ACADEMIC WRITING

WRITING A PARAGRAPH

A paragraph - a group of related sentences that discuss mainly one idea. It

• can be long enough;

• the number of sentences is unimportant;

• visually organized.

Three parts of a paragraph:

• The topic sentence - states the main idea of the paragraph, names the topic, limits the topic to one specific area.

• The controlling idea - announces the specific area.

• Supporting Sentences    - develop the topic sentence, explain or prove the topic sentence give more information.

• Concluding sentence - signals the end of the paragraph, summarizes the paragraph. with important points to remember (It can do this in two ways: by summarizing the main points of the paragraph or by repeating the topic sentence in different words) is needed only for stand-alone paragraph. 

 

Exercises 19. Agree or disagree with the following points about paragraphs

1. A good topic sentence:

a) is a complete sentence with a subject, a verb, and a controlling idea;

b) states the main idea of the paragraph

c) is neither too general nor too specific;

d) the controlling idea limits the topic to one specific area that can be discussed.

e) is usually the first sentence in the paragraph

f) the helpful guide to both: the Writer and the Reader

2. Good supporting sentences:

a)  develop the topic sentence (explain or prove the topic sentence by giving more   information about it).

b)  are specific and factual

c)  can be examples, statistics, or quotations

3. A good concluding sentence:

a) signals the end of the paragraph and leaves the reader with important points to remember.

b) summarizes the important points briefly or restates the topic sentence in different