When developing content for descriptions, reports or instructions, writing in a "plain" style is usually preferred. This is a keep-it-simple style, where you focus on presenting content in a way that's clear, accurate and concise.
But what makes a good paragraph?
You can think of a paragraph as a mini document that has a beginning, middle and end. But don’t get this confused with an introduction, body and conclusion—that’s too vague and can leave you spinning your wheels with writer's block. A better approach is to follow the presentation adage of: (1) tell them what you're going to tell them, (2) tell them, then (3) tell them what you’ve told them.
In technical writing, each of these three steps corresponds to a different type of sentence:
(1) Topic sentence - You might remember learning about these in high school. Topic sentences set the stage for the reader and help them understand what's to follow. These can be the most important sentences in a technical document, because readers are often scanning for information. A strong topic sentence lets the reader know what that paragraph is about—if it's not what they're looking for, they'll move on.
(2) Support sentences - These sentences contain the details that support the topic sentence, which could include data, examples, descriptions and other facts.
(3) Point sentence - A point sentence restates the purpose of the paragraph, to support or "bookend" the paragraph with the topic sentence. While overkill for short paragraphs, a point sentence is a great way to wrap up a long paragraph and remind the reader how all the info fits together.
Drafting paragraphs with these three types of sentences is a great start—you can develop strong, purposeful paragraphs.
To pull these paragraphs together into a readable document, you'll want to use one more type of sentence: the transition sentence. These sentences weave your content together and help guide your reader from the previous topic to the new topic. Strategically incorporating these sentences can transform a mechanical, dense text into a useful, readable document.