Paragraph

Writing with structure and style

♥For Lecture Classes W2 and X1♥

Prof. Kate de Jesus
Our Objectives
• to identify topic sentence and supporting details in
a paragraph
• to explain how unity, coherence, and emphasis in
paragraph writing are achieved
• to write effective paragraphs using different
patterns of development
Our Focus

A. Structure
1. Development
a. Unity
b. Coherence
c. Emphasis
2. Organization
B. Style
1. Introductory paragraph
2. Transition paragraph
3. Concluding paragraph
Unity
 means “oneness”

 the sentences in a paragraph develop a single central idea

Two ways to achieve this:

a. thru developing one topic sentence
b. thru the clincher sentence
Unity through developing one topic sentence

A computer may do wonders but it is still a machine. It can

make extremely fast calculations-millions in a second. It can
store billions of data in its memory, to be retrieved for later
calculations. However, computers do only what they are
“programmed” to do. They are at the beck and call of the
person running them. If the programmer switched it off,
then, the speedy calculations and the million-data memory
are rendered inutile. Or if the programmer makes mistakes,
then the computer also makes mistakes.
Unity through developing one topic sentence

Ever noticed how vines climb by twisting their stems around

a stronger trunk of support? Generally, they twist
counterclockwise. Have you observed that smoke coming
from a chimney twists counterclockwise, too? Typhoons and
hurricanes whirl in a counterclockwise way. And water
whirlpooling down the kitchen sink makes counterclockwise
motion too. Why? There are laws of nature that we just
cannot explain.
For beginning writers
It is advisable to write a topic sentence and use it as guide to
ensure the unity of the paragraph.

But once you have gained mastery, you may choose not to
write the topic sentence explicitly. Just keep the idea in
mind and relate the other sentences to it.
Sample paragraph with implied topic
sentence
The Pantranco bus station was bustling with people, but no
one spoke to Azon. She saw men and women smile and greet
one another, shake hands, kiss or embrace in welcome or
goodbye. Holding hands, some couples smiled and talked with
endearment. How she envied them all. There were hundreds
in that bus station but no one stopped to smile at her nor to
talk to her. She felt a knife in her heart as she remembered
the barrio she had left.

Can you state the topic sentence?

Topic Sentence:

Among hundreds of people, Azon felt alone.

Why do you think the author did not

explicitly state the topic sentence?
Unity through the clincher sentence

The Spaniards came to the Philippines to spread

Christianity. More than that, the Spaniards wanted to
expand their empire and extend their colonial power here. In
addition, the promise of rich natural resources and lucrative
trade beckoned to them. Yes, they came for the three G’s –
for God, for glory, and for gold!
 Exercise:
I. Choose the best topic sentence for the paragraph below.
________________________________________ . First of all, we need money to
repair old roads and build new roads. We also need more to pay
teachers’ salaries and to pay for services such as trash collection.
Finally, more tax money is needed to give financial help to the
poor citizens of the city. It is clear that the city will have serious
problems if taxes are not raised soon.
a) We should raise city taxes.
b) City taxes are too high.
c) City taxes pay for new roads.
II. Examine the paragraph and identify
the following:
1. Topic sentence
2. Supporting details
3. Irrelevant sentence
4. Clincher sentence
 A. The capital city of a country is usually a very
important city. B. The government offices are located in the
capital city and political leaders usually live there nearby. C.
There are many different types of governments in the world.
D. The capital may also be the centre of culture. E. There are
often museums, libraries, and universities in the capital. F.
Finally, the capital city can serve as a centre of trade,
industry and commerce, so it is often the financial centre of
the country.
 A. There are several ways people can conserve natural
resources. B. One way is to turn lights off and appliances
when they are not in use. C. Another way is to drive cars
less. D. My favourite kind of car is convertible. E. People can
also insulate their houses better. F. Finally, by reusing things
like bottles and plastic bags, people can reduce the amount
of waste. G. By practicing these simple guidelines, we can
save our natural resources.
Coherence
The sentences are woven together in such a way that a
reader moves easily from one sentence to the next and reads
the paragraph as a whole unit, not as a series of separate
sentences.
3 ways to achieve this:
a) thru pronoun reference
b) thru repetition
c) thru transitional devices
Thru Pronoun Reference
Surprisingly, the majority of parents I’ve spoken to have
experienced partial or total ignorance of the music their
children are dancing to, doing homework to, falling asleep
to. Most claim they don’t listen to rock or can’t understand
the words if they do. They also admit that they don’t want
to add another item to the laundry list of the
things they already monitor -- movies, books, magazines,
parties, friends, homework.    
Thru Repetition
America, the richest and most powerful nation in the world can
well lead the way in this revolution of values. There is nothing but
a lack of social vision to prevent us from paying an adequate wage
to every American citizen, whether he be a hospital worker,
laundry worker, maid, or day laborer. There is nothing except
shortsightedness to prevent us from guaranteeing an annual
minimum-and livable income for every American family. There is
nothing except a tragic death wish, to prevent us from reordering
our priorities, so the pursuit of peace will take precedence over
the pursuit of war. There is nothing to keep us from remolding a
recalcitrant status quo with bruised hands until we have fashioned
it into a brotherhood. – Martin Luther King. Jr.
Thru Transitional Devices
Monday mornings are difficult for most people. They often wake
up groggy, despite the fact that they have had two days of rest.
A recent survey showed that, on average, people drink more
coffee on Mondays than on any other day of the week. Perhaps
having to face the work week yet again is psychologically
daunting for most people, even for those of us who like our
jobs. Moreover, a lot of people say that they feel depressed on
Monday mornings because the weekend seems so far away. For
this reason, some jobs offer flextime, allowing their employees to
work longer hours Tuesday through Friday so that they can take
off a certain number of Mondays during the year.
 Examples of transitional words and expressions:
Contrast - However; In contrast; Whereas
Choice - Otherwise; On the one hand; on the other hand;
Example - For example; For instance
Emphasis -Indeed; Undoubtedly; Certainly; Of course; In short; To say the
least; Last but not least
Addition - Furthermore; In addition; Moreover; Besides
Clarification - In fact; Actually
Judgement-Unfortunately; Fortunately
Explanation -Therefore; Consequently; For this/that reason; Thus
Time/space - Afterwards; At the same time; Subsequently; Finally
Despite a situation - Nevertheless; Nonetheless; Even so; Despite the fact that
Emphasis
Refers to forcefulness of how you present your ideas
3 ways to achieve this:
a. arrangement of ideas
b. climactic order
c. repetition and parallelism
Let’s compare the two paragraphs below
based on how ideas are arranged.

1 A charge of gross violation of

academic responsibility is
2 In most States, established
required for a Board of
Trustees to dismiss a tenured
faculty member for cause, and
an elaborate hearing
procedure with a prior
statement of charges is
provided for before a tenured
faculty member may be
dismissed for cause, in most
States.
procedures restrict how a
Board of Trustees may
dismiss a tenured faculty
member for gross violation
of academic responsibility.
That faculty member must
be (1) provided with a
statement of charge and (2)
judged in an elaborate
procedure.
Emphasis thru climactic order

To be a professional athlete, one needs great physical skills,

courage, intelligence, and, perhaps most of all, an unflinching
desire to succeed.

Remember!
What applies to a sentence applies to a paragraph, too. What
applies to a paragraph applies to a longer composition as well.
Emphasis thru repetition and parallelism
My parents complain that I am arrogant, thoughtless,
and rebellious. I tell them they misunderstand me. What
they see as arrogance is my attempt to be a person in my
own right. What they see as thoughtlessness is usually just
forgetfulness. What they see as rebelliousness is a drive to be
independent.
Modes of Paragraph
Development
Envision how you would develop the
following topics into paragraphs.
1. Human Growth Seen as the Metamorphosis of a Butterfly
2. The Perceptions of Man and the Insights of Women
3. A Child’s Mental Universe
4. A Day in a Freshman’s Life
5. Why People Fail to Mature
Modes of Paragraph Development
1. description
2. definition
3. classification
4. illustration and examples
5. comparison
6. contrast
7. analogy
8. narration
9. description/explanation of a process
10.cause and effect
11.enumeration or listing
1. description attributes, qualities, properties
2. definition class term or category and differentia or particular characteristics, aspects,
features
3. classification classes, groupings, categories
4. illustration & examples examples
5. comparison similarities of objects/concepts/persons being compared
6. contrast differentiating features of objects/concepts/persons
7. analogy likenesses or similarities of objects of comparison
8. narration characters, setting, unfolding plot
9. description of a steps or stages that sequentially take place in a method, procedure, or
process natural processes
10. cause & effect objects, persons, forces, powers (agents) that bring about or have brought
about results
11. enumeration or listing an enumeration of any series of things/concepts, details or parts of a whole
Topics and suggested modes of paragraph
development
1. Human Growth Seen as the Metamorphosis of a Butterfly
(Analogy)
2. The Perceptions of Man and the Insights of Women
(Comparison)
3. A Child’s Mental Universe (Description)
4. A Day in a Freshman’s Life (Narration)
5. Why People Fail to Mature (Cause and Effect)
Homework

