Subject: English for Academic and Professional Purposes

Authors: Ms. Laila E. Mendoza, Ms. Cristina M. Cruz, Ms. Sharmaine

Arvy J. Myhre
Editors: Mrs. Crista E. Macale and Mr. Jaycie B. Robles
Reviewers: Mr. Elmar A. Cundangan and Mr. Victor T. Reyes

LESSON 3: WRITING PARAGRAPHS

Description of the Lesson:

Objectives (What I need to know)

At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

1. determine basic paragraph structures;
2. compose a well-written paragraph; and
3. analyze paragraph structures of a given text.

Day 1
Pre- assessment (What I know)

Direction: Before we start with the new lesson, let’s have a short assessment of your prior knowledge
about paragraph. Answer the given question below and explain your answer in two to three sentences.
What is a paragraph?
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Lesson Content (What’s new?)

What is a Paragraph?
⮚ It is a piece of writing that usually consists of a series of sentences. A paragraph should always
have complete, correct, and concise sentences which must be all related to a certain topic. It
should be easy to read and is well-organized because the paragraph itself should focus on one
subject, theme, or central idea.

For example, you are going to write a paragraph about where your friend lives and then you are
about to describe her looks. Definitely, these two are separate ideas. In constructing a paragraph,
you are actually focusing on one main idea. Let’s have the demonstration below:

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 Sample 1: Anna (your best friend) lives in Plaridel, Bulacan, with her parents and two siblings,
she has her own bedroom, which she decorated herself. She and her family all lived comfortably
in the cozy apartment on the third floor. The apartments were only three blocks away from
where she attends her senior high.
Sample 2: Anna is eighteen years old, and she is extremely smart, she is not that tall, and she is
a bit on the skinny side. She has black eyes, light brown hair, rosy cheeks, and a friendly smile.
Just looking at her, she seemed like any other girl—quite normal. Yet, everyone in her class
looks at her differently because Anna could never be a normal girl. Instead, she isn’t normal.
No, she is a genius.

By looking at the examples above, you can notice that the first paragraph is all about where
Anna lives while the second paragraph covers another topic or idea, which is what Anna looks
like. When examining a paragraph, always ask yourself, “What is the main idea in this
paragraph?” If you see two ideas as in the above example, you might have to create two
paragraphs.

When we are creating a paragraph, we should always consider the three basic paragraph
structures- topic sentence, supporting sentence, and concluding sentence. Let’s know more
about these structures.
1. Topic Sentence

⮚ When we say topic sentence, it is the part of paragraph which tells the main idea. The main idea
is what the paragraph all about. It is the most important idea in the paragraph

Always remember that topic sentence is the face of your paragraph; it is the first sentence that
your reader will see, so it should be catchy and at same time concise. It has two sentences which
are topic and main point.
Topic refers to who or what you are writing about while the main point includes the detail about
the topic.
Let’s have this example: Anna is an excellent student. She is intelligent. She is responsible.
Anna always does her homework. And she is never late for class. As a result of her hard work,
Anna is one of the best students in school.
In the above example, the first sentence is “Anna is an excellent student” therefore making it as
our topic sentence. The paragraph talks about Anna which makes her the topic and she is
described as “an excellent student” which serves as our main point.
2. Supporting Sentences

⮚ It explains and supports the main idea. Sometimes supporting sentences give example, reason,
and steps in a process.

When writing supporting sentences, you should give examples, reasons, descriptions and/or
instructions to support your topic sentence, and usually it takes two to four supporting sentences
in a paragraph.

Let’s have again the given example: Anna is an excellent student. She is intelligent. She is
responsible. Anna always does her homework. And she is never late for class. As a result of her
hard work, Anna is one of the best students in school.

Do you think these supporting sentences gave example, reasons, or steps in a process? Definitely
yes! These supporting sentences provide variety of reasons as to why Anna is an excellent
student.

3. Concluding Sentence

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 ⮚ A concluding sentence is a sentence at the end of the paragraph, which summarizes the
information that has been presented. You can think of a concluding sentence as a sort of topic
sentence in reverse.

Always remember that your concluding sentence should not include any information that was not
discussed in the paragraph. To make it simple, concluding sentence is the summary of the previous
discussion.
Again, when we say concluding sentence, it should remind us of the topic sentence.
- It is the last sentence in a paragraph.
- It repeats the main idea in the topic sentences—but in different words
- It does NOT give new detail.
Still, let us stick to our example: Anna is an excellent student. She is intelligent. She is
responsible. Anna always does her homework. And she is never late for class. As a result of her
hard work, Anna is one of the best students in school.
As we can see, the last sentence in the above paragraph summarizes the ideas presented. It gives
emphasis on Anna as being one of the best students in school.
For better understanding, let’s have another set of examples.
Example 1:
Fruit is a healthy and tasty food. Fruits are delicious. Example of fruits are apples, oranges, and
bananas. Fruits have many vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and
Potassium. For these reasons, it is a good idea to eat lots of fruit.
Topic Sentence: Fruit is a healthy and tasty food.
Supporting Sentences: Fruits are delicious. Example of fruits are apples, oranges and bananas.
Fruits have many vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and Potassium.
Concluding Sentence: For these reasons, it is a good idea to eat lots of fruit.

