EAP 4 From Paragraph to Essay

Read this paragraph and decide what is special about the underlined sentence. After coming back to my flat, I looked forward to meeting my new flatmates, but no-one moved into my flat. I am disappointed about this, because I hoped to be able to speak more English with my flatmates. During the two week break, I always spent time with my Taiwanese friends and we always spoke Chinese, which is not good for improving our English ability. I am also feeling nervous about the new course because I didn’t do anything to practise my English during the break.

What’s this paragraph about? What’s the topic sentence? Having a long break is quite an enjoyable experience, but it is a waste of time without planning. Before the last two-week break, I planned for it. I divided the break into three parts. Firstly, some days were for my children and we went to “Go Bananas” and Clacton. Secondly, some days were designated for shopping. Last but not least, in the evenings, my wife and I practised English, sometimes by watching movies or Youtube, and sometimes by practising writing.

What’s this paragraph about? What’s the topic sentence? Having a long break is quite an enjoyable experience, but it is a waste of time without planning. Before the last two-week break, I planned for it. I divided the break into three parts. Firstly, some days were for my children and we went to “Go Bananas” and Clacton. Secondly, some days were designated for shopping. Last but not least, in the evenings, my wife and I practised English, sometimes by watching movies or Youtube, and sometimes by practising writing.

Which noun phrase occurs most frequently in this introduction to a text? When the first Europeans came to the North American continent, they encountered the completely new cultures of the Native American peoples of North America. Native Americans, who had highly developed cultures in many respects, must have been as curious about the strange European manners and customs as the Europeans were curious about them. As always happens when two or more cultures come into contact, there was a cultural exchange. Native Americans adopted some of the Europeans’ ways, and the Europeans adopted some of their ways. As a result, Native Americans have made many valuable contributions to modern U.S. culture, particularly in the areas of language, art, food, and government.

Which noun phrase occurs most frequently in this introduction to a text? When the first Europeans came to the North American continent, they encountered the completely new cultures of the Native American peoples of North America. Native Americans, who had highly developed cultures in many respects, must have been as curious about the strange European manners and customs as the Europeans were curious about them. As always happens when two or more cultures come into contact, there was a cultural exchange. Native Americans adopted some of the Europeans’ ways, and the Europeans adopted some of their ways. As a result, Native Americans have made many valuable contributions to modern U.S. culture, particularly in the areas of language, art, food, and government.

So what’s the topic of this introduction? Can you imagine what the title of the text is? When the first Europeans came to the North American continent, they encountered the completely new cultures of the Native American peoples of North America. Native Americans, who had highly developed cultures in many respects, must have been as curious about the strange European manners and customs as the Europeans were curious about them. As always happens when two or more cultures come into contact, there was a cultural exchange. Native Americans adopted some of the Europeans’ ways, and the Europeans adopted some of their ways. As a result, Native Americans have made many valuable contributions to modern U.S. culture, particularly in the areas of language, art, food, and government.

Native American Influences on Modern U.S. Culture When the first Europeans came to the North American continent, they encountered the completely new cultures of the Native American peoples of North America. Native Americans, who had highly developed cultures in many respects, must have been as curious about the strange European manners and customs as the Europeans were curious about them. As always happens when two or more cultures come into contact, there was a cultural exchange. Native Americans adopted some of the Europeans’ ways, and the Europeans adopted some of their ways. As a result, Native Americans have made many valuable contributions to modern U.S. culture, particularly in the areas of language, art, food, and government. Which sentence is the THESIS STATEMENT?

Native American Influences on Modern U.S. Culture When the first Europeans came to the North American continent, they encountered the completely new cultures of the Native American peoples of North America. Native Americans, who had highly developed cultures in many respects, must have been as curious about the strange European manners and customs as the Europeans were curious about them. As always happens when two or more cultures come into contact, there was a cultural exchange. Native Americans adopted some of the Europeans’ ways, and the Europeans adopted some of their ways. As a result, Native Americans have made many valuable contributions to modern U.S. culture, particularly in the areas of language, art, food, and government. How many paragraphs will follow this introduction? What will be the subject of each paragraph?

Look at pages 58 – 59 of Writing Academic English to see if your predictions were correct. Can you locate the topic sentence in each paragraph?

Body Paragraph 1 : First of all, Native Americans left a permanent imprint on the English language.

Body Paragraph 2 : Art is another area of important Native American contributions.

Body Paragraph 1 : First of all, Native Americans left a permanent imprint on the English language. Body Paragraph 2 : Art is another area of important Native American contributions. Body Paragraph 3: In addition to language and art, agriculture is another are in which Native Americans had a great and lasting influence on the peoples who arrived here from Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Body Paragraph 1 : First of all, Native Americans left a permanent imprint on the English language. Body Paragraph 2 : Art is another area of important Native American contributions. Body Paragraph 3: In addition to language and art, agriculture is another are in which Native Americans had a great and lasting influence on the peoples who arrived here from Europe, Africa, and Asia. Body Paragraph 4 : Finally, it may surprise some people to learn that Americans are also indebted to the native people for our form of government.

Body Paragraph 1 : First of all, Native Americans left a permanent imprint on the English language. Body Paragraph 2 : Art is another area of important Native American contributions. Body Paragraph 3: In addition to language and art, agriculture is another are in which Native Americans had a great and lasting influence on the peoples who arrived here from Europe, Africa, and Asia. Body Paragraph 4 : Finally, it may surprise some people to learn that Americans are also indebted to the native people for our form of government. Note the lexical threads in each paragraph related to its main topic.