Understanding the Paragraph and Paragraphing; Iain McGee

Author

Iain McGee [+–]

Majan University College

Iain McGee is an Associate Professor and Head of the Faculty of English Language Studies at Majan University College, Muscat, Oman. He completed his PhD from Cardiff University, UK, in 2006, and has published research in a number of areas within applied linguistics including collocation and the mental lexicon, lexical cohesion, data-driven learning and lexicography, teacher cognition, and paragraph analysis.

Understanding the Paragraph and Paragraphing is a work of wide-ranging and in-depth scholarship on the nature of the paragraph and the factors involved in making paragraphing decisions when constructing written text. Its comprehensive scope includes discussion on the origin of the paragraph and its nature as explored in centuries past and in recent work in discourse analysis and corpus linguistics, with implications drawn for pedagogy and future research. McGee profiles the work of key figures who helped to set traditional notions of the paragraph, and then turns to recent and contemporary empirical research and theorizing, including his own, on paragraph structure and on writing process activity related to paragraphing decisions.

The extensive review and close analysis of sources, combined with the author’s knowledge of research traditions and methodologies, provides a strong foundation for McGee’s probing study of the paragraph and the resulting enlightened understandings of it that the book provides. Given that what the general public and indeed most teachers know about paragraphs and paragraphing does not represent actual paragraph structure or paragraphing practice, the pedagogical guidance which the author provides based on a thorough review of existing research makes this an especially useful book.

Series: Frameworks for Writing

Prelims

Dedication [+–] vi

Iain McGee

Majan University College

Understanding the Paragraph and Paragraphing is a work of wide-ranging and in-depth scholarship on the nature of the paragraph and the factors involved in making paragraphing decisions when constructing written text. Its comprehensive scope includes discussion on the origin of the paragraph and its nature as explored in centuries past and in recent work in discourse analysis and corpus linguistics, with implications drawn for pedagogy and future research. McGee profiles the work of key figures who helped to set traditional notions of the paragraph, and then turns to recent and contemporary empirical research and theorizing, including his own, on paragraph structure and on writing process activity related to paragraphing decisions. The extensive review and close analysis of sources, combined with the author’s knowledge of research traditions and methodologies, provides a strong foundation for McGee’s probing study of the paragraph and the resulting enlightened understandings of it that the book provides. Given that what the general public and indeed most teachers know about paragraphs and paragraphing does not represent actual paragraph structure or paragraphing practice, the pedagogical guidance which the author provides based on a thorough review of existing research makes this an especially useful book.

Editor’s Preface [+–] vii-viii

Martha C. Pennington

Birkbeck University of London

Martha C Pennington is a Research Fellow in Applied Linguistics and Communication at Birkbeck University of London. She holds a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania, where she became a tenured Lecturer teaching English to international students while completing her degree. She has also held Professorial and administrative posts at the University of California at Santa Barbara, the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the City University of Hong Kong, the University of Bedfordshire, Elizabethtown College, and the School for African and Oriental Studies of the University of London. She previously edited a column for Gendai Eigo Kyoiku (Modern English Teaching) and was editor-in-chief of Writing & Pedagogy. She is currently editor of the book series Innovation and Leadership in English Language Teaching (Brill, formerly Elsevier), Frameworks for Writing (Equinox), and Applied Phonology and Pronunciation Teaching (Equinox). Pennington’s books on pronunciation are Phonology in English Language Teaching: An International Approach(Longman), Phonology in Context (Palgrave Macmillan), and (with P Rogerson-Revell) English Pronunciation Teaching and Research: Contemporary Perspectives (Palgrave Macmillan). She has published articles on the teaching of pronunciation in edited collections and in TESOL Quarterly, The Modern Language Journal, and RELC Journal, and has guest-edited a special issue (52.1) of RELC Journal on Pronunciation Teaching.

Preface [+–] ix-x

Iain McGee

Majan University College

Chapter 1

Paragraphs and Paragraphing: An Overview of the Issues [+–] 1-33

Iain McGee

Majan University College

This chapter sets the stage for what follows, by highlighting areas of tension and uncertainty about the identity, purpose, and pedagogical treatment of the paragraph and paragraphing. The overview reviews, in brief, a range of theories and ideas which are taken up and analyzed one by one in more detail throughout the book.

Chapter 2

Paragraph Genesis [+–] 35-71

Iain McGee

Majan University College

This chapter provides an overview of historical paragraphing practices starting with early Greek usage, moving on to Latin paragraphing, and ending with paragraphing practice in various historical forms of English up to the end of the 19th century. The author provides a summary and critique of Lewis’ (1894) book A History of the English Paragraph , and suggest that his explanations for why paragraphing practice changed over hundreds of years are inadequate, arguing for a much wider set of considerations to be taken into account to interpret these changes.

Chapter 3

Teaching and Learning Paragraphing (I): The Late 19th Century [+–] 73-109

Iain McGee

Majan University College

In this chapter, an overview and critical analysis of the work of 19th century educators and rhetoricians on paragraphing is provided. The author focuses on the terminology employed by these scholars (specifically unity, mass, and coherence, and variants of these) and documents how these terms have been variously understood and applied. Criticism of the value of terminology is considered alongside arguments in favor of using terminology to help learner-writers in both process and product approaches to teaching and understanding paragraphing. A number of overlooked aspects of paragraph thought from this era are also brought to light, and the implications of the selective filtering of this scholarship for future generations are considered.

