EB MB [060-074] - Lecture notes 6 PDF

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Session

6

Writing Paragraphs

OBJECTIVES By the end of the lecture, you should be able to: • Apply the three steps – prewriting, drafting, revising/editing • Understand the purpose of topic sentences in paragraphs • Understand how paragraphs cohere and produce meaning for the reader

1.

The 3 Stages of Writing The writing process goes through three stages:

STAGE 1: PREWRITING Generating ideas, planning, organizing your ideas

STAGE 2: WRITING/DRAFTING Putting the content /ideas together and writing it all out

STAGE 3: REVISING & EDITING Rearranging text, improving wording and sentence structure

2.

Stage 1: Prewriting The following prewriting techniques will help you think about and develop a topic and get your thoughts on paper. Prewriting is a central part of the writing process.

2.1 Brainstorming Brainstorming is a quick way of generating a lot of ideas on a subject. These ideas may be unrelated, disjointed and incomplete but the process of letting loose is valuable for writing.

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2.2

Clustering/Mapping

Clustering or mapping is one of the most visual strategies we have for exploring a writing topic. Clustering enables our brain to make connections because it is graphic and concrete. Since the cluster shows the relationship among ideas, you can quickly see which area holds the most potential for development. Thus, you can review your cluster and choose one area that interests you or one that you believe might be best for further exploration and development. 2.3

Freewriting

Freewriting is a good strategy when you have no idea at all of what you want to write about. It is a technique where you write as much as you can and as fast as you can. Then you read your free writing to see if there are any ideas you can develop. 2.4

Using Reporters’ Questions

The story goes that reporters are taught to ask five questions in order to get all the information they need to write a news item: Who? What? Where? When? Why? Asking questions of a topic is another way of exploring it in a systematic way. You might also add three more: How? What if? So what? 2.5

Making a Simple Outline

You can organize your thoughts and ideas generated from the earlier techniques to make a simple outline. The outline helps you to plan and organize your ideas and it can be used a guide or reference while you are composing your draft. Suggested template Intro - [general statements] - [opinion] - [thesis statement] Body – Main Point 1+ explanation(s) + example(s) - MP 2+ explanation(s) + example(s) - MP 3 Conclusion – Solution(s) - summary - prediction - final comments

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Basic example [Introduction] Running is becoming an extremely popular sport for all ages. Running is a great form of exercise because it helps people control their weight, develop muscles, and improves mental and physical performance. [Body] Weight control Aids self-control - Burns calories - Encourages a healthy diet - Suppresses appetite Muscular Development Improves tone - Enhances contours - Increases strength - Improves endurance Psychological well-being Aids sleep - Inhibits depression - Intensifies vitality [Conclusion] Benefits of running make it an excellent exercise. People who want to improve their health should consider running. 3. Stage 2: Writing/Drafting Once you have a subject narrow enough to write about, you are ready to construct the series of related sentences about it that will make a paragraph. A paragraph is a series of related sentences on one topic that makes a single point or a main idea. All the sentences in it support the one main idea. The statement of the main idea in a paragraph is called topic sentence. It gives the reader (audience) two important pieces of information. o It tells the subject or what the paragraph is about o It tells what the author wants the reader to know about that subject. The other sentences in a paragraph add details to the topic and are called supporting sentences. Some paragraphs also have a final concluding sentence that summarizes the ideas of the paragraph. It is the last sentence of the paragraph. Read the following and underline the topic sentence and concluding statement. Compare them. Notice how all the other sentences supports the topic sentence. Parents can help their children be successful in school by encouraging them. Children usually enjoy playing games instead of studying, so parents have to take the responsibility to monitor their children’s activities at home after school and to remind them to do their homework. Parents should also encourage their children by buying materials that help children learn to spell or read. The best way to encourage children to study efficiently is to reward them. Therefore, parents play a major role in their children’s studies and success.

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3.1 Topic Sentence A topic sentence must be the one that you can work with to build a paragraph. Therefore, it must: o o o o o

Be limited to a single idea Be a complete sentence (not a question) Express an attitude or belief (or make a statement that needs explanation) Contain specific words Be broad enough to allow you to support it with further sentences

Activity 1 3.1.1 Be Limited to a Single Idea Example 1:

Distributing food to the homeless is a never-ending job but volunteers do it efficiently.

Comment:

There are two ideas mentioned. One idea is that it is a neverending job. The other is that volunteers do it efficiently. Both cannot be in the same topic sentence.

Corrected:

______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

3.1.2 Be a Complete Sentence (Not a Question) Example 2:

Witnesses who are eager to cooperate at a trial.

Comment:

This is not a complete sentence. It is a fragment.

Corrected:

______________________________________________________

Example 3:

When is the right time to teach children responsibility?

Comment:

A question cannot be a topic sentence.

Corrected:

______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

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3.1.3 Express an attitude / belief, or make a statement that needs explanation Example 4:

The rug in my office is blue.

