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Writing A Paragraph From Week 3

Here are the answers to your questions: 1. The topic sentence is "Students who begin college right after high school may be too immature to do well in school." You can tell it is the topic sentence because it states the main idea of the paragraph. 2. Yes, the illustration helps support the topic sentence. The writer provides a personal example from when they started college right after high school and discusses problems they had due to lack of maturity. 3. The explanation/conclusion is "Therefore, I think that it is not always best to go to college right after high school, and I hope now I have the maturity necessary to really succeed." You can tell it is the conclusion because it restates the main

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85 views

Writing A Paragraph From Week 3

Here are the answers to your questions: 1. The topic sentence is "Students who begin college right after high school may be too immature to do well in school." You can tell it is the topic sentence because it states the main idea of the paragraph. 2. Yes, the illustration helps support the topic sentence. The writer provides a personal example from when they started college right after high school and discusses problems they had due to lack of maturity. 3. The explanation/conclusion is "Therefore, I think that it is not always best to go to college right after high school, and I hope now I have the maturity necessary to really succeed." You can tell it is the conclusion because it restates the main

Uploaded by

msdrawbond
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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WRITING A PARAGRAPH

From Chapter 3 of Foundations First


What is a paragraph?
Paragraph=group of sentences that is unified
by a single main idea

– topic sentence states the main idea


– the rest of the sentences in the paragraph
provide details and examples that support
the main idea
– at the end of the paragraph, a concluding
statement summarizes the main idea
T-I-E METHOD OF ORGANIZATION
TOPIC STATEMENT:

• COMES IN THE FIRST 1-2 SENTENCES OF


PARAGRAPH and
• announces both the writer's topic and the
writer's opinion about that topic
T-I-E METHOD OF ORGANIZATION

ILLUSTRATION:
• all of the writing that supports or illustrates
the main point expressed in the topic
statement (examples, illustrations, stories)
T-I-E METHOD OF ORGANIZATION
EXPLANATION:
• the concluding statement to a paragraph.
• It should be around 1-3 sentences long and it should
come at the very end of the paragraph after the
Illustration.
• It explains the significance of the paragraph. It
should answer the reader's question, "So what? Why
does the paragraph I just read matter?"
WHAT A T-I-E PARAGRAPH
LOOKS LIKE
TOPIC SENTENCE _______________
______________________________.
ILLUSTRATION___________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________.
EXPLANATION___________________
______________________________.
SHALL WE LOOK AT THE PARAGRAPH
ON PAGE 52?
THREE IMPORTANT THINGS TO
KEEP IN MIND

1. ASSIGNMENT

2. PURPOSE

3. AUDIENCE
ASSIGNMENT
Assignment: what you are expected to write

• Word limit
• Prompt
• Due date
• In home or in class?
• Can you revise it?
PURPOSE
Purpose: why you are writing

• Should you express your feelings?


• Should you give information?
• Should you take a position on a
controversial issue?
AUDIENCE
Audience: for whom you are writing

• Who will read it? Instructor? Other students?


• How much will readers know about your
topic?
• How formal/informal should it be?
THE WRITING PROCESS
– Focused free writing: writing whatever
comes to your mind on the topic
instructor gives you

I don’t know. People should go to college whenever


they want. I don’t want to write this essay.
Maybe people are too immature. I failed lots of
classes. I wasn’t ready after high school. High
school was easy. College is not.
THE WRITING PROCESS
– Brainstorming: write whatever comes to
your head, but instead of staying on the
lines you write all over the page. Can
include symbols, arrows, etc.
THE WRITING PROCESS
– Clustering: mapping. Visually laying out
what you will include in your paper.
HOW DO YOU GO FROM PREWRITING
TO AN ACTUAL PARAGRAPH?
– Look at all of your prewriting and find
what main idea your material seems to
support.

– The sentence that states the main idea


and gives your writing its focus will be
your paper’s topic sentence.
DEVELOPING A
TOPIC SENTENCE
1. A topic sentence is a complete sentence and
is different than just the topic. It includes a
subject AND a verb and expresses a complete
thought.

– Topic: Whether or not to start college right after


high school.

– Topic Sentence: Students should not start


college right after they finish high school.
DEVELOPING A
TOPIC SENTENCE
2. A topic sentence is more than just an
announcement of what you plan to write
about. It makes a point about the topic.

– Announcement: In this paragraph, I will


explain my ideas about whether or not students
should go to college after high school.

– Topic Sentence; My ideas about when to start


college changed when I became a college
student.
DEVELOPING A
TOPIC SENTENCE
3. A topic sentence presents an idea that can be
discussed in a single paragraph. MAKE SURE
IT’S NOT TOO NARROW OR TOO BROAD.

– Too Broad: Students have many different


reasons for deciding whether or not to go to
college right after college.
– Too Narrow: Most students begin college right
after high school.
– Effective: Students who begin college right after
high school may be too immature to do well in
school.
DEVELOPING YOUR
ILLUSTRATION

• Now you want to look through your notes


to think about points or examples you can
use to support your main idea.

• Decide the best order to discuss each


supporting point.
DEVELOPING YOUR
EXPLANATION

• Your explanation should sum up your


main idea and provide some new insight.

• Remember, you DO NOT want to bring in


a whole new topic at the end. Just remind
the reader about your main point.
NOW WHAT? (REVISE!)

• When you write the first draft of your


paragraph, try not to worry too much about
spelling and punctuation.

• Then, once you have a rough draft, look


carefully at each sentence. Read the whole
paragraph. Does it make sense? Does every
sentence need to be there? Do you need to
add more information?
THEN WHAT? (EDIT!)

• Now it’s time to look even more closely.

• Examine every sentence, every word, every


piece of punctuation (period, comma,
etc.).

• Make sure every sentence is a complete


sentence and there are no spelling errors.
GROUP ACTIVITY!!!
Students who begin college right after high school
may be too immature to do well in school. I know
this was true for me. I originally started college five
years ago. I had just graduated high school. I had
many problems because I was not mature enough to
handle college. I slept late and missed many classes.
I did not do my homework, and I talked in class. I
ended up being dropped from 2 classes and failing 2
more. Therefore, I think that it is not always best to
go to college right after high school, and I hope now
I have the maturity necessary to really succeed.
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING
QUESTIONS:
1. What is the TOPIC SENTENCE? How do
you know it is the topic sentence?
2. Does the ILLUSTRATION help support
the topic sentence? Why or why not?
3. What is the EXPLANATION or
conclusion? How do you know it is the
conclusion?

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