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Writing paragraphs is easier than you think!
A paragraph is a group of related sentences that develop one main idea. It has three key components: unity, development, and coherence. A paragraph contains a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence. The topic sentence introduces the main idea and guides the rest of the paragraph. Supporting sentences provide details, examples, facts, and statistics to illustrate the topic sentence. The concluding sentence restates or concludes the main point of the paragraph.
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Writing paragraphs is easier than you think!
- 1. Writing paragraphs, itis easier than you think! David Estrella I. CELEX Academic Writing Center
- 2. What is aparagraph? Definition • A group of related sentences that develop one main idea. • It has three components • Unity • Development • Coherence
- 3. What is aparagraph? A paragraph has three main parts 1. Topic sentence 2. Supporting sentences 3. Concluding sentence
- 4. Don’t forget #1 In English every sentence has the following format: Subject + Verb + Object Marcos plays baseball in the park.
- 5. The writing process… Beforeyou begin to write, you should ___. a. finish homework for your other clases. b. get some ideas. c. ask your friends for help.
- 6. The writing process… Yourteacher wants you to read a classmate’s paper because ___. a. You can learn a lot from your classmate’s work. b. Your teacher is too busy to read all the papers. c. You are better writer tan your classmate.
- 7. The writing process… Yourteacher wants you to write your paragraph again because ___. a. Your teacher can’t think of any other homework. b. The first time your paragraph sucked. c. Your paragraph can be better if you make some changes.
- 8. Don’t forget #2 In English every time you write a verb you need a subject before it. I bought a new computer. Is nice.
- 9. Don’t forget #2 In English every time you write a verb you need a subject before it. I bought a new computer. It is nice.
- 10. The topic sentence Usuallythe first sentence. Controls the content. Everything is about it.
- 11. The topic sentence Controlsor guides
- 12. The topic sentence Itis specific
- 13. The topic sentence Itis specific Tea is delicious
- 14. The topic sentence Itis specific Green tea has many benefits.
- 15. The topic sentence Itis not too specific
- 16. The topic sentence Itis not too specific This dictionary has more than 42,000
- 17. The topic sentence Snowboardingis my favorite winter sport. Topic: snowboarding Main idea: winter sport
- 18. The topic sentence Readingnovels such as Harry Potter stories, can help students improve their English. Topic: Reading novels Main idea: help students improve English
- 19. The topic sentence Disneylandis a great place for a family vacation. Topic: Disneyland Main idea: a great place for a family vacation
- 20. Be careful withverbs in present simple: Eddie swims in the pool. Libertad studies hard. Don’t forget # 3 He She + Verb (-s / -es) It
- 21. Don’t forget #3 What are the mistakes in the sentences? 1. Most people lives near the coast because the interior is too dry. 2. I’m not sure if Mary really have a Little lamb. 3. The more Veronica know the better results she will get in the test.
- 22. The Supporting sentences •The body of the paragraph • Illustrate controlling idea • Give details • Examples • Facts • Statistics
- 23. The Supporting sentences Differentkinds - explain The family moved from the village to the capital due to economic reasons.
- 24. The Supporting sentences Differentkinds - describe Veronica lived in a lovely, two-story house.
- 25. The Supporting sentences Differentkinds – give facts More tan 10% of the people surveyed said they felt economy would improve.
- 26. The Supporting sentences Differentkinds – give examples For instance, oranges and grapefruits grow in the coast of Ecuador.
- 27. The Supporting sentences Differentkinds - define My grandmother has a samovar, which is a large urn used to keep food warm.
- 28. The Supporting sentences Ineed to look for a new job. a) Since we now have another child, my salary really isn't enough for our family. b) I like working with my brother. c) The commute is very long, and I would like to spend more time with my family. d) This is a tough economy, and I am lucky that I still have a job.
- 29. The Supporting sentences Studentsneed to learn good ways to study. a) Sometimes doing homework in a group can be helpful. b) Making friends is important to happiness and success. c) Many high-paying jobs require a college degree. d) Studying instead of sleeping doesn't help learning or test scores.
- 30. Don’t forget #4 Supporting sentence -> Topic sentence
- 31. Don’t forget #4 On my last vacation I went to Salinas. This last vacation we had a great time because we went driving to other beaches and had a lot of fun. I have a house in Salinas. We spent a lot of time having really good lunches. One day we had lobster termidor, it was excellent. We also spent time in Chipipe, because this is a family beach.
