Paragraph skills

1. Paragraph Skills

2. What is a Paragraph?
A paragraph is a group of related sentences that support one
main idea. In general, paragraphs consist of three parts:
1. topic sentence
2. body sentences
3. concluding or bridge sentence
2
Paragraphs show
where the
subdivisions of a
research paper
begin and end.

3. The Controlling Idea

5. Understanding
Unity and Support
Unity is Strength!
The same is true in writing.
1
5

6. 6
Task # 1:
Read the following paragraphs and identify the main/
controlling idea in each of them.

7. Oral health has been recognized as a fundamental human right, yet more
than 50% of the world’s population is in need of suitable and affordable oral
health care [1]. People with low incomes, senior citizens, individuals with
special needs, new immigrants, refugees, Indigenous peoples, and those
living in rural and remote areas face disparities and challenges in access to
oral health care [2, 3]. Factors such as shortage of oral health care providers
and facilities, geographic barriers to access oral health care services, and
associated costs result in poor oral health [4, 5]. Poor oral health can also be
related to cultural and linguistic barriers, poor education, and oral health
illiteracy [6–8].

8. E-Health technology has been recognized as an innovative approach
to addressing the challenges in health care systems [9]. E-Health
technologies (such as online communities, electronic health records,
web portals, and telehealth applications) have been used in various
disciplines. The technologies have become significant in improving
health literacy, facilitating the exchange of information, improving
communication between patients and health care providers, and
increasing access to health services [11, 12].

9. The scientific literature highlights the importance of E-Readiness in the adoption
and implementation of E-Health technologies [15]. E-Readiness has been defined
as “the degree to which users, healthcare institutions, and the healthcare system
are prepared to participate and succeed with e-health implementation.” [13].
Jennett et al. have introduced three E-Readiness domains: Core readiness,
Engagement readiness, and Structural readiness. Core readiness refers to “the
need for telehealth services, a dissatisfaction with the status quo and an
expectation of change.” Engagement readiness refers to “understanding as well
as assessing the advantages and disadvantages of telehealth,” while structural
readiness is “the development of infrastructure such as adequate human
resources, technical structures as well as necessary training for telehealth
implementation” [13].

10. 10

11. 11
Checking for Support
To check a paragraph for support, ask yourself these questions:
1. Is there specific detail to support the opening point?
2. Is there enough specific detail?

16. Coherence
2

17. The words 'cohesion' and 'coherence' are often used together with a
similar meaning, which relates to how a text joins together to make a
unified whole.
Cohesion Micro level of text
Coherence Macro level of text
Cohesion and Coherence
Cohesion Coherence

18. Establishing Coherence
A. Write sentences that flow in logical order.
B. Use connectors and simple transitions, such as “in addition, additionally,
furthermore, therefore, thus, etc.”
C. Repeat your keywords but be careful of excessive repetition
D. Repeat sentence structures to highlight parallelism between sentences

19. Coherence
With Logical Order
19
2a

20. 20
Task # 2:
Read the following sentences and arrange them in a
logical order to form a coherent paragraph.

21. According to Maslow, a leading humanistic psychologist, people have a hierarchy
of needs that range from the most basic psychological needs to higher, more
humane, complex, creative ones, and happiness comes from taking care of all these
needs.
When you are hungry, you do not worry too much about being creative.
This theory could explain why happiness can be so elusive; once attained in a
moment it seems to slip from one’s grasp.
When you are worried about gaining recognition and increasing your self-esteem,
you may not be concerned about realizing your full potential.
When you are without love, you may not need to worry too much about your
expressing the need for understanding the world.
The twist, however, is that each time you satisfy one need, a higher one comes to the fore.
Thus, at each stage, a new series of needs becomes important.

22. According to Maslow, a leading humanistic psychologist, people
have a hierarchy of needs that range from the most basic
psychological needs to higher, more humane, complex, creative ones,
and happiness comes from taking care of all these needs. The twist,
however, is that each time you satisfy one need, a higher one comes
to the fore. When you are hungry, you do not worry too much about
being creative. When you are without love, you may not need to
worry too much about your expressing the need for understanding
the world. When you are worried about gaining recognition and
increasing your self-esteem, you may not be concerned about
realizing your full potential. Thus, at each stage, a new series of
needs becomes important. This theory could explain why happiness
can be so elusive; once attained in a moment it seems to slip from
one’s grasp.