Comment:

Where do we go from there? It is a dead-end statement.

Corrected:

_____________________________________________________

3.1.4 Contain specific words Example 5:

Some environmental groups are very active.

Comment:

Which groups? How active is ‘very active’?

Corrected:

_____________________________________________________

3.1.5 Be broad enough to allow support Example 6:

The moon appears 30% larger when it is close to the horizon than when it is higher in the sky.

Comment:

Idea is too specific to be a topic sentence.

Corrected:

_____________________________________________________

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3.2 Position of Topic Sentences Topic sentences usually occur at the beginning or at the end of a paragraph. One reason has to do with emphasis: the paragraph's most emphatic spots are its beginning and its end. Much less frequently, topic sentences may appear in the middle of the paragraph or may simply be implied.

At the paragraph's beginning: Topic sentences appear most frequently as the first sentence in a paragraph. This position helps readers become oriented immediately to the paragraph's topic and facilitates communication (e.g., an estimated 95% of paragraphs in professional/technical writing begin with their topic sentences): Look at the example below on a write-up about a vacation spot. A midwinter vacation at Club Tropic has its good points and bad points. The beaches are clean and uncrowded. The surrounding countryside is lush and soothing to winter-weary eyes. Furthermore, being able to take sailing and scuba diving lessons, while friends back home shovel snow, makes the outdoor activities extra-enjoyable. On the other hand, several features of Club Tropic are substandard. The food is poor, and, because the club is isolated, eating elsewhere is impossible. Security could also be better, as thefts from several guests' rooms indicated. So for some vacationers, nice scenery and fun activities may not be enough to offset the possibility of poor service and lax security. (Leggett, 376)

At the paragraph's end: If the topic sentence is not the first sentence in the paragraph, it is often the last sentence in the paragraph, summarizing or generalizing the paragraph's information. Take a look at the paragraph below which promotes a parenting workshop. Beginning at breakfast with flying globs of oatmeal, spilled juice, and toast that always lands jelly-side down, a day with small children grows into a nightmare of frantic activity, punctuated with shrieks, cries, and hyena-style laughs. The very act of playing turns the house into a disaster area: blankets and sheets that are thrown over tables and chairs to form caves, miniature cars and trucks that race endlessly up English for Business

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and down hallways, and a cat that becomes a caged tiger, imprisoned under the laundry basket. After supper, with more spilled milk, uneaten vegetables and tidbits fed to the cat under the table, it's finally time for bed. But before they fall blissfully asleep, the children still have time to knock over one more bedtime glass of water, jump on the beds until the springs threaten to break, and demand a last ride to the bathroom on mother's back. Constant confusion is a way of life for parents of small children. (Leggett, 379-380)

In the middle of a paragraph: The middle position is not very emphatic; hence, topic sentences are less frequently found there. One pattern, however, that offsets the lack of emphasis is the "pivoting paragraph." In this structure, the paragraph begins by ‘going against’ the topic sentence with one or more limiting sentences" (Crews, 104). Usually there is a strong turn word (Crews calls it "a conspicuous transition word," 104) such as but, yet, however. The sentence introduced by that strong turn word is the topic sentence of the paragraph, and it dominates the rest of the paragraph. In other words, the writer creates a different form of emphasis -- one based on tension rather than on position -- to offset the emphasis lost by not using the beginning or ending sentence slot. In the following example, the first sentence is limiting; but is the turn word that introduces the topic sentence: When we think of Gandhi fasting, plastering mud poultices on his belly, and testing his vow of continence by sharing a bed with his grand-niece, we can easily regard him as a fanatic who happened to be politically lucky. But the links between his private fads and his political methods turn out to be quite logical. Gandhi's pursuit of personal rigors helped him to achieve a rare degree of discipline that allowed him to approach political crises with amazing courage. The example of his self-control, furthermore, was contagious; a more worldly man could not have led millions of his countrymen to adopt the tactic of nonviolent resistance. (Crews 104) English for Business

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Activity 2 Identify the topic sentences in the following paragraphs. Paragraph 1 The maintenance of order in pre-state societies is rooted in a commonality of material interests. The greater the amount of common interests, the less need there is for law-andorder specialists. Among band-level cultures, law and order stem directly from the relations between people and the natural habitat from which subsistence is derived. All adults usually have open access to this habitat: the rivers, lakes, beaches, oceans; all the plants and animals; the soil and the subsoil. In so far as these are basic to the extraction of lifesustaining energy and materials they are communal "property." (Marvin Harris, (1975), Culture, People Nature , p. 356)

Paragraph 2 Though the United States has spent billions of dollars on foreign aid programs, it has captured neither the affection nor esteem of the rest of the world. In many countries today Americans are cordially disliked; in others merely tolerated. The reasons for this sad state of affairs are many and varied, and some of them are beyond the control of anything this country might do to try to correct them. But harsh as it may seem to the ordinary citizen, filled as he is with good intentions and natural generosity, much of the foreigners' animosity has been generated by the way Americans behave. (Edward Hall, (1973), The silent language, p. xiii)

