Guide to teach Academic Paragraph and Essay Writing in the ESL/EFL classroom.

1. Paragraph
and Essay
Writing

2. What is an academic
paragraph?
• A group of sentences, within a larger
text, that “talk” about ONE idea.
• After reading an argumentative
paragraph, the reader should
understand your idea and why you
think it is true.
• It must explain the idea and show
evidence that support the
explanations.

3. Paragraph
Unity
Cohesion
Coherence

4. • Reason: A great education system…
• Explanation: What to say in order to prove my
point is relevant?
… people can choose where to study according to
their convenience since they have many options…
• Evidence: How to illustrate my explanation?
There are plenty of schools, universities and
institutes…
Reason-Explanation-Evidence

5. Living in a big city
• I sustain that there are several
advantages related to living in a big city,
like a great education system, plenty of
entertainment, and the chance to meet
interesting people. On the First line, people
who live in big cities can choose where to
study according to their convenience since
they have many options. It is a fact that
big cities have plenty of schools,
universities, and institutes.

6. Unity
“Parents are the best
teachers”
Evidence
Explanation
Reasons 3. Role
models
2. Right from
wrong
2. Be
respectful
EXAMPLE
2. Teach
values
1. First
teachers
3. Inspire us
1. Learn the
basics
3. Work hard
STATISTIC
1. eat, talk,
walk
FACT

7. Example paragraph
• I assert that parents are the
best teacher because they
are our first educators, they
teach us values, and they are
our role models.
“Parents are the
best teachers”
-Topic sentence-

8. • they are our first teachers
• our progenitors teach us the basics
• we learned how to eat, talk, walk
under their care
Explanation 1 Evidence 1
Reason 1

9. • they teach us values
• being respectful is something parents
emphasize on when raising their
offspring
• a person that was instructed to say
hello, thank you, and good bye is
respected by others
Reason 2
Explanation 2 Evidence 2

10. • they are our role models
• People who have children inspire
them to follow their example
• My father taught me how important
it is to work hard in order to be
successful
Reason 3
Explanation 3 Evidence 3

11. • As you can see, people who have
children are great educators since
they instruct us since we are young,
they make us correct human beings,
and they are our example to follow.
-Closing sentence-
“Parents are the
best teachers”

12. Cohesion
Conjunctions-
Connectors
Topic
Sentence
Closing
Sentence
-Without any
doubt in my mind
-To my mind,
-I assert that
-I strongly
believe that
- Therefore,
In summary,
In conclusión,
Thus,
As a result,
To sum up,

13. • Paragraph’s
Body
Cohesion
Conjunctions-
Connectors
Supporting
Sentence 1
Supporting
Sentence 2
Supporting
Sentence 3
-First of all,
-On the first
line,
-To begin with,
-Firstly,
-To start off
- To continue,
-Moreover,
-Besides,
-In addition,
-Secondly,
- Furthermore,
-What’s more,
-Last,
-Last but not
least,

14. Cohesion
Conjunctions-
Connectors
• Paragraph’s
Evidence
Personal
Example
Fact Statistic
- To illustrate,
-For example,
-For instance,
-In my
experience
-It is a fact
thatx
-Everyone knows
thatx
-It is common
knowledge thatx
-According
to______,
-______
mentions thatx
-As reported by
______,

15. Coherence
Making
sense
Antecedents
Synonyms Referents
-Soccer
-Sport
-Physical activity
-Exercise
-It
-Its

16. Please complete the
paragraph correctly
• I assert that soccer is the best
sport because it entertains you,
you exercise, and you spend time
with friends.
First, categorize the sentences in
explanations and evidence.
Then, add the correct connectors.

17. Unity
“Soccer is the best
sport”
Evidence
Explanation
Reasons 3. Share with
friends
2. Always
running
2. will be
fit*Example
2. Exercise
1.Entertaining
3. strengthen
friendship
1. Playing is
fun
3. cope with
solitude
*Statistic
1. score a
goal *Fact

18. “Soccer is the best sport”
I assert that soccer is the best sport because it entertains
you, you exercise, and you spend time with your friends.
To begin, soccer allows you to feel excited. It is a fact
that players feel really good after they score a goal.
Moreover, you are always running on the field. For
instance, my friend Messi will always be fit. Last but
not least, sharing exciting moments strengthens
friendship ties. As reported by Sports magazine, a lot
of people practice sports just because it helps them cope
with solitude. Therefore, soccer is without any doubt in
my mind the best sport because it is fun, you work out
and you share exciting moments with friends. So, what
are you waiting for? Go and play this great sport.

19. Any Questions?

20. Thank you!!