Paragraph breaks

Break your writing into paragraphs.

The basic rule of thumb ... is to keep one idea to one paragraph.

-Purdue OWL

When to break to a new paragraph:

• When you change to a new idea,
• When you've finished one chunk of an argument,
• In a story, when the scene / setting changes,
• When something new / significant happens,
• When you are changing the focus or changing attention to something new,
• When there is a change of some sort!

Loosely: A paragraph might be somewhat more than 2 sentences. A typical page of writing might have 3 or 4 paragraphs.

Activity

In groups of 3, take turns:

• One person reads their Free Write #1.
• The other 2 listen, and jot notes about where they think paragraph breaks would go.
• At the end, Share suggested paragraph breaks and compare with where the reader put them.

Bring your FreeWrite #1 to class today. Ideally, bring a copy *without* your paragraph breaks. But it can work even if you have your own breaks already in. You can bring your freewrite either on your iPad (or phone) or on paper. You'll take turns in class reading what you've written to others in small groups and then talking.