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Wikipedia

Paragraph

A paragraph (from Ancient Greek παράγραφος (parágraphos) 'to write beside') is a self-contained unit of discourse in writing dealing with a particular point or idea. Though not required by the orthographic conventions of any language with a writing system, paragraphs are a conventional means of organizing extended segments of prose.

History Edit

The oldest classical British and Latin writing had little or no space between words and could be written in boustrophedon (alternating directions). Over time, text direction (left to right) became standardized. Word dividers and terminal punctuation became common. The first way to divide sentences into groups was the original paragraphos, similar to an underscore at the beginning of the new group.[1] The Greek parágraphos evolved into the pilcrow (¶), which in English manuscripts in the Middle Ages can be seen inserted inline between sentences.

 
Indented paragraphs demonstrated in the US Constitution

Ancient manuscripts also divided sentences into paragraphs with line breaks (newline) followed by an initial at the beginning of the next paragraph. An initial is an oversized capital letter, sometimes outdented beyond the margin of the text. This style can be seen, for example, in the original Old English manuscript of Beowulf. Outdenting is still used in English typography, though not commonly.[2] Modern English typography usually indicates a new paragraph by indenting the first line. This style can be seen in the (handwritten) United States Constitution from 1787. For additional ornamentation, a hedera leaf or other symbol can be added to the inter-paragraph white space, or put in the indentation space.

A second common modern English style is to use no indenting, but add vertical white space to create "block paragraphs." On a typewriter, a double carriage return produces a blank line for this purpose; professional typesetters (or word processing software) may put in an arbitrary vertical space by adjusting leading. This style is very common in electronic formats, such as on the World Wide Web and email. Wikipedia itself employs this format.

Typographical considerations Edit

Professionally printed material in English typically does not indent the first paragraph, but indents those that follow. For example, Robert Bringhurst states that we should "Set opening paragraphs flush left."[2] Bringhurst explains as follows:

The function of a paragraph is to mark a pause, setting the paragraph apart from what precedes it. If a paragraph is preceded by a title or subhead, the indent is superfluous and can therefore be omitted.[2]

The Elements of Typographic Style states that "at least one en [space]" should be used to indent paragraphs after the first,[2] noting that that is the "practical minimum".[3] An em space is the most commonly used paragraph indent.[3] Miles Tinker, in his book Legibility of Print, concluded that indenting the first line of paragraphs increases readability by 7%, on average.[4]

When referencing a paragraph, typographic symbol U+00A7 § SECTION SIGN (§) may be used: "See § Background".

In modern usage, paragraph initiation is typically indicated by one or more of a preceding blank line, indentation, an "Initial" ("drop cap") or other indication. Historically, the pilcrow symbol () was used in Latin and western European languages. Other languages have their own marks with similar function.

Widows and orphans occur when the first line of a paragraph is the last in a column or page, or when the last line of a paragraph is the first line of a new column or page.

In computing Edit

In word processing and desktop publishing, a hard return or paragraph break indicates a new paragraph, to be distinguished from the soft return at the end of a line internal to a paragraph. This distinction allows word wrap to automatically re-flow text as it is edited, without losing paragraph breaks. The software may apply vertical white space or indenting at paragraph breaks, depending on the selected style.

How such documents are actually stored depends on the file format. For example, HTML uses the <p> tag as a paragraph container. In plaintext files, there are two common formats. The pre-formatted text will have a newline at the end of every physical line, and two newlines at the end of a paragraph, creating a blank line. An alternative is to only put newlines at the end of each paragraph, and leave word wrapping up to the application that displays or processes the text.

A line break that is inserted manually, and preserved when re-flowing, may still be distinct from a paragraph break, although this is typically not done in prose. HTML's <br /> tag produces a line break without ending the paragraph; the W3C recommends using it only to separate lines of verse (where each "paragraph" is a stanza), or in a street address.[5]

Numbering Edit

Paragraphs are commonly numbered using the decimal system, where (in books) the integral part of the decimal represents the number of the chapter and the fractional parts are arranged in each chapter in order of magnitude. Thus in Whittaker and Watson's 1921 A Course of Modern Analysis, chapter 9 is devoted to Fourier Series; within that chapter §9.6 introduces Riemann's theory, the following section §9.61 treats an associated function, following §9.62 some properties of that function, following §9.621 a related lemma, while §9.63 introduces Riemann's main theorem, and so on. Whittaker and Watson attribute this system of numbering to Giuseppe Peano on their "Contents" page, although this attribution does not seem to be widely credited elsewhere.[6] Gradshteyn and Ryzhik is another book using this scheme since its third edition in 1951.

Section breaks Edit

Many published books use a device to separate certain paragraphs further when there is a change of scene or time. This extra space, especially when co-occurring at a page or section break, may contain a special symbol known as a dinkus, a fleuron, or a stylistic dingbat.

