How Many Sentences Are in a Paragraph?

Paragraphs are an inseparable part of our writing. We make paragraphs intuitively, even subconsciously. When we learn the art of writing in elementary and in high school, alongside, we also learn how to make paragraphs. Though the paragraphs we write may significantly vary in length, thus, the question of an ideal length of a paragraph sooner or later starts to tease our minds.     

How Many Sentences in a Paragraph

When it comes to the length or exact measurement of something, then its composition, the building blocks come into play. The building blocks of a paragraph are its sentences, which are in turn made of words. 

How many sentences should you include in a paragraph? Well, an average paragraph contains about 4–5 sentences. That’s a general statistical observation. 

However, some paragraphs consist of only one sentence (which can also be rather short, by the way). Such one-sentence paragraphs are often used in persuasive writing, in marketing, and commercial texts, when people want to convey their messages clearly and effectively. Then one begins to separate their thoughts with empty spaces between them, and the best way to do that is by starting each new sentence with a new paragraph.

If you are writing an academic text, it is acceptable to make rather long paragraphs, consisting of 7–10 sentences, as your audience is going to be ready to digest such “heavy” content.

How Many Words in a Paragraph?

The logic here is similar to the one from the previous chapter – the number of words in a paragraph is closely connected to the number of sentences used. The more sentences, the more words. However, there are nuances in this rule.

Some paragraphs contain 150 words (which is considered to be a good writing style), while others may have only 50 or 300 words. A larger number of words is needed for conveying complex ideas, in particular the ones about science, business, philosophy, and the like. 

When should you use shorter paragraphs? The main goal of a paragraph is to present a coherent idea or thought. For instance, in order for a creative text to achieve this goal, it can be as short as 50 words in a single paragraph. Shorter paragraphs are widely used in commercial texts, advertisements, and in business correspondence.

Therefore, the number of words in a paragraph depends on the context and content. It also depends on the writer’s writing style, as some may like to express their thoughts more concisely, while others enjoy explaining everything in detail.    

How Many Sentences Should a Paragraph Have

To start with, there is no such thing as an ideal number of sentences in a paragraph. The average number is well known, though – it ranges from 4 to 6 sentences. At the same time, large deviations are fairly common, as a paragraph in a scientific magazine may have as many as 10 or even more sentences, while a social media post most certainly will be shorter – 2–3 sentences in a single paragraph.   

A good paragraph should serve your writing purpose well. It should effectively convey the ideas you want to express, and the messages you want to get across. Some people feel more comfortable expressing their thoughts via short paragraphs, containing short sentences. However, many others find it either more convenient or they simply struggle with formulating brief paragraphs, and that’s why they write long sentences and frame them into long paragraphs.

A small piece of advice – if you want to get your points through to your readers effectively, try writing shorter, crispier sentences. Ultimately, it’s up to you to choose the right format and length of your paragraphs.

How Many Words in a Sentence?

An average sentence in the English language consists of 15–25 words. Nevertheless, there are extreme cases of sentences having only 2–3 words “on board”, or very long sentences consisting of 80 and more words. 

For an academic style of writing, it is OK to use long sentences of 25–40 words in total. However, for an average narrative style, let’s say in personal correspondence, shorter sentences of 5–10 words are perfectly fine. To effectively hold your reader’s attention, you should consider varying your sentence length, e.g., you use long sentences to explain a complex meaning at first, but then resort to an array of short sentences to keep your readers awake and focused. 

The number of words you use should make your paragraph complete. That’s the key. The number of words should be just right for you to achieve what you want, which may be calling your readers to action, or simply asking them to share your opinion. In most cases, the style of writing and the personality of the author define the exact number of words in a sentence.

How to Write a Perfect Paragraph

Check out our 5 best tips to write a great paragraph:

1. Think and plan ahead the structure of your paragraph. You may want to draw a sketch of your future paragraph in your notepad or make a brief plan on your laptop. The idea is that writing according to a plan becomes easier.
2. Start with a topic sentence. It is not a topic in an ordinary way, as we are used to thinking about a topic of an article or an essay. Simply start your paragraph by expressing the point you are going to discuss further down the lines.
3. Continue with a supporting sentence or several sentences. These should explain and describe the topic of our sentence. Longer sentences generally work better as supporting sentences.
4. Finish off with a concluding sentence. Such a sentence should round up your explanation and may contain transition words or phrases to allow for smoother linkage with the paragraphs that follow.
5. A perfect paragraph helps to serve your writing goal, using a minimum number of sentences and words. Simplicity is the king, especially today when an average reader’s attention time is just 8 seconds. 

Follow the link to learn more about how to write a reflective essay?

To sum up, any theory in writing is only as good as the writer who applies it. When writing a paragraph, the writer’s knowledge, practical expertise, skills, and even mood – all are very important. Writing becomes easier when you don’t keep a bunch of statistics and rules in your head, but instead just write from your heart, keeping your reader in mind.