REASONS PARAGRAPHS

MODEL PARAGRAPH - 1:
 WHY IS TURKEY A POPULAR TOURIST DESTINATION?

First, have a look at the brainstorming & clustering for the topic. Below is the brainstorming for
why Turkey is a popular tourist destination.

Nature
Hospitality

Turkish History
food

Culture Shopping

This is one possible outline based on the list above:

Topic sentence: There are many reasons why Turkey is a popular tourist destination.

Supporting idea 1: Turkey has breathtaking natural beauty.

Detail 1: It has many beautiful seas and unspoiled beaches on the west and south coasts.

Detail 2: There are many different mountains.

Supporting idea 2: Turkey has been a home for a lot of historical sites for many years.

Detail 1: Tourists can see the historical places that belong to the Byzantine and

Roman Empires.

Detail 2: There are historical places that belong to the Ottoman Empire.

Supporting idea 3: Turkey offers plenty of shopping opportunities for tourists.

Detail 1: Tourists can do shopping in modern malls.

Detail 2: Tourists can shop in bazaars or in the streets.

Concluding sentence: All in all, these are the reasons why Turkey is a popular destination for
 tourists.
OR
Natural beauties, historical sites and shopping opportunities are the
reasons why tourists want to visit Turkey.
TOPIC SENTENCE There are many reasons why Turkey is a popular tourist
SUPPORTING
destination. To begin with, Turkey has breathtaking natural
IDEA-1
beauty. It has many beautiful seas and unspoiled beaches on the
west and south coasts. Tourists can swim in the blue waters of the
Aegean or Mediterranean Sea. Also, there are many different
BODY OF THE PARAGRAPH

mountains such as Uludağ in Bursa and Nemrut in Adıyaman.

Travellers can enjoy doing winter sports like skiing or just
SUPPORTING
watching the stunning view. Secondly, Turkey has been a house
IDEA-2
for a lot of historical sites for ages. Especially in Istanbul, tourists
may visit the historical places of the Byzantine and Roman
Empires. For instance, Hagia Sophia and the Chora Museum are
some of them. Furthermore, there are historical places that
belong to the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. Tourists need to see
the Topkapı Palace and the Blue Mosque during their visits to
SUPPORTING
Turkey. Finally, Turkey offers plenty of shopping opportunities
IDEA - 3
for tourists. They can do shopping in modern malls. Since various
worldwide famous brands are in the same place, tourists can find
and buy the things that they want easily. In addition to this,
visitors will have a chance to shop in bazaars or in the streets.
Bazaars offer visitors cheaper prices, natural and traditional
products and souvenirs. For example, the Grand Bazaar and the
Spice Bazaar are the most famous tourist attractions in Istanbul.
CONCLUDING
All in all, these are the reasons why Turkey is a popular
SENTENCE
destination for tourists.

MODEL PARAGRAPH - 2:

IS IT A GOOD IDEA TO LEARN ENGLISH? WHY? WHY NOT?

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.

First, have a look at the brainstorming & clustering for the topic. Below is the brainstorming for
why it is a good idea to learn English.

Simple Job
alphabet opportunities

Language of The most commonly

science, tourism, spoken language
business, etc.

Make foreign Access to the

friends world’s best
universities

Topic sentence: It is a good idea to learn English because of several reasons.

Supporting idea 1: English provides people with good living conditions.
Detail 1: If people know English, they can find a well-paid job or work in multinational
companies.
Detail 2: It is easier for these people to get promotion in their workplaces.

Supporting idea 2: People receive quality education.

Detail 1: If people want to study at prestigious universities,
they have to learn English.
Detail 2: People can read books and articles in English, so they
can acquire the most updated information to be an expert.

Supporting idea 3: People can broaden their horizons.

Detail 1: People who come from different cultures can meet each other.
Detail 2: People can watch movies, listen to songs and read books in English easily.

