Writing workshop 3 – Paragraphs in an essay

1. A well-written paragraph contains only one main idea. Therefore, for each new main
idea, it is necessary to begin a new paragraph. Read the text below and mark where each
new main idea begins. How many paragraphs should this text have?

My mother and father were both immigrants from Italy who heard that
streets of America were paved with gold. This is why they both came here,
and my father got a job cleaning those streets of gold. I grew up in an
Italian section of Brooklyn so I spoke Italian, played Italian, and ate Italian.
Because of this I believed, America was just another part of Italy. Our
family lived right across the street from a huge Italian church called Regina
Pacis, which means Queen of Peace. Once a year all the Italians would get
together in order to celebrate “La Festa di Santo Antonio”, the feast of
Saint Anthony. The whole block would be roped off while the celebrating
was done in the streets. There was always live music. I remember I used to
love to watch my cousin Franca dancing with her little son Gigi. Although
he was only little, he would put his small feet on top of her shoes and they
would dance in the middle of the street with big smiles on their faces.
There were games and laughter but most importantly there was food.
Wonderful, fragrant, delicious food: clams on the half shell that would be
pulled out of barrels of chopped ice, pizza, calzone, and my favourite:
sausage sandwiches. Enzio, the sausage man, would take the steaming
sausages with peppers, and onions and shove them into hot Italian bread. I
loved them so much that as I ate one, I felt that this was what heaven
must be like. It was all so much fun that we wanted it to last forever but
when it started to get dark, everything would come to a close. I never
wanted it to end so as I headed for home it was always with great sadness.
Although I was sad, my consolation was knowing that I had to wait only
364 days for this, my most special day of the year, to come again.

2. Well written essays use a lot of linking words and phrases to link ideas and arguments.
Read the essay again and list all the linking words used in the essay according to their
function in the text:
Addition Result Reason Contrast
and so because of this but

Adapted from Finishing Touches by Samuela Eckstut-Didier

Writing workshop 3 – Paragraphs in an essay

ANSWER KEY:
Four paragraphs:

My mother and father were both immigrants from Italy who heard that
streets of America were paved with gold. This is why they both came here,
and my father got a job cleaning those streets of gold. I grew up in an
Italian section of Brooklyn so I spoke Italian, played Italian, and ate Italian.
Because of this I believed, America was just another part of Italy.
Our family lived right across the street from a huge Italian church called
Regina Pacis, which means Queen of Peace. Once a year all the Italians
would get together in order to celebrate “La Festa di Santo Antonio”, the
feast of Saint Anthony. The whole block would be roped off while the
celebrating was done in the streets. There was always live music. I
remember I used to love to watch my cousin Franca dancing with her little
son Gigi. Although he was only little, he would put his small feet on top of
her shoes and they would dance in the middle of the street with big smiles
on their faces.
There were games and laughter but most importantly there was food.
Wonderful, fragrant, delicious food: clams on the half shell that would be
pulled out of barrels of chopped ice, pizza, calzone, and my favourite:
sausage sandwiches. Enzio, the sausage man, would take the steaming
sausages with peppers, and onions and shove them into hot Italian bread. I
loved them so much that as I ate one, I felt that this was what heaven
must be like.
It was all so much fun that we wanted it to last forever but when it
started to get dark, everything would come to a close. I never wanted it to
end so as I headed for home it was always with great sadness. Although I
was sad, my consolation was knowing that I had to wait only 364 days for
this, my most special day of the year, to come again.

Exercise 2

Addition Result Reason Contrast

and So Because of this But
This is why As Although
In order to

Adapted from Finishing Touches by Samuela Eckstut-Didier

Writing workshop 3 – Paragraphs in an essay

Adapted from Finishing Touches by Samuela Eckstut-Didier