Check the first sentence of each paragraph to see if it says what the paragraph is about. If it doesn't, try to decide whether the sentence should be fixed to match the paragraph, or the paragraph fixed to match the sentence. The two most common paragraphing faults are rambling paragraphs and artificial breaks . A rambling paragraph has several topics, often not closely related. It can be fixed either by breaking the paragraph into smaller ones or by removing extraneous material.
Artificial breaks occur when novice writers try to divide paragraphs that are too long.
The lack of topic sentences defeats the entire purpose of having paragraphs. The proper length for a paragraph varies, depending on the content and the importance of the information. The topic sentence is supported by a few, well-chosen, additional sentences. If your paragraph runs on and on, your readers may glance at the first sentence or two, then skip to the next paragraph. Never bury the key points in the middle or end of a long paragraph.