The document provides instruction on writing paragraphs, including the three main parts of a paragraph: the topic sentence, body, and concluding sentence. It discusses how to write an effective topic sentence that expresses the main idea, as well as how to write body sentences that support and develop the main idea through facts, examples, and details. The document also covers combining short paragraphs on the same topic into one cohesive paragraph.

1. Grade 10

2.  Where do you want to start your day at school? One of
your first stops is probably your locker. Your locker helps
you organize your things for the day. Perhaps you stand at
your locker and think about what you need for your first,
second, third, and fourth classes.
 In this Chapter, you will learn how to build a solid
paragraph. You will place sentences side by side. You will
organize them to tell about a topic. You will decide what
needs to come first, second, and third.
 First, you will write a topic sentence to express the main
idea. Next you will write sentences that support this idea.
Then you will write a sentence to close the paragraph. This
chapter will help you with these three parts of a
paragraph.

3.  To understand prewriting, and to understand
the parts of a paragraph
 To write a topic sentence that expresses the
main idea of a paragraph
 To write sentences that develop and support
the main idea
 To end a paragraph with a conclusion or
summary statement

4.  Prewriting Preparing to write; the planning
step of the writing process
 Writing prompt The directions for a writing
assignment
 Audience The people who read your writing
 Brainstorm To think freely about a topic and
look for new, exciting ideas
 Paragraph A group of sentences about one
idea

5.  Indent To start a sentence a certain distance
from the left margin
 Topic sentence A sentence that states the main
idea of a paragraph; usually the first sentence of
a paragraph
 Body Then sentences in a paragraph that
explain and support the main idea
 Summary A sentence at the end of a paragraph
that repeats the main idea using different words
 Conclusion A logical decision or opinion based
on facts or evidence; the sentence at the end of
a paragraph

6. Lesson 4-1

7.  To follow the directions in a writing prompt
 To identify the audience and purpose for your
writing
 To brainstorm to get ideas to write about
 To write a paragraph about a topic

8.  Before you write, you have some work to do.
You need to answer some basic questions.
Answering these questions is prewriting.
Prewriting is all about preparing to write. It is
the first step in the writing process.

9.  Your teacher may give you a writing prompt. A
writing prompt is the directions for a writing
assignment. During prewriting, read the prompt
carefully.Then ask yourself these questions:
 What am I expected to do?
 What do I write about?
 Where should I start?
 What do I need to know?
 What is the purpose of my writing?

10.  Read the prompt. Then answer the questions on
your paper. (Do not actually write the
paragraph.)
 Prompt: Write a paragraph about your favorite type
of movie. Explain why you like this type of movie. Give
three reasons. Name one movie that belongs in this
group.
▪ How long should this writing assignment be?
▪ What is the topic?
▪ How many reasons does the writer need to give?
▪ How many examples does the writer need to give?
▪ Will the assignment explain something the writer likes or
dislikes?

11.  When you write, you write for one or more
readers. The reader is your audience. During
prewriting, ask yourself some questions about
the reader. The answers will help you decide
what to write.
 Who will read my writing?
 What does the reader want to know about the topic?
 What does the reader already know about the topic?
 What will the reader expect of my writing?

12.  Make a list of five or more questions that you
might want to know about the person or
people who will read your writing.
 You can write for many reasons. Here are some of
them:
▪ You can write to teach or inform.
▪ You can write to entertain or tell a story.
▪ You can write to persuade someone to agree with your
ideas.
▪ You can write to describe an object, event, person, or
place.

13.  Read each prompt. What seems to be the
purpose of each one? Write the purpose of the
prompt on your paper. There may be more than
one good answer.
 Write a report about a book that you have just read.
 Write a story about something that happened to you.
 Explain why teenagers should vote in presidential
elections.
 Explain the steps you must follow to sew a button.
 Tell about your favorite vacation spot.

14.  When you need an idea to write about, try
brainstorming. When you brainstorm, you
write down every idea that pops into your
head. You do not judge your ideas yet—you
write them all. You will think of exciting ideas.
You will have an amazing list of ideas to write
about.

15.  It is even more fun to brainstorm with a group
of people. You choose a topic, and everyone
in the group tells their ideas. Someone must
write down the ideas. No one says an idea is
good or bad. After you think of many ideas,
the group can decide which one it likes best.

