Advantages or Disadvantages

Paragraphs
MODEL PARAGRAPH - 1:

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OR DISADVANTAGES OF STAYING IN A

DORMITORY?

First, have a look at the brainstorming & clustering for the topic. You can brainstorm about
advantages and disadvantages separately first and see what you can write about more.
Accordingly, focus on one of them. Below is the brainstorming for disadvantages of staying in a
dorm.

Physical No Privacy
conditions

Limited
Noisy and space
active life

Meals Rules

This is one possible outline based on the list above:

Topic sentence: There are several disadvantages of staying in a dormitory.

Supporting idea 1: Poor physical conditions
Detail 1: Dirty toilets and kitchens
Detail 2: Small space and no privacy
Supporting idea 2: A noisy and an active life in dormitories
Detail 1: Visitors and roommates who stay awake all night
Detail 2: Exciting activities around students
Supporting idea 3: Problems with meals
Detail 1: Not proper timing of the meals
Detail 2: Options are not available
Concluding sentence: In short, staying in a dorm has these three disadvantages.
TOPIC SENTENCE There are several disadvantages of staying in a
SUPPORTIN
dormitory. To start with, students live in poor physical
G IDEA-1
conditions. Since so many students use the bathrooms and
kitchens, these places are usually dirty. Therefore, students
can suffer from some health issues because there is hygiene
problem. In addition, limited space causes privacy problems.
BODY OF THE PARAGRAPH

Students who live together cannot keep much from each

other because they can see and hear everything that they do.
For example, they listen to each other when they are on the
SUPPORTIN
phone. Secondly, there is always a noisy and an active life in
G IDEA-2
dorms. Because students share the same room with others,
friends come and go. Also, there might be some students who
stay up all night. This is a serious problem for the ones who
like their sleep. Furthermore, there is always a game that
goes on in one room. You can hear your friends while they’re
having fun and may want to join them. As a result, this can
SUPPORTIN
become a distraction from studying. Finally, students can
G
have problems with meals when they stay in a dorm. There is
IDEA - 3
usually a fixed time for each meal in dormitories. If students
wake up late, they won’t have breakfast and they will stay
hungry or eat unhealthy food. What is more, students in
some dormitories have limited options for food. For some
students, it is difficult to find food that they like. For
instance, the ones who don’t like spinach might have to eat
CONCLUDING
soup only with too much bread. In short, staying in a dorm
SENTENCE
has these three disadvantages.

MODEL PARAGRAPH - 2:

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OR DISADVANTAGES OF PUBLIC

TRANSPORTATION?

Remember the brainstorming & clustering for the topic in Chapter-2 of the writing booklet.
Also, remember that you don’t have to use all of the ideas, and you need three supporting ideas.
You should also remember to give details to support each of your supporting ideas. In addition,
you should write the topic sentence and concluding sentence differently. More importantly, you
need to focus on ADVANTAGES OR DISADVANTAGES only!

First, have a look at the brainstorming & clustering for the topic. You can brainstorm about
advantages and disadvantages separately first and see what you can write about more.
Accordingly, focus on one of them. Below is the brainstorming for advantages of public
transportation.

Speed of
Reduces air
travel
pollution

No traffic No need to

jam drive

More Opportunity to

economical meet other

people

TOPIC SENTENCE There are many advantages of public transportation. The first
SUPPORTIN
G IDEA-1 advantage is that the use of public transportation offers some
environmental benefits. Public transport causes less pollution than
BODY OF THE PARAGRAPH

private cars. According to the United States Energy Association, public

transportation use in the US reduces the nation’s carbon emissions by
37 million metric tons annually because people need less fuel for their
vehicles. In addition, if more people travel by train, tram or bus, there
will be fewer cars on the road. Thus, they won’t need to destroy nature
SUPPORTIN
G IDEA-2 to build extra roads. The second advantage concerns the economic
benefits of public transportation. Public transportation is cheaper than
individual cars since you don’t have a problem of high gas prices and in
many cities, you can go wherever you want with one ticket.
Furthermore, if they use public transportation, people do not have to
 SUPPORTIN worry about parking and its high prices, especially in city centers. The
G
IDEA - 3 final advantage is the psychological benefits of public transportation.
People who travel by subways don’t feel stressed because of traffic jams.
If they travel by subway, they can do many activities such as playing
computer games and reading books. Moreover, if people use public
transportation, they can meet new people during their journeys and
CONCLUDING make new friends. Therefore, they won’t feel isolated. All in all, these
SENTENCE
are the three advantages of public transportation.

