A paragraph is a group of related sentences that discuss one (and

The paragraph usually only one) main idea.

All paragraphs have a topic sentence and supporting sentences,
and some paragraphs also have a concluding sentence.

The topic sentence states the main idea

of the paragraph. It not only names the
topic of the paragraph, but it also limits
the topic to one specific area.
The supporting sentences develop the
topic sentence, they explain the topic
sentence bu giving more information
about it.
The topic sentence is followed by three to seven sentences that explain,
describe, or illustrate the main idea in the topic sentence.
These main ideas are called controlling ideas because they control the
information that is given in the paragraph.
The sentence that ends the paragraph is called the concluding sentence.
A paragraph begins with an indentation

Title
(includes controlling ideas)
TOPIC SENTENCE
Several sentences that the topic sentence

explain

describe

illustrate

Concluding sentence
Fundamentals
There are two basic rules in writing:
1. Write about what you know about.
2. Always write for an audience
Whenever you begin to write, ask yourself:
a. