Paragraphs

Paragraphs are one of the most basic of all XHTML elements. They start with <p> and end with </p>. Paragraphs are a block of text. As you may recall from your English classes, well-written paragraphs contain a main idea, usually (but not always) at the beginning, with relevant supporting information.

Example Paragraph:

<p>The "placebo effect" is evidence that the way one thinks can influence one's health. Scientific studies consistently show that some people respond therepuetically when they believe that they are receiving medicine, even when they are receiving nothing more than inert pills (placebos) with no medicinal properties. This effect is so strong, and so well documented that researchers must take the placebo effect into account when designing medical trials, to ensure that any positive results are greater than would be obtained with just the placebo. If researchers did not take this into account, they may assume that a pill exerts a therepuetic effect, when in fact, the only real effect is the patient's (mistaken) belief that the pill contains beneficial medicine.</p>

Here are a couple of things worth knowing about paragraphs:

You can place inline elements (such as links, images, or emphasized text) inside of paragraphs, but you cannot place block level elements (such as headings, tables, or other paragraphs) inside of paragraphs.
Unlike some word processors, browsers do not indent the first line of a paragraph. Instead, they place some "white space" above and below paragraphs, to make them appear visually separate.

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