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Structures: Lëssøñ Pårågråph
Structures: Lëssøñ Pårågråph
02 structures
EXERCISE 1. Complete the paragraph using each academic phrase from the box.
It is important to One of the most important Part of the problem
A Big Success
Robert Pershing Wadlow was a big success. Wadlow was the ta llest person in history. He was
8'11" and was still growing at the time of his death in 1940 . .................... (1)....................
things to know is that Wadlow had a medical condition that caused him to grow so tall.
..................... (2)........................................ was that there was no treatment for this condition
when he was alive. He was known as the Gentle Giant because he was very quiet and nice to
everyone. Wadlow became very successful and traveled for the shoe company that made his
special shoes . .......................... (3) remember that Wadlow was an inspiration to many people.
EXERCISE 2. Read the paragraph twice. In the first time, think about your answers to the
questions above. In the second time, answer the questions in the Analyze Writing Skills boxes.
This will help you notice key features of a paragraph.
Success at Work, at Play, and with Money
There are three parts of my life I want to be successful at. First, I want to be successful at my
career. I want to be a doctor and work in my community. It is very hard to find good doctors that
really help people, so I want to make sure I am there for my patients. For example, I will spend
time with my patients and help them understand their illness. Second, I want to be really good at
playing the guitar. I do not want to be in a band or to play professionally, but I would like to play
for fun. For example, I would like to play guitar for my family and friends when we are all together.
Third, my biggest priority is that I want to be successful with my money and have no debt. Part of
the reason this is important to me is because I grew up very poor. For instance, I never had new
clothes and sometimes I had to borrow money to buy my lunch or school books, which made me
EXERCISE 3. Complete the outline for "Success at Work, at Play, and with Money." Use the
words and phrases in the box.
finances
never had new clothes, had to borrow money
not in band, play for fun
An easy way to picture the order of ideas in a paragraph is to think of a sandwich. A sandwich
has two slices of bread (the topic and concluding sentences). The main part of the sandwich is
the filling (the supporting sentences and details).
EXERCISE 5. Write TS for the topic sentence, SS for supporting sentences, or CS for the
concluding sentence. Then, on a separate sheet of paper, write the sentences in the correct
order to create a short paragraph.
1 First, successful students get good grades. They study hard and earn high marks in their
classes. They usually win awards.
2 In conclusion, there are several characteristics that successful students share.
3 Successful students share three characteristics.
4 Also, successful students do extracurricular activities. For example, they play on one of the
school's sports teams, are a member of a club, or play an instrument in the school band.
5 Finally, successful students have excellent attendance. They rarely miss classes, even when
they feel tired.
The topic is the general idea. It tells the reader what the paragraph is about. The controlling
idea is more specific. It tells the reader what kind of information about the topic is in the
EXERCISE 6. Circle the topic in each sentence. Underline the controlling idea.
1 My greatest personal success was teaching my brother how to ride a bike.
2 There are benefits to failing before you succeed.
3 One of the most successful people I know is my father.
4 Bill Gates is one of the most successful businesspeople in history.
5 There are three strategies to successfully learn a second language.
6 Being successful requires a team of people.
7 I believe you can learn three lessons from failing before you succeed.
8 The most popular videos on You Tube share several characteristics.
Think about the topic of success. You could write about many ideas. For example:
Success changes people for the better
Success requires people to follow three steps
Money is not the only measure of success
Success takes a lot of effort
Below is the topic "Successful Businesspeople" and five possible controlling ideas.
TOPIC (GENERAL)
Successful businesspeople
CONTROLLING IDEA (SPECIFIC)
EXERCISE 9. Read the topic sentence and concluding sentence. Add supporting sentences using
the characteristics mentioned in the concluding sentence.
2 Topic Sentence: There are obstacles beyond our control that can prevent success.
a In conclusion, sometimes we can control our own success.
b In summary, you will face a lot of obstacles.
c In brief, there are a lot of obstacles that prevent success.
The first topic sentence is too general. It does not have any specific ideas and does not tell the
reader why English is hard.
The second topic sentence is too specific. This could be one idea of the paragraph, but it does
not mention other ideas in the paragraph (i.e., other characteristics of English).
The third topic sentence is the best topic sentence. The reader will expect several reasons why
English is the best language to learn.