Basic Paragraph Structure

Introduction Definition of ‘Paragraph’: Series: One Main Idea: A paragraph is a series of sentences (not a list) that presents and develops one main idea (and only one!) about a topic. Series: The word ‘series’ tells us that the sentences in a paragraph are linked together logically, and that the paragraph is not merely a list of sentences. One Main Idea: All of the details in a paragraph must be directly related to the main idea. If you choose to develop a new idea, you must start a new paragraph.

Linear and Direct Topic Sentence: Supporting Details: Conclusion: Clearly expresses the one main idea Supporting Details: Develop the main idea with appropriate information Conclusion: Lets the reader know that the paragraph is finished.

Comparing Structures Mastering a language does not just involve pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, speaking, listening, and writing. The pieces of conversations and compositions (the Structure) must be organized in ways that a native speaker will understand.

Comparing Structures Culture and Language are closely connected “Logic is not universal” “If one doesn’t know the discourse pattern one can’t read for comprehension.” “If one doesn’t know the discourse pattern one can’t write for comprehension.”

In English As we saw earlier, the basic (expository) structure in English is linear and direct. (p. 31) In English you should follow three basic steps: Tell the audience your topic, as clearly as possible. Develop, explain, or support the topic (tell them about the topic), in a natural, logical way. Tell them that the paragraph is finished (tell them that you are finished telling them about the topic).

Other Languages/Cultures Semitic Laguages The “links” between the pieces are not always clear. The reader/listener makes the connections.

Other Languages/Cultures Begin with the topic Go off on a tangent Refute the tangent with an opposing idea Return to the topic Formal, ‘fancy’ words and structures. Romance Languages

Other Languages/Cultures Using the linear/direct style of English-speaking cultures may seem rude or abrupt to a native speaker of a romance language. Using the romance language structure to communicate in English may leave the native English speaking wondering: What is the point? When is he/she going to tell me what’s happeing? Why is this taking so long?

The ‘Asian’ Discourse Pattern Can you guess what it looks like? Is it linear? Is it direct? Why or why not?

The ‘Asian’ Discourse Pattern p. 30 It looks (generally) like this:

The ‘Asian’ Discourse Pattern In many Asian cultures it is considered rude to be too direct The main idea is often arrived at only at the end of the paragraph … After surrounding, gradually more specific ideas have been introduced.

Very different approaches

Once again: Topic Sentence: Supporting Details: Conclusion: Clearly expresses the one main idea Supporting Details: Develop the main idea with appropriate information Conclusion: Lets the reader know that the paragraph is finished.

Very Simple Example Adapted from: http://www. slideshare Topic Sentence: Notice, it does not say topic sentences We use one, and only one, sentence to tell the reader the main idea and the controlling idea There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world.

Very Simple Example Adapted from: http://www. slideshare The Body: Notice that there is no long introduction, no background information, nothing extra All of the details relate directly to the one main idea The details flow using: Transitional markers The known-new contract (More about this later) First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Canada's cities are clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for people to live.

Very Simple Example Adapted from: http://www. slideshare Conclusion Sentence: Notice, it does not say conclusion sentences We use one, and only one, sentence to tell the reader that the paragraph is over. Notice the transitional marker. The whole paragraph looks like … As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.

There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Canada's cities are clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for people to live. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live. Note: this is a simplified version. You will be practicing a slightly more complex structure.

The Topic Sentence

The Topic Sentence The topic sentence tells the reader what the paragraph is about. Every sentence in the paragraph must develop or support that topic sentence and the controlling idea it contains. It introduces the main idea so that the reader knows what to expect.

The topic Sentence This is very useful for the readers: they can scan quickly through a large text and find what they are looking for by looking at the topic sentences; they don't have to read the entire paragraph to know what it is about. The topic sentence also gets the reader's mind focused on what is to follow in the rest of the paragraph. The topic sentence is usually very general, and does not usually contain specific information about the topic. We save the specifics for the body.

Generalizations Topic sentences are very general. They do not contain information that is too specific.

