essays
- Write paragraphs people want to read by making them short and clear
- The opening sentence introduces the topic and should be strong and clear
- The paragraph main idea should be cover in 5 to 7 sentences
- Adhere to the essay format required – MLA or APA
How long should a paragraph be for online writing?
Online writing is not like an academic text. As a fast rule. the length of paragraphs is much shorter for a range of different topics as the text is destined for the small screen. Lengthy paragraphs are not recommended for online content that will be read on mobile devices and a maximum guideline is 3 to 5 sentences.
A general rule of thumb is to make the first sentence of the paragraph should be very strong and introduce a single topic. Keep in mind that a paragraph is a subdivision of a written composition.
Are there strict rules for writing paragraphs?
Although some people recommend a set amount of sentences with plenty of background information, set rules are not too useful. An essay introduction paragraph contains not only the main idea of a paragraph, but also the point of view and important points of the whole text.
The rest of the paragraph carries as much information and new information as is needed as separate sentences to create a complete section of text. The paragraph conveys a single thought.
Are paragraphs different lengths for different writing styles?
College students on a university course, high school students or middle school student should also follow general rules for paragraph creation. Any coherent paragraph starts with an important sentence with the minimum number of words necessary to express the main idea.
Business writing tends to have longer paragraphs with less paragraph breaks, but always begin with a strong introductory sentence. Creative writing and historical writing all have different rules for paragraph length.
In designing documents electronically either in a word processor (like MS Word) or for the web (a web page) text can be classified as characters, word, line, sentence, paragraph, page and section.
• Classification for the purpose of Formatting Content
For the purpose of formatting, the content is identified as characters and paragraphs only. The Character formatting options can be applied to one or more characters. Paragraph formatting options which are distinct from the character formatting options can be applied to one or more paragraphs.
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Characters, Letters & keyboard keys |
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Letters, numbers and other symbols used in a language form the Character Set for the language. The English language character set consists of upper case letters, lower case letters, digits from 0 to 9, and other special symbols like #, $, @ etc.
English Character Set
| Upper Case Alphabets » A B C ….. Z | Lower Case Alphabets » a b c ….. z | ||
| Digits » 0 1 2 ….. 9 | |||
| ! | Exclamation mark | « | Quotation mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| # | Cross hatch (number sign) | $ | Dollar sign |
| % | Percent sign | & | Ampersand |
| ` | Opening single quote | ` | Closing single quote (apostrophe) |
| ( | Opening parentheses | ) | Closing parentheses |
| + | Plus | , | Comma |
| — | Hyphen, dash, minus | . | Period |
| / | Slant (forward slash, divide) | Reverse slant (Backslash) | |
| = | Equals sign | ; | Semicolon |
| < | (Opening Angle Bracket (Less than sing) | > | (Closing Angle Bracket (Greater than sing) |
| ? | Question mark | @ | At-sign |
| [ | Opening square bracket | ] | Closing square bracket |
| : | Colon | ^ | Caret (Circumflex) |
| _ | Underscore | * | Asterisk (star, multiply) |
| { | Opening curly brace | } | Closing curly brace |
| | | Vertical line (Pipe) | ~ | Tilde (approximate) |
You can enter the characters into the document using your keyboard. Some of the characters are entered when you press a key and some others on pressing two or more keys in succession (for entering the «+» symbol, we press the shift key and then the relevant key).
Each character has a distinct code with which it is identified, called the ASCII code. When you press a key or a set of keys, the computer identifies the code relevant to the key strokes and based on this it displays or writes to the document the relevant character.
• Toggle Keys
Some of the keys on the keyboard work as toggle keys. They have two states, either on or off. Pressing the key once would switch it on and pressing it again would switch it off. Caps Lock key, Num Lock key on the numerical keypad, Scroll Lock key on the navigational key pad are the three toggle keys on your keyboard. The toggle keys have indicator lights just above the numerical keypad to indicate whether they are on or off. If the indicator bulbs are glowing they are on otherwise they are off.
• Entering Upper Case Letters and Symbols
To enter capital letters we either keep the shift key pressed just before pressing the relevant letter key or keep the caps lock key on.
