The Confident Writer Chapter 3: Improving Your Paragraph Skills.
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Transcript of The Confident Writer Chapter 3: Improving Your Paragraph Skills.
Improving Your Paragraph SkillsImproving Your Paragraph Skills
A paragraph is a part, or division, or an essay that develops a main idea that is relevant to the whole essay.
Parts of a paragraph:◦Topic sentence◦Main idea
State Your Main IdeaState Your Main Idea
Main idea=what the whole paragraph is about
Main idea is often stated in a topic sentence.
Topic sentence has 2 parts:◦Topic◦Focus
Now, let’s look at exercises 1 and 2 on pp. 64 & 65.
State Your Main IdeaState Your Main Idea
Implied main ideas are not directly stated!
Now, let’s do exercise 3 on pp. 65-66 in groups.
Support Your Main IdeaSupport Your Main Idea
To support a main idea=explain or prove it with evidence
Evidence=facts, reasons, examples, etc.
Support Your Main IdeaSupport Your Main Idea
Facts=anything that can be proven right or wrong through research, direct observation, or questioning◦Statistics or numerical data◦Info gathered through the senses◦Info from books, research, or testimony◦Observation accepted as truth
Support Your Main IdeaSupport Your Main Idea
Reason=help explain why something happens or why something is the way it is◦Key words include:
Because Since The causes are The purpose is
Support Your Main IdeaSupport Your Main Idea
Example=an illustration that clarifies a general statements◦Appeal to one or more of the senses◦Create clear and vivid pictures
Organize Your IdeasOrganize Your Ideas
A fully-developed, well-organized paragraph has three qualities:◦Three levels of development◦Unity◦Coherence
Organize Your IdeasOrganize Your Ideas
Write unified paragraphs.◦Unity=oneness or wholeness◦State your main idea clearly and STAY ON
TOPIC
Organize Your IdeasOrganize Your Ideas
Check your paragraphs for coherence.◦Cohere=to stick together◦Paragraphs have coherence when they are so
well organized that the evidence flows smoothly and “sticks” together.
◦Common patterns for organizing paragraphs: Time order (chronological order) Emphatic order Spatial order
Organize Your IdeasOrganize Your Ideas
When you check your paragraphs for coherence, determine the pattern used to organize the paragraph:
Time order (chronological order)◦First◦Next◦Finally
Emphatic order◦The most important◦Major/minor◦Of primary concern
Spatial order◦ In front◦Behind◦Near
Write an Effective SummaryWrite an Effective Summary
A summary=condensed version of a piece of writing or oral account that presents just the central idea and a few major supporting points.
Characteristics of an effective summary:◦ Objectivity◦ Brevity◦ Conciseness
Follow the 5 steps on pp. 82 to write an effective summary!