Paragraph Completion – MBA CUET PG – Notes & Practice Questions

Introduction

A paragraph is a distinct section of written or printed text that develops a specific idea. It typically begins on a new line with an indentation and forms part of a larger composition such as an essay, a chapter of prose, or a story. Yet, a paragraph can also function as a complete and independent unit. It is a short literary composition made up of a continuous sequence of meaningful, well-connected sentences that together develop a single, coherent thought. The main purpose of a paragraph is to widen the learner’s perspective, expand his mental horizon, and enhance his writing skills.

Paragraphs may be of various types, but they fall broadly into two categories:

i. Narrative paragraphs: These paragraphs recount an event or incident in chronological order. The event may be real or imaginary. The main idea is introduced at the beginning, and the supporting details follow in a unified sequence. The concluding sentence generally sums up the overall impact of the event. Examples include A Visit to a National Sports Meet or A Trip to the Market. Such paragraphs present chronological accounts of personal experiences, achieving coherence through adverbial expressions of time such as then, when, meanwhile, the next day. These narrations are usually written in the past tense.

ii. Descriptive paragraphs: These deal with descriptions of places, objects, events, or individuals and present the writer’s perspective on them. Topics like An Ideal Husband, A Good Student, or Life of a Sportsperson fall under this category. The details in descriptive paragraphs are arranged in a spatial order using adverbials of time and place to give the writing a structured pattern.