Efficient

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Efficient Flexible Reading5th edition by
Kathleen McWhorter

• Chapter 4 Paragraph Structure
• PowerPoint presentation by Gretchen
  Starks-Martin, 1999, St. Cloud State University,
  Minnesota

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In this chapter you will learn

• To identify the topic of a paragraph.
• To identify the main idea and topic sentence of a
  paragraph.
• To develop expectations about the writers ideas.
• To recognize supporting details under-stand
  their relationship to the main idea.
• To use transitions to see the connections between
  ideas.

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A paragraph is structured around three essential
elements the topic, the main idea, and the
supporting details. These 3 elements are often
connected by transitional words or phrases.
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1. Identifying the Topic

• The common subject or idea is called the topic.
• The topic is what the entire paragraph is about.
• Ask yourself the question, Who or what is the
  paragraph about?

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What is this paragraph about?
One of the largest components of debt is the
mortgage, the debt owed on real estate. In
speaking of the mortgage market it is important
to distinguish between real estate mortgages and
mortgages as a type of security for a debt
obligation. In one sense..
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2. Finding the main idea

• The general, organizing statement of the main
  idea of each paragraph is called the topic
  sentence.
• Topic sentence first most common
• Topic sentence last argumentative or persuasive
  writing
• Topic sentence in the middle preceding are main
  idea, following are explanations
• Topic sentence first and last emphasis
  clarification

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Communication is essential to any kind of social
system. Even the apparently solitary male
orangutan starts the day with a booming cry that
tells other orangutans where he is. Sounds of
this kind are common among the primates and many
other mammals. Where primates live in social
groups, communication is much more complicated.
The animals must judge others emotions, which
are conveyed by gestures and sounds. Bluffing is
very important, and all the apes have biological
structures adapted for bluffing. Gorillas pound
their chests. Chimpanzees charge, hoot, and
throw objects. In orangutans, ...
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We can measure the radioactivity of plants and
animals today and compare this with the
radioactivity of ancient organic matter. If we
extract a small, but precise, quantity of carbon
from an ancient wooden ax handle, and find it has
one-half as much radioactivity as an equal
quantity of carbon extracted from a living tree,
then the old wood must have come from a tree that
was cut down or made from a log that died 5730
years ago. In this way, we can probe into the
past as much as 50,000 years to find out such
things as the age of ancient civilizations or the
times of the ice ages that covered the earth.
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Chinese- and Japanese-Americans have a higher
percentage of high school and college graduates
than whites or than other minorities. Asians
make up 3 of the population of the United
States, but they make up 21 of the student body
at the University of California at Berkeley. At
Harvard, 8 of the students are Asian-Americans.
In fact, in terms of education and career
advancement, Asian-Americans are among the most
successful minorities in the United States today.
In the professional fields of science and
engineering, a higher percentage of
Asian-Americans than whites holds doctoral
degrees. Asian-American professors have more
publications and a higher average family income
than whites.
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The study of prehistoric humans is the study of
their fossil remains. To begin to understand who
our ancestors were and what they were like, we
must be able to interpret the fragments of them
that are coming to the surface in increasing
numbers. Given reliable methods to determine
their age, we can now turn with more confidence
to primate fossils for an answer to the question
How do we tell monkeys, apes, and humans apart?
For present-day species this is no problem, but
the more we go back in time, the more similar
their fossils begin to look. The construction of
a primate fossil family tree is essential if we
are ever going to discover the line of descent
from early hominid to modern human.
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Paragraphs without a topic sentence

• For some people, carrying on the family name is
  important. Others want a child for its love or
  to prevent loneliness in old age. Some couples
  are curious about the result of their mixture of
  genes. Some individuals have a child in order to
  hold their marriage together this is unwise
  because it usually adds strain to an already
  failing relationship, and the child is often
  affected most.
• Found in descriptive or narrative writing the
  main idea must be formed by the reader

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3. Developing Expectations As You Read

• Think about what you read.
• Follow the authors pattern of thought.
• Try to relate the ideas.
• Predict what will come next.

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4. Recognizing Details

• Note major details that explain and support the
  main idea.

• Note minor details that provide information that
  qualifies, describes, or explains the major
  details.

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Types of Supporting Details

• Illustrations Examples to show application in a
  particular situation.
• Facts Statistics to explain the main idea.
• Reasons to support an opinion, belief or action.
• Descriptions to visualize the person, object or
  event.

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5. Using Transitions

• Transitions are linking words or phrases writers
  use to lead the reader from one idea to another.
• Examples are however, for example, next, first,
  also, because, therefore.
• Check out the common transition types in Figure
  4-1 of Chapter 4 of your book.

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Summary Questions

• What is a paragraph?
• What are the three essential elements of a
  paragraph?
• Where is the topic sentence most likely to be
  found?
• What are the most common types of details used to
  explain or support the main idea?

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Longman English Skills Web Site

• http//longman.awl.com/englishpages
• See your instructor for username and password.