Paragraph structure

Must present a
coherent
argument.

Identifies the main idea of
the paragraph.
The point the writer wishes
to make about that subject.
Usually appears at the
beginning of the paragraph.
It is often the paragraph’s
very first sentence.
Must be general enough to
express the paragraph’s
overall subject.
Specific enough that the
reader can understand the
paragraph’s main subject and
point.

Topic Controlling Idea
1. People can avoid burglaries by taking certain precautions.
(The precautions for…)
2. There are several advantages to growing up in a small town.
(The advantages of…)
3. Most US universities require a 550 point TOEFL score for a number
of reasons.
(The reasons for…)
4. Air pollution in Mexico City is the worst in the world for a number of
reasons.
(The causes of…) or (The effects of…)

Expand on the
topic sentence.
Should be presented in a
systematic way -according to:
importance, time, operations or
space, etc.
May contain: examples, explanations/reasons,
descriptions, processes, statistics, comparisons/contrasts,
arguments, causes/effects, facts, and so on.

Not all paragraphs
have a concluding
sentence.
Can serve many
different purposes:
1. Summarize
2. Give your final
thoughts or
personal opinion.
3. Work as transition
to the next
paragraph

Useful steps
Step 1– Write the
topic sentence Step 2 – Brainstorm ideas that help
you support the topic sentence.
Step 3 – Plan: cross out ideas that do not
obviously relate to the topic sentence. Arrange
the remaining ideas as they will appear in your
paragraph
Step 4 – Write the first draft. Include all the
ideas in your plan.
Step 5 – Revising and editing may involve making
additions or corrections, rewriting sentences or
rearranging details.

1. Is the topic sentence clear and relevant?
2. Do the facts, details and examples
explain/develop the topic sentence?
3. Is there enough support?
4. Is the material presented in a systematic way?
5. Does one sentence lead smoothly to the next?

Adventure tourism is a different way for
tourists to see New Zealand. This type of
tourism uses the plentiful natural resources -
mountains, rivers, lakes, wilderness areas and
historical sites to provide adventure, thrills
and challenges which are low risk but high in
excitement. For example, the coastal areas in
New Zealand are great for canoeing and
kayaking. White-water rafting is another
popular water adventure tour.

No matter how you slice it, there are only 24 hours in a day. To be successful
at university, students need to learn good time-management skills. The first
skill is not taking on more than you can handle. If you are a working part-
time, have a family and are involved in a community organisation, then taking
a full course-load at university will be too much. Another time management
skill is reasonably estimating the time required to perform each of the tasks
at hand. For example, deeply reading a chapter from a course text cannot be
completed in between television programmes. Finally, actually doing what
needs to be done seems obvious, but is a very difficult skill. You may find that
cleaning out your wardrobe becomes vital when you are avoiding study.
Procrastination is a time manager's enemy. By learning time management
skills your university study will be successful and most importantly
enjoyable.

The heart weighs about 11 ounces and is
the size of a clenched fist. The heart of a
man performs at about 60 to 80 beats a
minute. In a year it beats some 40 million
times. At each beat it takes in nearly a
quarter of a pint of blood; in a single day
it pumps 2,200 gallons of blood, and in
the course of a single lifetime about 56
million gallons. Is there any other engine
capable of carrying on such heavy work
over such a long period of time without
needing to be repaired? Obviously the
human heart is a small yet highly
efficient piece of equipment.

Is what defines the
scope and purpose of
the paper.

Bad thesis: Lily Bart experiences the constraints of many social
conventions in The House of Mirth. [Of course she does. What does she
do with these social conventions, and how does she respond to them?
What's your argument about this idea?]
Better thesis: Lily Bart seeks to escape from the social conventions of
her class in The House of Mirth, but her competing desires for a place in
Selden's "republic of the spirit" and in the social world of New York
cause her to gamble away her chances for a place in either world.

Bad thesis: Lily Bart and Clare Kendry are alike
in some ways, but different in many others.
[What ways?]
Better thesis: Lily Bart and Clare Kendry share a
desire to "pass" in their respective social worlds,
but their need to take risks and to reject those
worlds leads to their destruction.

Bad thesis: Lily Bart gambles with her future, and Lawrence
Selden is only a spectator rather than a hero of The House of
Mirth. [Note: This is really the beginning of two different
thesis statements.]
Better thesis: In The House of Mirth, Lawrence Selden is a
spectator who prefers to watch and judge Lily than to help
her. By failing to assist her on three separate occasions, he is
revealed as less a hero of the novel than as the man
responsible for Lily's downfall. [Note: Sometimes thesis
statements are more than one sentence long.]

4. Statements such as "In this essay I will discuss " or
"I will compare two stories in this paper" or "I was
interested in Marji's relationship with God, so I
thought I would talk about it in this essay" are not
thesis statements and are unnecessary, since
mentioning the stories in the introduction already
tells the reader this.

A Great Thesis Statement
E X A M P L E

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a
new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all
men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any
nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a
great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that
field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that
nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can
not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled
here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The
world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never
forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here
to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly
advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining
before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to
that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we
here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this
nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government
of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Abraham Lincoln
November 19, 1863

See the following video, read the article “How Slavery
Helped Build a World Economy” and write an essay
about the relationship between Slavery and Economy.
1. Apply all what we have learned in the course.
2. Make sure you have a thesis statement and a topic sentence
in each paragraph.
3. Write between 400 and 700 words. NO MORE THAN
THAT.
4. Organize the information in 5 paragraphs (Introduction,
three body paragraphs and conclusion)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRlfMhP_CMI

http://www.une.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/12313/WE_Paragraphs_
Academic-writing.pdf
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Good-Topic-
Sentence
http://el19online.ait.ac.th/paragraphwriting/paragraphwriting4.html

Paragraph structure

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Paragraph structure