The phrase "a paragon or" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing an exemplary model or standard of excellence, often in comparison to something else.
Example: "She is a paragon of virtue, or at least that is how she presents herself to the public."
Alternatives: "a model of" or "an exemplar of".
Forbes says his resume is a "paragon of completeness".
It's never very involving, largely because Bier's rough-edged characters have been sanded down until everyone is either a paragon of or menace to society.
Yet they quietly breathe life into the South's racist, Lost Cause ideology by holding up Robert E. Lee as a paragon of heritage or virtue.
There are few contemporary references to him only eleven poems from six writers and these describe him in terms of affection, but not as a paragon of poetic or moral ideals.
She went on to state, "We have no right to expect Gossip Girl to be a paragon of morality, or even realism, but the idea that true love requires taking a shard of glass to the face is disturbing even in this alternate, soap-opera dimension".
Despite the work's skeptical stance toward truth, the matter of whether the character of Grace Marks is guilty or innocent, a temptress or a victim, a liar or a paragon of integrity is one which these critics are unwilling to abandon.
And while there's certainly truth in that - marketers have certainly latched onto the concept, not least the controversial company PayPerPost - it's also a bit rich to assume that every journalist or publication in America is a paragon of ethical virtue (or indeed unaffected by outside influences).
In recent years, however, Major League Baseball (MLB) has hardly distinguished itself as a paragon of American virtue or a pioneer for social justice or moral clarity.
But if you're looking for a best-case scenario for a Romney presidency, you have to hope that his Mr. Fix-It impulses will work out for the best — and that rather than being a model of moderation or a paragon of purity, he'll be a president who tries, and tries, and ultimately gets things right.