Style advice Edit

The crafting of clear, coherent paragraphs is the subject of considerable stylistic debate. The form varies among different types of writing. For example, newspapers, scientific journals, and fictional essays have somewhat different conventions for the placement of paragraph breaks.

A common English usage misconception is that a paragraph has three to five sentences; single-word paragraphs can be seen in some professional writing, and journalists often use single-sentence paragraphs.[7]

English students are sometimes taught that a paragraph should have a topic sentence or "main idea", preferably first, and multiple "supporting" or "detail" sentences that explain or supply evidence. One technique of this type, intended for essay writing, is known as the Schaffer paragraph. Topic sentences are largely a phenomenon of school-based writing, and the convention does not necessarily obtain in other contexts.[8] This advice is also culturally specific, for example, it differs from stock advice for the construction of paragraphs in Japanese (translated as danraku 段落).[9]

See also Edit

Notes Edit

  1. ^ Edwin Herbert Lewis (1894). The History of the English Paragraph. University of Chicago Press. p. 9.
  2. ^ a b c d Bringhurst, Robert (2005). The Elements of Typographic Style. Vancouver: Hartley and Marks. p. 39. ISBN 0-88179-206-3.
  3. ^ a b Bringhurst, Robert (2005). The Elements of Typographic Style. Vancouver: Hartley and Marks. p. 40. ISBN 0-88179-206-3.
  4. ^ Tinker, Miles A. (1963). Legibility of Print. Iowa: Iowa State University Press. p. 127. ISBN 0-8138-2450-8.
  5. ^ "<br>: The Line Break element". MDN Web Docs. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  6. ^ Kowwalski, E. "Peano paragraphing". blogs.ethz.ch.
  7. ^ University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "Paragraph Development". The Writing Center. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  8. ^ Braddock, Richard (1974). "The Frequency and Placement of Topic Sentences in Expository Prose". Research in the Teaching of English. 8 (3): 287–302.
  9. ^ com), Kazumi Kimura and Masako Kondo (timkondo *AT* nifty . com / Kazumikmr *AT* aol . "Effective writing instruction: From Japanese danraku to English paragraphs". jalt.org. Retrieved 15 March 2018.

