Characteristics of Good Writing

Characteristics of Good Writing Elements of an effective paragraph Topic Sentences Evidence Transition words Verbs Maintaining verb tense Passive vs. active voice

Effective Paragraphs: Topic Sentences A topic sentence indicates what idea the paragraph is going to address. The reader should be able to clearly identify the paragraph’s topic by reading the topic sentence. It should occur at the beginning of the paragraph.

Effective Paragraphs: Evidence The entire paragraph should focus on the subject set out in the topic sentence. The topic must be thoroughly addressed, with adequate details. Supporting details should occur in logical order and “flow”. Three sentences do NOT make a paragraph!

Effective Paragraphs: Transitions Transitions are words/phrases that connect ideas. Transitions help the reader see connections and progress from one idea to the next. Different transitions do different things: add ideas, show cause and effect, clarify sequence, etc… Examples: in addition to, particularly, similarly, in other words, etc…

Effective Paragraphs: Example Paragraph A: Music piracy receives too much attention. The majority of money made from artists is from merchandising and endorsements. A large portion of paid downloads and CD sales go to the record company. Losing a few dollars to unauthorized downloads is unlikely to hurt the artist. Paragraph B: Downloading MP3s for free does not hurt recording artists. First, artists make most of their money elsewhere. Surprisingly, they don’t get most of the income from music sales. It is clear that unauthorized downloads aren’t all that harmful.

Effective Paragraphs: Example Paragraph B has the more effective topic sentence. Paragraph A provides the most effective evidence to support the argument. Paragraph B uses transitions most effectively to connect ideas.