HOW TO WRITE A GOOD PARAGRAPH I. Writing a paragraph What is a paragraph? How to write a topic sentence? How to write supporting sentences? II. Writing an introduction paragraph III. Writing a conclusion pargaraph A paragraph pyramid Web-spinning spiders construct three kinds of webs. The first type is the tangled web, a shapeless helter-skelter jumble attached to some support such as the corner of a room. These webs are hung in the path of insects and serve to entangle them as they pass. The second type of web is the sheet web. This web is a flat sheet of silk strung between blades of grass or tree branches. Above this sheet is strung a sort of net, which serves to knock insects into the sheet. When an insect hits the sheet, the spider darts out and pulls it through the webbing, trapping the insect. Finally, perhaps the most beautiful of the webs, is the orb. The orb web consists of threads that extend from a center like a wheel's spokes and are connected to limbs or grass blades. All the spokes are connected by repeated circles of sticky silk, forming a kind of screen. Insects are caught in this screen and trapped by the spider. --Emery, D. W., Kierzek, J. M., & Lindblom, P. (1995). English fundamentals (9th ed. form B, p. 302). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. A tangled web (mới rối, làm rối) A sheet web A orb (round) web A paragraph pyramid A tangled web (mới rối, làm rối) Topic Connectors (first, second, next, finally) Supports Details (details, example, explanation, facts, statistics) A sheet web A orb (round) web Write a topic sentence Formula = The topic + the controlling idea 1) The first part says one main idea or subject (what it is) 2) The second part say something about the topic Or express an attitude. It guides the supporting sentences to follow. Example: Web-spinning spiders build three types of webs. The topic tells we are writing about web-spinning spiders. But we don’t write everything about the spiders, we don’t write about its food, colors, beauty. The controlling ideas say clearly we write about their three types of webs My senior year of high school was challenging Write a topic sentence 1) The sentence (My senior year of high school was challenging.) does not state a fact; rather, it states an idea or opinion which needs support. It leaves the writer with something to say; it leaves the reader wanting to know more (How? What were the challenges?). 2) Factual statements do not make good topic sentences. If the sentence read, "I graduated from Wilson High School in 1995," the writer would have little more to say because that statement does not require support. Write a support sentence • provide the main supporting points for the main idea (topic sentence) • be directly tied to the topic sentence (NOT INTRODUCE NEW IDEA) • usually 2 - 4 in a paragraph • arranged in logical order • based on importance (usually least to most), • time (usually first to last), • or even space (far to near, near to far) • Transition words are often used improve coherence "My first challenge at Wilson High School . . . " "The second challenge I encountered . . . " "My final challenge in high school . . . " • usually general claims, should be proven using concrete, specific evidence by detail/example sentences Write a detail/example sentence • directly tied to support sentences; indirectly tied to the topic sentence • usually 1 - 3 per support sentence • serve to prove support statements • specific: details, examples, explanations, facts, statistics • For example: • It is not enough to say, "My first challenge at Wilson High School was studying enough to make good grades and stay on the honor roll." • [topic sentence] My senior year of high school was challenging. [support sentence] My first challenge at Wilson High School was studying enough to make good grades and stay on the honor roll.[detail/example] I often studied past midnight, even though I had to get up at 6:00 a.m. to be ready in time to catch the school bus. [detail/example] When I was studying for my chemistry mid-term in Ms. Beasley's class, I never went to bed at all -- but I made an "A" on the exam! Write a conclusion sentence • directly tied to support sentences; indirectly tied to the topic sentence • usually 1 - 3 per support sentence • serve to prove support statements • specific: details, examples, explanations, facts, statistics • For example: • It is not enough to say, "My first challenge at Wilson High School was studying enough to make good grades and stay on the honor roll." • [topic sentence] My senior year of high school was challenging. [support sentence] My first challenge at Wilson High School was studying enough to make good grades and stay on the honor roll.[detail/example] I often studied past midnight, even though I had to get up at 6:00 a.m. to be ready in time to catch the school bus. [detail/example] When I was studying for my chemistry mid-term in Ms. Beasley's class, I never went to bed at all -- but I made an "A" on the exam! HOW TO WRITE A GOOD PARAGRAPH I. Writing a paragraph What is a paragraph? How to write a topic sentence? How to write supporting sentences? II. Writing an introduction paragraph III. Writing a conclusion pargaraph Write a introduction paragraph • The purpose of an introductory paragraph is: • (1) to grab the attention of your reader (start by a hook) • (2) inform the topic and purpose of the essay. (a connection sentence) • (3) often ends with a thesis statement to lead your entire paper Write a introduction paragraph • The purpose of an introductory paragraph is: • (1) to grab the attention of your reader => START BY a hook. • Posing a question, • Defining the key term • A description • Giving a brief anecdote, • Using a playful joke or emotional appeal, • or pulling out an interesting facts • A quote or Etc… Write a introduction paragraph • The purpose of an introductory paragraph is: • (1) to grab the attention of your reader => START BY • Posing a question examples: Ask a question or series of questions regarding your topic. And, remember to answer the question. Are the brains of men and women different? If so, do men and women differ in abilities, talents, and deficiencies? A scientific answer to these questions could affect society and culture, and variously shock, intrigue, delight, depress, and reassure people of both sexes. Now an answer is coming into sight: Yes, male and female brains do differ. Source: Pamela Weintraub, ―The Brain: His and Hers,‖ excerpt from The Gender Reader https://www.bucks.edu/media/bcccmedialibrary/pdf/ThesisStatementsandIntroductionsJuly08_000.pdf Write a introduction paragraph • The purpose of an introductory paragraph is: • (1) to grab the attention of your reader => START BY a hook. • Defining the key term Provide an explanation, not a dictionary definition, of a term that your paper will cover. • The word ―”addiction” is often used loosely and wryly in conversation. People will refer to themselves as ― “mystery book addicts” or ― “cookie addicts”. E.B. White wrote of his annual surge of interest in gardening: ― “We are hooked and are making an attempt to the kick the habit”. Yet nobody really believes that reading mysteries or ordering seeds by catalogue is serious enough to be compared with addiction to heroin or alcohol. The word ―addiction‖ is here used jokingly to denote a tendency to overindulge in some pleasurable activity. • Source: Marie Winn, ―TV Addiction: Cookies or Heroin?, excerpt from The Macmillan Reader Write a introduction paragraph • The purpose of an introductory paragraph is: • (1) to grab the attention of your reader => START BY a hook. • A description • "Working part-time as a cashier at the Circle K has given me a great opportunity to observe human behavior. Sometimes I think of the shoppers as white rats in a lab experiment, and the aisles as a maze designed by a psychologist. Most of the rats—customers, I mean—follow a routine pattern, strolling up and down the aisles, checking through my chute, and then escaping through the exit hatch. But not everyone is so dependable. My research has revealed three distinct types of abnormal customer: the amnesiac, the super shopper, and the dawdler." Write a introduction paragraph • The purpose of an introductory paragraph is: • (1) to grab the attention of your reader => START BY a hook. • Giving a brief anecdote • "In March 2006, I found myself, at 38, divorced, no kids, no home, and alone in a tiny rowing boat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. I hadn’t eaten a hot meal in two months. I’d had no human contact for weeks because my satellite phone had stopped working. All four of my oars were broken, patched up with duct tape and splints. I had tendinitis in my shoulders and saltwater sores on my backside. "I couldn’t have been happier...." (Roz Savage, "My Transoceanic Midlife Crisis." Newsweek, March 20, 2011) Write a introduction paragraph • The purpose of an introductory paragraph is: • (1) to grab the attention of your reader => START BY a hook. • Using a playful joke or emotional appeal, • "As a lifelong crabber (that is, one who catches crabs, not a chronic complainer), I can tell you that anyone who has patience and a great love for the river is qualified to join the ranks of crabbers. However, if you want your first crabbing experience to be a successful one, you must come prepared." (Mary Zeigler, "How to Catch River Crabs") Write a introduction paragraph • The purpose of an introductory paragraph is: • (1) to grab the attention of your reader => START BY a hook. • or pulling out an interesting facts/statistics • The decline of fatherhood is one of the most basic, unexpected, and extraordinary social trends of our time. Its dimensions can be captured in a single statistic: in just three decades, between 1960 and 1990, the percentage of children living apart from their biological fathers more than doubled, from 17 percent to 36 percent. By the turn of the century, nearly 50 percent of American children may be going to sleep each evening without being able to say good night to their dads. HOW TO WRITE A GOOD PARAGRAPH I. Writing a paragraph What is a paragraph? How to write a topic sentence? How to write supporting sentences? II. Writing an introduction paragraph III. Writing a conclusion pargaraph Write a conclusion paragraph •Remember that the introduction begins general and ends specific •The conclusion begins specific and moves to the general Conclusion outline 1) Topic sentence Fresh rephrasing of thesis statement 2) Supporting sentences - Summarize or wrap up the main points in the body of the essay - Explain how ideas fit together 3) Closing sentence - Demonstrate the importance of your ideas - Encourage your reader to a new view of the subject - End on a positive note https://www.time4writing.com/writing-resources/writing-agood-conclusion-paragraph/
