What is paragraph development?

Often, when doing an outline, you might just have a word or phrase to indicate the content of a paragraph. When you write that paragraph, you can use a variety of strategies to develop the paragraph, such as addressing an objection, describing, comparing, giving examples, or adding detail. This development is crucial for fully thinking through and communicating your ideas or focus. For more on paragraphs and how to develop them see “The Paragraph” from Purdue University’s OWL and “Paragraph Development and Topic Sentences ” from Capital Community College.

Return to Rubric