THE PARAGRAPH

Look at the following example:

Stark white and threatening, the letter lay on the brown door mat. I stared at it; my body became rigid. Although I hadn’t seen it for years, I’d have recognised my sister’s handwriting anywhere. Why was she writing to me now? Forcing my reluctant knees to bend, I stooped down and picked it up. Holding it as carefully as if it contained a time bomb, I carried it to the kitchen and dropped it on the table. Then, turning my back on it, I picked up the kettle with shaking hands and filled it. Hardly aware of what I was doing, I plugged it in and took a mug out of the cupboard. Still in a daze, I made the coffee and took some scalding sips. Then gingerly I picked up the envelope and slit it open. It was a wedding invitation! ‘Mr and Mrs Collins’ requested ‘the pleasure of the company of Miss Cathy Singleton at the wedding of their daughter Lydia . . .’ I dropped the card in amazement. Was my niece really old enough to be married? Had my sister at last decided to bury the hatchet or had Lydia forced her to send the invitation? I couldn’t believe that I, the black sheep of the family, had actually been invited to the wedding of my estranged sister’s daughter.

If you picked up a book and glanced at the page you’ve just read, you’d probably replace it on the shelf. Sentences have to be grouped together in paragraphs, which are indented at the beginning so the page looks more ‘reader friendly’.

Paragraphs can vary in length but each paragraph deals with one topic. Within the group of sentences there should usually be a topic sentence. This is the main sentence and the content is expanded in the rest of the paragraph.

The positioning of the topic sentence can vary. In the following example the topic sentence, which is underlined, opens the paragraph. It introduces the letter and the following sentences are all related to it. The first paragraph is not usually indented.

Stark white and threatening, the letter lay on the brown door mat. I stared at it; my body became rigid. Although I hadn’t seen it for years, I’d have recognised my sister’s handwriting anywhere. Why was she writing to me now?

In the next example, which is the second paragraph of the original passage, the opening sentences build up to the final opening of the letter in the last sentence. In this case the topic sentence, underlined, comes last. The following paragraphs are all indented.

Forcing my reluctant knees to bend, I stooped down and picked it up. Holding it as carefully as if it contained a time bomb, I carried it to the kitchen and dropped it on the table. Then, turning my back on it, I picked up the kettle with shaking hands and filled it. Hardly aware of what I was doing, I plugged it in and took a mug out of the cupboard. Still in a daze, I made the coffee and took some scalding sips. Then gingerly I picked up the envelope and slit it open.

There follows a short paragraph with the topic sentence underlined. The brevity of the paragraph emphasises Cathy’s amazement at the wedding invitation. In the final paragraph the topic sentence is at the end as the narrator’s amazement reaches a climax when she gives a reason for her astonishment.

It was a wedding invitation! ‘Mr and Mrs Collins’ requested ‘the pleasure of the company of Miss Cathy Singleton at the wedding of their daughter, Lydia . . . ‘

I dropped the card in amazement. Was my niece really old enough to be married? Had my sister at last decided to bury the hatchet or had Lydia forced her to send the invitation? I couldn’t believe that I, the black sheep of the family, had actually been invited to the wedding of my estranged sister’s daughter.

Single sentence paragraphs

Most paragraphs contain a number of sentences but it is possible to use a one-sentence paragraph for effect. Look at the following example:

He heard the ominous sound of footsteps but suddenly he realised he had a chance. There was a key in the door. Swiftly he turned it in the lock before his captors could reach him. While the door handle rattled, he turned his attention to the window. There was a drainpipe nearby. Opening the window, he stretched out his hand and grasped it. Clambering over the window-sill, he started to slither down. A shout from below startled him.

Losing his grip, he crashed to the ground at the feet of his enemy.

In this case the single sentence of the second paragraph is dramatic and stands out from the rest of the text.

DIRECT SPEECH

Direct speech is what a character actually says. When writing it, paragraphs are used slightly differently. You can tell at a glance how much direct speech is contained on a page because of the way in which it is set out.

Look at the following passage:

‘Cathy’s accepted the invitation,’ said Ruth.

‘Oh good,’ replied her husband. ‘I hoped she would come.’

Ruth glared at him and snapped, ‘I think she’s got a cheek. When I think of all the trouble she caused, I can’t believe it.’

‘You invited her,’ retorted Brian, looking amused.

‘Only because Lydia wanted her to come.’

Ruth flounced out of the room, slamming the door.

She was furious; she had been so sure her sister would refuse the invitation.

Notice that the speech itself is enclosed in inverted commas and there is always a single punctuation mark before they are closed. This is usually a comma unless it is the end of a sentence when it is, of course, a full stop. If a question is asked, a question mark is used. A new paragraph is always started at the beginning of the sentence which contains the speech.