Generalizations: From the book

Generalizations vs. specific details The topic sentence must not contain specific details about the topic: These are not good topic sentences, but they might be excellent body sentences: “Dutch men are the tallest on the planet, with an average height of182.5cm (5'11").” http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3706923/How-tall-country-Men-Netherlands-table-just-6ft-women-Guatemala-stand-4-10.html “A 12-ounce can of regular Coke contains 39 grams of total sugar, which is about 9 1/3 teaspoons of sugar.” http://www.livestrong.com/article/283136-how-many-teaspoons-of-sugar-are-there-in-a-can-of-coke/

Generalizations vs. specific details Good topic sentences might look like this: “Dutch men and Latvian women are the tallest on the planet, a new study has discovered.” http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3706923/How-tall-country-Men-Netherlands-table-just-6ft-women-Guatemala-stand-4-10.html “If you’re struggling to lose weight or if you see that number on the scale gradually going up, it may stem from those empty calories you’re getting from your favorite bubbly beverage.” http://www.livestrong.com/article/283136-how-many-teaspoons-of-sugar-are-there-in-a-can-of-coke/

The Controlling Idea

The Controlling Idea Topic Sentence = Topic + Controlling Idea The controlling idea controls the details in the paragraph. It lets the reader know what you want to say about your topic. It is your … Opinion Feelings Attitude Evaluation Main impression Etc … of the topic

Controlling idea I went to Paris last summer. Thousands and thousands of people went to Paris last summer! Why do you want to tell me about your trip?

Controlling idea So what?! I live in the dormitory. Thousands and thousands of students live in the dormitory. What is interesting about your room/experience? So what?!

What do you want to say about Cheongju? The controlling Idea The sentence Cheongju is a city in South Korea. does not contain a controlling idea. What do you want to say about Cheongju?

The Controlling Idea Any of these would be better: Cheongju is a beautiful city in South Korea. Cheongju is a very friendly city. Cheongju is the most conveniently located city in South Korea. Etc.

Examples Some more examples: Parents often try to make life difficult for their children. Some salespeople lie to make more money on a sale. Homework can be very easy. Parts of The United States are colder than Europe. Many women want to have large families. Men are sometimes afraid of commitment. The best way to make new friends is to just start talking to people. Adapted from: http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-generalization.html

Examples: It’s easy to learn more about topic sentences: http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-topic-sentences.html Topic sentence examples

The Body of the Paragraph

The Body The body of the paragraph holds the information – the supporting details – that the writer has collected (through research, brainstorming, cluster diagrams, free- writing, etc.) Details are presented to the reader in a natural, logical order. Remember: English and Korean compositions are organized very differently. If you write your paragraph in your native language and then just translate the sentences into English, it will almost certainly be organized incorrectly! Native English speakers expect paragraphs to be organized in certain ways, and, as we have seen, these ways are usually quite different from what we find in writing in Korea (and other cultures, of course).

The Body Common Logical Orders Chronological (Time) order Spatial (location) order Emphatic (emphasis) order

Cohesion

The Body Cohesion: In addition to being presented in a Logical/natural order, the details in a paragraph come together to form a series of sentences, which means that they are connected, joined together in some way, like a chain.

The Body: A simple example of cohesion All As are Ds   All As are Bs All Bs are Cs All Cs are Ds Therefore, all As are Ds

The Body A paragraph is not merely a list of sentences put one after another like beads on a string.

The Known-new Contract

Introduction One way to think about cohesion is to think about the pieces of information in the sentences. Most sentences have at least two pieces of information.

Introduction One of these pieces of information is already known to the reader, and the other piece is new. A common, and very natural, way to make paragraphs cohesive is to use a sentence structure that uses known information first and introduces new information second.

Known-new contract Sentence 1 Sentence 2 Sentence 3 Sentence 4

Example: Which sentence should come next? This morning I woke up at 7:00. After I woke up, I took a shower. a) I made coffee. b) I got out of the shower. c) When I got out of the shower, I made coffee.   Sentence a) has no known information at all. The reader cannot connect the new information to the previous sentence in any way. Sentence b) contains no new information. This sentence is, essentially, redundant and serves no real purpose in the series. Sentence c) follows the known-new structure. It takes the new detail from the second sentence and repeats it, making it the known detail in sentence 3:

Example: Sentence 1 Sentence 2 Sentence 3 This morning I woke up at 7:00. After I woke up, I took a shower. When I got out of the shower, I made coffee.

Note: We don’t always have to follow this structure; This is just one way to look at the issue of cohesion, It is usually impossible or confusing to follow this structure in all of your sentences. Think of the ‘known-new’ structure as a very helpful guideline, rather than a strict rule that you must follow.

