1 Reading skills How do you improve your “reading skills”? Let’s practice them together. 李玉華、施舜馨

2 Reading skills  In order to read better, you need to know about the organization of English writing. 要增進閱讀的能力,首先,我們 要先了解英文的篇章結構

3 Paragraph AA paragraph is a brief unit of a communication in a relatively fixed form and a brief unit of a complete article. 英文段落有其固定的架構,是一篇完整文章的基本單位 TThe three main parts of a paragraph: 1. Topic sentence =Introductory sentence 2. Supporting sentences 3. Closing sentence

4 Topic sentence (Introductory sentence) TTopic sentence (Introductory sentence) usually tells us the topic and the writer’s attitude towards the topic, which is referred to as “the controlling idea” or “the main idea.” 主題句告訴我們文章的主題和作者針對 此主題的主要看法,也就是文章的主旨. (the controlling idea=the main idea)

5 Supporting sentences  The topic sentence is followed by several “supporting sentences” to provide evidence for the writer’s assertion. 作者用承接句 “supporting sentences” 提供論點,來支持其對主題（the topic） 的看法

6 Closing sentence  The paragraph usually ends with a “closing sentence” to sum up the whole paragraph. Sometimes there can be no topic sentence, but the main idea appears in the closing sentence. 結句（closing sentence）總結整個段落. 有時主題句未寫出,但作者會在結句中重 伸主旨.

7 Example:  I like to sing. Therefore, I have participated in a choir for many years. I have learned singing and met different people in the choir. I have chances to go abroad to give performances every year. I have a lot of unforgettable experiences and beautiful memories from singing.

8 Analysis:  Topic Sentence: I like to sing.  Supporting sentences: Therefore, I have participated in a choir for many years. I have learned singing and met different people in the choir. I have chances to go abroad to give performances every year.  Concluding sentence: I have a lot of unforgettable experiences and beautiful memories from singing.

9 The three parts of a paragraph 1.Topic sentence-- the beginning 2. Supporting sentences-- the body 3. Closing sentence-- the conclusion

10 The three parts of a paragraph “The three parts of a paragraph are like the steps that a preacher takes when he lectures– he tells you what he is going to focus on, then he provides different evidence, and he ends up by a restatement of the main idea.” 一篇段落就像牧師證道, 先在一開始點出要談論的主旨, 接著用不同的實例來佐證,最後在結束前,再重新強調一 次所要傳遞的重要訊息. The whole paragraph is just like a loop; it starts somewhere and ends at where it started. 一篇段落的寫作,就像畫一個圓圈,從點明主旨開始, 也以重伸主旨結束.