There are only a few questions that you need to ask yourself. Have I written a sentence? Do I need a compound sentence? Do I need subordinate clauses? Have I produced all these elements in accordance with the rules? Does my sentence make sense and read well? Beyond the individual sentence, however, is the logic of a paragraph, where we need to be more Ware of how each sentence as a unit combines in a larger pattern. The ore we are in control of building an argument, the more we are going to be control of the argument in an essay. This might be more apparent if we look again at the paragraph we have been discussing as the student initially wrote it and then at the revised version:
The creation of the city of Philadelphia, and the colony of Pennsylvania at the same time, by William Penn, is often referred to as his ‘Holy Experiment’. He wanted to create a place where anyone could live, I without fear. It was the first place of its kind, in America in this respect, also in the way he carefully detailed and drew up the system of government, to be implemented there, and proposal for future American colonies. In Philadelphia also, the first steps were made towards breaking away from British and European ideas. Both in terms of thoughts and principles and appearance.
In its revised version it reads:
William Penn’s creation of the city of Philadelphia is often referred to as his ‘Holy Experiment’. He wanted to create a place where anyone could live, and live without fear. It was, in this respect, the first place of its kind in America, as well as being first in the way that Penn carefully detailed and drew up the system of government to be implemented there. These proposals served as a model for future American colonies. In Philadelphia! Therefore, the first significant steps were made towards breaking award from British and European ideas, both in thoughts and principles. In addition to this, Penn also introduced a change in the physical appearance of a city.
We could go through this paragraph again, polishing and perfecting the expression, perhaps, for example, not starting the last two sentences with:, the word In – the last might be changed to Additionally or Moreover.
What we are more interested in stressing here, however, is that there is a three-part structure to the paragraph. An idea is introduced in the topic: sentence, which is then elaborated in the body of the paragraph; at the end, however, the paragraph arrives somewhere new, in effect creating a topic and a direction for the next paragraph of the essay. It is useful to bear in mind this idea of how a paragraph advances when you write an essay, because it helps you pay attention to how each sentence leads into, and on to, the next sentence. A paragraph that has a harmonious and coherent feel will probably always be seen to display meticulous care in the area of the negotiations between, and transition between, one sentence and the next. Nearly always it will have a clear, ordered structure that starts with a topic sentence, moves through elaborations of that topic and then arrives at a firm point ready for the next paragraph.
As an illustration of paragraph logic, look at this opening of a GCSE history essay. The person writing the essay is only sixteen, but has a firm grasp of how to construct a sentence, and how to make one sentence lead into the next sentence. In addition, there is a clear understanding of how to present a topic sentence, and then elaborate the point, before the paragraph arrives at a point of conclusion that is, at the same time, a point of renewal.
Absolutism is a system of government in which all social, political, cultural and spiritual activities are controlled by the king or queen. Older states were ruled by a monarch who relied upon advice from the feudal nobles. The new states in the seventeenth century, however, were ruled by kings who controlled everything. It was a form of government in which people were made totally obedient to the ruler of the state.
These are fairly straightforward sentences, though they are not simple Sentences in the technical sense. They are not overloaded or excessively P mg. Each consists of a main clause and a subordinate clause. The ideas are developed efficiently and effectively precisely because the rules of sentence Construction are adhered to. The bonus, as we have pointed out, is the three part structure of the paragraph, moving from the topic sentence to the body of the paragraph, and then to a neat conclusion. Each sentence makes a Contribution, establishing a measured and meaningful step forward.