Where there are two or more characters on a key, the character on the upper part of the key can be entered into the document by keeping the shift key pressed just before pressing the relevant key. The caps lock key is not useful for this.
• Entering Numbers
The keys on the numerical keypad can be used to enter numbers only if the Num Lock key is switched on. When the Num Lock key is off the numerical keypad can be used as a navigational key pad. Those keys on the numerical key pad with only one character marked on them work in both states.
• Complex Language Scripts
In case of languages other than English where the script is complex like in the case of most of the Arabic and Asian scripts, a letter is formed by two or more characters in most cases. Each key stroke in such cases may insert only a part of the letter. This part itself is called a character in such cases.
How to enable (Enabling) Multiple Languages on the Computer
One or more letters (characters) without any spaces in between is recognised as a word by the computer. Two words are separated by white space. Normally this space is created using the space bar (which is the longest key located in the bottom row of the standard key pad), but it need not be so. Any space between two characters is treated as word separator.
Whenever a key is pressed, a character is placed in the document. This is true even in the case of space bar and other white space keys (the characters in their case being invisible). That is the reason we see white space being entered when space bar is pressed it.
One or more words terminated by a period (full stop) and followed by two white spaces created using the space bar form a sentence. All the words, the period and the two white spaces, together would be treated as a sentence by the computer.
We know that the first letter of a sentence is to be capitalised. In a word processing program (like Microsoft Word) when we complete entering a sentence and start typing the next sentence, we would notice the first letter getting capitalised automatically.
Your entering the letter after a period followed by two space bar white spaces is the reason for the computer to identify it a the starting letter of a sentence.
A paragraph mark would also terminate a sentence. This is for the reason that every new paragraph starts with a new sentence.
One or more sentences together would form a paragraph. Electronic documents use a special invisible character for recognising a paragraph. This is placed at the end of a paragraph. This is called or a paragraph terminator or paragraph mark.
The computer recognises the presence of a paragraph only if the paragraph mark is preceded by at least one visible character. Say, if there are many space bar spaces followed by a paragraph mark, it would not be recognised as a paragraph. In other words, a set of characters terminated by a paragraph mark would be recognised as a paragraph only if there is at least one visible character in the set.
A paragraph of text is a unit in electronic documents. The total characters in a paragraph form a single stream of characters (visible and invisible). The words in a paragraph are separated by SPACE bar space or Line Break.
If the text within a paragraph does not fit into a single line, it would automatically flow into the next line. This process of text flowing into the next line automatically when it comes to the end of a line is called «Word Wrapping».
A line has no distinct measurement in electronic documents. It is a virtual format created on account of words within a paragraph wrapped in lines. A line in a document or text area is as long as the width of the document or the text area reduced by the left and right margin spaces if any (which is the width of the paragraph). Whenever there is a change in the width of the paragraph, the width of the line in the paragraph would change.
The number of lines that the paragraph occupies is not a static figure unless the width of the paragraph or any container holding the paragraph (table, frame etc) is fixed. If the width of the document is changed, the length of the paragraph as well as the lines within it would change. The words would rearrange themselves automatically to fit the new line length or paragraph width. This rearrangement would take place every time the dimension is changed.
The number of lines that make up a paragraph and the number of sentences within a paragraph are two different ideas.
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Spell Checking » Dictionary |
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• Spelling
In any language, one or more letters together form a word. Generally all the word forms that can be formed using the characters and other symbols relating to a language do not have a specific meaning attached to them. Only those word forms that have a meaning are what we call words within that language.
• Dictionary
All the words within a language that have a meaning are listed out in a file which we call a dictionary.
Though in general we use the word dictionary to mean something that contains the meanings of words within the language, it has a dual sense in electronic documents (word processing).
A dictionary file is nothing but a simple text file containing a list of words each on a distinct row/line. Each row consists of nothing but the characters relating to the word. Words are separated by paragraph mark [This will be created by placing the cursor at the end of the word and pressing the «ENTER» key].
• How is Spelling Mistake Identified?