Chapter 4

Teaching and Learning Paragraphing (II): The 1960s [+–] 111-151

Iain McGee

Majan University College

In this chapter the author engages with paragraph scholarship and theorizing in the 1960s. This period witnessed a significant shift away from a number of the assumptions held by late 19th century scholars, in addition to the adoption of a number of new perspectives and ways of thinking about the paragraph and paragraphing. The contributions of four scholars (Alton Becker, Francis Christensen, John Lord, and Paul Rodgers) are examined in detail, and the impact of their work on later pedagogical practice is discussed.

Chapter 5

The Paragraph Break and Other Discourse-Managing Tools [+–] 153-199

Iain McGee

Majan University College

This chapter examines the interaction between various discourse-managing tools that writers have at their disposal to help manage text. The author discusses, in detail, how paragraph-initial and paragraph-final language interact with the paragraph break, and how these interactions influence what the paragraph break is and does. It is argued that a multi-signaling approach to discourse management is necessary to understand the paragraph, an approach which does not consider the paragraph break in isolation but alongside its co-occurrence with other discourse-organizing signals and genre conventions.

Chapter 6

Cohesion and the Paragraph [+–] 201-245

Iain McGee

Majan University College

The main focus of this chapter is the subject of textual cohesion, and an evaluation into whether paragraphs can be considered to be semantically cohesive units. Computational linguistic research has examined this subject in detail, using algorithms and computer systems to try to predict where, in a de-paragraphed text, the original paragraph breaks occurred. The role of lexical repetition in reflecting paragraph structure is explored together with recent attempts to incorporate paragraph-initial language into computational research.

Chapter 7

The Psychological Effect of Paragraphs and Paragraph Organization on Readers [+–] 247-295

Iain McGee

Majan University College

This chapter surveys reader psychology and paragraphs. A review of research into eye movement and paragraph breaks is provided alongside various attempts to explain pause and focus in reading. The author also analyses studies which have investigated how paragraph manipulation affects reader comprehension, memory, and learning, together with research which has examined reader segmentation of de-paragraphed text. It is argued, inter alia, that the effect of a paragraph break, or the effect of a particular way of organizing a paragraph, is mediated or co-mediated by six reader variables. Accordingly, the author argues that one cannot state, with any degree of confidence, what the effect of a paragraph break or type of organization will be for a reader.

Chapter 8

The Process of Writing Paragraphs [+–] 297-334

Iain McGee

Majan University College

The place of paragraphing in writers’ writing behavior is examined in this chapter. The author considers how paragraphing decisions fit into writing models and the planning, composing, and revising practices of writers. The author pays particular attention to research which has examined the relationship between pausing in writing and pausing at the paragraph break, and reviews various explanations which have been put forward to explain this association.The author also considers the idea that paragraphing may be best considered a convention which is primarily for the benefit of writers, rather than readers.

Chapter 9

Wrapping up the Paragraph [+–] 335-377

Iain McGee

Majan University College

The last chapter draws together the key themes of the book. The author suggests that none of the existing attempts to understand the paragraph and paragraphing are adequate. The author provides three definitions of the paragraph (from textual, reader, and writer perspectives), and puts forward a novel descriptivist pedagogy of paragraphing which is in accord with the current state-of-the-art knowledge of the paragraph. The author also reviews some of the relevant contrastive rhetorical work, and the possible role of culture and disciplinary effects on paragraphing practices in different languages. The book closes with a series of suggestions for further research into the paragraph and paragraphing, and by explaining how this research can help address current gaps in our knowledge. The author concludes by arguing that a key concept which must be introduced into our thinking of the paragraph and paragraphing is the word potential. It is suggested that an effective paragraphing pedagogy must place potential at its heart.

End Matter

References [+–] 379-412

Iain McGee

Majan University College

Author Index [+–] 413-422

Iain McGee

Majan University College

Subject Index [+–] 423-427

Iain McGee

Majan University College

Podcast interview with author

Reviews

The strength of this book is in its encyclopedic review of the literature on paragraphs and paragraphing. Scholars of the paragraph will appreciate the depth of research available in this book, and it will no doubt be of great use in future research on the topic. As to pedagogy, the text is an important reminder that although paragraphs might often be presented as simple and straightforward, they are in fact highly varied and responsive. McGee not only wants us to consider the context of the writer, the reader, and the text itself, but he demonstrates to us the necessity of this view. With these in mind, we can build our understanding of paragraphs as we read them, as we seek to write them, and as we teach others to do the same.
English for Specific Purposes

McGee has ultimately achieved his aim of writing a book that might ‘help writing instructors discuss paragraphs and paragraphing intelligently with their students’ by encouraging readers and writers alike to hold traditional models of the paragraph lightly, focusing less on the what and how of making paragraphing decisions and more on the why.
TEXT

Iain McGee’s book about paragraphs is seminal.
If you have questions about how paragraphs function or how to treat them in your pedagogy, a handbook or Google might be your first recourse. But I would encourage that this book should be your first stop instead. McGee’s complex and descriptivist conclusions will not make the average composition instructor giddy with relief after having glimpsed something of the ultimate, but teaching writing is never a simple matter, and if you think paragraphs are a trivial side concern on the road to successful writing, McGee might dissuade you.
In Understanding the Paragraph and Paragraphing, McGee offers a multidisciplinary path to the intense study of a central structural aspect of teaching writing. It is also an invitation to take up the quest again. Reading McGee’s book has inspired me to return to that path after a long absence.
Composition Studies Journal

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Understanding the Paragraph and Paragraphing

Iain McGee [+–]

Majan University College

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