Write an article based on this "Decide what the main topic of the paragraph is going to be. Write down information and ideas relating to that topic. Figure out how you want to structure your paragraph."
Before you begin writing your paragraph, you must have a clear idea of what the paragraph is going to be about. This is because a paragraph is essentially a collection of sentences that all relate to one central topic. Without a definite idea of what the main topic is, your paragraph will lack focus and unity. In order to pin down the exact topic of your paragraph, you should ask yourself a number of questions: What is the prompt I have been given? If you are writing a paragraph as a response or answer to a particular prompt, such as "You have decided to donate money to charity. Which charity do you choose and why?" or "Describe your favorite day of the week," you will need to think carefully about that prompt and make sure you are directly addressing it, rather than going off topic. What are the main ideas or issues that I need to address? Think about the topic you are being asked or have decided to write about and consider what the most relevant ideas or issues relating to that topic are. As paragraphs are usually relatively short, it is important that you try to hit on all of the main ideas, without going off topic. Who am I writing for? Think about who the intended readership of this paragraph or paper is going to be. What is their prior knowledge? Are they familiar with the topic at hand, or will it require a number of explanatory sentences? If your paragraphs are part of a larger essay, writing an essay outline can help you define the major ideas or goals of each paragraph. Once you have a clearer idea of what you want to address in your paragraph, you can start organizing your thoughts by writing down your ideas on a notepad or word document. There's no need to write out full sentences just yet, just jot down some key words and phrases. Once you see everything on paper, you may get a clearer idea of which points are essential to include in your paragraph, and which points are superfluous. At this point, you may realize that there's a gap in your knowledge and that it will be necessary to look up some facts and figures to support your argument. It's a good idea to do this research now, so you will have all the relevant information easily at hand when it comes to the writing stage. Now that all of your thoughts, ideas, facts and figures are laid out clearly in front of you, you can start to think about how you want to structure your paragraph. Consider each of the points you wish to address and try to arrange them in a logical order - this will make your paragraph more coherent and easier to read. This new order may be chronological, may put the most important information first, or may just make the paragraph easier and more interesting to read - it all depends on the topic and style of the paragraph you wish to write. Once you have decided where you want everything to go, you can rewrite your points according to this new structure - this will help to make the writing process a lot faster and more straightforward.