To identify whether a word form is correctly spelled or not, the program would compare the word that we enter with the list of words in the dictionary file. If it finds the word form in the file it is assumed to be correct, otherwise the word form is assumed to be wrongly spelled.
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Conducting spell check on post text |
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The blogger program has a dictionary file which contains a list of words (say the list of all the words found in a dictionary).
When you ask the program to check the spelling of your posting in composition, the program would scan all the text from the text area where you entered the post body and would compare each word in it with the list of words in the file it has.
The word forms that it cannot find in its dictionary file are marked as errors.
• No Undo and Redo
This correction cannot be undone and as such redo option would not also be present for steps involving spelling corrections.
A web page is also a document. However, unlike a document used in a word processor it does not have a fixed width. The width of the web page is the width of the window in which it is being displayed. Whenever you increase or decrease the size of the window, the width of the web page keeps changing.
A paragraph is an element of a web page. Its width is equal to the width of the web page (i.e. the browser window) except when the width of the paragraph or the width of any element holding the paragraph is defined. Therefore, the number of lines into which a paragraph is wrapped is dependent on its width, which in effect is dependent on the width of the browser window. Thus whenever the browser window is resized, the number of lines within a paragraph would change.
• Forcing Width for a Web Page
The width of a web page can be set to a fixed dimension indirectly. This is done by defining or setting an absolute width to any element in the web document. Say when there is a table or division or paragraph or horizontal line etc., with a specified width (not in terms of % when it would be interpreted as a % of window width), resizing the browser window would not change its size. Instead a horizontal scroll bar would get added to the browser window.
In word processing documents a page has a certain length and width. However, in a web document, there is no length or height for a page. Each file is a single document as well as a page on the web. The length of a web page would be the length of the browser window that is needed to display the total content of the web page.
The width of a web page as seen above is not a static figure except when it is indirectly specified by specifying the width of any element within the web page. When the width of the web page is changed on account of the browser window being resized, the length of the document needed to display the total content also changes.
As far as web pages are concerned we would not think of length.
How many sentences are in a paragraph?
If you think ten sentences is a good formula, it’s time to think again. Today’s readers prefer much more space.
Short paragraphs are becoming the standard online because they help keep readers’ attention.
It doesn’t matter if it is a blog post or a Kindle ebook; splitting your paragraphs makes reading much easier.
How long is a paragraph?
Your English teacher in high school probably told you the general rule of thumb for how many sentences make a paragraph.
It was a distinct section of a piece of writing that dealt with a single theme and was somewhere around five sentences long.
But it was not unusual to write ones that occupied a whole page.
A good paragraph can use as many sentences as necessary to cover a topic in full. It applies to both fiction and academic writing.
Start with a sentence that introduces the topic.
The sentences after it expand on the topic until the last. However, the sentences together deal with only one idea per paragraph.
For fiction, educational, academic, and business writing, construction is often between 3 and 8 sentences long.
You could say that it is around 100 to 200 words long. Another measure is about a third or half a page.
How many sentences constitute a paragraph?
The definition by the Cambridge Dictionary makes it clear when it comes to how many sentences are in a paragraph. One sentence can qualify as a complete paragraph.
A short part of a text that begins on a new line. It consists of one or more sentences dealing with a single idea.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary gives us a similar definition of the number of sentences in a paragraph.
A subdivision of a written composition that consists of one or more sentences. It deals with one point or gives the words of one speaker, and begins on a new usually indented line.
You can see that both dictionaries make the point that the only essential feature is that it starts on a new line.
It means that there is no hard and fast writing rule for how many sentences are in one paragraph. Single sentences can be, by definition, paragraphs.
How many words are in a paragraph? You could even say that one word can be defined as a sentence and, therefore, a paragraph.
Stop.
You could classify this one-word sentence as a paragraph.
It depends on what and where you are writing. Your decisions will be quite different for an academic essay, a business report, a blog post, or an email.
Newspapers have always used much shorter paragraph lengths than, say, magazines. News readers tend to scan, while magazine readers look for more depth in what they read.
How long should a paragraph be? You might be a purist, but very short paragraphs are becoming more prevalent because they are much easier to read and understand.
For online readers, a long sea of text in a very long paragraph can be difficult to read and follow on a screen.
