A paragraph is longer than a sentence

Photo by Justine Kober on Unsplash

Dear writers of the internet:¹

Please!

A paragraph is longer than a single sentence.

Don’t start a new paragraph for every sentence you write.

Good writing is organized hierarchically.

Sentences are one level of the hierarchy; next up are paragraphs, then sections, chapters, and if you want to go further, parts and volumes.

The purpose of a sentence is to convey one piece of information.

The purpose of a paragraph is to convey multiple pieces of information, centered around a single thought, concept, or idea.

In good writing, a new paragraph signals the conclusion of the previous line of argument and the beginning of a new one.

In bad writing, a new paragraph signals nothing.

Good writing flows; it is a pleasure to read.

Bad writing feels like riding your bicycle down a cobblestone road.²

Why would you do that to your readers?

Do you have no decency?

Or is it a skills issue?

Let me tell you about paragraphs. Paragraphs typically contain at least three sentences but rarely more than ten. The length of a paragraph is primarily determined by how many sentences you can string together while still talking about the same concept or idea. You should not put more than one idea into a paragraph; but also, you should not break up a single idea over multiple paragraphs. It’s unlikely that you can fully convey an idea with just a sentence or two. It’s similarly unlikely that you can write ten or more sentences and not introduce some new concept that would do better in its own paragraph. This is how we arrive at the recommended length.

Next, each paragraph needs to tell a little story. It needs a beginning, development, and ending. The beginning, typically the first sentence of the paragraph, defines the topic. It states what the paragraph will be about. Then, the subsequent sentences provide the story development. This is where all the little details go that round out the storyline. The last sentence in each paragraph is the point of maximum emphasis. It’s where the story ends. Make it count.

Finally, there’s a rhythm to your audience’s reading. Your readers will naturally take a little break at the end of each paragraph. So align your story’s flow with those breaks. Make the readers take a break when your story takes a break. Not earlier. Not later. When the paragraph ends, the story ends.

1. This post was inspired by way too many Substack articles that place each sentence in its own paragraph.

2. If you’re not European this may not mean much to you. But trust me, it’s not fun.