References Edit

External links Edit

  •   The dictionary definition of paragraph at Wiktionary

paragraph, examples, perspective, this, article, represent, worldwide, view, subject, improve, this, article, discuss, issue, talk, page, create, article, appropriate, june, 2013, learn, when, remove, this, template, message, paragraph, from, ancient, greek, π. The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject You may improve this article discuss the issue on the talk page or create a new article as appropriate June 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message A paragraph from Ancient Greek paragrafos paragraphos to write beside is a self contained unit of discourse in writing dealing with a particular point or idea Though not required by the orthographic conventions of any language with a writing system paragraphs are a conventional means of organizing extended segments of prose Contents 1 History 2 Typographical considerations 3 In computing 4 Numbering 5 Section breaks 6 Style advice 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 External linksHistory EditThe oldest classical British and Latin writing had little or no space between words and could be written in boustrophedon alternating directions Over time text direction left to right became standardized Word dividers and terminal punctuation became common The first way to divide sentences into groups was the original paragraphos similar to an underscore at the beginning of the new group 1 The Greek paragraphos evolved into the pilcrow which in English manuscripts in the Middle Ages can be seen inserted inline between sentences nbsp Indented paragraphs demonstrated in the US ConstitutionAncient manuscripts also divided sentences into paragraphs with line breaks newline followed by an initial at the beginning of the next paragraph An initial is an oversized capital letter sometimes outdented beyond the margin of the text This style can be seen for example in the original Old English manuscript of Beowulf Outdenting is still used in English typography though not commonly 2 Modern English typography usually indicates a new paragraph by indenting the first line This style can be seen in the handwritten United States Constitution from 1787 For additional ornamentation a hedera leaf or other symbol can be added to the inter paragraph white space or put in the indentation space A second common modern English style is to use no indenting but add vertical white space to create block paragraphs On a typewriter a double carriage return produces a blank line for this purpose professional typesetters or word processing software may put in an arbitrary vertical space by adjusting leading This style is very common in electronic formats such as on the World Wide Web and email Wikipedia itself employs this format Typographical considerations EditProfessionally printed material in English typically does not indent the first paragraph but indents those that follow For example Robert Bringhurst states that we should Set opening paragraphs flush left 2 Bringhurst explains as follows The function of a paragraph is to mark a pause setting the paragraph apart from what precedes it If a paragraph is preceded by a title or subhead the indent is superfluous and can therefore be omitted 2 The Elements of Typographic Style states that at least one en space should be used to indent paragraphs after the first 2 noting that that is the practical minimum 3 An em space is the most commonly used paragraph indent 3 Miles Tinker in his book Legibility of Print concluded that indenting the first line of paragraphs increases readability by 7 on average 4 When referencing a paragraph typographic symbol U 00A7 SECTION SIGN amp sect may be used See Background In modern usage paragraph initiation is typically indicated by one or more of a preceding blank line indentation an Initial drop cap or other indication Historically the pilcrow symbol was used in Latin and western European languages Other languages have their own marks with similar function Widows and orphans occur when the first line of a paragraph is the last in a column or page or when the last line of a paragraph is the first line of a new column or page In computing EditSee also Newline In word processing and desktop publishing a hard return or paragraph break indicates a new paragraph to be distinguished from the soft return at the end of a line internal to a paragraph This distinction allows word wrap to automatically re flow text as it is edited without losing paragraph breaks The software may apply vertical white space or indenting at paragraph breaks depending on the selected style How such documents are actually stored depends on the file format For example HTML uses the lt p gt tag as a paragraph container In plaintext files there are two common formats The pre formatted text will have a newline at the end of every physical line and two newlines at the end of a paragraph creating a blank line An alternative is to only put newlines at the end of each paragraph and leave word wrapping up to the application that displays or processes the text A line break that is inserted manually and preserved when re flowing may still be distinct from a paragraph break although this is typically not done in prose HTML s lt br gt tag produces a line break without ending the paragraph the W3C recommends using it only to separate lines of verse where each paragraph is a stanza or in a street address 5 Numbering EditMain article Dot decimal notation Paragraphs are commonly numbered using the decimal system where in books the integral part of the decimal represents the number of the chapter and the fractional parts are arranged in each chapter in order of magnitude Thus in Whittaker and Watson s 1921 A Course of Modern Analysis chapter 9 is devoted to Fourier Series within that chapter 9 6 introduces Riemann s theory the following section 9 61 treats an associated function following 9 62 some properties of that function following 9 621 a related lemma while 9 63 introduces Riemann s main theorem and so on Whittaker and Watson attribute this system of numbering to Giuseppe Peano on their Contents page although this attribution does not seem to be widely credited elsewhere 6 Gradshteyn and Ryzhik is another book using this scheme since its third edition in 1951 See also ISO 2145Section breaks EditMain article Section typography Many published books use a device to separate certain paragraphs further when there is a change of scene or time This extra space especially when co occurring at a page or section break may contain a special symbol known as a dinkus a fleuron or a stylistic dingbat Style advice EditThe crafting of clear coherent paragraphs is the subject of considerable stylistic debate The form varies among different types of writing For example newspapers scientific journals and fictional essays have somewhat different conventions for the placement of paragraph breaks A common English usage misconception is that a paragraph has three to five sentences single word paragraphs can be seen in some professional writing and journalists often use single sentence paragraphs 7 English students are sometimes taught that a paragraph should have a topic sentence or main idea preferably first and multiple supporting or detail sentences that explain or supply evidence One technique of this type intended for essay writing is known as the Schaffer paragraph Topic sentences are largely a phenomenon of school based writing and the convention does not necessarily obtain in other contexts 8 This advice is also culturally specific for example it differs from stock advice for the construction of paragraphs in Japanese translated as danraku 段落 9 See also EditInverted pyramid journalism Notes Edit Edwin Herbert Lewis 1894 The History of the English Paragraph University of Chicago Press p 9 a b c d Bringhurst Robert 2005 The Elements of Typographic Style Vancouver Hartley and Marks p 39 ISBN 0 88179 206 3 a b Bringhurst Robert 2005 The Elements of Typographic Style Vancouver Hartley and Marks p 40 ISBN 0 88179 206 3 Tinker Miles A 1963 Legibility of Print Iowa Iowa State University Press p 127 ISBN 0 8138 2450 8 lt br gt The Line Break element MDN Web Docs Retrieved 15 March 2018 Kowwalski E Peano paragraphing blogs ethz ch University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Paragraph Development The Writing Center University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Retrieved 20 June 2018 Braddock Richard 1974 The Frequency and Placement of Topic Sentences in Expository Prose Research in the Teaching of English 8 3 287 302 com Kazumi Kimura and Masako Kondo timkondo AT nifty com Kazumikmr AT aol Effective writing instruction From Japanese danraku to English paragraphs jalt org Retrieved 15 March 2018 References EditThe American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language 4th ed New York Houghton Mifflin 2000 Johnson Samuel Lives of the Poets Addison Savage etc Project Gutenberg November 2003 E Book 4673 Rozakis Laurie E Master the AP English Language and Composition Test Lawrenceville NJ Peterson s 2000 ISBN 0 7645 6184 7 10 ISBN 978 0 7645 6184 9 13 External links Edit nbsp The dictionary definition of paragraph at Wiktionary Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Paragraph amp oldid 1180781892 Decimal numbering, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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