ClearTips: Riveting reports

8. Convert Your Raw Material into Draft Paragraphs

With the contents of each paragraph roughed out, the material of your paragraphs is now before you. Writing the perfect paragraph still won't be easy, but it should be much easier now that you have planned the order and content of each one.

Rough out your paragraphs by numbering your supporting elements—details, examples, and comments—in the order they might appear. Details that complement each other might be combined into one sentence. Paragraphs that are long and bristling with numbers may work better as a table or chart. Be especially careful to put dates or statistics in a logical order. Strike out unnecessary detail, and move elsewhere material that is not relevant to your point.

California will see big gains through natural increase and international migration but big losses through interstate migration.

• Projected increase of 17.7 million residents in the next 30 years
• California is the most populous state
• One in eight Americans live in California
• One in seven Americans will live in California by 2025
• The largest natural increase
• The largest net international migration
• The second largest inflow of interstate migrants
• The largest outflow of interstate migrants

The paragraph:

With California's projected increase of 17.7 million residents in the next 30 years, one American in seven will live in California by 2025, up from one in eight today. For this most populous of states, everything happens in a big way: the largest natural increase, the largest net international migration, the second largest inflow of interstate migrants, and the largest outflow of interstate migrants.

A solid first draft.

The following sections contain a few paragraph models (drawn from the companion book Powerful Paragraphs) to help you convert your raw material into draft paragraphs.

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