Concluding sentence: In short, learning English is a good idea for these three reasons.
 OR
To sum up, people have a lot of reasons for learning English.
TOPIC SENTENCE It is a good idea to learn English because of several
SUPPORTIN reasons. One reason is that English provides people with good
G IDEA-1
living conditions. If people know English, they can find a well-
paid job or work in a multinational company. Also, it is easier
for these people to become a manager in their current
workplaces. For example, in Bosch Turkey, all managers have
to speak English very well and they earn about $10,000 a
month. Thus, they can buy a large house in a good
BODY OF THE PARAGRAPH

SUPPORTIN
neighbourhood and get an expensive brand-new car. Another
G IDEA-2
reason is receiving quality education. At some prestigious
universities, the language of education is English. Therefore, if
people want to study at these universities, they have to reach a
SUPPORTIN
G IDEA - 3 proficient level in English. Moreover, English is the language
of academics. If people want to be an expert in a field, they can
read books and articles in English and acquire the most
updated information in that field. The final reason is that
people can broaden their horizons. They can meet people who
come from different cultures because they will have no
language barriers. These new people can teach them to look at
the world from various perspectives. For instance, they can
learn how these new friends solve problems and thus find a
clever solution to their own problems. What is more, it is easy
to watch movies and TV programs, listen to songs, or read
CONCLUDING
novels in English and learn other cultures and traditions. In
SENTENCE
short, learning English is a good idea for these three reasons.

 TOPIC SENTENCES FOR REASONS PARAGRAPHS

Question: Why do people want to visit Turkey?

Topic Sentence:
1. Tourists want to visit Turkey for / because of / three / several / many reasons.

topic controlling idea

OR

2. There are some / three / several reasons why Turkey is a popular tourist destination.

controlling idea topic

Question: Is it a good idea to learn English? Why? Why not?

Topic Sentence:

1. It is a good idea to learn English because of / for three / several / many reasons.

topic controlling idea

OR

2. There are some / three / several reasons why it is a good idea to learn English.

controlling idea topic

 CONCLUDING SENTENCES FOR REASONS PARAGRAPHS

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

Transitional Signals Different versions of concluding sentences

In short, - these are the reasons why Turkey is a
In brief, popular destination for tourists.
To sum up, - people have these/some/several reasons
In conclusion, to visit Turkey.
All in all, - learning English is a good idea because
of / for these three reasons.

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 REASONS PARAGRAPHS

1- TO INTRODUCE A SUPPORTING IDEA:

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

of all, English provides people with good living
conditions.
Second(ly),
CLAUSE
Third(ly),
Finally, Turkey has breathtaking natural beauty.
CLAUSE
OR
The first reason is that
Turkey offers plenty of shopping
Another reason is that opportunities for tourists.
OR
CLAUSE
The second reason is that
The final reason is that

Note: Pay attention to the structure that comes after the linkers in the chart below!

The main / first / most good living conditions.

important reason for NOUN
learning English is that people can broaden their horizons.
CLAUSE
receiving quality education.
VERB + ing
2- TO ADD DETAILS:

In addition (to this),

Furthermore,
Moreover, English is the language of academics.
Also, CLAUSE
What is more,
 GIVING EXAMPLES For example, - Especially in Istanbul, tourists may visit the
For instance, historical places of the Byzantine and Roman
To illustrate, Empires. For instance, Hagia Sophia and the
such as Chora Museum are some of them.
like - There are many different mountains such as
Uludağ in Bursa and Nemrut in Adıyaman.
- Travellers can enjoy doing winter sports like
skiing.

GIVING RESULTS Therefore, - Therefore, if people want to study at

Thus, prestigious universities, they have to reach a
As a result, proficient level in English.
, so - People can read books and articles in English,
so they can acquire the most updated
information to be an expert.
STATING REASONS Since - Since various worldwide famous brands are in
Because the same place, tourists can find and buy the
As things that they want easily.
- They can meet people from different cultures
because they will have no language barriers.

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

1. Why is fast food unhealthy?

Topic sentence (TS): Fast food is unhealthy for several reasons.