TOPIC SENTENCES FOR ADVANTAGES OR DISADVANTAGES PARAGRAPHS

Question: What are the advantages or disadvantages of staying in a dormitory?

Topic Sentence:
1. Staying in a dormitory has three / several / many disadvantages.
topic controlling idea
OR
2. There are some / three / several disadvantages of staying in a dormitory.
controlling idea topic

Question: What are the advantages or disadvantages of public transportation?

Topic Sentence:
1. Public transportation has three / several / many advantages.
topic controlling idea
OR
2. There are some / three / several / many advantages of public transportation.
controlling idea topic

CONCLUDING SENTENCES FOR ADVANTAGES OR DISADVANTAGES

PARAGRAPHS

In order to write a concluding sentence, one should include a transitional signal and state topic
sentence in a different way.

Transitional Signals Different versions of concluding sentences

In short, - there are several/some/many
In brief, disadvantages of staying in a dormitory.
To sum up, - staying in a dormitory has
In conclusion, these/three/some/several disadvantages.
All in all, - these are the three disadvantages of saying
in a dormitory.
- poor physical conditions, a noisy and an
active life and meals are the disadvantages
of saying in a dormitory.

Note: As can be seen above, there are many ways of saying almost the
same thing. For the topic sentence, there are two sentences given. You can
use one of them as the topic sentence, and the other one as the concluding
sentence of your paragraph. However, you cannot use the same sentence
both for topic sentence and concluding sentence.

USEFUL TRANSITIONAL SIGNALS FOR ADVANTAGES OR DISADVANTAGES

PARAGRAPHS

1- TO INTRODUCE A SUPPORTING IDEA:

To start with, / To begin with, / First(ly), / First

of all, students live in poor physical conditions.
Second(ly), CLAUSE
Third(ly),
Final(ly), there is always a noise and an active life
OR in dorms.
The first disadvantage is that CLAUSE
Another disadvantage is that
OR students can have problems with meals
The second disadvantage is that when they stay in a dorm.
The final disadvantage is that CLAUSE
Note: Pay attention to the structure that comes after the linkers in the chart below!

is the psychological benefits of public transportation.

The main / first / second /
final / most important
advantage
The first / second / last
disadvantage of staying in
a dorm is
2- TO ADD DETAILS:
In addition (to this),
Furthermore,
Moreover,
Also,
What is more,
GIVING EXAMPLES
NOUN
is that the use of public transportation offers some environmental
benefits.
CLAUSE
concerns the economic benefits of public transportation.
V (concerns / deals with) + OBJECT (noun)
the poor physical conditions.
NOUN
that students live in poor physical conditions.
CLAUSE
living in poor physical conditions.
V-ing + Object (noun)
if more people travel by train, tram or bus,
there will be fewer cars on the road.
CLAUSE
For example, - For example, they listen to each other when
For instance, they are on the phone.
To illustrate, - For some students, it is difficult to find food that
such as they like. For instance, the ones who don’t like
like spinach might have to eat soup only with too
much bread.
- If people travel by subway, they can do many
activities such as / like playing games and
reading books.
 GIVING RESULTS Therefore, - Thus, they won’t need to destroy nature to build
Thus, extra roads.
As a result, - You can hear your friends while they’re having
, so fun and may want to join them. As a result, this
can become a distraction from studying.

STATING REASONS Since - Since so many students use the bathrooms and
Because kitchens, these places are usually dirty.
As - Students who live together cannot keep much
from each other because they can see and hear
everything that they do.

PARAGRAPH EXERCISE – 1: Write topic and concluding sentences for each question:

1. What are the advantages OR disadvantages of alternative medicine?

Topic sentence (TS): There are several advantages of alternative medicine.

Concluding sentence (CS): In short, alternative medicine has these three advantages.

