An expansion should not be more than 250 words. While one paragraph is generally sufficient, it is occasionally important to divide your thoughts into two paragraphs for clarity and correct development of your argument. A series of ideas or thoughts divided into separate paragraphs is called an "idea expansion." One advantage of using this type of writing is that you can include details and examples to make your point clearer for the reader. You can also address multiple issues in a single expansion if they are relevant to your audience. Divided expansions are useful for thinking things through logically or separating related ideas. They can also help you avoid writing too much information into a single sentence or word. The number of paragraphs in an expansion depends on how much detail you want to provide and how long your essay is going to be. Generally, one paragraph per idea is enough, but sometimes two paragraphs are needed to clarify your point. Idea expansions are very useful for introducing new topics or arguments while keeping with the tone of your paper. For example, if your paper relates to animals, an idea expansion about animal shelters could further your argument by including statistics about pet adoption rates or photos of sad dogs up for adoption. These kinds of expansions are useful because they let you explore different angles of the same topic without writing completely new papers.