‘Cathy’s accepted the invitation,’ said Ruth.
‘Why did you invite her?’ asked Brian.
‘I invited her because Lydia asked me to.’
Brian laughed and remarked, ‘I’m glad she’s coming. I always liked her.’
Ruth mocked, ‘You were taken in by her.’

If a question mark is used, it replaces the comma as in the second sentence. In the fourth paragraph notice that the speech does not begin the sentence and there are words before the inverted commas are open. The first word of a person’s speech always begins with a capital letter.

Sometimes a character’s speech will be interrupted by ‘she said’ or something similar and in this case a new paragraph is not started because the same person is speaking:

‘I don’t know how you can be so calm,’ she said. ‘I am very upset.’

There is a full stop after ‘said’ because the first sentence had been completed. If it had not been completed, the punctuation mark would be a comma and the following speech would start with a small letter instead of a capital letter. Look at the following example:

‘I do wish,’ he sighed, ‘that you wouldn’t get so upset.’

There is a comma after ‘sighed’ and ‘that’ does not begin with a capital letter.

When the speaker has finished speaking and the story or narrative is resumed, a new paragraph is started:

‘You invited her,’ retorted Brian.

Ruth flounced out of the room, slamming the door. She was furious; she had been so sure her sister would refuse the invitation.

Quotation marks

Inverted commas are also used to enclose quotations and titles:

She went to see the film ‘Sense and Sensibility’.

‘A stitch in time saves nine’ is a famous proverb.

The expression ‘the mind’s eye’ comes from Shakespeare’s play ‘Hamlet’.

Notice that the full stop has been placed outside the inverted commas when the quotation or title is at the end of the sentence as it forms part of the sentence.

If a quotation or a title is used by someone who is speaking, use double inverted commas for the quotations to avoid confusion:

‘I think the proverb “Too many cooks spoil the broth” is quite right,’ David said crossly.
‘I wanted to see “The Little Princess” but the last performance was yesterday,’ Alison remarked sadly.
‘Have you seen the film “Babe”?’ asked John.
‘No, but I’m going to see the new “Dr Who”,’ replied Sarah.

In the last two examples the titles are at the end of the speech so the quotation marks are closed first. These are followed by the punctuation mark and finally by the inverted commas which close the speech.

INDIRECT SPEECH

Indirect speech or reported speech needs no inverted commas as the actual words are not used.

Direct speech:

‘Cathy’s accepted the invitation,’ said Ruth.

Indirect speech:

Ruth said that Cathy had accepted the invitation.

Direct speech:

‘I want to go to the town,’ she said.

Indirect speech:

She said that she wanted to go to the town.

Notice that in both cases the conjunction ‘that’ has been used. In the second example the first person ‘I’ has been changed to the third person ‘she’. The tense has been changed from the present to the past.

WRITING A PLAY

When writing a play, inverted commas are not needed because only speech is used. The character’s name is put at the side of the page and is followed by a colon. Stage directions for the actors are usually shown in italics or brackets:

RUTH:	Cathy’s accepted the invitation.
BRIAN:	Oh good. I hoped she would come.
RUTH:	(Glaring at him) I think she’s got a cheek. When I think of all the trouble she caused, I can’t believe it.
BRIAN:	You invited her. (Ruth flounces out of the room, slamming the door.)

CHECKLIST

• The start of a paragraph must always be indented.
• Paragraphs must deal with only one topic.
• Each paragraph should have a topic sentence whose content is expanded in the rest of the paragraph.
• Short paragraphs may be used for effect.
• Direct speech is always enclosed in inverted commas.
• A new paragraph always starts at the beginning of the sentence in which a character speaks.
• There is always a punctuation mark before the inverted commas are closed.
• A punctuation mark always separates the speech from the person who says it.
• Start a new paragraph when returning to the narrative.
• Use double inverted commas for quotations and titles if contained in dialogue.
• Inverted commas are not needed when reporting speech or writing a play.

EXERCISES

• 1.Change the following examples of direct speech into indirect speech:
  • (a)‘Will you come to the dance, Susan?’ asked John.
  • (b)‘I can’t go because I’m going to a wedding,’ replied Susan.
• 2.Set out the following dialogue as a play.
  ‘I’ve got so much to do,’ wailed Ruth.
  ‘The wedding’s not for ages,’ Brian reminded her.
  ‘But there’s the food to order, the wedding cake to make and the dresses to buy.’
  She started to clear the table. Brian moved to the door.
  ‘I have to go to the office today. I’ll be back for dinner,’ he announced.
  ‘Wait,’ Ruth called. ‘I want you to do some shopping for me. I’ve got a list somewhere.’
• 3.Punctuate the following passage:
  where were you at ten o clock yesterday morning the policeman asked john thought for a moment and then said I was shopping where I cant remember its important john sighed and fidgeted he wished his mother would come in perhaps he should offer the policeman a cup of tea would you like a drink he asked not while im on duty the policeman replied coldly

See pages 173-4 for suggested answers.