Paragraph Writing

Part 1
Section A Structure
This worksheet was modified from the work produced by Academic English UK (AEUK). This is a
great website that offers useful tips on Academic Writing. Find it at: https://www.academic-
englishuk.com/paragraphing

Parts of a Paragraph
Part of Paragraph Comments
Topic Sentence The Topic Sentence’s purpose:
 to introduce the main topic of the paragraph.
 to tell us ‘the controlling idea’, i.e. how the main topic will be
discussed; e.g. is the writer positive, negative or neutral about the
topic?
Development This section will:
 present more details about the main topic and the ‘controlling
idea’.
 likely include references, as the experts are usually the ones who
have studied this topic and have the detailed information on it.
Example(s) This section will have:
 at least one concrete example of the details you provided in the
‘development’ section.
o The example must be related to the main topic and the
research you mentioned previously.
o References to where you read this information are also
necessary here.
Summary Summarise what the details and the evidence show to you. Make a
comment on it.
Like your favourite recipe, a well-written paragraph requires different ingredients to succeed. In
academic writing, these ingredients are: topic sentence, development, example, and summary.

Answer the following questions based on the paragraph presented on the next page.

1) What is the main topic of this paragraph? What is the controlling idea in relation to this topic?

Corporate Social Responsibility; The controlling idea is that CSR can lead to higher revenue and
customer goodwill.

2) Who are the two authors that are referenced in the development (green) sentence? What does
each of them contribute in terms of detail?
 a)
Jones et al – et al means there are numerous authors; Contributing to CSR will show stakeholders that they

b)
Watson – sales increase because customers are more likely to buy products from companies that are respon

3) What example is given of positive CSR? In your opinion, does this example match the details in
the green section?

Yeo Valley;

4) What does the writer conclude regarding CSR in the ‘Summary’ sentence? What words do they
use to show caution, that is so that the statement is not written as if it is 100% true?

CSR improves brand image and productivity

Section B Lexis
Lexis is a linguistics term meaning vocabulary. A well-written paragraph will have related vocabulary
throughout. Instead of using the same term again and again, synonyms and related vocabulary are
preferred as they help to engage the reader. Notice below how key terms are linked (by colour)
throughout the paragraph.

Topic Sentence Corporate Social A positive More sales Growth

Vocabulary Responsibility reputation
Environmental The public Consumer sales Encouraging
and ethical growth
approaches
CSR The media Improving Opportunities to
profitability expand
Related
Ethical green A responsible Profits have Improve…
vocabulary in the
business company doubled productivity
rest of the
practices
paragraph
Recyclable Improve brand
packaging image
Reducing its CO2
output
CSR
The related vocabulary helps support the writer’s stance as it appears in the topic sentence. For
example, in the topic sentence we see ‘a positive reputation'. Later in the paragraph we see
‘responsible company’ and ‘improve brand image’. All of these have a positive connotation to them.

Similarly, we see ‘more sales’ in the topic sentence. This is followed by ‘improving profitability’ and
‘profits have doubled’. We don’t, for example, see the lexis phrase ‘a drop in sales’.

Section C In-text Referencing

In the above paragraph, three references are made. Two of them are incorporated into the
sentence using a reporting phrase. These are:

 According to Jones et al (2019)..., and

 Watson (2018) provides evidence that…

Notice that the reporting verb (provides) in the second phrase is in the present tense.

* These are two very useful reporting phrases. Can you think of some more?

Explains, argues, stresses, emphasises, points out

The third reference is not incorporated into the sentence, but is added at the end of the sentence to
acknowledge that the example was reported by Peterson in 2019.

All three of the references will need to appear in the reference list at the end of the document.
Section D Hedging
One important feature of academic writing is the author’s voice or stance. It is a common error to
overgeneralise. Consider if we take the green words (can, possibly) from our paragraph out of the
first sentence:

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can generates a positive reputation for a company
leading to possibly more sales and growth.

What is the issue with this? Well, it employs the present simple, which is used to express general
truths. Therefore, the above is telling me that:

CSR always generates a positive reputation for a company and that it always leads to more
sales and growth.

