1. The Academic Paragraph
LELI English Academic Writing Center

2. Preview What is an academic paragraph?
Why is the academic paragraph important?
What are the parts of the academic paragraph?
What is a topic sentence?
What are supporting sentences?
What is a concluding sentence?

3. What is an academic paragraph?
An academic paragraph is a specific, standardized format for communicating information in academic writing.
Academic paragraphs form the body (main part) of academic essays.
Academic paragraphs form 90% of academic writing.

4. Why is the academic paragraph important?
The academic paragraph is a way of organizing and presenting information that is easy to understand.
The academic paragraph is a format that academic readers are used to, and one that they expect to see when they read academic writing.
Using academic paragraphs is a good way to organize your thoughts about a topic.

5. What are the parts of the academic paragraph?
The Topic Sentence
Supporting Sentences
The Concluding Sentence

6. What is the topic sentence?
The topic sentence is usually the first sentence in the paragraph.
The topic sentence gives a preview of what the paragraph will be about.
The topic sentence establishes all main points that will be discussed in the paragraph.
Most academic paragraphs have 3 main points, although they can have more or less.
These main points give a preview of the supporting sentences.
Example: An academic paragraph is composed of three major parts: the topic sentence, the supporting sentences, and the concluding sentence.

7. What are supporting sentences?
The supporting sentences are the main part of the paragraph.
The supporting sentences provide a detailed explanation of the ideas from the topic sentence.
Each main idea from the topic sentence should have its own supporting sentence.
Examples:
The topic sentence is usually the first sentence in the paragraph, and it gives a preview of all major points in the paragraph.
The supporting sentences are the main part of the paragraph, and further explain the points from the topic sentences.
The concluding sentence is the final sentence in the paragraph, and provides a summary of the whole paragraph.

8. What is the concluding sentence?
The concluding sentence, logically, is the last sentence in the paragraph.
Usually, the concluding sentence provides a summary of all the information fromt he paragraph.
Since the topic sentence is a preview, and the concluding sentence is a summary, the topic and concluding sentences are usually very similar.
Example: So, the topic sentence, supporting sentences, and concluding sentence form the standard academic paragraph.

9. Example Paragraph
“An academic paragraph is composed of three major parts: the topic sentence, the supporting sentences, and the concluding sentence. The topic sentence is usually the first sentence in the paragraph, and it gives a preview of all major points in the paragraph. The supporting sentences are the main part of the paragraph, and further explain the points from the topic sentences. The concluding sentence is the final sentence in the paragraph, and provides a summary of the whole paragraph. So, the topic sentence, supporting sentences, and concluding sentence form the standard academic paragraph.”