Structure a Paragraph

1 Write a good topic sentence.

2 Provide evidence and details to support ideas.
3 Write a whole paragraph.

How to Write a Topic Sentence?

There are several different topic sentence styles.  There is no right or wrong answer.
Here are two suggestions.

1 Specific Sentences
Write a topic sentence with three points. This sentence follows a pattern called parallel
structure.
1. Subject: Favorite Sports
2. Three Points: soccer, biking, roller blading
3. Topic sentence: When I have some free time, I like to spend it outside playing
soccer, riding my bike, or roller blading.
1. Subject: The Best Place for a Family Vacation
2. Three Points: good sights, pleasant location, cheap rooms
3. Topic sentence: The best place for a family holiday is Namhae Island because of
the good sights, beautiful scenery and low-cost rooms.

2 General Sentences
These sentences are generally short and don’t tell the reader the reasons. The main
idea is in the comparison. The details come in the paragraph. Here are a few examples.
1. My hometown and college town have several things in common.
2. Although the iPhone and Samsung Galazy S look different, they are similar in
many ways.
3. Work and school are similar in three ways.

How to Write a Conclusion?

The last sentence of the paragraph is important. It is like the candle on a birthday cake.
Both of them make the product seem finished and complete. How can you have a
birthday cake with candles? We can ask the same question about a paragraph. How
can a paragraph be complete without a concluding sentence?

The conclusion does not have to be long. Nor does it have to repeat everything from
the first sentence. Some writers use a hook. That is a word or idea that links up with a
theme or idea in the topic sentence.
What to write? It might be … a final thought or something that you learned.
Writing Activity

1. Choose two things which might not normally be compared.

2. Find three ways to describe how they are similar.
3. Write a full paragraph with a topic sentence, proof and a conclusion.

Example Paragraph
Here is an example by a middle school student, about school and jail.

School and jail are similar in many ways. First of all, I have to wear a uniform in
both places. I hate wearing the same clothes as other people. Also, both places make
us wear what they want. Just as if we were a doll. Second of all, I have to spend a lot of
time there. At school, students have to stay from 8am to 4pm for 3 years (just counting
middle school). Similarly, in jail people have to stay as long as the judge said. Finally,
there is only one way to be free from school and jail. To get free from school you should
graduate. To get free from jail you should wait for the day the judge said you can be
free. These are the similarities between school and jail. Still, the most important thing is
that I hate both places.