<!-- bryant-content-generator:start --> # Requiring an expository paragraph to remain... > Requiring an expository paragraph to remain intelligible after removal extends established paragraph craft rather than rejecting it. Purdue's writing guidance describes an effective paragraph through unity, coherence, a topic sentence, and adequate development, while noting that the topic sentence is commonly placed near the beginning so the reader can identify the subject. Harvard's model similarly moves from a topic sentence through evidence and analysis, then recommends ending with what the reader can now understand because the paragraph has done its work. My standard is stricter, but it extends this established expository form rather than opposing it: the paragraph should not only function within the essay; it should remain intelligible when lifted from it. **Source:** [[projects/The Argument in Miniature - How I Write Quotations, Paragraphs, and Reusable Prose|The Argument in Miniature: How I Write Quotations, Paragraphs, and Reusable Prose]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Requiring an expository paragraph to remain intelligible after removal extends established paragraph craft rather than rejecting it. Purdue's writing guidance describes an effective paragraph through unity, coherence, a topic sentence, and adequate development, while noting that the topic sentence is commonly placed near the beginning so the reader can identify the subject. Harvard's model similarly moves from a topic sentence through evidence and analysis, then recommends ending with what the reader can now understand because the paragraph has done its work. My standard is stricter, but it extends this established expository form rather than opposing it: the paragraph should not only function within the essay; it should remain intelligible when lifted from it.” — Bryant McGill https://bryantmcgill.com/passages/passages-requiring-expository-paragraph-remain-intelligible-lifted ``` <!-- bryant-content-generator:end -->