16.  By yourself, brainstorm about one of the
topics below. Try to list at least five ideas that
you could write about. There are no right or
wrong answers.
 why people like to read about movie stars
 the popularity of camping
 stock car racing
 deciding on a career
 popular fashions of the past, present, or future

17.  Once you understand your assignment, know your
audience and purpose, and have your idea, you have
finished prewriting. Now you are ready to write.
 A paragraph is a group of sentences about one idea. A
paragraph has three parts:
 a topic sentence
 a body
 a conclusion or summary
 Writers must practice putting their sentences
together in paragraphs. For writing assignments, you
should indent the first sentence in a paragraph.

18.  Notice the three parts of the paragraph in
Example 1. The first sentence states the main
idea. The middle sentences are the body. They
give examples of ways that people use
computers.The last sentence is the conclusion.
 EXAMPLE 1
We use computers for many things. People play
games with computers. People use computers to do math.
Some people use computers to write letters. A computer is a
very useful machine.

19.  Read the paragraph. The answer the
questions.
Derek’s favorite season is spring. The weather is
warm enough to play soccer outside. The oak trees in
Springfield turn green again. The end of the school
year is near. When the month of April arrives, Derek is
happy.
 Which sentence tells the main idea?
 What three examples does the writer give to
explain the main idea?
 Which sentence is the summary sentence?

20.  Read the prompt. Then answer the questions on
your paper. (Do not actually write the
paragraph.)
 Prompt: Write a paragraph about the climate where
you live. Imagine that you are explaining this to
someone who just moved to the area. Give an
example for each season. (Climate means the average
yearly weather.)
▪ How long should this writing assignment be?
▪ What is the topic?
▪ How many examples does the writer need to give?
▪ Who is the audience?
▪ What does climate mean?

21.  Choose one of the topics below. Brainstorm
about this topic. Number your paper from 6
to 10. List five ideas about the topic that you
could put in a paragraph.
 a place in the word you would like to visit
 why people like roller coasters
 best ways to stay healthy
 getting along with family members

22. Lesson 4-2

23.  To choose a topic for a paragraph
 To begin a paragraph with a topic sentence

24.  Begin a paragraph with a topic sentence. A topic
sentence states the main idea of a paragraph. It
is usually the first sentence of a paragraph.
 Because you are the writer of the paragraph,
only you know what its main idea should be.
Think before writing the first sentence. Here are
some questions to ask yourself:
 What is the purpose of this paragraph?
 What is the main point I want to make?
 Why am I writing this paragraph?
 What will this paragraph be about?

25.  Read the paragraph in Example 1. The topic
sentence is in blue. Think about how the topic
sentence expresses the main idea.
 EXAMPLE 1
Adjectives can be words of power. Writers try to
choose exact adjectives that express meaning sharply
and clearly. Careful writers avoid adjectives such as nice
and bad, which have little meaning. The best adjective is
one that paints a clear picture. An adjective with a clear
meaning is a word of power.

26.  Read the paragraph in Example 1 again. Write
another topic sentence for it that states the
main idea.

27.  A topic sentence is a general statement.
Examples and details appear in the rest of the
paragraph. Read the paragraph in Example 2.
The first sentence is the topic sentence. It
states the main idea of the paragraph.
 EXAMPLE 2
Springfield is a pleasant place to live. The
weather is beautiful most of the year. The town has
many parks, stores, museums, and restaurants. The
townspeople have a friendly and helpful attitude.
Springfield citizens are proud of their town.

28.  Read the four facts below. Suppose you want
to write a paragraph that includes these facts.
Write a topic sentence for this paragraph. It
should state the main idea of the paragraph.
(Do not write the whole paragraph.)
 Georgia O’Keeffe was an American painter.
 She painted landscapes and flowers.
 New Mexico was the subject of many of her
paintings.
 She died in 1986 at the age of 98.

29.  Read the paragraph. The topic sentence is
missing. Write a topic sentence that
expresses the main idea.
Tennis players need good forehand
strokes. Right-handed players use these strokes
when the ball comes to their right side. They
also need good backhand strokes. Right-
handers use this strokes when the ball comes to
their left. Tennis players use these two strokes
most often.

30.  Some writing prompts give you the topic.
They may even suggest the main idea. Other
writing prompts are more general. You have
to think of the topic and main idea. Before
you write a topic sentence, you need to know
the topic and main idea. Topics and main
ideas come from:
 your past experiences
 your imagination
 things you have read or heard recently

31.  Read the topics in Example 3. Notice how
each topic suggests a topic sentence.
 EXAMPLE 3
▪ Topic PossibleTopic Sentence (Main Idea)
▪ the police Our local police department helps the
department community in many ways.
▪ hiking Before you go hiking, you will need some
equipment.
▪ baseball Each of the players on a baseball team has
a different role.

