Paragraph Writing An Overview

Definition of a Paragraph A paragraph is a basic unit of organization in writing in which a group of related sentences develops and expresses one main idea. How is this diagram related to a paragraph?

Writing is a Process

Prewriting - Generating Ideas Before writing a topic sentence, the writer needs to think about what exactly the paragraph will focus on. If the exact topic is not given, the writer needs to generate ideas and narrow down the topic to a manageable size. HOW?

The most common way of generating ideas is brainstorming: listing or arranging ideas in diagram form food places dieting healthy additives style types Food meat fast food regional preparation organic traditional etc. Types of food unhealthy breakfast dessert main meal snacks Low fat restaurant effects advantages disadvantages Turkish home high fat reasons Which one is best? Why?

Narrowing down ideas Once ideas have been brainstormed, the writer needs to decide what part of the topic will be used in the paragraph. One of the best ways to do this is by isolating ideas on the brainstorming diagram.

Example of Narrowing down food places dieting healthh additives style types Types of food healthy unhealthy breakfast dessert main meal snacks Low fat restaurant effects advantages disadvantages Turkish home high fat reasons

Making an Outline An outline, like an architect’s plan for a house, is the writer’s plan for a paragraph. When writing an outline, the topic sentence, supporting sentences and concluding sentence should be included.

Example Outline from previous ideas Topic sentence: Turkish cuisine appeals to everbody. S 1. A Turkish breakfast includes a huge variety of food options. S 2. For main meals, there are a number of courses all of which are different and incredibly tasty. S 3. As for desserts, there is a huge selection to choose from to suit everybody’s taste buds. Concluding sentence: In conclusion,Turkish food has something for everyone at any time of the day.

Turkish cuisine appeals to everbody. Topic Sentence A good topic sentence should: clearly state the main point. be something you can show, explain, or prove. be specific prepare the reader for the rest of the paragraph. be a complete thought. A good topic sentence consists of two parts: the topic and the controlling idea. Turkish cuisine appeals to everbody.

Supporting Sentences Well developed paragraphs explain their topic sentences with supporting sentences that include: concrete details (data, facts, statistics, evidence, details etc.) lively examples and illustrations well-developed, clearly-worded arguments

Concluding Sentence The concluding sentence can only be based on information presented in the paragraph. It is an objective statement that is based on the facts presented in the paragraph. (Never introduce new information in the concluding sentence.)

Drafting - Checking Outline & Adding Details Once the outline is finished, the writer can check that the paragraph is unified. If everything is connected, the writer can add details to the support. Facts Examples Personal experiences Descriptions The writer can also decide on the transition signals to be used in the paragraph.

Writing Using the outline, supporting details and transition signals, the writer is now ready to write the paragraph.

Revising – evaluating the paragraph Before the paragraph is finished, certain things should be checked: content organization style grammar punctuation vocabulary usage

Editing Checklist ___ Is there a clear topic sentence? ___ Are all of the main supporting details related? ___ Are all supporting ideas related? ___ Is there sufficient support in the paragraph? ___ Is the concluding sentence related to the rest of the paragraph? ___ Does it finish the paragraph in a positive way? ___ Are all of the transitions appropriate? ___ Is the grammar usage correct? ___ Is vocabulary usage varied and appropriate? ___ Are spelling and punctuation correct?

Publishing Once the paragraph has been checked and revised, it will be a complete piece of work that is ready to be published.