23. Patients and service users are being encouraged to take more control of their
own care (Department of Health, 2009) and they have an important part to play
in determining how services are designed, implemented and evaluated (The
Kings Fund, 2012).
By collaborating with service users and responding appropriately to
their feedback, nurses can deliver more appropriate care and ensure
that any concerns raised are dealt with quickly and appropriately
(Coulter, 2012).
Whichever approach is used, the key aim is to find out what patients
really think about the services we provide and provide supporting
evidence of this.
This will usually involve collecting and using information provided by patients
(e.g. patient satisfaction surveys or focus groups) in order to deliver the kind
of services that patients want.

24. Patients and service users are being encouraged to take more
control of their own care (Department of Health, 2009) and
they have an important part to play in determining how
services are designed, implemented and evaluated (The Kings
Fund, 2012). By collaborating with service users and
responding appropriately to their feedback, nurses can deliver
more appropriate care and ensure that any concerns raised
are dealt with quickly and appropriately (Coulter, 2012). This
will usually involve collecting and using information provided
by patients (e.g. patient satisfaction surveys or focus groups)
in order to deliver the kind of services that patients want.
Whichever approach is used, the key aim is to find out what
patients really think about the services we provide and provide
supporting evidence of this.

25. Coherence
Using Connectors
25
2b

26. Using Connectors
▪ Connectors are an integral part of coherent writing.
▪ They help ideas flow more smoothly.
Purpose Connectors
1. give an example Transitions: for example, to illustrate, specifically, in
particular
2. add information Coordinating conjunction: and, nor
Transitions: in addition, moreover , further

27. Purpose Connectors
3. compare Transitions: similarly, likewise, in the same way
4. contrast Coordinating conjunctions: but, yet
Subordinating conjunctions: although, though, while
Transitions: in contrast, however, conversely, instead, on
the other hand, on the contrary.
5. give a reason or cause Coordinating conjunction: for
Subordinating conjunctions: as, because, since
6. give a result Coordinating conjunction: so
Transitions: as a consequence, consequently, as a result,
therefore, thus

28. Connectors
▪ Logical connectors serve a purpose.
▪ Choose the connector for the meaning you want
to convey.
▪ Example
Plants are essential to life on earth, so many
tropical forests are destroyed each year.
28
yet

29. Connectors
▪ Use only one connector to express the
relationship between two clauses.
▪ Do not use two connectors.
▪ Example
Because tobacco is a known cause of cancer,
so avoiding it might lower the risk of disease.
29

30. Coherence
Using Repetition
30
2c

31. Repetition
Repeating keywords in a paragraph is an important technique
for achieving coherence. Of course, careless or excessive
repetition is boring—and a source of clutter. But used skillfully
and selectively, as in the following paragraph, this technique can
hold sentences together and focus the reader's attention on a
central idea.
31

32. We Americans are a charitable and humane people: we have institutions
devoted to every good cause from rescuing homeless cats to preventing World
War III. But what have we done to promote the art of thinking? Certainly we
make no room for thought in our daily lives. Suppose a man were to say to his
friends, "I'm not going to PTA tonight (or choir practice or the baseball game)
because I need some time to myself, some time to think"? Such a man would be
shunned by his neighbors; his family would be ashamed of him.We are all too
much like Julius Caesar: we fear and distrust people who think too much. We
believe that almost anything is more important than thinking.
(Carolyn Kane, from "Thinking: A Neglected Art." Newsweek, December 14, 1981)

33. Oral health has been recognized as a fundamental human right, yet more
than 50% of the world’s population is in need of suitable and affordable oral
health care [1]. People with low incomes, senior citizens, individuals with
special needs, new immigrants, refugees, Indigenous peoples, and those
living in rural and remote areas face disparities and challenges in access to
oral health care [2, 3]. Factors such as shortage of oral health care providers
and facilities, geographic barriers to access oral health care services, and
associated costs result in poor oral health [4, 5]. Poor oral health can also be
related to cultural and linguistic barriers, poor education, and oral health
illiteracy [6–8].

34. Coherence
Using Parallel Structures
34
2d

35. ● Words, phrases, and clauses joined by coordinating conjunctions and used in lists
should be parallel.
Examples:
● Their careful planning (adjective + noun) and proper execution (adjective + noun)
resulted in a successful expedition.
● He failed the exam not only because of poor preparation (prepositional phrase), but
also because of bad time management (prepositional phrase).
● Objectivity in science resides in accepting what we observe (objective clause) and
not what we believe (objective clause).
Parallelism

36. 36
Authors of academic papers should avoid an informal style,
unnecessary wordiness, and writing a poorly organized paper.

