PARAGRAPH WRITING

By Sujan Acharya
What is a Paragraph?

WORDS SENTENCES PARAGRAPH

A paragraph is often defined as a group of related

sentences in which one single, main idea is developed.
In a typical paragraph, the first sentence declares the
main topic of the paragraph and the rest of the sentences
develop or support the main idea.
A paragraph is most often a part of a longer composition
comprising of several paragraphs.
In short, a paragraph is. . .

 A group of sentences
 A clear main idea
 Supporting information
 Part of a longer composition
 A miniature essay!
A good paragraph has . . .

 Unity
 Support
 Coherence
 Good Language
 Variety of Structures
Unity

 One main idea

 Topic Sentence
 Other sentences support
Coherence
 Well organized details
• Spatial
• Chronological
• Importance
• logical
 A clear, sensible connection
 Linkers/connectors
 Activity 1
Rearrange the below sentences:-
1. It contains, of course, the meanings of difficult words.
2. One of the most important reference tools that you must possess is a
dictionary.
3. It also gives you the pronunciation of the words.
4. You do possess one, perhaps, but I doubt whether you are aware of the
different kinds of information it contains.
5. The dictionary can be referred to for the various grammatical forms of the
words.
6. Every college dictionary should provide at least these four kinds of
information about words, namely, pronunciation, meaning, grammatical
patterns and usage.
7. Finally, a good dictionary contains illustrative sentences or phrases, showing
how words are actually used.
2 One of the most important reference tools that you must possess is a dictionary.

You do possess one, perhaps, but I doubt whether you are aware of the different kinds of
4 information it contains.

1 It contains, of course, the meanings of difficult words.

3 It also gives you the pronunciation of the words.

5 The dictionary can be referred to for the various grammatical forms of the words.

Finally, a good dictionary contains illustrative sentences or phrases, showing how words are
7 actually used.

Every college dictionary should provide at least these four kinds of information about words,
6 namely, pronunciation, meaning, grammatical patterns and usage.
 One of the most important reference tools that you must possess is a dictionary.
2
TOPIC SENTENCE
You do possess one, perhaps, but I doubt whether you are aware of the different
4
kinds of information it contains.

It contains, of course, the meanings of difficult words.

1

It also gives you the pronunciation of the words.

3

The dictionary can be referred to for the various grammatical forms of the words.
5

Finally, a good dictionary contains illustrative sentences or phrases, showing how

7
words are actually used.

Every college dictionary should provide at least these four kinds of information
6
about words, namely, pronunciation, meaning, grammatical patterns and usage.
Linkers
Cause & Effect Importance Similarity
 as a result  at first  also
 because  last  another
 hence  least  and
 since  most important  in addition to
 so  next  like

Difference Place Time

 although  above  after
 but  around  before
 however  behind  then
 instead  here  when
 Though  Nearby  finally etc. . . .
More Linkers
 above all  further  of course
 additionally  fortunately  on the contrary
 although  in contrast  on the other had
 apart from  in other words  surely
 besides  in this case  similarly
 especially  in the same way  such
 even  in spite of  thus
 for example  Indeed  whereas etc . . .
 for instance  more importantly
 furthermore  moreover
Support
 Supporting ideas
 Evidence
 Examples
 Detail
Good Language

 Grammatical Accuracy
 Correct Punctuation
 Apt Vocabulary
 Variety of Structures
Types of Paragraphs
DESCRIPTIVE
tell/
describe

PERSUASIVE
NARRATIVE
influence/
express/ entertain
persuade

INFORMATIVE
inform/
explain
Descriptive Paragraph describes something or someone
Informative Paragraph explains an idea and inform facts
Persuasive Paragraph tries to convince the reader of
something
How much homework is too much? Everyday students stays
up very late to finish their homework. After a stressful day
in school, after hard practice for school sports team and
maybe some hours of work, they come home and only thing
they want to do is going to bed. But they can't because
they have to do a bunch of homework. An average student
gets about 30 minutes of homework a day per class. If one
has 7 periods a day, that makes 3.5 hours of homework
every night! Sure, it’s important to review things you have
learned at school to keep it afresh in mind. But the
students need to schedule time for leisure and
entertainment as well.
Narrative Paragraph decribes an event or tells a
story
Process of Writing
 Gather - relevant information

 Organize - meaningful sequence

 Draft - first/rough draft

 Edit - check, revise, refine

 Publish - final version

QUESTION TIME!!!
 Which are the types of paragraphs?
 This type of paragraph gives you important facts about something…
 Which type of paragraph describes or tells a story?
 Which type of paragraph describes a person?
 This type of paragraph tries to convince you about something…
Activity 2

Write a paragraph in 100-120 words using the

hints below:

English – global language – more than a 100 countries –

nearly 50% world population – internal and international
communication – library language – research and
publications – web language