ENG 105- WRITING
CHAPTER 5
FROM PARAGRAPH TO ESSAY
WEEK 10&11&12
EXPANDING THE PARAGRAPH

A paragraph has three parts : a topic sentence,
supporting sentences and a concluding sentence.

Look at the model paragraph 1 on page 81.

When you want to write about a topic in more detail ,
you can turn your paragraph into an essay.

Similar to a paragraph, an essay has three sections.

These sections are introductory paragraph, the body
(supporting paragraph), and the concluding
paragraph.

Look at the model essay on page 81 & 82

Now look at the diagram on page 83 to see how a
paragraph is expanded into an essay.

The topic sentence of the paragraph becomes the
thesis statement of the essay, which comes at the end
of the introductory paragraph

The supporting sentences of the paragraph expand
into three different paragraphs in the essay.

Each major supporting and its minor points become
one body paragraph in the essay.

The concluding sentence is made into a concluding
paragraph.
INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH
The introductory paragraph is the first
paragraph of an essay.
 It has two functions: 1. It attracts the reader’s
interest, and 2. it introduces the topic of the
essay.
 There are several kinds of introductory
paragraph. Here you will learn three kinds of
introductory paragraph.
 First one is funnel or general to specific
introductory paragraphs.
 This introduction has two parts: general
statements and thesis statement.

The general statement gives the reader background
information about the topic of the essay.
 They should lead your reader gradually from a very
general idea of your topic to a very specific idea.
 The first general statement in a funnel introduction
just introduces the topic.
 Then each sentence that follows the first sentence
becomes more and more focused on a specific topic.
 The thesis statement is the last sentence of the
introductory paragraph. It has three purposes:

It states the topic of the essay
 It may list the subtopics of the main idea
 It may also mention the method of organization


Look at the sample introductory paragraph on page
85.
The first sentence attracts the reader’s interest with a
short sentence; it also names the general topic (music)
 The second sentence says each culture has its own kinds
of music
 The next two sentences narrow the general topic (music)
to a more specific one (popular music) and mention taht
it has many styles
 The final sentence , the thesis statement, specifically
names the three styles to be discussed in the body
paragrahs: reggae, punk, and rap.


Practice 1 , Page 85.

Another type of introductory paragraph is
anecdote.

An anecdote is a brief story that illustrates your
topic.

In a personal anecdote, you tell a story about your
own experiences that are relevant to the thesis.

In a third person anecdote, you tell a story about
someone else.

You can base your story on a real person or you can
make it up.

The last type of introductory paragraph is historical
paragraphs.

You may also choose to write a brief historical
introduction to your essay.

You do not need to give a detailed historical
information

Just a summary or main events related to the topic
can be written.

Practice 2 , Page 87
GUIDELINES FOR INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPHS

There are several guidelines for a good introductory
paragraph:

It must be relevant to the topic; that is, it should not
introduce material not covered in the essay.

It should not give detailed information about the main
ideas of the essay.

There should be at least two sentences before the thesis
statement.

The thesis statement should come at the end of the
introductory paragraph.

Practice 3, Page 88
THE THESIS STATEMENT

The thesis statement is the most important
sentence in an essay.

It contains the main idea for the whole essay.

The body paragraphs in an essay must support the
thesis statement in an essay.

Practice 4, Page 90-91
PARTS OF A THESIS STATEMENT

Like a topic sentence, a thesis statement has two main parts: a
topic and a controlling idea.

The topic: the subject of the essay, or what the essay is about

The controlling idea: what you are going to say about the topic

Topic is more general and you can have many controlling ideas for a
topic.

For example, the topic : the sense of smell
For me it is the sense of smell rather than the sense of taste that
brings back happy memories (controlling idea)
 The sense of smell is much stronger in dogs than it is in
humans(controlling idea)
 Many scientists believe that the sense of smell is the most
basic of all the senses in humans(controlling idea).