32.  Write a topic sentence for each topic. Use
Example 3 as a guide.
 a sports team you like
 a person in your family
 the first hobby you ever had
 someplace you enjoy going
 a popular tv show

33.  Think of a topic sentence for each set of details.
Write the topic sentence on your paper.
 Car owners should change their oil.
They should check the hoses for leaks.
They should also check the air pressure in the tires.
 First, set the oven temperature.
Next, gather all the ingredients.
Finally, follow the steps in the recipe.
 The wind blew down several trees.
The electricity was out for two hours.
The streets were flooded.

34.  Think of a main idea for each topic. Then
write a topic sentence that states this main
idea.
 music I like
 if I were a millionaire

35. Lesson 4-3

36.  To write details to support a main idea
 To combine short paragraphs into one longer
one

37.  What do you do after you have stated your main idea
in a topic sentence? The next step is to develop that
main idea. The sentences that tell more about the
main idea make up the body of a paragraph. These
sentences explain and support the main idea. In the
body, you make the main idea clear to your reader.
 Support the main idea with these details:
 facts
 quotations
 explanations
 reasons
 examples

38.  Write the topic sentence below. Then use the
details that follow to write sentences. Each
sentence must support the main idea stated in
the topic sentence.
 Topic Sentence: Springfield is a city with many
places for recreation.
 Recreational Places in Springfield:
▪ four city parks two golf courses
▪ nine public tennis courts a sports arena
▪ two public swimming pools a museum
▪ three recreational centers an amusement park
▪ a concert hall five movie theaters

39.  The sentences in the body of a paragraph
must support the main idea. Remove any
sentences that are not related to the topic
sentence. You can also rewrite those
sentences so that they support the main idea.

40.  Read the paragraph. Find one sentence that does not
belong.Write this sentence on your paper.
Summer is the best time of year for vacations.
Children do not go to school. Freedom from classes
allows time for sleeping late. Usually the weather is
suitable for outdoor hobbies: tennis, running,
gardening, or just lying lazily in the yard. Sometimes,
spring is also a good time for a vacation. In summer, the
beaches and the mountains have many activities for
tourists. Vacationers can surf, swim, hike, or explore. It
is no wonder that vacation spots do big business in the
summer.

41.  Read the paragraph. Find one sentence that
does not belong. Write this sentence on your
paper.
Regular exercise keeps a person fit.
People who exercise may feel better and live
longer that those who do not exercise. Exercise
also helps people maintain a healthy weight. It
stimulates the heart and lungs. After people
exercise, they will probably be sore and tired.
Everyone should try to exercise every day.

42.  Read the paragraph. Find one sentence that
does not belong. Write this sentence on your
paper.
Our camping trip was simply awful! We
froze at night and chased away bugs all day. No
one caught a single fish! We enjoyed hiking
through the woods. It took us an hour to start a
fire, and the dinner burned. The strong winds
overturned one canoe and blew down two
tents. On top of it all, it rained. I am sure that
we will never plan another camping trip.

43.  The number of sentences in the body of a
paragraph will vary. Sometimes you may find
that you have written two or three short
paragraphs about the same main idea.
Combine those paragraphs into one longer
paragraph.

44.  Read the two short paragraphs. Both are about the same
topic. Follow the directions below to combine the two
paragraphs into one paragraph. Write the new paragraph
on your paper.
Springfield used to be a small town. The population
is growing. Springfield is now a larger than some cities.
Many people are moving to Springfield. Older
people find that it is a quiet and pleasant place to live. Many
recreational activities attract young, active families. Jobs are
plentiful. Large, older homes are affordable. Someday,
Springfield may become a city.
▪ Write a topic sentence. It should express the main idea for the new
paragraph. Remember to indent this sentence.
▪ Use details and facts from both paragraph to write the body. These new
sentences should support and explain the topic sentence.

45.  In each paragraph, find one sentence that does not
support the main idea. Write the sentence on your
paper.
Amber’s mother likes to read. She also goes to
dance class with Amber. Her favorite books are
mysteries. She enjoys hunting for clues. Sometimes she
likes to read short stories. They allow her to visit other
times and places without leaving her house. She says
that reading is relaxing, informative, and fun.
Brandon’s father is a great fisherman. He
knows the best places to fish. He also enjoys hunting.
Mr. Tucker has a large collection of fishing rods. He uses
the rods that help him catch the biggest fish.

