Introduction: Paragraph Construction | Writing Help

One of the most obvious and prominently-displayed issues in underdeveloped writing is an anemic, terse, or unorganized paragraph. In dissertation writing, you must strive for conciseness, directness, literal statements, and tight language. Focus. You do not have time nor space to ramble, stray off-topic, nor waste words on disconnected passages. Similarly, you are not writing a newspaper article or a social media post; a short two- or three-sentence cannot adequately build a strong paragraph. Paragraph construction and writing help may be among the most valuable pieces of advice you can seek while working on a thesis.

While there are many paragraph writing styles available to utilize, not all are ideal for dissertation writing. The Compita Consulting/Dissertation Coaching.net Team has developed a hybrid construct based on several methods (Schaffer, SEE-I, MEAL) to create a 5-6 sentence paragraph style that most aptly suits the needs of building direct and literal paragraphs for masters or doctoral work. (Although, this style can be adapted to undergraduate or graduate writing assignments outside the scope of thesis documents.)

Paragraph Construction | The Seeker Structure

The basic structure of a Seeker (SEEECR) paragraph is:

• S: State the paragraph’s purpose
• E: Elaborate on the purpose/show importance
• E: Example or evidence
• E: Explain or expand on your example or evidence
• C: Conclude the paragraph
• R: Re-read the passage

State

State the purpose of your upcoming paragraph. This should be like an introductory paragraph to a section but in one sentence. State concisely, be direct, be literal, be firm; try to build this sentence in 20 words (not always possible, but the introductory paragraph needs to be a short burst of information, limited or devoid of granular details, just introduce the topic).

Elaborate

The elaboration sentence should be an extension of the introduction. In the State paragraph, you want conciseness you want a little bit of extension. Think of the Elaborate paragraph as a furthered introduction. Do not re-state the introductory material, expand on it; a little detail here is good but a run-on sentence is not, as you will be providing specifics in the next two steps.

Example

Extend the Elaborate sentence with a specific example. Facts, statistics, a one-sentence recap of an event, any germane example will work here, all paragraphs are unique. Here you do not want to prove your point, you support the State and ‘Elaborate’ sentences, which should have set up your paragraph’s thesis; here you show us that something is available to support your contention. A common error we see is the student ending the passage here. It is assumed the thought process is: 1) I’ve introduced the topic. 2) Here’s an example to support that. 3) I’m done with this paragraph, seeing as how I’ve stated something. If you have ended your paragraph with an example, it is more likely than not that you have a terse and weak passage, one that is probably lacking in explanation.

Explain

Before starting this sentence, take a moment to review briefly: 1) Does your intro make sense? 2) Does your elaboration extend it? 3) Does your example logically follow the thought process and support 1 and 2? If you can say yes to all three, move on to the Explain passage. Here you can provide context for your example, explain how it supports the point. But didn’t we support the point with the example? Yes, but the example simply makes a statement of fact (be it data or narrative), the Explain sentence tells us why your example makes your case. A point of syntax: In order to avoid the unclear antecedent, it may be necessary to combine the Example and Explain sentences with a semi-colon. We suggest you write the passage as a separate sentence first and combine them if necessary when you revise the draft.

Conclude

At first glance you might be thinking that this is the easiest paragraph to construct; conclude the passage and you are done. But like a well-built argument in formal logic, the conclusion to a good paragraph must cleanly tie all of the preceding material together, and tell the reader why your statement, elaboration, and example lead to a sentence that supports your paragraph’s thesis.

Re-Read

While this may not appear to be a writing step, there is nothing stopping you from revising your draft as you write. Re-read the passage and look carefully for the five elements listed above. Is there a solid introduction containing very limited detailed information? Does the elaboration extend the introduction and provide a broader level of detail? Did you provide some evidence (the example) to support your statements? Following that, did you explain your example? And finally, how does your conclusion read? Does it bring the passage together? Once you have reviewed the passage and determined if it aligns with the SEEEC structure, you can move on to the next passage! Most certainly, though, do not be afraid to revise as you work through drafts and towards the final product.

Paragraph Construction | Writing Help | An Example

The passage below is dissected to display each component listed in the SEEEC structure.

Here is the passage without annotation:

Humans have an inherent need to comprehend their physical surroundings, as well as to put atypical events into perspective (Davis et al., 1998). For those communities that have experienced a tornado the idea of them being “unusual” may not seem applicable to their reality. Grazulis (2001) claimed that any given home in the United States can expect to be hit by a tornado once every one-thousand years, and less than one percent of the U.S. population will ever find themselves in the path of a tornado. For those that do find their lives affected by a tornado event, the impact can range from practically none to severe and life-changing. As science constantly pushes forward in seeking to understand physical processes, it must also consider who and what physical processes affect—people and the communities in which they live.

And here the passage is broken into the SEEEC components.

State

Humans have an inherent need to comprehend their physical surroundings, as well as to put atypical events into perspective (Davis et al., 1998).

The topic is clearly stated; the passage that follows is focused on understanding one’s physical surroundings, and putting events that may not be typical into perspective.

Elaborate

For those communities that have experienced a tornado the idea of them being “unusual” may not seem applicable to their reality.

Sentence two elaborates on the environment as well as the atypical event humans recognize as a tornado.

Example

Grazulis (2001) claimed that any given home in the United States can expect to be hit by a tornado once every one-thousand years, and less than one percent of the U.S. population will ever find themselves in the path of a tornado.

The example provided describes the atypical nature of a tornado event from a household perspective.

Explain (or Expand)

For those that do find their lives affected by a tornado event, the impact can range from practically none to severe and life-changing.

The example is put into the context of those that are outside the statistic quoted and expands on the idea of environmental interaction and sets up the conclusion.

Conclude

As science constantly pushes forward in seeking to understand physical processes, it must also consider who and what physical processes affect—people and the communities in which they live.

The passage is concluded by tying back to the introductory statement, as well as finalizing the idea that both the physical processes (environment) and human processes (effects on people) must be considered.

Re-Read

Take a second look at the passage to ensure it aligns with the structure.

Concluding Remarks on Paragraph Construction and Writing Help

Of course, not all paragraphs in a thesis can be constructed using this method. Some shorter paragraphs may be necessary to lead into a short list or to introduce the research questions. In cases where a narrative approach is not ideal or necessary, the Elaborate and/or Example components are the most likely candidates to exclude. If the paragraph is leading to a list, the Conclusion sentence may follow the list or be eliminated. As you work through your draft and employ this structure, remember that upon review, changes may be necessary, but for the majority of paragraphs in a thesis, the narrative approach should be used, and the SEEECR method will help you construct strong paragraphs.