CEM Corner: Effective Paragraphs
By Daryl Lee Spiewak, CEM, TEM, CFM, CEM® Commissioner and ASPEP President Emergency Action Coordinator, Brazos River Authority, Waco, TX
Last month's tips article described how to develop the body of your essay. In it I said the body, or middle, is the main portion of your essay and contains all the discussion, supporting facts, and evidence demonstrating your grasp and application of as many of the knowledge, skills, and abilities as are applicable to the problem you will solve.
This month we will discuss the key building block of your essay – the paragraph. The paragraph is a combination of sentences representing a single topic or idea. Each paragraph within the essay is a discrete step in your analysis or discussion. Besides providing the details necessary to demonstrate your understanding of the essay scenario, the paragraph can be used to analyze the topic, to compare and contrast alternatives, to discuss cause and effect, to define terms, to make claims, to show results, and to transition between ideas. In this way, paragraphs serve to lead the reader in a logical manner from beginning to end. They also serve to rest the reader's eyes and mind through the use of varied sentence structure and sentence length, the number of sentences per paragraph, and the use of white space on the paper.
Make sure your paragraphs contain some sense of internal order. You can use time, space, climax or importance. Consider using the familiar to the unfamiliar, the general to the particular, narration, or some other logical way to arrange your paragraphs. Be sure to employ a method of ordering that will make sense to the reader.
Start a new paragraph, with a new topic sentence, when you want to show the reader you are switching to a new idea. You should also start a new paragraph to show a change in time or place, to emphasize contrast, to highlight an important point, or to break up a long paragraph.
According to Purdue University's Online Writing Lab , effective paragraphs "contain unity, coherence, a topic sentence and adequate development." Unity means that all the sentences in the paragraph contribute to one main idea that is usually presented in the topic sentence. It doesn't begin with one major point of discussion and end with another. A paragraph doesn't wander around with a jumble of ideas either.
Coherence means "stick together." It is the bridge that connects each sentence to the paragraph as a whole. You can ensure that your reader easily understands the purpose of each paragraph and its central idea by using logical or verbal bridges. Logical bridges carry the same idea from sentence to sentence. Verbal bridges are key words, synonyms and pronouns you can repeat in several sentences. Demonstratives, such as "these examples" or "that event," can also point back to previous sentences. Transitional or connecting words cue your reader to relationships between sentences or joins sentences together. Some examples are "and," "but," "in addition," "also," "therefore," "moreover" and "however."
Topic sentences clearly state the paragraph's topic or main point; they let the reader know what the paragraph is all about. Topic sentences usually appear as the first or second sentence in a paragraph, but may appear at the end as a summary of the para-graph's main point.
You can create a topic sentence by considering the details you plan to explain. Determine what these details have in common or what theme unifies them. That idea then becomes your topic sentence. Here is an example of a good topic sentence. "The third part of my implementation plan is to conduct a full-scale exercise. The scenario will...[your elaboration follows]."
Once you have your main idea or topic sentence, determine what examples or supporting information will convince the reader. The Purdue University Online Writing Lab identified these methods for ensuring your paragraph is adequately developed:
 Use examples or illustrations.
Cite data.
Define terms.
Analyze the topic.
Describe the topic.
Discuss the process.
Use analogies.
Provide a timeline.
Compare and contrast.
Evaluate cause and effect.
Examine consequences.
Here are a few "rules of thumb" they listed for effective paragraph writing:
Include only one main idea per paragraph.
Aim for three to five or more sentences per paragraph.
Include about three typed paragraphs on each page.
Make your paragraphs proportional to your paper – long paragraphs for long articles and short paragraphs for short articles.
If you have a few very short paragraphs, think about whether they are really parts of a larger paragraph. If so, combine them or add details to support each point.
By following these tips, you will be able to write a good paragraph. These tips will help to improve your business and everyday writing, too.
March 2001, IAEM Bulletin
Last month's tips article dealt with developing your problem statement. This month's tips will describe how to develop the body of your essay. The body, or middle, is the main portion of your essay. It comes after you've introduced your topic and established your problem statement. The body contains all the discussion, supporting facts and evidence demonstrating your grasp and application of as many of the knowledge, skills and abilities applicable to the problem you will solve.
A properly developed body must adequately address five sections. These are the objective, necessary actions, intended outcomes, human resources, and material and financial resources necessary to solve your stated problem. Each section will contain at least one paragraph, while most will have multiple paragraphs.
In the first section, you need to identify the objective you expect to achieve. An objective is the goal or end result related to your problem statement. For example, your problem statement says, "The emergency management community cannot coordinate communications adequately during the response phase." One objective may be to automate communications on a standardized frequency and time schedule. Alternate objectives may be to integrate RACES volunteers into the EOC and ICS systems, or implement new communications protocols. You are not limited on what objective to chose. Use your experiences and make the essay personal.
In the second section, you need to describe the necessary actions you will take to achieve your objective and solve your problem. In my example, this section will describe actions such as researching communication equipment specifications, radio frequencies, licenses, SOPs and regulations; determining security requirements; coordinating with response agencies and technical support departments; developing a proposal, budget, training program and exercises; and updating the emergency plan and SOPs to reflect the new procedures.
The third section is where you describe the intended outcome as a result of the actions you described above. These outcomes need to be concrete and measurable so that we will know when they are achieved. Some outcomes from my example could be obtaining new radios and FCC licenses, installing the radios, completing a full-scale exercise, and updating the SOPs and emergency plans, resulting in the emergency management community adequately communicating together during the response phase of an emergency.
The fourth section describes the human resources you expect to use to achieve your objective and solve your problem. Using the same example, these could be the radio operators and technicians, the incident (fire, police and HAZMAT) commanders, selected EOC staff, emergency management staff, county/city financial staff, engineers, lawyers and planners. Tailor the list to your particular situation.
In the final section, describe all the material and financial resources you plan to use. For my example, the material resources could be the radios, power supplies, antennas, FCC licenses, SOPs, communications checklists and response equipment. The financial resources could be the money for new radio equipment, the installation costs and the full-scale exercise. The FCC licenses are free because we are a government agency.
Now that you have the basic information, you still need to apply the knowledge, skills and abilities criteria throughout the essay. Integrate your knowledge of the four phases of emergency management, human behavior, and laws, regulations, codes, etc., that affect your problem. Discuss how you would lead people and build and maintain alliances while solving your problem. Finally, explain how you will manage your organization to meet your stated goals and objectives; what you have to do to acquire and manage the human, material and financial resources you said you need; and how you plan to manage multiple priorities using creative problem-solving techniques.
Remember, your essay doesn't have to follow this exact format but it does have to include all the requirements. Many CEMs have adequately addressed the problem statement and five body sections using other formats. Their essay construction allowed them to combine different sections into the same paragraph. Choose a format that is comfortable and allows you to adequately address all the essay requirements.
February 2001, IAEM Bulletin
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