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English (Kinds, Meaning, Forms of Paragraph)

The document defines a paragraph and its typical components: a topic sentence, body, and concluding remark. It then describes four common types of paragraphs: descriptive, narrative, expository, and persuasive. Descriptive paragraphs use details to depict senses. Narrative paragraphs tell a story. Expository paragraphs explain or instruct. Persuasive paragraphs aim to change the reader's viewpoint. Sample paragraphs are provided to illustrate each type.

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Jezreel Mae Franco
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288 views4 pages

English (Kinds, Meaning, Forms of Paragraph)

The document defines a paragraph and its typical components: a topic sentence, body, and concluding remark. It then describes four common types of paragraphs: descriptive, narrative, expository, and persuasive. Descriptive paragraphs use details to depict senses. Narrative paragraphs tell a story. Expository paragraphs explain or instruct. Persuasive paragraphs aim to change the reader's viewpoint. Sample paragraphs are provided to illustrate each type.

Uploaded by

Jezreel Mae Franco
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is a paragraph?

A paragraph (from the Ancient Greek paragraphos, "to write beside" or


"written beside") is a self-contained unit of a discourse in writing dealing with a
particular point or idea. A paragraph consists of one or more sentences. Though not
required by the syntax of any language, paragraphs are usually an expected part of formal
writing, used to organize longer prose.

Parts of Paragraph:
Topic Sentence
The topic sentence tells the reader what the paragraph is going to be about. It also helps
you keep your writing under control. This is why a topic sentence is sometimes called the
"controlling idea" of a paragraph. Below you will find a sample topic sentence and a
simple formula for writing good topic sentences:
Body
The body is the main part of the paragraph. This is where you tell the reader about your
topic by including specific details. All of the sentences in the body must relate to the
specific topic of the paragraph and help it come alive for the reader. That is, all of the
sentences in the body should contain details that make the topic more interesting or help
explain it more clearly. These sentences should be organized in the best possible order.
Concluding Remarks
The closing or clincher sentence comes after all the details have been included in the
body of the paragraph. The closing sentence reminds the reader what the topic of the
paragraph is really all about, what it means. For example, let's say the topic sentence of a
paragraph is "Mr. Brown must have been a drill sergeant before he became our gym
teacher."

Kinds of Paragraph:
There are four types of paragraphs that you need to know about: descriptive, narrative,
expository, and persuasive. A quick search around the internet will yield other types, but
to keep this simple, it's a good idea to consider just these four.
the descriptive paragraph: This type of paragraph describes something and shows the
reader what a thing or a person is like. The words chosen in the description often appeal

to the five senses of touch, smell, sight, sound, and taste. Descriptive paragraphs can be
artistic and may deviate from grammatical norms.
the narrative paragraph: This type of paragraph tells a story. There's a sequence of
action or there's a clear beginning, middle, and end to the paragraph.
the expository paragraph: This type of paragraph explains something or provides
instruction. It could also describe a process and move the reader step by step through a
method. This type of paragraph often requires research, but it's possible that the writer is
able to rely on his or her own knowledge and expertise.
the persuasive paragraph: This type of paragraph tries to get the reader to accept a
particular point of view or understand the writer's position. This is the type of paragraph
that many teachers focus on because it's useful when building an argument. It often
requires the collection of facts and research.
This is a descriptive paragraph:

yourself, you should address all aspects of the


physical world.

The lights grow brighter as the earth lurches


away from the sun, and now the orchestra is
playing yellow cocktail music, and the opera of
voices pitches a key higher. Laughter is easier
minute by minute, spilled with prodigality, tipped
out at a cheerful word . The groups change more
swiftly, swell with new arrivals, dissolve and form
in the same breath; already there are wanderers,
confident girls who weave here and there among
the stouter and more stable, become from a sharp,
joyous moment the center of a group, and then,
excited with triumph, glide on through the seachange of faces and voices and color under the
constantly changing light.

This is a narrative paragraph:


It's been almost ten years since I first ran for
political office. I was thirty-five at the time, four
years out of law school, recently married, and
generally impatient with life. A seat in the Illinois
legislature had opened up, and several friends
suggested that I run, thinking that my work as a
civil rights lawyer, and contacts from my days as a
community organizer, would make me a viable
candidate. After discussing it with my wife, I
entered the race and proceeded to do what every

This excerpt is taken from The Great Gatsby by F.

first-time candidate does: I talked to anyone who

Scott Fitzgerald. In this paragraph you can hear, see,

would listen. I went to block club meetings and

and feel the setting in which the story takes place.

church socials, beauty shops and barbershops. If

When you practice writing a descriptive paragraph

two guys were standing on a corner, I would cross

the street to hand them campaign literature. And


everywhere I went, I'd get some version of the
same two questions.
This opening paragraph from Barack Obama's The

This is a persuasive paragraph:


Immigration contributes to the overall health of

Audacity of Hopetell and interesting story about how

the American economy. Despite recent concerns

a man entered the arena of politics. It has a

related to the costs created by illegal and some

beginning, a middle, and an end, and it raises the

legal immigration to the United States, this

reader's curiosity about what will happen next.

country has largely benefited from the skills,


talents, and ambition that immigrants bring with
them. American businesses gain from a good
source of affordable labor, while town and cities

This is an expository paragraph:


All toilet flush tanks work about the same. When
the toilet is flushed, the trip handle lifts the tank
ball, opening the outlet and letting water flow into
the bowl. When the tank is nearly empty, the ball
falls back in place over the outlet. The float falls
with the water level, opening the water-supply
inlet valve just as the outlet is being closed, and
the tank is refilled through the filler tube. Water
also flows through the bowl refill tube into the

are revitalized by immigrant families who


strengthen communities through civic
participation the generation of new economic
activity. The United States must continue to
welcome new arrivals and help those who already
here; otherwise, the country will lose the
advantages it has over other industrialized
countries who compete against us in the global
marketplace and seek to recruit from a vast pool
of unskilled and skilled global workers.

overflow pipe to replenish trap-sealing water. As

This is the paragraph that appeared on the page

the water level in the tank nears the top of the

describing what a paragraph is. Your teacher wrote it.

overflow pipe, the float closes the inlet valve,

I have an opinion about a particular topic, and in this

completing the cycle.

paragraph I want the reader to accept or consider my

This paragraph from Reader's Digest Complete Doit-yourself Manual gives detailed information about
how how the water moves through a toilet when it is

position. The persuasive paragraph is, perhaps, the


most difficult to write but there is a good method I
can show you in order to be successful in writing one.

flushed. It's instructive, and if you like this kind of

In the next four lessons, we will take a closer look at

thing, it may even be interesting.

each of these types of paragraphs, starting with what


I consider to be the easiest: the descriptive paragraph.

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