Put these sentences in the correct order to make a strong paragraph: All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Finally, Canada's cities are clean and efficiently managed. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. Second, Canada has a high standard of education. There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for people to live.

Answer: There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Canada's cities are clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for people to live. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.

Answer and explanation: There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Canada's cities are clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for people to live. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.

Answer and explanation: There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Canada's cities are clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for people to live. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.

Answer and explanation: There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Canada's cities are clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for people to live. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.

Answer and explanation: There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Canada's cities are clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for people to live. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.

Answer and explanation: There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Canada's cities are clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for people to live. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.

Answer and explanation: There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Canada's cities are clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for people to live. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.

Answer and explanation: There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Canada's cities are clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for people to live. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.

Answer and explanation: There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Canada's cities are clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for people to live. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.

The Known-new contract We can think of the ‘new’ information as: A Clarification (making the detail clearer) An Explanation (tell the reader what you mean exactly) A more specific detail Canada has a high standard of education. The phrase “high standard” is very general. The reader won’t know exactly what you mean. So you have to tell them what you (the writer) mean by “high standard”.

See the book for three easy ways to use the known-new contract.

Transitional Markers

Transitional Markers We can’t always use the known-new contract. Sometimes, even if we are using it, we need a little help from another method of maintaining cohesion.

Transitional Markers Another very common way to maintain cohesion is through the use of specific words that help the reader to understand the logical/semantic connections between sentences. These words and phrases are called Transitional Markers (sometimes called signal words, or clause connectors). Notice the highlighted words in the paragraph:

Signal Words/Transitional Markers/Discourse Markers There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Canada's cities are clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for people to live. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.

Signal Words / Transitional Markers Signal words organize the discourse They tell the reader (they signal) how the paragraph is changing, progressing, developing They tell the reader how that change is happening But notice, even though we progress from detail to detail, there is a common (known) piece of information that ties the whole paragraph together:

Transitional Markers A transition is a change, or shift, a state of moving from one situation/detail to another. A marker is a sign/signal. Transitional Markers, then, are words that tell the reader how the ideas in the sentences connect logically. The reader must be told, as simply and precisely as possible, how the two sentences connect and why they belong together.

Transitional Markers For example, in the paragraph about “having lunch with a friend,” we saw the sentence: “As soon as I got to the restaurant, I found my friend Susan, who was waiting patiently at a table.” The transitional marker “as soon as,” tells the reader exactly how the ideas around it are related, and in this case, exactly when the event happened.

Transitional Markers Time Relationships Before As soon as After Since During While Earlier Later Immediately As soon as Since When Finally First Next Then Etc.

Transitional Markers Contrasting Ideas But However Nevertheless On the other hand On the contrary In contrast Although Etc.

Transitional Markers Additional Information And, Also Besides First/Second/Third/Etc Furthermore In addition Moreover Equally important Etc.

Transitional Markers Comparison Similarly Likewise Also In the same way Like ..., too Etc.  

Transitional Markers pp 44~46 Cause and Effect So Consequently Therefore Thus Hence Accordingly Etc.

Transitional Markers Concession/Compromise After all Even though At the same time Naturally Admittedly Etc.

Transitional Markers Conclusions Therefore Finally In conclusion As a result Consequently Finally In summary Hence

Coherence (see the book for explanation and exercises) Conclusion sentence (see the book)

Summary: Comparison Read the following two paragraphs (see p. 57) Which one is better?

Comparison: Paragraph One I met my friend Susan for a quick lunch today. We usually meet at the same restaurant every day at 12:00, but I was a bit late today because I had an exam. When I got to the restaurant, I saw Susan waiting patiently at a table, and I rushed over to sit down with her. We were both very hungry so we called the waiter to our table right away. Susan ordered dumpling soup, and I had two rolls of kimbap. As soon as we finished eating, we walked back to school.

Comparison: Paragraph One I had kimbap for lunch today. I usually meet my friend at the same restaurant every day at 12:00, but today I had an exam, so I was a bit late. As soon as I got to the restaurant, I ordered two rolls of kimbap. Kimbap is a Korean snack made of vegetables and rice rolled up in inside a piece of dried seaweed. My mother makes delicious Kimbap. Kimbap is my favourite food.

Visualization: If we look at some of the connections between the pieces of information, we might be able to see which is the stronger paragraph.

Paragraph One:

Side by side