In the last post I wrote about editing the overall structure of your written message. Today I’ll move down a level and look at paragraphs and sentences.

Think of a paragraph as a unit of thought, with the rule of thumb being “One paragraph, one thought.” Your paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that tells your reader the subject of the paragraph, and every sentence in the paragraph should relate to that subject. For example, let’s say I begin a paragraph with the following sentence: “When I take my dog for a walk, it brings us both joy.” Anything in the paragraph should relate only to the joy of walking my dog. A sentence such as, “I give my dog food that makes his coat shiny and healthy,” has nothing to do with the subject in the topic sentence. Including it in this paragraph would create a disconnection in the reader’s mind, resulting in loss of flow. Any time you introduce a new topic, or even a different aspect of the same topic, it’s time for a new paragraph.

A grammatically correct sentence is a good start, but it’s only a start. An effective sentence has to work hard. It must express your thought clearly and concisely, with no wasted words. Here’s an example of a poor sentence: “It is with pleasure that I write to introduce the services of my company, which has been in the business of widget production for over twenty years.” Remember the old expression, “You can’t see the wood for the trees”? Let’s take away all the fluff and see what’s left: “I am pleased to introduce my company, a successful widget producer for 23 years.” That’s a sentence that gets its message across in just a few words.

Next time we’ll drill down even further and look at the details.