THE PARAGRAPH



THE PARAGRAPH A well-organized paragraph has three parts:a topic sentence,support,and a concluding sentence.The topic sentence tells the topic(what the paragraph is about)and the controlling idea(the writer’s attitude or idea about the topic).The supporting part of the paragraph explains,describes,or develops the main idea.In the below paragraph,both the topic sentence and the concluding sentence have been high lighted.The remaining sentences are the supporting sentence. There are three important qualities necessary in a good boss.The most important is fairness.If the boss is fair,workers can feel that if they do a good job,their work will be appreciated,and their efforts will be rewarded.The second most important quality is leadership.The boss should be an example and a teacher.This allows workers to learn from a boss so that thay can increas their job skills and get promoted.The third most important factor is that the boss acts with consistency.That way the workers know what to expect each day.They know how they’ll be treated and what their share of the workload will be.I would hire a boss with these qualities for myself.

REMEMBER: •	The topic sentence should be neither too broad and too narrow. •	Agood topic sentence is a complete grammatical sentence that states an opinion,not a fact. Since the topic is often too broad a concept to write about,the controlling idea has the role of limiting the topic to a certain extent. Take,for example,the general topic of soccer.There are too many things to say about soccer to put into a single paragraph.Therefore,your problem as a writer consists of deciding how to limit this topic.One good way to limit your topic is to place key words or phrases in the topic sentence,which will let the reader know how the topic is going to be treated.These key words or phrases make the contrlling idea of a paragraph.The key words that can be used to limit a topic belong to one of the following eaight categories:

1.	place      3.quality             5.differences     7.effect/result 2.	time       4.similarities       6.number           8.cause/reason

TOPIC: SOCCER 1.	Soccer is a physically demanding sport. (quality) 2.	Soccer is dangerouse for several reasons. (cause) 3.	Soccer is more exciting than tennis. (differences) 4.	Soccer has become increasingly popular in the United States in the last fifteen years. (quality)                        (place)                      (time)

THE BODY(SUPPORT SENTENCES) The body of a paragraph consists of carfully developed sntences which develop and strengthen th main idea by explaning,proving,or discussing the statement made in the topic sentence.these sentences are called major support sentences. Good paragraphs can be written with major support sentences only.However,in some paragraphs major support sentences need to be clarified through facts,examples,or explanations.these further details, which directly support major support sentences and in directly support the controlling idea in the topic sentence,are called minor support sentences. REMEMBER: A paragraph has unity when every sentence supports or related to the main idea expressed in the topic sentence. THE CONCLUDING SENTENCE The main purposeof the concluding sentence is to summeries the main idea that you developed by using supporting details in the paragraph. You want to signal to your reader that you have finished your thoughts. You need to leave your reader with a clear impression of the main purpose of the paragraph. REMEMBER: A concluding sentence is essential for paragraphs that are written to stand on their own;paragraphs that are a part of a larger piece of writing,such as an essay,do not require a concluding sentence. The concluding of a paragraph falls into one of the following two categories: 1.The restatement concluding sentence: This type is a restatement of the sentence. You simply say the same thing again, but you use different words. 2.The summary concluding sentence: The second way of concluding paragraph is by summarizing the main points that were made in the paragraph. NOTE: There a number of words and expressions such as finally, therefore, thus, indeed,in concluding,in summary, and as a result that introduce the concluding sentence.

COHERENCE: Apart frome unity, another important characteristice of a good paragraph is coherence. A paragraph has coherence when all the ideas and sentences flow together smoothly, and the relationships between ideas and indivitual sentences are clear and easy to understand. Coherence is achieved in different ways. The first way is to use transition words (coordinating conjunctions, conjunctive adverbs, subordinating cojunctions) to connect ideas. Appropriate conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses,and sentences connect ideas logically and continue the flow or continuity of information through the entire paragraph. A second way to achieve coherence is the correct use of pronouns. When you use pronouns instead of key nouns,make sure that you use the same person and number throughout the paragraph. Don’t change from you to he or she (change of person), or from he or she, or it to they (change of number). Examle: •	Topic sentence: From the start of the trial, the jury was very cautious.

INCONSISTENT Although at times the jury seemed favorably impressed by the prosecution’s case, they were out foyr days before bringing in a verdict.

CONSISTENT Although at times the jury seemed faverably impressed by the prosecution’s case, it was out four days before bringing in a verdict.

The verb was, in the topic sentence, shows that the writer at the start thought of jury as singular: “it was.” Remember, however, that in some cases overuse of pronouns instead of the key nouns may make the sentences unclear. In such cases. It is better to repeat the key nouns instead of the pronouns. A third way to achieve coherence is to use emphatic order. An emphatic order presents information by order or degree of importance. This involoves beginning with the most important detail and finishing the paragraph with the least important detail (descending order), or the reverse order, i.e. beginning with the least important detail and finishing with the most important detail (ascending order). NOTE: The emphatic order uses transitions such as primary, main, the most important,chief reason, etc.