Example 2:

Walking is the best exercise. First, walking is free, so people don’t need to buy a gym membership
to do it. Secondly, people can walk wherever they live. Third, studies show that walking outside
not only burns calories but also helps a person feel happy and optimistic. For these reasons,
walking is an excellent form of exercise.

Topic Sentence: Walking is the best exercise

Supporting Sentences: First, walking is free, so people don’t need to buy a gym membership to
do it. Secondly, people can walk wherever they live. Third, studies show that walking outside not
only burns calories but also helps a person feel happy and optimistic.
Concluding Sentence: For these reasons, it is a good idea to eat lots of fruit.

Day 2
Review

Practice (What Is It)

Practice (What is it?)

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Direction: For this activity, read the statements carefully and identify what is being asked. Use the word
bank to help you in supplying the words in each sentence. Please note that each word will be used only
once.

__________1. This structure usually comes at the beginning of a paragraph.

__________2. This structure is the sentence at the end of the paragraph which summarizes the
information that has been presented.
__________3. This structure is consist of several sentences that are grouped together that discuss one
main subject.
__________4. It is the most important thought about the topic.
__________5. This supports or explains the idea expressed in the topic sentence.
Day 3
Valuing/Integration (What’s more?)

Direction: Using the 3 basic paragraph structures, construct a well-written paragraph about your favorite
movie. Do this on a separate sheet of paper.

Day 4
Application (What I can do)

Read the paragraphs below. Using your ballpen or pencil, kindly underline the topic sentence, circle the
supporting sentences and box the concluding sentence in each paragraph.
1. Having a cell phone can help children in several ways. Children who have a cell phone can call
for help in an emergency. Also, they can always communicate with their parent, finally, cell
phones help children stay in contact with friends. For these reasons, when possible, children
should have a cell phone.
2. People should not drink soda. Soda is an unhealthy drink. It contains a lot of sugar. Also, soda
contains caffeine and other chemicals that are not nutritious. For these reasons, people should
avoid drinking soda.
3. My family went to the supermarket together. My mom let us sample a free cookie. It was really
delicious. Then we were able to choose our own lunch snacks. I always chose chicken. When
checking out, my dad gave us each a quarter for the bubble gum machine. Indeed, it was fun
going to the supermarket.
4. A dog is one of the helpful animals that consist of a fluffy hairy body. Dogs help in protecting a
house from thieves and fraud people during the night. There are so many breeds available on
earth. They love to enjoy their time with their owner and family. He also protects their family
members from strangers. Instead, they remain gentle and loyal to their family.
5. Friday is my favorite day because I spend the day at the beach with my family. I especially enjoy
Friday afternoons because the beach is empty. Therefore, we have the opportunity to play ball
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 games without disturbing anyone else. We also enjoy the delicious seafood at the local restaurant
and discuss our week and share stories. On Fridays, I am at my happiest because I get to relax at
my favourite place while spending time with the people I love the most.

Day 5
Post-assessment (What I have learned)

Carefully read the paragraphs below and answer the corresponding questions. Circle the letter of your
answer.
1. First, many schools, require two or more years of foreign language study for graduation.
Secondly, learning other languages helps us communicate with people from other countries.
Also, knowing a foreign language can lead to job opportunities. Finally, for many people,
studying foreign languages is fun! There are many reasons to learn a foreign language.
What is the best topic sentence?
a. It is important to learn foreign languages.
b. In the USA, many students study Spanish language cause it’s important.
c. In college, people need to know foreign language such as English Language.
2. People should not drink soda. Soda is an unhealthy drink. It contains a lot of sugar. This is why
soda is so delicious. Also, soda contains caffeine and other chemicals that are not nutritious. For
these reasons, people should avoid drinking soda.
Which supporting sentences does NOT belong in this paragraph?
a. It contains a lot of sugar.
b. Also, soda contains caffeine and other chemicals that are not nutritious.
c. This is why soda is delicious.
3. It is important to study history. History repeats itself, so learning about past can help us make
better decisions in the presents. Also, knowing about important historical leaders, wars, and
events can help us understand cultures, people, and politics in today’s world. Finally, learning
about unusual people, places, and events in history is fascinating! ____________
What is the best concluding sentence?
a. For these reasons, walking is an excellent form of exercise.
b. In conclusion, walking does not cost any money.
c. In summary, many people love to walk.

Congratulations! You’re done with this week’s learning guide about writing paragraphs. Did you have
fun while learning? What is your favorite part of the lesson and/or activity? Tell me more by filling in
the blanks below.
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d.
e.
f.

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 g.
h.

Reference:
Menoy, J. (2016). English for Academic and Professional Purposes: A Multidisciplinary Approach.
BOOKS ATBP. PUBLISHING CORP.

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