2. What are the advantages OR disadvantages of having a pet?

(TS): _________________________________________________________________________
(CS): _________________________________________________________________________
3. What are the advantages OR disadvantages of renewable energy?
(TS): _________________________________________________________________________

(CS): _________________________________________________________________________

4. What are the advantages OR disadvantages of eating regularly?

(TS): _________________________________________________________________________

(CS): _________________________________________________________________________

5. What are the advantages OR disadvantages of distance learning?

(TS): _________________________________________________________________________

(CS): _________________________________________________________________________

Write the questions for the topic sentences given below:

6. ________________________________________________________________________
(TS): There are several disadvantages of nuclear power.

7. ________________________________________________________________________
(TS): There are many advantages of riding a bike.

8. ________________________________________________________________________
(TS): There are some disadvantages of group decision-making.

PARAGRAPH EXERCISE-2:

What are the advantages OR disadvantages of living in a city?

1) Write the topic sentence and concluding sentence for the same question.
T.S: ________________________________________________________________________
C.S: ________________________________________________________________________

2) Put the sentences in order to make the first supporting idea for the question given above.

a) Since most corporate offices, industries, factories, and

government offices are in a city or close to it, there are
many job opportunities.
b) In addition, big international or national companies have
their headquarters in cities. People who are in higher
positions work in these places.
c) The first advantage is that there are wider career options
in cities.
d) Therefore, people might get a promotion and become managers at these headquarters.
e) People can find a job and make a living more easily in a city.

3) Write the keywords of the supporting details in the blanks given below.
The second advantage concerns educational facilities. Better schools and universities are often in cities.
They provide students with better education with the help of their qualified instructors. Students who
attend these schools can find a better job in the future. Furthermore, people can acquire various skills by
taking different courses such as language and arts courses at other institutions. If they take these courses,
they can develop themselves and become better.
Supporting idea: _____________________________________________________________
Detail – 1: ________________________________________________________
Detail – 2: ________________________________________________________

4) Write the last supporting idea for the same question.

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

PARAGRAPH EXERCISE – 3:

Write the question of the paragraph and fill in the blanks with the sentences given below to
complete the paragraph.

Question: ________________________________________________________?
 1) ______ ___________ ______________ ________ __________ _____ _______ ____ ________.
Firstly, people who frequently use the Internet may have bad relationships with their family members,
because they have no chance to talk to each other. 2) ______ ___________ ______________ ________
__________ _____ _______ ____ ________. In addition,
since they spend too much time in front of the computer,
people cannot participate in any social activities and make no
friends. 3) ______ ___________ ______________ ________
__________ _____ _______ ____ ________. Secondly,
people who have access to the Internet might have security
problems. 4) ______ ___________ ______________
________ __________ _____ _______ ____ ________. Thus,
they can get into people’s personal computers and steal people’s credit card numbers. Furthermore,
hackers can break into the system of governmental or private institutions and steal their data. 5) ______
___________ ______________ ________ __________ _____ _______ ____ ________. Finally, when
people use the Internet, they waste their time and money. There are many things to do online. 6) ______
___________ ______________ ________ __________ _____ _______ ____ ________. For instance,
some play games throughout the day for nothing. What is more, some people love shopping or gambling
online. 7) ______ ___________ ______________ ________ __________ _____ _______ ____
________. In conclusion, the Internet has several disadvantages.

a) For example, Anonymous is a group of individuals that hacked into US federal sites and shared
secret information with the public.
b) Cybercriminals can trick people into downloading a harmful application.
c) There are many disadvantages of the Internet.
d) If they don’t stop doing these activities, they will waste too much money.
e) Thus, they can suffer from unhappiness at home.
f) Therefore, they can feel isolated and depressed.
g) As a result, people cannot realize how much time
passes when they surf.

PARAGRAPH EXERCISE – 4: Read the question below

and fill out the outline then write a paragraph of 120-180

words.
What are the advantages OR disadvantages of travelling?

OUTLINE:

Topic Sentence: _______________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________.

 Supporting idea 1: _________________________________________

o Detail 1: _________________________________________

o Detail 2: _________________________________________

 Supporting idea 2: _________________________________________

o Detail 1: _________________________________________

o Detail 2: _________________________________________

 Supporting idea 3: _________________________________________

o Detail 1: _________________________________________

o Detail 2: _________________________________________

Concluding Sentence: _______________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________.

You can write your paragraph here.

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