Pre-Course Class 66 USASMA Writing Paragraphs Pre-Course Class 66 USASMA

Four important points to remember when writing... 1. State your point CLEARLY 2. Support your point with ADEQUATE INFO 3. Make ALL your sentences relate to the topic 4. Organize your sentences LOGICALLY

Topic Sentences An effective topic sentence does two things: a) states the topic of the paragraph b) identifies the focus What is the difference between these two topic sentences? Nuclear power is our greatest hope for solving the energy crisis. Nuclear power is a huge threat to life on the planet.

Problems with topic sentences If it is too general, you will not be able to support the topic in one paragraph. For example… Exercising is fun. If it is too specific, you won’t have enough to write about. For example… I swim laps for thirty minutes every morning. A perfect balance would be… Exercising every morning has several positive effects on my health.

Supporting Your Idea What kinds of information can you use to support your point? Facts Reasons Examples The writing pre-course class will be very demanding. Write three supporting details for this topic sentence.

Practice: Choose one paragraph. 1. Identify one of your topic sentences. Is it clear? Does it state the topic? Does it identify the focus? 2. Look at your supporting details. Do they all relate to the topic? Do you have a mix of facts, reasons, and examples? If you have facts, have you identified the source for your information?

Conclusion or transition sentences Their purpose is to summarize the ideas from the paragraph. They may also allude to future information in the following paragraphs. Write a conclusion sentence for our paragraph about the USASMA pre-course.

Practice: Conclusion or transition sentences. Using the paragraph you chose from your own essay, look at the last sentence of the paragraph. Is it clear? Is it related to the paragraph it belongs to? Does it transition to the next idea? If not, it’s not always necessary. If so, the sentence should start with old information and end with new information so that the reader can follow your thought process.