The document discusses the structure of paragraphs and essays. It explains that a paragraph contains a topic sentence, body sentences, and a concluding sentence. The topic sentence introduces the main idea, and the body sentences provide supporting details. The concluding sentence wraps up the paragraph. An essay contains an introduction with a thesis, body paragraphs that develop the thesis, and a conclusion that restates the main points. The document also provides tips for developing paragraphs and essays, such as narrowing topics, writing topic sentences, and using transitional expressions between ideas.

2. Chapter 1

3. • Series of sentences
that are about one
central idea.
• May stand alone, or
part of a larger work.
• Series of paragraphs
that are about one
central idea.

4. The Paragraph
• The topic sentence
introduces the subject of
the paragraph and the
writer’s attitude toward the
subject.
• The body of the
paragraph contains details
that support the topic
sentence.
• The paragraph ends with
a concluding sentence.
The Essay
• The introduction engages
the reader’s interest and
contains the thesis
statement.
• The body paragraphs
each support the main
idea of the essay.
• The conclusion
reemphasizes the thesis
and restates the main
points of the essay. It
brings the essay to a
satisfactory close.

5. PARAGRAPH
• Topic Sentence
• 3-4 Supporting Sentences
• Concluding Sentence
ESSAY
• Introduction (with thesis)
• Body (multiple paragraphs
with topic sentences)
• Conclusion

6. • Scenario: You’re given a blank page and a subject and
told to write. You think, “I don’t know what to write.”
• Exploring helps you think about your subject before
writing a paragraph or essay.

7. • How many words should I write?
• What is the due date/time for the assignment?
• Are there any special qualities that my writing should
include?

8. • Step 1
• Think about your topic. Decide what to write about.
• Step 2
• Think about your audience. Consider your intended readers and
what interests them.
• Step 3
• Think about your purpose. Ask yourself what you want to write.
• Step 4
• Try exploring strategies. Experiment with different ways to
generate ideas.

9. • What you are writing about
• Narrow the topic to find an area that interests you
• Example:
• Travel > Dangers of Travel
• Ask yourself…
• What special knowledge do I have about the topic?
• What subtopics are most relevant to me?
• What aspect of the topic arouses my emotions?

10. • Intended reader
• Different classes have different audiences
• Instructor as Audience

12. • Writing for a limited period of time without stopping
• Purpose: Record first thoughts that come to mind
• “I don’t know what to write.”
• Don’t worry about grammar, spelling, etc.
• Sandra’s Freewriting – p. 9
• Sandra’s Focused Writing – p. 9

13. • Create a list of ideas
• Don’t be concerned with spelling, grammar
• Jin’s Brainstorming – p. 9
• Jin’s Focused Brainstorming – p. 10

14. • Ask yourself a series of questions and write resposnes to
them
• Help you define and narrow your topic
• Ask: who, what, when, where, why, how?
• Clayton’s Questioning – p. 10

15. • Drawing a word map
• Ideas are arranged in a visual image
• Write the topic in the middle. Draw lines to connect ideas
to the main topic.
• Mahan’s Clustering – p. 11
• Mahan’s Focused Clustering – p. 11

16. • Before you write, you should think about your
topic, audience and purpose. What are each of these
things?
• Briefly define each of the following exploring strategies:
• Freewriting
• Brainstorming
• Questioning
• Clustering

17. Chapter 2

18. • Step 1
• Narrow your topic. Focus on an aspect that interests you.
• Step 2
• Express your main idea. Write a topic sentence that expresses
this idea.
• Step 3
• Develop your supporting ideas.
• Step 4
• Make a plan. Organize your thoughts into an outline.
• Step 5
• Write your first draft.

19. • Topic Sentence
• Introduces the idea of the paragraph
• Body Sentences
• Supports the topic sentence
• Concluding Sentence
• Ends the paragraph

20. • Narrow these topics:
• Cosmetic Surgery
• Music
• College Life

21. • Introduces the topic of the paragraph
• States the paragraph’s controlling idea
• Most general sentence in the paragraph
• Followed by other sentences that provide support
(facts, examples)
• A controlling idea makes the point about a topic and
expresses the writer’s opinion, attitude, feeling.

22. • Music education is essential in public schools.
• There are three types of terrible bosses.
• My furnished room has everything a student could need.

23. • Incomplete
• Announcement
• Vague
• Invalid Point
• Too Broad
• Too Narrow

24. • I will write about negative political campaigns.
• History teaches us lessons.
• Deciding to go to college.

25. • Facts and examples that provide the reader with
interesting information about the subject matter
• Generate by using some of the brainstorming activities.

26. • Transitional Expressions help guide your reader from one
idea to the next.
• Time Order
• The way in which things occurred
• First, Second, Last
• Emphatic Order
• Arrange in logical sequence
• Most Important, Important, Least Important
• Space Order
• Where things are positioned
• Top, Middle, Bottom

27. • Brings the paragraph to a satisfactory close
• May…
• Restate the topic sentence in a new, refreshing way
• Make an interesting, final observation
• End with a prediction, suggestion, quotation
• In an essay, it will transition to the next paragraph’s idea

28. • What is a topic sentence?
• True or False? A paragraph has more than one main
idea.
• True or False? A paragraph’s details support its topic
sentence.