Readers like short paragraphs
The topic sentence that you so carefully wrote will be lost in a lump of text. It will be almost impossible to digest on a screen. Long paragraphs are difficult to read and understand. A huge number of words tend to merge together in a sea of blocked text. It makes comprehension difficult. It requires far more concentration to read. Start a new paragraph and space out your text to make it easier for your readers. It might be okay when students write essays. But for screen reading, you should always avoid using a lot of sentences without adding line breaks. How many sentences you use should be about how readable your text is for a reader and not about old-fashioned rules.
You can see the word count warning above. The writing assistant program I use when I write blog posts doesn’t like that last long paragraph.
It pops up a warning for me anytime I exceed ninety words. But I am always surprised that it says that it should typically be one to five sentences.
How can you possibly fit five sentences into a paragraph with only 90 words?
But that is today’s rule for online writing.
Keep your paragraphs short and readable.
Paragraphs and screen reading
The attention span of readers is the key to online screen reading.
Reading on a screen has changed the way people read and understand a text.
You can measure a good piece of writing for online reading by how many words are in a paragraph and the number of sentences you link together.
Too many sentences in one solid block of text can be challenging to read.
Paragraphs in ebooks
You can breathe a sigh of relief if you write and publish paperbacks or hardcover versions of your book.
Reading on paper is different from online reading. It is the same as it has been for centuries. You can use 300 words in a paragraph, and your readers will love you for it.
Nothing has changed for readers who like to crack the spine of a good read.
But when you are publishing an ebook, you might think about changing your formatting to help your readers.
You should give careful thought to how many sentences you group together in one paragraph.
Give your ebook readers plenty of space. Break up your text into smaller and more digestible chunks.
Add more line breaks than you would usually do for a paperback. It will make your ebook much easier to read on any screen or device.
Reading ease depends on the device or app a reader uses to read your book.
People read ebooks on many devices, ranging from quite small to medium screens. Your text will flow to suit the size of a screen.
They might need space to scroll down a page with their thumb as they read or to tap to turn pages.
You will certainly have long compound sentences in an ebook manuscript. But try to limit them to only one or two sentences per paragraph.
As a guide, limit a paragraph in an ebook to no more than six to eight lines of text.
Before publishing an ebook, you should check how your book looks and reads on a small screen.
How many sentences are in a paragraph of article writing
Sentence paragraphs or two-sentence paragraphs are now almost the norm for web pages, blog posts, and online news articles.
I am sure you have noticed this when you are online reading.
Popular mainstream newspapers are following the rule. Look at this article in the New York Times. Not one is more than two sentences long.
As you can see, this news article uses a collection of sentences that look like paragraphs. But at most, there are only two sentences.
Let’s go to the other side of the Atlantic. The Independent newspaper uses similar formatting, and again, it writes most of its articles using one sentence paragraphs.
Another excellent example is Deutsche Welle in Germany.
It breaks up text in its articles into small one or two-sentence chunks. It also uses left and right-aligned images to break up the text even more.
As you can see from the image below, it is an excellent example of easy screen reading.
Blog writing
Take a look at some of your existing blog posts and check how you format your text.
It will only take a few minutes to add more line breaks and perhaps insert a few headings.
One other factor to consider is your font selection. You should use a standard serif or sans serif font.
Also, set a size that is easy to read on a laptop or phone screen. Arial and Times in 15 or 16px or 12 to 13pt are always easy to read fonts.
Most newspaper websites use serif fonts. For blogs and content articles, sans serif is often the preferred choice. But there is no right or wrong choice.
But if you are curious, I use Raleway, a Google Font, which is similar to Arial and Helvetica. The font size I use for content text on this blog is 17px.
Once you make these simple changes, you can quickly republish your post or article. It will be much easier for your blog visitors to read on any device.
The new short paragraph rule
One of the best writing tips for online writing is to use a heading to help group your information.
A good heading briefly introduces the topic. After that, you start with a topic sentence.
You can follow this with related single sentences and separate them with line breaks. But, only group two sentences as long as they are relatively short.