46.  Combine the two paragraphs into one
paragraph. Write the new paragraph on your
paper.
A piñata is a colorful decoration filled with
toys or treats. A piñata is a fun thing to bring to a
party.
Party guests enjoy taking turns hitting the
piñata with a stick. Each person swings at the
piñata while blindfolded. When the piñata breaks,
everyone rushes to grab the toys and treats that
fall to the ground.

47.  Combine the two paragraphs into one
paragraph. Write the new paragraph on your
paper.
Last night, Springfield had the biggest
Snowstorm of the year. The snow began falling at
midnight and did not stop until late this morning.
Springfield’s last blizzard was not nearly as severe.
Snowplows were unable to get into some of
the neighborhoods. Most of the schools were
cancelled today, and several businesses were
closed. No cars were allowed downtown.

48. Lesson 4-4

49.  To write a summary or conclusion
 To choose facts that support a conclusion

50.  How do you end a paragraph?
 One way is to write a sentence that gives a
summary. A summary sentence repeats the
main idea in slightly different words. It is the
last sentence of a paragraph. A summary
sentence adds no new information to the
paragraph. A summary is to a paragraph what
a period is to a sentence. Both announce,
“The end.”

51.  Read the paragraph in Example 1. The last
sentence repeats the topic sentence using
different words.
 EXAMPLE 1
Track is Derek Anderson’s favorite activity. He
runs five miles every day and practices regularly. He has
won three races already. Derek will continue to improve
his time, according to his coach. Derek works hard at
track and enjoys it, too.

52.  Write a summary sentence for the paragraph.
In today’s world, education must never
stop. New scientific discoveries appear daily.
The jobs that people do keep changing. The
amount of new information that people need to
know is increasing rapidly!

53.  Another way to end a paragraph is with a
conclusion. A conclusion is a decision that
you make after thinking about facts or
evidence. It is often an opinion. A conclusion
must be logical—it must make sense to the
reader. The facts in a paragraph must support
the conclusion.

54.  In Example 2, the last sentence of the
paragraph is a logical conclusion.
 EXAMPLE 2
Track is Derek Anderson’s favorite activity. He
runs five miles every day and practices regularly. He has
won three races already. Derek will continue to improve
his time, according to his coach. Derek has a good
chance to win a scholarship in track.

55.  Read the paragraph and study the last
sentence. Rewrite this conclusion so the
details in the paragraph support it.
Last year, Amber’s mother bought a
computer. Amber and her mother enjoy playing
computer games. Amber’s mother uses the
computer to keep track of spending. Amber
uses it to learn Spanish. The computer was a
waste of money.

56.  Write a conclusion for the paragraph.
Sonia loves music. Every day, she listens
to her favorite CDs. She also practices her violin
and plays it in the school orchestra.

57.  Decide whether the last sentence of the
paragraph is a summary or a conclusion.
Write summary or conclusion.
Every day, Ms. Lentz listens to the
weather report. Then she looks outside. One
day the report called for sunny skies. The
chance of rain was only 10 percent. When Ms.
Lentz looked outside, she saw that it was
raining. She decided that the weather report
was wrong.

58.  Write a conclusion or summary sentence for
the paragraph.
The Summer Olympic Games include a
contest called the decathlon. The decathlon is
10 events. Athletes from all over the world run
in 100-meter, 400-meter, and 1,500-meter
races. They run a high hurdle race. They throw
the discus, the javelin, and the shot put. They
leap the high jump, the long jump, and the pole
vault.

59.  Write a conclusion or summary sentence for
the paragraph.
Have you ever found a writer who makes
you laugh aloud? I read everything I can find by
Dave Barry. Every week, I read his column in the
newspaper. If it is especially funny, I cut it out
and save it. I have also bought two of Dave
Barry’s books.

60.  Write a conclusion or summary sentence for
the paragraph.
Last month, Derek met a girl on the
track team. She runs the mile. She told him that
she has played sports all her life. She also
teaches and exercise class. She and Derek share
many interests. Her name is Sarah.

61.  Write a conclusion or summary sentence for
the paragraph.
Amber and Sonia are worried about their
friend Derek. Now that he has met Sarah, he
looks dreamy all the time. He has stopped
doing his homework. His old friends hardly ever
see him.