A critic only needs to find one example of CSR not creating a positive reputation or not leading to
sales and growth, and your writing is discredited. That is why being cautious with our claims is
important. We can avoid overgeneralising through ‘hedging’.

We can hedge by using:

verbs: tend to, seems, appears, believe…
modal verbs: can, could, might, may, will…
adverbs of frequency: often, sometimes,
usually…
modal adverbs: certainly, probably, possibly,
perhaps…
modal adjectives: certain, probable, possible…
modal nouns: possibility, certainty, probability
CSR tends to generate a positive reputation…
CSR can generate a positive reputation…
CSR usually generates a positive reputation…
CSR certainly generates a positive reputation…
It is possible that CSR will generate a positive
reputation…
There is a possibility that CSR will generate a
positive reputation…
* Rewrite the following sentences using hedging language:

Australian Rules Football is the most popular sport in Australia.

Australian Rules Football is possibly the most popular sport in Australia. It is certain that AFL is the most popular spor

Playing violent video games causes problems for young people and leads to aggressive behaviour
and bullying.

Playing violent video games can cause problems for young people and may lead to aggressive behaviour and bullying.

The younger generation is better at learning technology. They go on to become successful CEO’s of
technology companies in their countries.

The younger generation is more likely to become successful CEO’s of tech companies in their countries as they are gen

Spending more time managing your employees leads to a more productive department.

There is a possibility that spending more time managing your employees leads to a more productive
department.

Spending more time managing your employees can lead to a more productive department.
 Part 2
Section A Research
Research is a very important part of assignment writing in higher education. Generally, you will
need to read journal articles, newspaper reports, books to gather information related to your topic
or case study. For this assessment, you will only need, as a minimum, the links provided to you on
the Assessment 3 sheet and your unit textbook.

Let’s work through the creation of a paragraph in relation to the causes of the incident together.

Read the New York Times article describing the events of the United Airlines flight 3411. One of the
pieces of information you will provide in your report for Assessment 3 is ‘the causes of the
incident/conflict’. As you read the article, make notes about the facts related to the cause.

Once you have a good understanding of the situation, turn to your textbook, Chapter 14.
Specifically, look at the ‘What causes conflict?’ section. Determine which of Eunson’s (the author of
your textbook) causes of conflict are relevant to this situation? Make notes.

Section B Write your topic sentence

Remember that the purpose of the topic sentence is to introduce the topic of a paragraph and the
controlling idea.

What is the topic of the paragraph we are writing?

Click or tap here to enter text.

What is the controlling idea according to the article? In this case it could be the cause. You may
need more than one sentence to describe the causes of the conflict.

Click or tap here to enter text.

You will need to use a reporting phrase to say where this information comes from (e.g. According
to…or The New York Times reports that…). Write the full sentence below:

Click or tap here to enter text.

Section C Supporting Sentences

Now that we have reported the cause, we need to refer to the research. How does Eunson describe
this type of situation? What label(s) does he give it?

Click or tap here to enter text.

Decide on a reporting phrase and in-text citation style that you will use for this sentence. The later
could be: ‘Eunson (2016)’ at the beginning of the sentence, or (Eunson, 2016) at the end of the
sentence. Write the style you will use, with a reporting verb/phrase, below:
Click or tap here to enter text.

We will need to paraphrase the bullet point(s) of the textbook that we believe describes the
situation. Be sure to consider the vocabulary that you choose for this sentence. It should reflect the
vocabulary in the topic sentence while not plagiarising the author of the textbook.

Click or tap here to enter text.

Is there another bullet point to paraphrase into a sentence? If so, write it below.

Click or tap here to enter text.

Summarise the evidence and theory described in the sentences above.

Click or tap here to enter text.

Section D Proofreading
Read your paragraph again. Ensure that:

 You use a variety of vocabulary which matches the meaning of the topic sentence(s).
 In-text citations are used. In this case, you should have at least two (2).
 You do not overgeneralise and employ hedging techniques to show caution where
necessary.