Sentence spaced paragraphs are still concentrating on a single theme and should always have a concluding sentence.
Good construction for online reading makes it much easier for a reader to absorb and understand what you write.
Conclusion
How many sentences make a paragraph? Not as many as was the case years ago.
The long form might not be dead yet, but it is definitely going out of fashion. Or perhaps, it has been refashioned.
Check your online article and blog post reading ease.
Write paragraphs that are split into small sentence chunks under a new heading.
The sentences can then develop the topic just the same as an old-fashioned boxed paragraph.
The only difference is that a good piece of writing for screen reading gives readers much more white space because it helps their eyes navigate the text more easily.
When writing blog posts, online articles, or ebooks, always think about your readers and your formatting.
Make it as easy as you can for them to read and enjoy your writing.
Give your readers the space they need to read comfortably on any size screen or device.
Related Reading: Cleft Sentences And Examples Of The Most Common Uses
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A paragraph (from Ancient Greek παράγραφος (parágraphos) ‘to write beside’) is a self-contained unit of discourse in writing dealing with a particular point or idea. Though not required by the orthographic conventions of any language with a writing system, paragraphs are a conventional means of organizing extended segments of prose.
History[edit]
The oldest classical British and Latin writing had little or no space between words and could be written in boustrophedon (alternating directions). Over time, text direction (left to right) became standardized. Word dividers and terminal punctuation became common. The first way to divide sentences into groups was the original paragraphos, similar to an underscore at the beginning of the new group.[1] The Greek parágraphos evolved into the pilcrow (¶), which in English manuscripts in the Middle Ages can be seen inserted inline between sentences.
Ancient manuscripts also divided sentences into paragraphs with line breaks (newline) followed by an initial at the beginning of the next paragraph. An initial is an oversized capital letter, sometimes outdented beyond the margin of the text. This style can be seen, for example, in the original Old English manuscript of Beowulf. Outdenting is still used in English typography, though not commonly.[2] Modern English typography usually indicates a new paragraph by indenting the first line. This style can be seen in the (handwritten) United States Constitution from 1787. For additional ornamentation, a hedera leaf or other symbol can be added to the inter-paragraph white space, or put in the indentation space.
A second common modern English style is to use no indenting, but add vertical white space to create «block paragraphs.» On a typewriter, a double carriage return produces a blank line for this purpose; professional typesetters (or word processing software) may put in an arbitrary vertical space by adjusting leading. This style is very common in electronic formats, such as on the World Wide Web and email. Wikipedia itself employs this format.
Typographical considerations[edit]
Professionally printed material in English typically does not indent the first paragraph, but indents those that follow. For example, Robert Bringhurst states that we should «Set opening paragraphs flush left.»[2] Bringhurst explains as follows:
The function of a paragraph is to mark a pause, setting the paragraph apart from what precedes it. If a paragraph is preceded by a title or subhead, the indent is superfluous and can therefore be omitted.[2]
The Elements of Typographic Style states that «at least one en [space]» should be used to indent paragraphs after the first,[2] noting that that is the «practical minimum».[3] An em space is the most commonly used paragraph indent.[3] Miles Tinker, in his book Legibility of Print, concluded that indenting the first line of paragraphs increases readability by 7%, on average.[4]
When referencing a paragraph, typographic symbol U+00A7 § SECTION SIGN (§) may be used: «See § Background».
In modern usage, paragraph initiation is typically indicated by one or more of a preceding blank line, indentation, an «Initial» («drop cap») or other indication. Historically, the pilcrow symbol (¶) was used in Latin and western European languages. Other languages have their own marks with similar function.
Widows and orphans occur when the first line of a paragraph is the last in a column or page, or when the last line of a paragraph is the first line of a new column or page.
In computing[edit]
In word processing and desktop publishing, a hard return or paragraph break indicates a new paragraph, to be distinguished from the soft return at the end of a line internal to a paragraph. This distinction allows word wrap to automatically re-flow text as it is edited, without losing paragraph breaks. The software may apply vertical white space or indenting at paragraph breaks, depending on the selected style.
