30 PRS Proofreading and Editing Service PhD Experts • All Academic Areas • Fast Turnaround • High Quality guidelines rarely offer any advice about how to write well- structured and fully developed paragraphs. They don’t neglect this aspect of writing because they don’t expect it, however; it is more likely that there is an unspoken assumption that any author submitting his or her writing to a respected academic or scientific journal will already know how write perfect paragraphs. This isn’t always the case, however, and particularly for those working in a language not their own or those new to the publishing game, writing effective paragraphs can be something of a challenge, so a bit of practical advice seems in order here. One important fact to remember is that a single sentence does not make a paragraph. This doesn’t mean that a single sentence cannot stand alone, but that it should only do so if the context and information justify such special treatment. Let’s say, for instance, that you have a number of sentences with each of them outlining the results of a particular test or method of analysis. In such cases, authors often format each sentence as a separate paragraph, most likely because such a structure separates and therefore clarifies the information. This isn’t incorrect and the odd journal will even ask for such data to be separated in this way. In addition, short paragraphs (like short sentences) can be a great deal more effective than overly long ones, but strictly speaking, a paragraph focuses on developing a single idea, so that string of single-sentence paragraphs reporting results can, in many cases, be gathered into a single paragraph that discusses the results of the analytical tests conducted in a study. If you find that you only have a sentence worth of information to report regarding each test, it’s a good idea to cluster the data together in this way, and if the information proves too much for a single paragraph, it can be divided into two or more paragraphs with each one focussing on tests of a similar nature or tests that PARt II: PRePARIng, PResentIng And PolIsHIng YoUR woRk