Writing Paragraphs

Warm-up Turn to the person next to you. Choose who will close his or her eyes. The other partner will choose from one of the following pictures on the next slide. Try to describe this object to the other person without mentioning the name of the object in the photo. The person with their eyes closed can only say, “I need more details!” until they can guess what the object is.

Pick one of these! Ring-Tale Lemur Sea Turtle

Paragraphs What is a paragraph? A paragraph is a group of sentences that develops an idea. The first sentence of a paragraph should be indented. The sentences in the paragraph support and give examples of the main idea.

How do I know when to start a new paragraph? When you begin a new idea or point. To contrast information or ideas. When your readers need a pause. When you are ending your introduction or starting your conclusion. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/606/1/

Examples: Bad Paragraph I live in an apartment in Wausau. I like the view from our deck. We have lived there since June. We also have a car that I like very much. We were in an accident a few months ago. We hit a deer that was crossing the street at night. I felt sorry for the deer, but it cost a lot of money to repair the car.

Examples: Good Paragraph My husband and I bought moved into our apartment last June, and we love it. It is located in Wausau near the Central Wisconsin Airport. Although we cannot see the river from our place, we do have a beautiful view of Granite Peak. Our apartment has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, a large kitchen and dining area, and an attached garage. We are very happy to a place of our own to call home, and I hope that we will live there for several years.

Elements of A Good Paragraph On average a paragraph should have 4-8 sentences A paragraph should have a logical structure that is easy to put into an outline I. Topic Sentence II. Supporting Detail III. Supporting Detail IV. Supporting Detail V. Concluding Sentence/Transition Sentence

Practice Writing A Good Paragraph Choose one of your organizational parts from your Kennedy paper. Create an outline for a well-structured paragraph using this idea Write the paragraph.