37. Faulty Parallelism
● Authors of academic papers should avoid [1] an informal style, [2]
unnecessary wordiness, and [3] writing a poorly organized paper.
[1] is a direct object (adjective + noun)
[2] is a direct object (adjective + noun)
[3] is an objective clause (introduced by the verb writing.)

38. Corrected Sentence
● Authors of academic papers should avoid [1] an informal
style, [2] unnecessary wordiness, and [3] poor organization.
adjective + noun

39. Sentence Skills
39
3

40. Sentence Skills
Length
A
Accuracy
C
Variety
B
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41. Sentence Length
41
3a

42. Strive for sentences that average about 20 words
● For maximal readability, most sentences should be between
15 and 20 words.
● More than 40 words generally are too many.
● If your sentences consistently include fewer than 12 words,
consider linking and expanding some.

43. Limit average paragraph length
● Paragraph length and complexity also influence readability.
● A paragraph length of about 150 words has been judged to be
optimal for a scientific article.
● A paragraph that covers more than two-thirds of a page when
typed double-spaced usually should be shortened.

44. Sentence Variety
44
3b

45. Clause
▪ A clause is a group of words that has a subject and verb and is meant
to give information.
▪ A sentence may have just one clause.
▪ Or it may have several clauses.
Examples:
I want to be a teacher.
When I grow up, I want to be a teacher.

46. Types of Clauses
▪ Dependent
▪ Independent
46

47. ● Every sentence has a main clause that contains a subject and a
verb.
● Main clauses are independent clauses because they can stand
on their own without needing any additional information.
● They represent a complete idea or thought.
Example: The patients were followed for five years.
Clauses
Subject Verb

48. Where is
subject?
● A dependent clause depends on the independent (main) clause
for its meaning, so it cannot be used on its own.
● It is only part of a sentence and not a complete thought.
Example: Which could prove difficult in the long run.
A dependent clause put as a sentence is a fragment.
Verb
Clauses

49. A simple sentence contains a single independent clause and must not
include any dependent or subordinate clauses.
1. Children play.
2. The game ended early.
3. The wind and heat dried my hair.
4. The children smiled and waved at us.
5. Manny , Kira , and Jack lubricated my car, replaced the oil
filter, and cleaned the spark plugs.
Simple Sentence
single subject-verb combination
more than one subject or verb
several subjects and verbs

50. The Compound Sentence
A compound, or “double,” sentence is made up of two (or more) simple
sentences. The two complete statements in a compound sentence are
usually connected by a comma plus a joining word ( and, but, for, or,
nor, so, yet ).
1. The rain increased, so the officials canceled the game.
2. I had to give up wood carving, for my arthritis had become very
painful.

51. Oral health has been recognized as a fundamental human right, yet more
than 50% of the world’s population is in need of suitable and affordable oral
health care [1]. People with low incomes, senior citizens, individuals with
special needs, new immigrants, refugees, Indigenous peoples, and those
living in rural and remote areas face disparities and challenges in access to
oral health care [2, 3]. Factors such as shortage of oral health care providers
and facilities, geographic barriers to access oral health care services, and
associated costs result in poor oral health [4, 5]. Poor oral health can also be
related to cultural and linguistic barriers, poor education, and oral health
illiteracy [6–8].

52. The Complex Sentence
A complex sentence is made up of a simple sentence (a complete
statement) and a statement that begins with a dependent word.
Here is a list of common dependent words:
Linking Words Conditionals Relative Pronouns
after
although
as
because
before
even though
despite, in spite of
since
while
if, even if
whether
unless
until
when
what, whatever
when, whenever
who, whom, whose, whoever
which, whichever
that

53. Clause
▪ A clause is a group of words that has a subject and verb and is meant
to give information.
▪ A sentence may have just one clause.
▪ Or it may have several clauses.
Examples:
I want to be a teacher.
When I grow up, I want to be a teacher.

54. The Compound-Complex Sentence
Contains at least two independent clauses and one dependent clause:
1. When the entrepreneur saw the opportunity, she responded
immediately; however, she needed capital.

55. Increasing taxes would raise prices and lower consumption. Fast food
companies would pass on these taxes to consumers in the form of higher
prices and this would lead to people not being able to afford junk food. For
instance, the cost of organic food has proven prohibitively expensive for
most people. Despite this, people in many developed countries, where the
problem is most acute, can afford price hikes and will continue to eat
high-fat meals.