Read the following paragraphs

and then identify the modes
of development used.
1 Description
Anger is having a feeling of hatred toward someone or something. It
is one of our basic emotions and can be most dangerous if it is not
carefully controlled. A person can become angry when he cannot
fulfill some basic need or desire that is important to him. For
example, a child may become angry when he cannot play outside
with his friends. An adult may become angry when he does not
receive a raise in pay that he expected. Mentally, anger can interfere
with our thoughts, making it difficult to think clearly. Physically, it
may cause violent reactions in the muscles and in the nervous
system. This causes an angry person to flush and tremble and to
show other signs of disturbance. A person can be dangerous if he is
in an angry mood because he can develop feelings of hostility and
hatred toward another person, which can then often turn violent.
2 Definition
In every society, social norms define a variety of relationships
among people, and some of these relationships are socially
recognized as family or kinship ties. A family is a socially defined
set of relationships between at least two people who are related
by birth, marriage, or adoption. We can think of a family as
including several possible relationships, the most common being
between husband and wife, between parents and children, and
between people who are related to each other by birth (siblings,
for example) or by marriage (a woman and her mother-in-law,
perhaps). Family relationships are often defined by custom, such
as the relationship between an infant and godparents, or by law,
such as the adoption of a child.
3 Illustration and examples
The popularity of soap operas reflects psychological needs of
Americans. It is not surprising that more viewers than ever before
are staring at soaps even though many homemakers are leaving
home for outside jobs. At home alone, any wife still finds that
folding laundry is less tedious if she vicariously engages in a love
tryst or orders maid service on "As the World Turns" or another
juicy soap. Even her husband is likely to join the ranks of late night
soap addicts just to escape from the aftermath of his daily on the
job hassles. The psychological appeal of "General Hospital" or "All My
Children" is easy to see, too, among the elderly and retired. After
all, when you are lonely and idle or just unable to get out, it's easy
to fill the void with somebody else's troubles and forget yours.
4 Comparison
Only a gem expert can distinguish between a real
diamond and the very latest synthetic substitute.
Both gleam, glisten, sparkle, and reflect icelike
gradations of blue brilliance. However, if these jewels
were subjected to dish water and other household
solutions, even the most casual observer would spot
the difference.
5 Narration
As Maria hurriedly left for church last Sunday, she threw
a five hundred peso bill into the trashcan, thinking she was
discarding a wad of tissue. You can imagine her surprise
when the garbage man rang our doorbell that Monday
morning and handed the lost money. The honesty of Sitio
Sembong's garbage men has restored Maria's faith in
mankind.
6 Process
In explaining the voodoo effect medically, Cannon theorized that
what happens to curse victims is a case of self induced shock
brought on by "prolonged and intense emotion." Experiments with
animals put under intense stress and case histories of soldiers in
battle situations, he says, have shown one of the physical after
effects of intense stress is an extreme drop in blood pressure.
Shock occurs as a result of the rush of adrenaline. The body's
blood vessels constrict, or tighten up, cutting down the blood
supply to the body. Starved of oxygen carrying blood, vital organs
start breaking down, the heart starts faltering and eventually
death occurs. This, combined with the fact that the victim often
refuses all food and water, is responsible for the killing effect.
7 Listing
The Japanese automobile industry uses robots in many
stages of its production process. In fact, one large Japanese
auto factory uses robots in all of its production stages. Some
Japanese universities are developing medical robots to detect
certain kinds of cancer. Another automobile factory in Japan
uses them to paint cars as they come off the assembly line.
Furthermore, most Japanese factories use robots to weld the
parts of the finished car together.
8Analogy
Leaving sometimes isn’t a matter of choice. It’s coming
back that is. The Hobbits of the shire traveled all over
Middle-Earth, but they chose to come home, richer in very
sense of the word. We call people like these “balikbayan” or
the “returnees” – those who followed their dream, yet chose
to return and share their mature talents and good fortune.

- by Patricia Evangelista

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Sunday, May 23, 2004

9 Cause and effect
The planets and satellites are spherical in shape. This is
due to the mutual gravitation of the separate parts which
would pull a large quantity of initially liquid material of dust
cloud into compact spheres. Due to rotation, the spheres
become flattened at the poles and bulge at the equator. As a
result, gravitational force at the poles is greater than at the
equator because distance from the center of the earth to the
poles is shorter than to the equator.
10 Classification
A speech is “typed” according to the purpose for which it
is given. If you were asked to speak to give your audience an
informative message, you are to prepare a speech to inform.
In a speech to stimulate, your purpose is to bring your
audience to a higher level of enthusiasm or to deepen their
emotion. If your speech is intended to make your audience
believe something, then do something, it is a speech to
convince.
 References
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from http://www3.pef.uni-lj.si/~tuji-jeziki/rp/1_letnik/exercises_on_paragraph_writing.pdf on
September 12, 2013
Dadufalza, C. D. (1992). Reading into writing I. Makati City, Philippines: Bookmark Inc. and The
Author. p. 253.
Dela Cruz, E.M. and Lina Enriquez. 2001. Advanced Speech Communication. Rex Publishing.
Albano, C.E., et al. (1999). Introduction to College Physics and Chemistry. Learning Resource
Center: UP Diliman.
Troyka, L.Q. & Hesse, D. (2009). Simon & Schuster Handbook for Writers. New Jersey: Pearson
Education, Inc.
Coherence. Retrieved from
http://school.esdnl.ca/holytrinityhighschool/engdept/Common_Files/Coherence.htm on September
4, 2013.
Communication Skills 1. UP Open University.
http://dd.dgacm.org/editorialmanual/training/lessons/link_d.htm
http://www.jccc.edu/files/pdf/writing-center/developing-paragraphs.pdf