Please Write in Paragraphs, Not Standalone Sentences

You’re Not Cool When You Avoid Paragraphs

When it comes to formatting articles, I’ve noticed a plethora of Medium writers deciding to drop paragraphs altogether and instead rely on a stream of single sentences. I know writing for the web can be casual and lots of formatting rules get ignored, but it really is a pain in the butt to read something with rows of single sentences. It will turn off readers from reading your work.

First off, when you don’t rely on paragraphs and opt for a splattering of sentences, it can make your writing seem disjointed. It ruins the cohesion of your points, putting your flow in serious jeopardy. This style (if we can call it a style) comes off as choppy and inelegant. Don’t rely on an editor to fix this for you; they want to know that you know how to put a paragraph together. This is something you should have learned how to do in grade school.

A paragraph should consist of sentences that work together on a similar idea or set of ideas. A typical paragraph has about 3–5 sentences, sometimes less or more. You don’t want to write a sprawling paragraph that takes forever to get to a break (a common problem in academia). Sometimes it’s a good idea to read your drafts or even published pieces on your phone. This can make it easy to tell whether you’re…