THE PREDICTOR
Some thesis statements may also have a third
component called a predictor.
 The predictor of a thesis statement can tell the reader
how many body paragraphs there will be in the essay.
For example:


Blindness requires a heightened development of the other
senses, especially touch and hearing.
In this thesis statement, the topic is blindness.
 The controlling idea is that it requires a heightened
development of the other senses.
 The third part of the thesis statement lists the two
senses : touch and hearing
 This is called the predictor because it predicts the
number and content of the essay paragraphs.
 Practice 5 & 6, Page 92

MORE ON THESIS STATEMENTS

A thesis statement must be a statement, not a
question.
Not a thesis statement:
Thesis Statement:


Is living in a city advantageous?
Living in a city is advantageous?
A thesis statement must be a complete sentence.
Not a thesis statement
Music: the food of love
Thesis statement
Music is the food of love
A thesis statement is an opinion or shows intent: it can
not be a simple statement of fact.
Not a thesis statement
Dogs have a sense of smell
Thesis statement
Dogs use their keen sense
of smell in many ways


A thesis statement must state the controlling idea.
Not a thesis statement
This essay is about Helen Keller
Thesis statement
Both blind and deaf, Helen Keller learned
to communicate through touch alone.
A thesis statement should have only one controlling idea.
Not a thesis statement
Thesis statement

My cousin has an excellent sense of pitch, and
she is also a famous dancer.
My cousin’s excellent sense of pitch has made
her an accomplished musician.
Practice 7&8&9, Pages 94-98
BODY PARAGRAPHS
The body of an essay is made of one or more
paragraphs.
 Each body paragraph has a topic sentence and
several supporting sentences.
 It may or may not have a concluding sentence.
 Each body paragraph supports the thesis statement.
 Look at the topic sentences of body paragraphs in
model essay.
 The topic sentence of each body paragraph introduces
one style of popular music.
 The supporting sentences following each topic
sentence give more information about each style.
 Practice 10 ,11&12, Page 100,102

TRANSITIONS BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS
Using transition signals is important to show the
connection between ideas within a paragraph.
 It is also important to use transition signals between
paragraphs to show how one paragraph is related to
another.
 Transition signals can tell your reader if the topic of
the next paragraph follows the same line of thought or
reverses direction.

In addition to costing money for special food, fad diets…
 On the other hand, fad diets work for some people…

Sentence Connectors
Prepositions
1. Furthermore…
Moreover…
Besides…
In addition….
2. Besides + noun/gerund
In addition to +noun/gerund
1. Furthermore/In addition/Moreover/Besides, people on fad
diets often gain even more weight than they had lost.
Besides/In addition to suffering from poor nutrition, people on
fad diets often don’t lose weight.
2. Besides/In addition to not losing weight, people on fad diets
often gain even more weight than they had lost.
Sentence
Connectors
Subordinators
Prepositions
1. On the other
hand,…
However,…
2. Although,…
Even though,…
3. Despite….
In spite of …..
1. On the other hand/ However, people who want to lose weight
can succeed.
2. Although/Even though, fad diets do not work, there are other
diets that do.
3. Despite/ In spite of many attempts to lose weight, I am still
overweight.
Despite/In spite of dieting for several years, I am still
overweight.
THE CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH

The concluding paragraph is the last paragraph of an
essay. It has three purposes:
It signals the end of the essay
 It reminds the reader of your main points
 It leaves the reader with your final thoughts on the topic.


Read the sample concluding paragraph on page 107
and notice how the writer accomplishes three
purposes:
The transition phrase In short signals the end of the essay
 It summarizes the qualities of Mr. Smith
 It gives a final comment: Mr. Smith inspired students to
love learning.

PARTS OF A CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH

A concluding paragraph consists of
A summary of the points made in your body paragraphs
 A restatement of the thesis statement
 A final comment on your topic




You may choose one of these ways to end your essay
or your may choose two or three.
Warning: Do not introduce new information about
the topic of the essay.
New information should be in the body part of the
essay, not in the concluding paragraph.
1. Summary Concluding Paragraphs

One way to end your essay is to summarize its
main points.

You need to include the main point of each body
paragraph.

Your conclusion won’t be complete if you leave
one point out.

Practice 14, Page 108
2. Restatement Concluding Paragraphs
 An alternative to a summary is a restatement of the idea
of your thesis statement.
 Look at the model paragrah 1 on page 109.
3. Final Comment Concluding Paragraph
 Adding final comments to summary or restatement
concluding paragraphs is an effective way.
 A final comment can make a concluding paragraph more
personal.
 It can also invite readers to think about how the essay is
directly related to their lives.
 Look at the modeal paragraph 2 on page 109.
 Practice 15&16&17, Page 109-113
CANKAYA UNIVERSITY - OFFICE OF BASIC AND ELECTIVE COURSES- ENGLISH UNIT