- 32. Don’t forget #4 On my last vacation I went to Salinas. This last vacation we had a great time because we went driving to other beaches and had a lot of fun. I have a house in Salinas. We spent a lot of time having really good lunches. One day we had lobster termidor, it was excellent. We also spent time in Chipipe, because this is a family beach.
- 33. The concluding sentence Whatis a concluding sentence? • Last sentence. • Logical conclusion.
- 34. The concluding sentence Whatdo we do in the concluding sentence? • Re-state
- 35. The concluding sentence Whatdo we do in the concluding sentence? • Suggest
- 36. The concluding sentence Whatdo we do in the concluding sentence? • Give opinion / prediction
- 37. The paragraph A careerin the Sky If you are searching for an interesting career, think about becoming a flight attendant. First of all, flight attendants receive a large amount of training for their job. They learn about interpersonal skills, customer service and safety. Second, every time flight attendants go to work, their scenery changes. They could be in Korea one day and New York the next. Sometimes they even get to stay in a city one day or two before flying home. In addition, flight attendants get reduced prices on airline tickets for vacation. Imagine spending no more than a few dollars for a flight anywhere in the world! For a truly exciting career, consider becoming a flight attendant because the benefits are worth it.
- 38. Homework You decide tospend the day enjoying the sunny weather. And that’s great, until you see him (or her)—but who? This person looks exactly like you, but you know that you don’t have a twin. And what’s this, he (or she) is coming to you—angrily. Who is this, and why are is this person so mad?
- 39. Bibliography • Bailey, S.(2006). Academic Writing: A handbook for international students (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. • Edmands, B. (2012). Brainstorming. Retrieved April 14, 2016, from http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/teaching/gentopi c/pop4d.cfm • Folse, K. S., Muchmore-Vokoun, A., & Vestri, E. (2010). Great Paragraphs (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Heinle Cengage Learning. • Zemach, D. E., & Islam, C. (2005). Paragraph Writing: From sentence to paragraph. Oxford: Macmillan.
Editor's Notes
- #3 Unity: one idea per paragraph Development: sufficient detail (good writing is 25% ideas & 75% details!) Coherence: understandable, easy to follow (logical order, effective transitions)
- #5 Subject: The person, animal or thing who does the action. Verb: The action the subject is doing. Complement: the who or what that receives the action and the where and/or when the action happens.
- #12 It controls or guides the wole paragraph When you read the topic sentence , you know what to expect in the paragraph.
- #13 A good topic sentence is specific
- #14 Ask “is this a good topic sentence?” No. The information in this sentences is “too general” The reader does not know what to expect in the paragraph.
- #15 If you want to write a paragraph about tea, make your topic sentence more specific like “Green tea has many health benefits.” This paragraph will relate the benefits of drinking Green tea.
- #16 Be careful you might write a TS that is too specific. Again with the tea example.
- #17 This topic sentence is too specific if you write something like this what can you write in the paragraph?
- #18 Look at the topic sentence. Choose the topic and the main idea.
- #20 One more time
- #23 Good supporting sentences are related to the topic sentence and the main idea. They give information that supports and explains the topic sentence. They answer Qs who?, what? Where? Why?and how? They gice details
- #24 Good writers use different kinds of supporting sentences. Good supporting sentences can
- #29 Students work in pairs and do the exercise Choose TWO supporting sentences for this topic sentence:
- #31 Every supporting sentence that you write in your paragraph has to be about the topic sentence. You can’t deviate from the main idea or controlling idea. Here we have a short paragraph about my last vacation. Which sentence does not support the main idea?
- #34 Work with a partner and answer the following questions: The concluding sentence is the ñast sentence of the paragraph. Its job is to bring the paragraph to a logical conclusion
- #35 We can re-estate the main or controlling idea of the topic sentence. This is the easiest way to conclude your paragraph You say the same but using different words.
- #36 Another thing we can do in the concluding sentence is to offer a suggestion on a way that can be followed, if we are talking about a problema for example.
- #37 Finally we can also give our opinión about a topic that might be considered controversial Or we can make a predition on something that could be the potential result for what has been discussed in the paragraph.