How such documents are actually stored depends on the file format. For example, HTML uses the <p> tag as a paragraph container. In plaintext files, there are two common formats. The pre-formatted text will have a newline at the end of every physical line, and two newlines at the end of a paragraph, creating a blank line. An alternative is to only put newlines at the end of each paragraph, and leave word wrapping up to the application that displays or processes the text.
A line break that is inserted manually, and preserved when re-flowing, may still be distinct from a paragraph break, although this is typically not done in prose. HTML’s <br /> tag produces a line break without ending the paragraph; the W3C recommends using it only to separate lines of verse (where each «paragraph» is a stanza), or in a street address.[5]
Numbering[edit]
Paragraphs are commonly numbered using the decimal system, where (in books) the integral part of the decimal represents the number of the chapter and the fractional parts are arranged in each chapter in order of magnitude. Thus in Whittaker and Watson’s 1921 A Course of Modern Analysis, chapter 9 is devoted to Fourier Series; within that chapter §9.6 introduces Riemann’s theory, the following section §9.61 treats an associated function, following §9.62 some properties of that function, following §9.621 a related lemma, while §9.63 introduces Riemann’s main theorem, and so on. Whittaker and Watson attribute this system of numbering to Giuseppe Peano on their «Contents» page, although this attribution does not seem to be widely credited elsewhere.[6] Gradshteyn and Ryzhik is another book using this scheme since its third edition in 1951.
Section breaks[edit]
Many published books use a device to separate certain paragraphs further when there is a change of scene or time. This extra space, especially when co-occurring at a page or section break, may contain a special symbol known as a dinkus, a fleuron, or a stylistic dingbat.
Style advice[edit]
The crafting of clear, coherent paragraphs is the subject of considerable stylistic debate. The form varies among different types of writing. For example, newspapers, scientific journals, and fictional essays have somewhat different conventions for the placement of paragraph breaks.
A common English usage misconception is that a paragraph has three to five sentences; single-word paragraphs can be seen in some professional writing, and journalists often use single-sentence paragraphs.[7]
English students are sometimes taught that a paragraph should have a topic sentence or «main idea», preferably first, and multiple «supporting» or «detail» sentences that explain or supply evidence. One technique of this type, intended for essay writing, is known as the Schaffer paragraph. Topic sentences are largely a phenomenon of school-based writing, and the convention does not necessarily obtain in other contexts.[8] This advice is also culturally specific, for example, it differs from stock advice for the construction of paragraphs in Japanese (translated as danraku 段落).[9]
See also[edit]
- Inverted pyramid (journalism)
Notes[edit]
- ^ Edwin Herbert Lewis (1894). The History of the English Paragraph. University of Chicago Press. p. 9.
- ^ a b c d Bringhurst, Robert (2005). The Elements of Typographic Style. Vancouver: Hartley and Marks. p. 39. ISBN 0-88179-206-3.
- ^ a b Bringhurst, Robert (2005). The Elements of Typographic Style. Vancouver: Hartley and Marks. p. 40. ISBN 0-88179-206-3.
- ^ Tinker, Miles A. (1963). Legibility of Print. Iowa: Iowa State University Press. p. 127. ISBN 0-8138-2450-8.
- ^ «<br>: The Line Break element». MDN Web Docs. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
- ^ Kowwalski, E. «Peano paragraphing». blogs.ethz.ch.
- ^ University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. «Paragraph Development». The Writing Center. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ Braddock, Richard (1974). «The Frequency and Placement of Topic Sentences in Expository Prose». Research in the Teaching of English. 8 (3): 287–302.
- ^ com), Kazumi Kimura and Masako Kondo (timkondo *AT* nifty . com / Kazumikmr *AT* aol . «Effective writing instruction: From Japanese danraku to English paragraphs». jalt.org. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
References[edit]
- The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 4th ed. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2000.
- Johnson, Samuel. Lives of the Poets: Addison, Savage, etc.. Project Gutenberg, November 2003. E-Book, #4673.
- Rozakis, Laurie E. Master the AP English Language and Composition Test. Lawrenceville, NJ: Peterson’s, 2000. ISBN 0-7645-6184-7 (10). ISBN 978-0-7645-6184-9 (13).
