The Paragraph

1
The Paragraph

• 1. Topic Sentence
• 2. Evidence Details
• 3. Conclusion

2
TEM-4 Paragraph

• Write in 3 parts.
• 1. In the first part, state what the topic
  actually means to you.
• 2. In the second part, give one or two examples
  to illustrate your ideas.
• 3. In the last part, bring what you have written
  to a natural conclusion or summary.

3
The Topic Sentence

• 1. States your topic
• Spring Festival
• Education
• 2. States what you think about your topic
• Fun/ Boring
• Very important/ Not important

4
Examples

• I had a lot of fun during Spring Festival.
• Spring Festival was fun this year.
• Spring Festival was very boring.
• I had a boring Spring Festival.
• My education is very important to me.
• It is very important to get an education.
• Education is not very important.
• I don't think its very important to get an
  education.

5
Evidence

• Evidence answers the questions who, what, when,
  where, why or how.
• Examples
• 1.Spring Festival was very boring.
• Why?
• My parents had to work and my sister went to her
  boyfriend's house.
• 2. It is very important to get an education.
• Why?
• If you get an education you will have more job
  opportunities. In addition, you will make more
  money if you have an education.

6
Details

• Details give your reader more information.
• Examples
• 1. Spring Festival was very boring. My parents
  had to work and my sister went to her boyfriend's
  house. I was home alone everyday.
• 2. It is very important to get an education. If
  you get an education you will have more job
  opportunities. People who find jobs they enjoy
  are much happier than others. In addition, you
  will make more money if you have an education.
  With more money you can live more comfortably.

7
Concluding Sentence

• Summarizes the main idea of the paragraph.
• Restates the topic sentence (thesis statement)?
• Example
• 1. Spring Festival was very boring. My parents
  had to work and my sister went to her boyfriend's
  house. I was home alone everyday. Therefore,
  Spring Festival was not very good this year.
• 2. It is very important to get an education. If
  you get an education you will have more job
  opportunities. People who find jobs they enjoy
  are much happier than others. In addition, you
  will make more money if you have an education.
  With more money you can live more comfortably.
  This is why education is important.

8

• My hometown is famous for several amazing
  natural features. First, it is noted for the
  Wheaton River, which is very wide and beautiful.
  On either side of this river, which is 175 feet
  wide, are many willow trees which have long
  branches that can move gracefully in the wind. In
  autumn the leaves of these trees fall and cover
  the riverbanks like golden snow. Also, on the
  other side of the town is Wheaton Hill, which is
  unusual because it is very steep. Even though it
  is steep, climbing this hill is not dangerous,
  because there are some firm rocks along the sides
  that can be used as stairs. There are no trees
  around this hill, so it stands clearly against
  the sky and can be seen from many miles away. The
  third amazing feature is the Big Old Tree. This
  tree stands two hundred feet tall and is probably
  about six hundred years old. These three
  landmarks are truly amazing and make my hometown
  a famous place.

9

• My hometown is famous for several amazing
  natural features. First, it is noted for the
  Wheaton River, which is very wide and beautiful.
  On either side of this river, which is 175 feet
  wide, are many willow trees which have long
  branches that can move gracefully in the wind. In
  autumn the leaves of these trees fall and cover
  the riverbanks like golden snow.

10

• Also, on the other side of the town is Wheaton
  Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep.
  Even though it is steep, climbing this hill is
  not dangerous, because there are some firm rocks
  along the sides that can be used as stairs. There
  are no trees around this hill, so it stands
  clearly against the sky and can be seen from many
  miles away. The third amazing feature is the Big
  Old Tree. This tree stands two hundred feet tall
  and is probably about six hundred years old.
  These three landmarks are truly amazing and make
  my hometown a famous place.

11
Paragraph Unity

• It is important that a paragraph stays focused on
  one main idea.
• It is easy to write a sentence that relates to
  the topic but not the controlling idea. It is
  also easy to write a paragraph that doesn't
  relate to the topic sentence.

12
Practice
Find the sentence that doesn't belong.

• My brother lives in Boston. He found a nice big
  apartment on Commonwealth Avenue. He likes to
  read. Although the landlord doesn't allow pets,
  my brother has two cats. The cats seem to
  understand the situation, because they hide
  behind the refrigerator whenever someone comes to
  the door.

Wrong He likes to read
13
More Practice
Find the sentence that doesn't belong.

• The history of diving is quite interesting.
  George has always been fond of diving. When he
  was only seven, he was jumping from the high
  dive at ten, he was a medallist on a diving
  team.

Wrong The history of diving is quite interesting
or the rest of the paragraph.
14
Even More Practice
Find the sentence that doesn't belong.

• Even in the best of times, men can fail. It is a
  fact of the human condition that no ones'
  behaviour is truly consistent. A person's
  intentions are very important. We mean well, do
  our best, and then toss all our effort away in a
  moment.

Wrong A person's intentions are very important.