WHAT IS A PARAGRAPH
A paragraph is an organization of a group of sentences. These sentences develop one main idea. A paragraph should have three essential parts. These are topic sentence, supportingsentences and a concluding sentence. Apart from these three important parts, a paragraph should also have minor details.
A paragraph is an organization of a group of sentences. These sentences develop one main idea. A paragraph should have three essential parts. These are topic sentence, supportingsentences and a concluding sentence. Apart from these three important parts, a paragraph should also have minor details.
- THE TOPIC SENTENCE
The topic sentence:
- is the most general sentence in the paragraph; all the sentences that follow it are less general, more specific
- states the purpose of the paragraph for the audience
- is the most important sentence in the paragraph. It covers all of the ideas in the paragraph
- aims to limit the topic in one or two points
TIPS ON WRITING EFFECTIVE TOPIC SENTENCES
Writing a successful topic sentence is the first step to an effective paragraph. If you keep a few tips in your mind you can succeed it.
- A topic sentence cannot be a simple statement of fact because when you write a fact you will not be able to find ways to support the topic sentence and thus, you will not develop your paragraph.
- A topic sentence should not be too general. Otherwise, you will have difficulty in choosing which points to focus on. If you write a general sentence, it means that you will write all the points about your topic and this will cause a big problem when writing a paragraph Your topic sentence should be more specific, so you can find the points you will develop easily.
- Try to avoid using personal opinions. Do not start with “I like” or “I feel”.
- You should also keep in mind to avoid telling everything in the topic sentence because your readers will loose interest.
Weak topic sentences
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Better topic sentences
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I like cats better than dogs
( you cannot develop and support this sentence) |
Cats make better pets than dogs
( You claim something ,so you can explain this sentence and tell your readers why cats are better than pets |
Everyone knows that octopus is a fish
(This is a fact. You cannot develop it or discuss about it) |
Most people consider octopus a devil fish; however this creature has incredible powers.
( you can explain the powers and expand the sentence) |
My friend and I are living in an apartment
(This is a fact. You cannot develop it or discuss about it) |
Since my friend and I moved to an apartment, we have experienced several problems
( you can explain the problems) |
I do not like English
(You cannot develop it or discuss about it.) |
Learning English is very difficult in several points.
( You can state the difficulties you face when learning English) |
- SUPPORTING SENTENCES
After you have written your topic sentence, you have to develop your paragraph with your supporting sentences. They come after your topic sentence and they form the body part of your paragraph. Supporting sentences should “support” your main idea that you have stated in your topic sentence. It is good to use 3 to 8 supporting sentences. To find supporting details you can follow several steps to help you:
- Ask questions to topic sentence (Why? How?)
- You can use facts and statistics
- Using examples and personal experiences can also help you
Examples:
- It is very difficult to be alone in a foreign country.
Questions: Why? In what ways? How do you know?
- There are unusual superstitions in my country about death.
Questions: What are they? In what ways are they unusual?
The answers you give to these questions will help you find the supporting sentences and details.
MINOR DETAILS
Minor details are the sentences that are used to support and explain your supporting sentences in a more detailed way. After you write your sentences you should also try to add minor details for supporting sentences. When you do this, your paragraph will be more elegant and worth reading. You can use the methods we have talked about in supporting sentences part for your minor details.
Minor details are the sentences that are used to support and explain your supporting sentences in a more detailed way. After you write your sentences you should also try to add minor details for supporting sentences. When you do this, your paragraph will be more elegant and worth reading. You can use the methods we have talked about in supporting sentences part for your minor details.
CONCLUDING SENTENCE
This sentence does not have to take place in every paragraph, but if you include it in your paragraph, you will have something complete in your hand. Concluding sentence is generally the last sentence of your paragraph. What you should do here is to summarize the topic sentence and the main points you have talked about in the development part of your paragraph. Try to avoid using the same words you have used in the topic sentence. Restate the topic sentence by using different words conveying the same meaning and sum up the important points.
This sentence does not have to take place in every paragraph, but if you include it in your paragraph, you will have something complete in your hand. Concluding sentence is generally the last sentence of your paragraph. What you should do here is to summarize the topic sentence and the main points you have talked about in the development part of your paragraph. Try to avoid using the same words you have used in the topic sentence. Restate the topic sentence by using different words conveying the same meaning and sum up the important points.
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