Unity

Unity is simply staying focused. Tell the reader what to expect in a passage, then fulfill that commitment.

That means you should not announce a broader topic than you intend to cover, nor a narrower one. It means you should take the time to revise so you can tell the reader EXACTLY what claim you intend to support or what idea you intend to develop.

That doesn't mean you should announce your topic blatantly: "In this paper I will tell you about...." An opening like that draws too much attention to the writer's process of writing. A good writer keeps the reader focused on the topic, not on what the writer decides to do or not do.

For classic advice or review on writing paragraphs, the basic units of composition, go to the Bartleby Project's online version of Strunk's Elements of style or to Purdue's Online Writing Lab.

http://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk.html#9

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/Files/118.html

Exercises