Paragraph Writing
Review
How much do you remember…..
Parts of a Paragraph
TITLE
Introduction
*Topic Sentence goes in the Introduction of the Paragraph*
Body
Conclusion
Where does the topic sentence go?
What is the job of a topic sentence?
• Introduces the main idea
How many types of topic sentences
did you learn?
1
2
3
4
5
How many types of topic sentences
did you learn?
1
2
3
4
5
3 Types of Topic Sentences
GENERAL
Names the main idea
CLUEING
Names the main idea
Gives clues about the details
SPECIFIC
Names the main idea
Names the specific details to be
covered in order
GENERAL TOPIC SENTENCE
Example 1
The election was held last year.
Example 2
Dogs can cause damage to a home.
Example 3
Reading can enrich our lives.
CLUEING TOPIC SENTENCE
Example 1
Amnesia, or memory loss, has several causes.
Example 2
Tents come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
Example 3
The citizens of Lawrence have several reasons
for building a new high school.
SPECIFIC TOPIC SENTENCE
Example 1
Air pollution is caused by vehicles and industries.
Example 2
Charles Darwin lived an interesting life as an explorer,
writer, and scientist.
Example 3
Football and soccer are similar with regard to the
fields, the activities, and the referees.
Is it a General, Clueing or Specific
Topic Sentence?
1. Jack needed four kinds of tools to take care
Clueing
of his yard.
2. Winter can be a difficult season. General
3. Mrs. Dowling loves french fries. General
4. The President accepted three questions
from the reporter on taxes, health care, and
education.
Specific
Parts of a Paragraph
TITLE
Introduction
Body
Conclusion
Where do the detail sentences go?
Parts of a Paragraph
TITLE
Introduction
Body
Detail sentences go in the body of the paragraph
Conclusion
Where do the detail sentences go?
How many types of detail sentences
did you learn?
1
2
3
4
5
How many types of detail sentences
did you learn?
1
2
3
4
5
What are the two types of detail
sentences you learned?
Lead-off Sentence
Introduces a new detail
Follow-up Sentence
Provides more information
about the detail.
What does every Lead Off
sentence need?????
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __
What does every Lead Off
sentence need?????
T R A N S I T I O N
W O R D
Parts of a Paragraph
TITLE
Introduction
Body
Conclusion
Where do you think the clincher sentence
goes?
Parts of a Paragraph
TITLE
Introduction
Body
Conclusion
It goes in the conclusion.
Where does the clincher sentence go?
How many types of clincher
sentences do you think there are?
1
2
3
4
5
How many types of clincher
sentences are there?
1
2
3
4
5
3 Types of Clincher Sentences
GENERAL
Summarizes (reminds the reader)
of the main idea of the paragraph
CLUEING
Names the main idea and reminds
the reader about clues
SPECIFIC
Names the man idea and the
specific details that were covered
in order
This sounds a lot like topic sentences!
Clincher Sentence
A clincher sentence
is the last sentence
in a paragraph.
Clincher Sentence
A clincher sentence begins
with a concluding transition
word such as:
In sum,
Therefore,
In conclusion, Thus,
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F
F
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F
F
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F
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Formula for Writing
A Paragraph
There is one VERY
important rule to follow:
You may not use the same type of clincher
sentence as you used for your topic sentence.
For example, if you used a general topic
sentence, then you cannot use a general
clincher sentence. You could only use a
clueing clincher or a specific clincher.
Clincher Sentence
• Is the last sentence in the
paragraph
• Closes the paragraph
• Names the main idea of the
paragraph
• Sometimes summarizes or
names the details of the
paragraph
• Is different from the Topic
Sentence
G
Clincher Sentences
How the dinosaurs died out is one of the greatest mysteries of
all time. Some scientists think that a giant meteor from outer space hit
the earth about 65 million years ago. Its impact could have caused many
changes on the earth that might have killed the dinosaurs. For example,
the meteor’s impact might have raised tons of dirt and dust into the
atmosphere so that sunlight could not reach the earth, or it might have
started the eruptions of many volcanoes or created tidal waves. Other
scientists theorize that when flowering plants appeared in the world, the
plant-eating dinosaurs could not digest these plants and died. In turn,
the meat-eating dinosaurs also starved because there were no planteating dinosaurs left to eat. Still other scientists propose that a strange
disease wiped out the dinosaurs. Finally, other scientists think that the
climate of the world became too cold for the dinosaurs’ survival.
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This will eliminate…
My favorite restaurant is The Cheesecake
Factory. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This
is why The Cheesecake Factory is my favorite
restaurant.
Concluding Transitions
Words that tell the reader
that the paragraph is finished.
Transitions Chart
Chain-Link Transitions
On the one hand,
On the other hand,
Again,
Besides,
Moreover,
The opposite of _ is_
On the contrary side
To the contrary,
In contrast,
In spite of
Despite the
One example of
For instance,
Another example,
A further example,
For example,
For another example,
Still another
In addition,
In the same way,
In fact,
Additionally,
Lastly,
Similar to _ is_Last
Another similar _ is_
Likewise,
Similarly,
A dissimilar _ is_
In the first place,
In the second place,
In the third place,
In other wordsThe first
In fact,
Also,
The second
The third
One
Another
A further
Further,
Furthermore,
Because
Since
As
Still,
While
Instead
First,
Second,
third,
Specifically,
More specifically,
In particular,
The last
Indeed,
As a result,
Although
Consequently,
Even though
Nevertheless, Even if
Nonetheless,
Naturally,
After all,
Concluding Transitions
To conclude,
In conclusion,
Therefore,
In summary,
To summarize,
In brief,
To sum up,
As a result,
In sum,
As one can see,
In short,
Thus,
Example General Clincher Sentences
• In sum, these car models are my favorites.
• To summarize, these are my favorite car
models; what are yours?
• As one can see, life on a farm can be hard.
• Thus, learning a foreign language can be
difficult.
• To conclude, public transportation is a great
way to get around a city.
• Therefore, this is a movie everyone should
see.
Example Clueing Clincher Sentences
• In sum, these four events took place at our
school this week.
• Therefore, without these three things,
animals cannot survive.
• In other words, several people were involved
in planning the party.
• To conclude, these two sports keep me very
busy and in good shape.
Example Specific Clincher Sentences
• As one can see, making a snowman involves
rolling the parts of his body, stacking the parts,
and creating his face and clothes.
• In effect, the people followed a clear course:
They wrote a petition, held rallies, demanded a
vote, and caused the law to be changed.
• In summary, people plan vacations to rest, to see
new places, or to try new experiences.
Types of Clincher Sentences
General Clincher Sentence
Clueing Clincher Sentence
Specific Clincher Sentence
Cue Card #47
You be the teacher!
Mark the teacher’s answers
correct or incorrect
Slim and Happy
Daily exercise can be helpful for four major
reasons. The most important reason people should
exercise daily is to keep their hearts strong. Exercise
is one way that people can lower their risk of heart
attack and live longer. Another important reason is
that exercise can build and firm muscles. That way
their muscles are ready for any type of use. A third
important reason for daily exercise is weight control.
Many people in the United States are overweight to
the point of being unhealthy. People can lose weight
and stay slim if they exercise every day. Finally,
people who exercise outdoors get the benefits of
being in nature. They can experience all four seasons.
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