each paragraph. A reader going
rapidly through an article to get what he wants of it does not read
religiously every word; he knows that he will be directed to the
contents of each paragraph by the first and last sentences. If a
writer considers his readers, if he desires to arrange his paragraph
so that it will be most effective, he will have at these points such
sentences as will accurately indicate its contents and the trend of
the discussion; and he will form these sentences so well that they
will deserve the attention which is given them by reason of their
position in the paragraph.

What begins and what ends a Paragraph?

What are the words that deserve the distinction of opening and closing
a paragraph? As in the theme, so in a paragraph, the first thing is to
announce the subject of discussion. When the subject is simply
announced without giving any indication as to the drift of the
discussion, the conclusion of the discussion is generally stated in
the last sentence. Burke says, "The first thing we have to consider
with regard to the nature of the object is the number of people in the
colonies." He concludes the paragraph with, "Whilst we are discussing
any given magnitude, they are grown to it. Whilst we spend our time in
deliberating on the mode of governing two millions, we shall find we
have millions more to manage. Your children do not grow faster from
infancy to manhood than they spread from families to communities, and
from villages to nations." In other cases the opening sentence states
the conclusion at which the paragraph will arrive. Then the closing
sentence may be a repetition of the opening or topic sentence; or it
may be one of the points used to exemplify or establish the
proposition which opens the paragraph. Again, in a short paragraph the
topic need not be announced at the beginning; in this case it should
be given in the concluding sentence. Or, should the topic be given in
the opening sentence of a short paragraph, it is unnecessary to repeat
it at the end. In any case, whether the paragraph opens with a simple
announcement of the topic to be discussed, or with the conclusion
which the paragraph aims to explain, establish, or illustrate, or
whether it closes with the conclusion of the whole matter, or with one
of the main points in the development, the sentences at the beginning
and the end of a paragraph should be strong sentences worthy of their
distinguished position.

In the firs