Relate all Sentences to the Controlling Idea
A paragraph is unified when all its sentences develop, or expand on, the central idea in some way. No sentence is off the topic.
Notice how every sentence in the following paragraph develops the topic sentence; it is a unified paragraph.
My husband and I often joke that the reason we have stayed married for so long is that we continually mystify each other with responses and attitudes that are plainly due to our different backgrounds. For years I frustrated him with unpredictable silences and accusing looks. I felt a great reluctance to tell him what I wanted or what needed to be done in the home. I was inwardly furious that I was being put into the position of having to tell him what to do. I felt my femaleness, in the Japanese sense, was being degraded. I did not want to be the authority. That would be humiliating for him and for me. He, on the other hand, considering the home to be under my dominion, in the North American sense, did not dare to impose on me what he wanted. He wanted me to tell him or make a list, like his parents did in his home. - Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, “Living in Two Cultures”
The plan of the paragraph is clear: Houston’s first sentence states her belief that culture shapes our attitudes and our responses. Then she gives reasons:
- She could not tell her husband what she wanted, so she remained silent and gave accusing looks.
- She did not want the authority of having to tell him what to do.
- Her femaleness, in the Japanese sense, was threatened by his attitude.
- He considered, in the North American sense, that the woman ran the house.
- He did not want to impinge on her role.
- He wanted to be told what to do or be given a list.
WPTips
Testing for Unity
If you think that there are sentences in any of your paragraphs that may be unnecessary and might be eliminated, block them off, move them out of the paragraph, and read the new paragraph. If the paragraph is tight, with no gaps in logic, eliminate the sentences permanently.
