Student’s full name: José David Brito Alvarado

Activity: Theory is everything

Submission date: Nov 12th, 2020

Title

Writing a Cohesive Paragraph

Introduction
Most of the time people are not sure of what to do when they need to write an academic
paper and how to write in a comprehensive way without obstructing the delivery of
information. That’s why the information presented here is of upmost importance for any
type of writer in any type of endeavor they may have.
What is a paragraph?
A paragraph, in reality, is a unity and coherence of ideas written one after another in a
logical way. Contrary to popular belief, a paragraph doesn't have a minimum sentence
requirement or even maximum one- it can be as long or as short as the writer wants
them to be.
What are the parts of a paragraph and what do they do?

There are 3 parts of any paragraph and those are topic sentence, supporting sentence
and conclusion. The topic sentence includes in itself the main idea of what the paragraph
is going to talk about, without giving much information. Supporting sentences follow up
after the topic sentence and expand on the topic that the topic sentence started; all
supporting sentences must be related to the main topic of the paragraph and not deviate
from its purpose. And finally the conclusion is a sentence or sentences that close the
topic of said paragraph to give way into another main idea.

What is the process of writing a good paragraph?

First you need to brainstorm, think about what you’re going to write about and write all of
them on paper regardless of continuity or cohesion. After that you need to organize your
ideas, arrange into a comprehensible way the ideas you wrote and add or subtract into it
to create a good narration. When that is done is time to write the first draft, in this step
you will write what you think is a correct paragraph based on the ideas you decided
upon. When that’s finished you must edit the draft, take care of punctuation errors, bad
orthography and any type of mistakes or fluidity obstacles in your work. When all that is
finished you’ll have ready your final work; give it one more in-depth look to double check
any errors and that’s it! Your paragraph is done.
What are some common mistakes when writing a paragraph?
These mistakes come from not following what the topic sentence is about. First it is very
important to know what you’re going to talk about before you even start to write. After
that in the supporting sentences stick with what is related to the main topic, don’t repeat
the same idea twice and keep things clear and concise. The conclusion must not be too
long either, just a closing to the idea present in the paragraph.
Any tips on how to write good supporting sentences?
There are some good tips like for example, don’t try to use the same word twice in the
same paragraph. Like, for example, you used ‘moreover’ don’t use it again and instead
use ‘therefore’, ‘in addition’ etc. Also try to connect your supporting sentences with each
other as if everything is a big spiderweb and you are the spider trying to catch your prey
or reader in this case.
How can I start to write a conclusion?
There are many ways to start writing a conclusion but some phrases or words you may
use are:

As you can see,

In short,
On the whole,
In brief,
In conclusion,
That’s why…

Just keep in mind that the conclusion sentence is the summary or last piece of
information for the main idea in that paragraph and it must reflect that sentiment clearly
to the reader while constructing a bridge for the next paragraph or the following idea.
Can you write more than one idea in a paragraph?
You are able to write more than one idea in a paragraph if these are supportive ideas or
ideas closely related to the main topic of a paragraph as a whole. On the contrary, writing
more than one main idea or two completely different things in one paragraph obstructs
the flow and the deliver of ideas to the reader.
How do I place the first paragraph in the paper?
The first paragraph is the opening idea for the whole paper and one of the things you
need to be mindful of is if you’re going to use an indent or to skip a line. This is
something you must do but whichever you choose is more of a preference, it doesn’t
really affect in the paper as a whole. The thing is you can only decide one or another and
not both at the same time.
What is the difference between a paragraph in an academic paper and a creative
one?
The difference between them is that a creative paper has total liberty on how to structure
the paragraphs within; the writer must comply with using coherence in his writings but
normally the structure of a paragraph is rendered completely useless for him and he or
she may choose how to structure it. In the case of an academic paper, the paragraphs
within need to adhere with the basis of a paragraph meaning using topic sentences,
supporting sentences and a conclusion..
What are the types of paragraphs?
The types of paragraphs are:

Narrative Paragraph
Descriptive Paragraph
Illustration Paragraph
Process Analysis Paragraph
Classification Paragraph
Definition Paragraph
Comparison and Contrast Paragraph
Cause and Effect Paragraph
Argument Paragraph
Conclusion
As you can see, the paragraph is a a very sensitive subject for any and all writers whom
must pay close attention to and if possible- follow the guidelines for a good paragraph
and therefore create a good work piece.
Learning achieved
I learned that there are many types of paragraphs and these can be a deciding factor in
how the reader percieves the information given by the writer. Personally I find this
information super useful and plan to apply into my daily pieces of work.
Applications of what has been learned
Most of the guidelines given are perfect for academic purposes and this is helpful when
one must write an essay, project and even theses. This will with no doubt separate an
amateur piece of writing and a professional one.