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Paragraph 3 Anthropology is the study of humankind, especially of Homo sapiens, the biological species to which we human beings belong. It is the study of how our species evolved from more primitive organisms; it is also the study of how our species developed a mode of communication known as language and a mode of social life known as culture. It is the study of how culture evolved and diversified. And finally, it is the study of how culture, people, and nature interact wherever human beings are found. (Marvin Harris, (1975), Culture, People Nature, p. 1)

Paragraph 4 No matter how you slice it, there are only 24 hours in a day. To be successful at university, students need to learn good time-management skills. The first skill is not taking on more than you can handle. If you are a working part-time, have a family and are involved in a community organisation, then taking a full course-load at university will be too much. Another time management skill is reasonably estimating the time required to perform each of the tasks at hand. For example, deeply reading a chapter from a course text cannot be completed in between television programmes. Finally, actually doing what needs to be done seems obvious, but is a very difficult skill. You may find that cleaning out your wardrobe becomes vital when you are avoiding study. Procrastination is a time manager's enemy. By learning time management skills your university study will be successful and most importantly enjoyable.

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Paragraph 5 The heart weighs about 11 ounces and is the size of a clenched fist. The heart of a man performs at about 60 to 80 beats a minute. In a year it beats some 40 million times. At each beat it takes in nearly a quarter of a pint of blood; in a single day it pumps 2,200 gallons of blood, and in the course of a single lifetime about 56 million gallons. Is there any other engine capable of carrying on such heavy work over such a long period of time without needing to be repaired? Obviously the human heart is a small yet highly efficient piece of equipment.

Paragraph 6 The rules of conduct during an examination are clear. No books, calculators or papers are allowed in the test room. Proctors will not allow anyone with such items to take the test. Anyone caught cheating will be asked to leave the room. His or her test sheet will be taken. The incident will be reported to the proper authority. At the end of the test period, all materials will be returned to the proctor. Failure to abide by these rules will result in a failing grade for this test.

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Activity 3 Now, produce a suitable topic sentence for each of the following paragraphs. Paragraph 1 Topic Sentence: ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ The most important factor is a student's past experience of study. If a student has already developed good study habits, study at university should not be difficult. Good study habits need to be complemented by interest and motivation, factors which are important when competition gets tough. We should however not underestimate the distracting effects of financial and personal difficulties. All students have to grapple with these at some stage of their university life. Beyond the personal factors it has to be said that there is also a certain element of luck involved in success: this includes finding excellent teachers and the subject matter that inspires one to give one's best. Paragraph 2 Topic sentence:

______________________________________________________________ Animal breeding for particular features may soon become obsolete with the new-found ability of scientists to work at the level of genes. On the one hand there are those who embrace the new bio-technology: genetic engineering. They argue that many genetic changes will be hugely beneficial and harmless. As long as safeguards are in place, they claim, humans would be foolish not to take advantage of the many benefits genetic engineering has to offer. Others have seen the speed with which gene manipulation can get out of hand, mixing species so that vegetable and animal are no longer distinguishable. They want to wind the clock back. But can they?

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3.2 Supporting Sentences The topic sentences of a paragraph must be supported or explained, by specifics in the other sentences. By turning the ideas you have generated through the prewriting activities into sentences and linking them, you will be able to write a paragraph that supports the topic sentence.

Stick to list

buy Make list

Ads for special Careful shopping Don’t overbuy

No – spoilt fruit and vegetables

Use coupons

Only if brand is not expensive

The paragraph may be as follows: Careful shopping will keep your grocery bill down. You should go to the store with a shopping list and stick to it. Then you won’t buy on impulse because every item added to the shopping cart adds to your bill. Read ads in the newspaper to find out what specials are in effect. Include them in your list if you need them or expect to buy them in the next two weeks. Using coupons for food and household items will also save you money. You can be sure that with such careful shopping, you will certainly save money.

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3.3 Drafting a Paragraph To write a fully developed paragraph, you need to provide details to strengthen your supporting statements. In order to do so, you need to consider o o o o

The words you choose The details in sentences The examples or illustrations, if you use them The transitions that connect ideas within the paragraph

3.3.1 Using Specific Words VAGUE tall everybody car

SPECIFIC 1.85m tall Students in my Accounting class Blue Mazda 6

3.3.2 Expanding Sentences for Details Example 1:

My cousin Arnold likes to watch football.

Expanded:

My first cousin Arnold, who lives with us , likes to watch football on TV every Monday night.

Example 2:

This book puts me to sleep.

Expanded:

The book I was assigned to read for Literature is called Shelter Now and the combination of small print and long sentences puts me to sleep every time I try to read it.

3.3.3 Writing Examples Writers use examples or illustrations to: o Make familiar what may be unfamiliar o Paint a word picture to aid understanding Example:

Burning off calories will lead to...