Concluding sentence (CS): In short, these are the three reasons why fast food is unhealthy.

2. Is Istanbul a nice place to live in? Why? Why not?

(TS): _________________________________________________________________________
(CS): _________________________________________________________________________
3. Why should people use public transportation?

(TS): _________________________________________________________________________

(CS): _________________________________________________________________________

4. Why do people read online news?

 (TS): _________________________________________________________________________

(CS): _________________________________________________________________________

5. Is it good for students to join the Erasmus program? Why? Why not?

(TS): _________________________________________________________________________

(CS): _________________________________________________________________________

Write the questions for the topic sentences given below:

6. ________________________________________________________________________

(TS): It is important for students to have breakfast regularly for many reasons.

7. ________________________________________________________________________

(TS): Dictionaries are important for language learners because of several reasons.

8. ________________________________________________________________________

(TS): The best invention is television because of several reasons.

SAMPLE FOR SUPPORTING IDEAS AND DETAILS:

Question: Why does sitting in front of the computer all day affect students’ lives negatively?

Supporting ideas:

1) When students sit in front of the computer all day, they have some physiological problems.
 Supporting details

a. Since students do not change their positions for a long time, they start to
have back-pain.
b. According to the Vision Council, nearly 70 percent of American adults
experience some sort of computer-related eye problems.
2) If they sit in front of the computer all day, they can suffer from some psychological
problems.
 Supporting details

a. Because of staying in front of the computer for a long time, students

don’t spend any time with their friends or cannot find time to meet new
friends.
 b. There is a strong link between obesity and sitting in front of the computer all day because
students are not active and most of the time they eat fast food. As a result, they may feel
depressed because of their physical condition.

3) The last problem of sitting in front of the computer all day is academic failure.
 Supporting details

a. Students who spend a lot of time on computers do not use their time wisely. For example, they
cannot do their assignments on time or pay enough attention to their
homework. Therefore, they lose points and this negatively affects their
academic success.

b. It also leads to attention deficit problems. Many students who have

attention problems spend about 5 hours a day on computers. Thus, their
lack of attention means that they cannot concentrate during lessons.

PARAGRAPH EXERCISE - 2: Read the question and the paragraph below and fill out the outline,
afterwards. After filling out the outline, complete the paragraph by writing the first supporting idea
based on the outline.

IS KINDERGARTEN EDUCATION GOOD FOR CHILDREN? WHY? WHY NOT?

Kindergarten education is good for children for many reasons. First of all, ___________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________. Secondly, kindergarten education

helps children to improve their cognitive skills. These children feel better emotionally because they can

explore themselves and deal with their challenging new environment and the anxiety of being separated

from their parents. Furthermore, these children do many tasks that use language and numeracy skills.

For example, they read stories together and do some role-play activities, and teachers introduce

numbers to the children through games. Finally, if children go to kindergarten, their parents will find
 out more about their children. There are some children who have specific weaknesses. Their teachers

diagnose their problems and let their parents know about them. Accordingly, the parents can take

actions. What is more, kindergarten teachers inform parents about many level appropriate activities that

are available outside the school. To illustrate, parents can go to a theatre play with their children.

Therefore, children can both enjoy and learn from extracurricular activities. To sum up, children benefit

from kindergarten education for these three reasons.

OUTLINE:

Topic Sentence : ___________________________________________________________________

 Supporting idea 1: In early childhood, children can improve their social skills if they take
kindergarten education.
o Detail 1: They can learn how to play with other children.

o Detail 2: They can learn to make friends and share things with them.

 Supporting idea 2: _________________________________________

o Detail 1: _________________________________________

o Detail 2: _________________________________________

 Supporting idea 3: _________________________________________

o Detail 1: _________________________________________

o Detail 2: _________________________________________

Concluding Sentence : __________________________________________________________

PARAGRAPH EXERCISE – 3: Read the question below and fill out the outline then write a
paragraph of 120-180 words.

Is studying abroad good for teenagers of university age?

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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