Writing Paragraphs is designed to assist students in mastering the elements of writing paragraph-length discourse. The book helps students develop skills in critical and analytical reading of paragraphs, which they in turn apply to their own writing. The commentary in the text is purposely kept brief, while principles are illustrated through abundant student examples. Students respond to these examples briefly and frequently in short practice sections throughout each chapter.

Chapters 1-5 focus on the general skills necessary for writing — finding topics, shaping topic sentences, building support, and providing coherence. Chapters 6 through 9 introduce narrative, descriptive, expository, and persuasive writing and are designed to show students different possibilities for organizing their writing. Chapter 10 offers detailed checklists for revising and proofreading. Chapter 11 on writing multiparagraph units provides a bridge to more advanced writing courses.