2/21/25, 12:28 AM HTML Paragraphs

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HTML Paragraphs
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A paragraph always starts on a new line, and is usually a block of text.

HTML Paragraphs
The HTML <p> element defines a paragraph.

A paragraph always starts on a new line, and browsers automatically add some white
space (a margin) before and after a paragraph.

Example
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
<p>This is another paragraph.</p>

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HTML Display
You cannot be sure how HTML will be displayed.

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Large or small screens, and resized windows will create different results.
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With HTML, you cannot change the display by adding extra spaces or extra lines in your
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The browser will automatically remove any extra spaces and lines when the page is
displayed:

Example
<p>
This paragraph
contains a lot of lines
in the source code,
but the browser
ignores it.
</p>

<p>
This paragraph
contains a lot of spaces
in the source code,
but the browser
ignores it.
</p>

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HTML Horizontal Rules

The <hr> tag defines a thematic break in an HTML page, and is most often displayed as
a horizontal rule.

The <hr> element is used to separate content (or define a change) in an HTML page:

Example
<h1>This is heading 1</h1>
<p>This is some text.</p>
<hr>
<h2>This is heading 2</h2>
<p>This is some other text.</p>
<hr>

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The <hr> tag is an empty tag, which means that it has no end tag.

HTML Line Breaks

The HTML <br> element defines a line break.
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2/21/25, 12:28 AM HTML Paragraphs

Use <br> if you want a line break (a new line) without starting a new paragraph:
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Example
<p>This is<br>a paragraph<br>with line breaks.</p>

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The <br> tag is an empty tag, which means that it has no end tag.

The Poem Problem

This poem will display on a single line:

Example
<p>
My Bonnie lies over the ocean.

My Bonnie lies over the sea.

My Bonnie lies over the ocean.

Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me.

</p>

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Solution - The HTML <pre> Element

The HTML <pre> element defines preformatted text.

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2/21/25, 12:28 AM HTML Paragraphs

The text inside a <pre> element is displayed in a fixed-width font (usually Courier), and
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it preserves both spaces and line breaks:
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Example
<pre>
My Bonnie lies over the ocean.

My Bonnie lies over the sea.

My Bonnie lies over the ocean.

Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me.

</pre>

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?
Exercise
True or False. HTML paragraphs always starts on a new line.

True

False

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HTML Tag Reference

W3Schools' tag reference contains additional information about HTML elements and their
attributes.

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