UNIT 1 : WRITING

PARAGRAPHS
 UNDERSTANDING PARAGRAPHS

A paragraph is a group of related sentences.

The sentences in a paragraph should all have
something in common.
They should all relate to the topic.
A good paragraph starts with a sentence that
states the main idea of the whole paragraph.
 The Basic Parts of a paragraph

Topic Sentence

Supporting sentences

ConcludingSentence
 Paragraph Form
Indent the first word of
paragraph.
Leave space on both
sides of paragraph.
Begin each sentence with
a capital letter.
Be careful about
punctuation.
Don’t start each new
sentence on a new line.
 Topic Sentence
The topic sentence tells the reader what the paragraph is going to be about.
It also helps you keep your writing under control.

Topic Sentence

- first sentence in a paragraph, introduces the main

idea
- gives the reader a clear sense of the content
 - contains words or phrases called controlling idea
 TOPIC SENTENCE

Topic sentence = Topic + Controlling idea

The topic states the subject of the
paragraph.
The controlling idea limits your topic. It
tells what you are going to say about the
subject.
 Five Features of a good Topic Sentence
PAGE 8/ Textbook
1. It should guide the whole paragraph
2. It should not be a well-known fact
3. It needs to be specific
4. It cannot be too specific
5. It must contain a controlling idea.
( - A topic sentence is complete sentence, with a subject and a
verb.
- A topic sentence should be neither too general nor too specific)
 Supporting Sentences

The supporting sentences develop the

main idea stated in the topic sentence.
Their purpose is to help readers
understand more about your main idea.
Supporting sentences can give
1. examples,
2. facts,
3. explanations,
4. or reasons.
 Concluding Sentence

This sentence restates the main idea of

the paragraph using different words.
It summarizes the main points of the
paragraph or makes a final comment
on the topic.
Topic sentence:
The students in my class come from many
different parts of the world.

Concluding Sentence:
My classmates are an interesting mix of
people from many different countries.
In brief, tsunamis are highly destructive to human life/
human being.
To conclude, tsunamis can cause severe/
immeasurable damage
The guitar players can choose the kind of guitar that
suits/ based on / their preferences and tastes
Unit 2: Five elements of a good writing
1. Purpose
2. Audience
3. Clarity
4. Unity
5. Coherence
 1. Purpose
Why are you writing?
To inform
To persuade
To entertain

Activity 2 / page 43: Writing Purpose Statements

Write a purpose statement for the topics 1-4
Some writers create a “purpose statement”

A reminder for yourself only

Not part of your paragraph or essay
DO NOT INCLUDE IN YOUR PARAGRAPH: In
this paragraph, I will … bla bla bla.
 2. Audience
Keep your audience in mind as you write
Viewpoint or person
Formal or informal writing

A blog entry
Readers of the blog
Informal – personal piece of
writing/ to entertain
 Person (or “Point of View”)
 First Person
Includes “I”
Use first person when you write about your personal experiences
 Second Person
Includes “you”
DO NOT use second person when you write for college
 Third Person
Includes “he/she/it/they”
This is the most common point of view you will use when you write
for college
 3. Clarity
WORD CHOICE
USE descriptive, specific words
Avoid vague words like good, thing, bad, fun, big,
small, old
Use a dictionary or thesaurus on your computer/ phone
to help you choose different, new words!
Activity 5 / P.47: Choose clear and Precise words
Activity 6/ P.48 : Choose Descriptive Phrases
 4. Unity
Make sure all the sentences in your
paragraph are about the topic and the
controlling idea in your topic sentence.
This sounds easy, but it’s normal for
students to go “off topic” when they write
because our brains go off topic all the time!
5. Coherence
Organize your paragraph logically.
Make sure the ideas connect.
Ways to connect ideas:
Logical order (time, space)
Repeat key (important) words
Use transitions
Transitions
Time: First, next, then, finally
Examples: For example, for instance
Compare/Contrast: in contrast, by comparison, on the
other hand
To add information: and, next, in addition, also

Look in textbook p.57, 108-109,126, 176 and 210-221 for

more!
The 5 Elements of Good Writing are:
Keep these 5 elements in mind and
Purpose you will be on your way to being a
Audience good college writer!

Clarity
Unity
Coherence
 A writing should have a single clear central idea. Each
FOCUS
paragraph should have a clear main point or topic sentence.

Each paragraph should support or expand the central idea of the

DEVELOPMENT paper. The idea of each paragraph should be explained and
illustrated through examples, details, and descriptions.

Every paragraph in an essay should be related to the main idea.

UNITY
Each paragraph should stick to its main point.

An essay or paper should be organized logically, flow smoothly,

COHERENCE and "stick" together. In other words, everything in the writing
should make sense to a reader.

A writing should be written in generally correct standard English,

CORRECTNESS
with complete sentences, and be relatively error-free.
 UNIT 3: TYPES OF PARAGRAPHS
DESCRIPTIVE
COMPARISON
CAUSE-EFFECT
CLASSIFICATION
Ways of Organizing Paragraphs
Time Order
- Chronological order
Location Order
- Geographic or spatial order
Cause Effect Order
- Problem – solution
Comparison – Contrast Order
- similarities and differences
 Writing practice
Writing a Comparison Paragraph/ P.73
( differences / similarities)
 Writing a Cause –Effect Paragraph/ P.79
Writing a Classification Paragraph/ P.84
( separates ideas into specific categories)
 Timed Writing( HOMEWORK)

1. Take out a piece of paper

2. Read the writing prompt
3. Brainstorm ideas for five minutes
4. Write a short paragraph (six to ten sentences-
about 100 words)
5. You have 25 minutes to write
6. TOPICS : textbook (P.88-89)