External links[edit]
The dictionary definition of paragraph at Wiktionary
The dictionary definition of paragraph at Wiktionary
There’s often a lot of confusion, but if you’re looking for a general answer to the question, “How many sentences in a paragraph?” the answer is there are 3 to 8 sentences in a paragraph. The important key to take away from this answer is that it’s a rule-of-thumb. If you’re looking for a hard and fast rule, you’re out of luck. A paragraph can consist of a single sentence, and since a single word can be a sentence, you can literally have a paragraph that consists of a single word. Of course, if someone asks you to write a paragraph, they won’t be altogether happy with that, so how much should you write?
What do teachers want to see in a paragraph?
If you’re a student, your teacher or tutor may ask you to write a paragraph without telling you just how long he or she expects it to be. In general, educators like to see a paragraph consisting of at least 5 sentences. Start with a sentence that expresses an idea. Use the next 3 sentences for providing information that supports that idea, and use the final sentence to draw a conclusion.
Why do teachers expect longer paragraphs? Obviously, they want to see that you have acquired knowledge and can think critically. That’s quite difficult to demonstrate with a single sentence! Teachers will sometimes set a rule that all paragraphs should be a certain length, but it’s important to remember that specific paragraph lengths aren’t a prerequisite for acceptable writing.
When do you use shorter paragraphs?
Open just about any book, and you’ll find plenty of short paragraphs. If direct speech is used, there’ll be a new paragraph every time a new speaker starts to talk. News writers also like using short paragraphs. They have to present information in a succinct way and hold the reader’s attention.
Commercial writers know that most people don’t want to read 1,000 words of closely-spaced text in order to see what they are writing about, so they also like to keep sentences and paragraphs short. They’ll even use lots of sub-headers so you can see what each paragraph is about before you read it.
How do I know when to start a new paragraph?
Every time you begin to discuss a new thought that contributes to the overarching theme of your work, you can start a new paragraph. A paragraph will usually consist of a collection of sentences that, when considered as a group, have something in common. As soon as you move on to the next idea, you can begin a new paragraph.
Luckily, you don’t have to agonise about it too much, because as I’ve pointed out, there are no specific rules.
Tips for writing strong paragraphs
It’s best to begin a paragraph with a sentence that defines the topic that will be discussed. Try to keep it fairly simple. If you include too many ideas in your opening sentence, you run the risk of getting tangled in an overly complex and incoherent paragraph. Every sentence in a paragraph should support the first, “topic sentence.” When you begin discussing a new or related topic, start a new paragraph.
The University of North Carolina helps students with paragraph construction by providing them with a 5-step process:
- Express the idea that the paragraph will cover in a topic sentence.
- Explain the idea.
- Use an example.
- Explain why the example relates to the idea.
- Draw a conclusion.
Obviously, the recipe has been designed for those who want to write an informative and convincing work. And because these rules aren’t really cast in stone, you’ll find that different institutions give different recommendations.
The debate continues
If we look around, we’ll find that the idea of paragraphs with a minimum of 3-5 sentences and a maximum of 8 is pretty common. But there are some who say that two to three paragraphs per page are best and others who say that 5 to 7 lines will do the job. Meanwhile, journalism students are taught to keep sentences as short as possible, and one sentence paragraphs are considered perfectly acceptable.
There are those who say that using more than one paragraph to discuss an idea is perfectly alright, and since there are no hard and fast rules for paragraphs, I can’t really contradict them. I even found one recommendation that suggested a minimum of 7-10 sentences per paragraph and a maximum of a full page!
How long should your paragraphs be?
Unless you’re busy with academic writing, the length of your paragraphs is up to you. I like shorter paragraphs for informal writing such as this blog post. I like the idea of sticking to one idea per paragraph, and I think that paragraphs make reading and understanding a text a whole lot simpler. Single-sentence paragraphs are great for emphasis.
If you are writing to pass a school, college or university course, I recommend you ask your teacher or professor what’s expected of you. It’s always better to ask in these situations than to try to guess. This is by far the best way to make sure you tailor your writing to what your teacher expects rather than by going by a general rule.
(Photo courtesy of Laura)