This is one if those tips that makes you wonder what else about iOS you don’t know. I had been doing this the hard way – tap and drag those tiny handles. Two finger tap doesn’t seem to work in all apps that I tried, and certainly is easier on an iPad.
Use a two-finger tap directly onto the paragraph to instantly select the entire paragraph or group of contiguous words.
Thanks to OS X Daily for another handy tip.
∞ Select Paragraphs & Large Text Block Easily in iOS with a Two-Finger Tap | OS X Daily