Study Skills – Lesson 5

Sentence Structure and Paragraph Structure in Academic Writing

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 Midterm Exam – 17 November th

60 minutes long
4 Theoretical Questions on:
Note-taking
Essay Writing

15/20 Practical exercises through revision of an essay on:

Academic Writing Style (Formatting, Punctuation, Br.E. vs. Am.E. spelling, etc.)
Academic Vocabulary (Synonyms, Phrasal Verbs, Idioms)
Academic Grammar (S-V Agreement, Passive Voice)
Academic Syntax (Sentence & Paragraph Structure, Essay Writing Concepts)

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 Lesson Overview

1. Sentence Structure
I. Definition of sentence
II. Independent and dependent clauses
III. Types of sentences
IV. Passive voice

2. Paragraph Structure
I. Definition of paragraph
II. Three parts of a paragraph
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1. Sentence Structure – I. Definition -

Definition of sentence:
A sentence is a group of words that (a) contains
at least one subject and one verb and (b) expresses
a complete thought.

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 1. Sentence Structure –
II. Independent and Dependent Clauses –

Sentence are made up of clauses: group of words that express a single idea.
There are two types of clauses:
independent clauses,
dependent clauses.

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 1. Sentence Structure –
II. Independent and Dependent Clauses –

Independent Clauses
Independent clauses can stand alone as complete sentences. They contain all the information necessary to be complete sentences.
NOUN PHRASE VERB PHRASE OBJECT
e.g. (SUBJECT)
The students left
The students are learning English

Dependent Clauses
Dependent clauses are clauses that do not express a complete thought. A dependent clause needs an independent clause to complete its meaning.
A clause can be dependent because of the presence of a subordinating conjunction (before, after, because, even if etc.), a relative pronoun(who),
or a relative adverb (why, where, when).
e.g. Because I forgot my homework, 6
I got sent home.
 1. Sentence Structure –
II. Independent and Dependent Clauses –

Comma Splice

A comma splice is the use of a comma between two independent clauses.

Incorrect: I like this class, it is very interesting.

Correct: I like this class. It is very interesting.
Correct: I like this class; It is very interesting.
Correct: I like this class because it is very interesting.

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 1. Sentence Structure – III. Types of sentences -

A sentence is a group of words which contains (at least) one independent clause and expresses a complete thought.
It is important to be able to use a variety of sentence types correctly punctuated.
Different types of sentences are made up of different combinations of independent and dependent clauses.
There are 4 kinds of sentences in English:

simple sentences,
compound sentences,
Complex sentences,
Compound-complex sentences.
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 1. Sentence Structure – III. Types of sentences –

Simple sentences
Simples sentences consist of just one independent clause; they requires only one punctuation mark at the end (a full stop,
exclamation or question mark).
e.g. The essay was late. (SV)

Compound sentences
Compound sentences are made by joining simple sentences which are related. Sentences can be joined by using a semicolon or
by using a comma followed by a coordinating conjunction: for, and, but, so, yet, however, etc.
e.g. The essay was late, so he lost marks.
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 1. Sentence Structure – III. Types of sentences –

Complex sentences
Complex sentences are made when we combine an independent clause with at least one dependent clause.
e.g. Because his essay was late, he lost marks.
When the dependent clause comes first, as in the example above, it is separated from the independent clause with a comma. When the
sentence begins with the independent clause, there is no need to separate the clauses with a comma.
e.g. He lost marks because the essay was late.

Compound-complex sentences
Different types of sentences can be combined to form compound-complex sentences. In the example below, the central independent
clause combines two sentence types. It serves as both the ending of the complex sentence and the beginning of the compound sentence.
e.g. When considering owning a pet, you must calculate the cost,
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you must calculate the cost, or the animal may suffer.
 1. Sentence Structure – IV. Passive Voice –

In English, all sentences are in either “active” or “passive” voice.

In an active sentence, the person or thing responsible for the action in the sentence comes first.
e.g. Werner Heisenberg formulated the uncertainty principle in 1927.

In a passive sentence, the person or thing acted on comes first, and the actor is added at the end, introduced with the preposition “by.”
e.g. The uncertainty principle was formulated by Werner Heisenberg in 1927.

The passive form of the verb is signaled by a form of “to be”: in the sentence above, “was formulated” is in passive voice while “formulated” is
in active.

In a passive sentence, we often omit the actor completely:

e.g. The uncertainty principle was formulated in 1927. 11
 1. Sentence Structure – IV. Passive Voice –

When do I use the passive voice?

