Editing Paragraph

{{Short description|Self-contained unit of discourse in writing}}
{{About||the journal|Paragraph (journal)}}
{{globalize|date=June 2013}}
A '''paragraph''' ({{etymology|grc|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==

The oldest classical British and Latin writings 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 divider]]s and [[terminal punctuation]] became common. The first way to divide sentences into groups was the original ''{{Lang|grc-Latn|[[paragraphos]]}}'', similar to an [[underscore]] at the beginning of the new group.<ref>{{cite book|title=The History of the English Paragraph|publisher=University of Chicago Press|author=Edwin Herbert Lewis|date=1894|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyenglishp00lewigoog/page/n13 9]|url=https://archive.org/details/historyenglishp00lewigoog}}</ref> The Greek ''{{Lang|grc-Latn|parágraphos}}'' evolved into the [[pilcrow]] (¶), which in English manuscripts in the [[Middle Ages]] can be seen inserted inline between sentences. 

[[File:United States Constitution.jpg|thumb|Indented paragraphs demonstrated in the [[Constitution of the United States|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.<ref name="Bringhurst2005" /> Modern English typography usually indicates a new paragraph by [[Indentation (typesetting)|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==
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."<ref name="Bringhurst2005">{{cite book |title= The Elements of Typographic Style|last= Bringhurst|first=Robert|year= 2005|publisher= Hartley and Marks|location= Vancouver|isbn= 0-88179-206-3|page=39}}</ref> Bringhurst explains as follows:

<blockquote>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.<ref name="Bringhurst2005" /></blockquote>

''The Elements of Typographic Style'' states that "at least one [[En space|en [space]]]" should be used to indent paragraphs after the first,<ref name="Bringhurst2005" /> noting that that is the "practical minimum".<ref name="Bringhurst2005a">{{cite book |title= The Elements of Typographic Style|last= Bringhurst|first=Robert|year= 2005|publisher= Hartley and Marks|location= Vancouver|isbn= 0-88179-206-3|page=40}}</ref> An [[em space]] is the most commonly used paragraph indent.<ref name="Bringhurst2005a" /> [[Miles Tinker]], in his book ''Legibility of Print'', concluded that indenting the first line of paragraphs increases [[readability]] by 7%, on average.<ref>{{cite book |title= Legibility of Print|last=Tinker|first=Miles A.|year= 1963|publisher= Iowa State University Press|location= Iowa|isbn= 0-8138-2450-8|page=127}}</ref>

When referencing a paragraph, typographic symbol {{unichar|00A7|SECTION SIGN|nlink=Section sign|html=}} 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{{nbsp}}({{char|¶}}) was used in Latin and western European languages. Other languages have [[Pilcrow#Paragraph signs in non-Latin writing systems|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==
{{See 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&nbsp;/&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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.w3.org/wiki/HTML/Elements/br|title=<nowiki><br></nowiki>: The Line Break element|website=MDN Web Docs|access-date=15 March 2018}}</ref>

=={{anchor|Decimal numbering}}Numbering==
{{main|Dot-decimal notation}}
{{See also|ISO 2145}}
Paragraphs are commonly numbered using the [[decimal number system|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.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kowwalski|first1=E.|title=Peano paragraphing|url=http://blogs.ethz.ch/kowalski/2008/06/03/peano-paragraphing/|website=blogs.ethz.ch|date=3 June 2008 }}</ref> [[Gradshteyn and Ryzhik]] is another book using this scheme since its third edition in 1951.

== {{Anchor|Paragraph break}}Section breaks ==
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{{main|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 (typography)|fleuron]], or a stylistic [[dingbat]].

==Style advice==

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 [[List of common English usage misconceptions#Usage|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.<ref name="UNC">{{cite web|url=https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/paragraphs/|title=Paragraph Development|author=University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|work=The Writing Center|publisher=University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|access-date=20 June 2018}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Braddock |first=Richard |date=1974 |title=The Frequency and Placement of Topic Sentences in Expository Prose |journal=Research in the Teaching of English |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=287–302}}</ref> 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).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jalt.org/pansig/2004/HTML/KimKon.htm|title=Effective writing instruction: From Japanese danraku to English paragraphs|first=Kazumi Kimura and Masako Kondo (timkondo *AT* nifty . com / Kazumikmr *AT* aol .|last=com)|website=jalt.org|access-date=15 March 2018}}</ref>   

==See also==
* [[Inverted pyramid (journalism)]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
*''[[The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]''.  4th ed.  New York: [[Houghton Mifflin]], 2000.
*[[Samuel Johnson|Johnson, Samuel]].  ''[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/4679/4679-h/4679-h.htm 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 ==

*{{Wiktionary-inline|paragraph}}

{{Typography terms}}

[[Category:Typography]]
[[Category:Writing]]