ClearTips: Powerful paragraphs

Stick to one verb form

Using one verb form rather than unnecessarily jumping from one form to another is always a good way to unify a paragraph.

The first paragraph uses a variety of verb forms, the second, only one.

Despite their stony homes, corals are fragile creatures. They will be crushed if you press too hard on them. If you cover them with silt, they can no longer feed on small passing animals. Blotting out the light by promoting the growth of algae in the waters above them would cause the other algae, with which they live symbiotically, to lose their ability to photosynthesize.

Despite their stony homes, corals are fragile creatures. Press too hard on them and they will be crushed. Cover them with silt and they can no longer feed on small passing animals. Blot out the light by promoting the growth of algae in the waters above them and other algae, with which they live symbiotically, can no longer photosynthesize.

The three imperatives of the second paragraph unify the three ideas loosely connected in the first.

In the next paragraph, the sentences are also similar in structure.

Ours cannot come out of the vision of any one man. It must be the product of the imaginations of many men. It must be a sharing with all peoples of our Bill of Rights, our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, our magnificent industrial products, our technical skills. It must be an internationalism of the people, by the people and for the people.

Back to Powerful paragraphs • Next