In Academic Writing you might use it in the following cases:
1. The actor is unknown:
e.g. The cave paintings of Lascaux were made in the Upper Old Stone Age.
2. The actor is irrelevant:
e.g. An experimental solar power plant will be built in the Australian desert.
3. You want to be vague about who is responsible:
e.g. Mistakes were made.
4. You are talking about a general statement:
e.g. Rules are made to be broken.
5. You want to emphasize the person or thing acted on. For example, it may be your main topic:
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e.g. Insulin was first discovered in 1921 by researchers at the University of Toronto. It is still the only treatment available for diabetes.
 1. Sentence Structure – IV. Passive Voice –

Let’s turn the following active sentences into passive ones:

1. Wind disperses plant seeds.
1. Plant seeds are dispersed by the wind.
2. Smith et al. investigated the relationship.
2. The relationship was investigated by Smith et al.
3. We have analysed the results.
3. The results have been analysed.
4. For the purpose of this report we surveyed six companies. 13
4. Six companies were surveyed for the purpose of this report.
 1. Sentence Structure – IV. Passive Voice –

5. We tested the samples under various conditions.

5. The samples were tested under various conditions.
6. The department will announce the results next Tuesday.
6. The results will be announced next Tuesday by the department.
7. A company in Korea manufactures this equipment.
7. The equipment is manufactured by a company in Korea.
8. The employee has not informed us yet about the results of the survey.
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8. We have not been informed yet about the results of the survey.
 1. Sentence Structure – IV. Passive Voice –

When should I avoid the passive voice?

Passive sentences can get you into trouble in academic writing because they can be vague about who is responsible for the action:
e.g. Both Othello and Iago desire Desdemona. She is courted. (Who courts Desdemona? Othello? Iago? Both of
them?)
Research has been done to discredit this theory. (Who did the research? You? Your professor? Another
author?)
The telephone was invented in the nineteenth century. (I couldn’t find out who invented the
telephone!)

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 1. Sentence Structure – IV. Passive Voice –

Weeding out passive sentences

However, passive sentences can sound too wordy and indirect. In this case they need to be turned into active sentences:
e.g. (PASSIVE) Poland was invaded in 1939, thus initiating the Second World War.
(ACTIVE) Germany invaded Poland in 1939, thus initiating the Second World War.
(PASSIVE) Genetic information is encoded by DNA.
(ACTIVE) DNA encodes genetic information.
(PASSIVE) The possibility of cold fusion has been examined for many years.
(ACTIVE) Physicists have examined the possibility of cold fusion for many years.
(PASSIVE) Since the car was being driven by Michael at the time of the accident, the damages should be paid for by him.
(ACTIVE) Michael was driving the car at the time of the accident therefore he should pay the damages. 16
2. Paragraph Structure – I. Definition -

A paragraph is a group of related

statements/sentences developed around a central idea
(topic) that starts on a new line.

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1. Paragraph Structure
– II. Three Parts of a Paragraph –

A paragraph has three parts:

a topic sentence
The topic sentence tells what topic the paragraph is
going to discuss.
several supporting sentences
The supporting sentences give details about the
topic.
a concluding sentence
The concluding sentence summarizes the main
points or restates the topic sentence in different words.

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 1. Paragraph Structure
– II. Three Parts of a Paragraph –

Paragraph example

A Hawaiian Wedding
The mix of cultures in Hawaii makes weddings there very special occasions. Certainly, Hawaiian clothing, music, and other
Hawaiian customs play a big role. For example, the bride often wears a long white holoku (wedding dress), and the groom wears a
long-sleeved white shirt and pants with a red sash around his waist. Both the bride and the groom wear leis. The bride’s lei is
traditionally made of white flowers such as pikake (jasmine), and the groom’s is made of green maile leaves. Another Hawaiian
custom is the blowing of a conch shell three times to begin the ceremony. Hawaiian music is played both during the ceremony and
during the luau afterward. Other customs included in the festivities depend on the ethnic backgrounds of the couple. For instance,
there may be noisy firecrackers, a Chinese way o keeping bad spirits away. There may be a display of Japanese origami, or there
may be a pandango, a Filipino custom, During a pandango, the wedding guests tape money together and wrap it around the
couple during their first dance together as husband and wife. All in all, a Hawaiian wedding is truly a magical, multicultural19event.
 1. Paragraph Structure
– II. Three Parts of a Paragraph –

In the previous example the topic sentence is the following:

The mix of cultures in Hawaii makes weddings there very special occasions.
In most cases, the first sentence of a paragraph is the topic sentence. The topic sentence define the topic of the paragraph. The concepts
expressed are limited to a very specific point or points.

In the previous example the supporting sentences are the following:

Certainly, Hawaiian clothing, music, and other Hawaiian customs play a big role. […]
Supporting sentences explain the topic by giving more information about it. They list the main points of the paragraph and should be presented
in a systematic way: order of importance, chronological order, order of operations or space, etc.

In the previous example the concluding sentence is:

All in all, a Hawaiian wedding is truly a magical, multicultural event.
The concluding sentence summaries the main point of the paragraph. It often re-states the main idea in the topic sentence using different words.
Not all paragraphs have a concluding sentence. 20
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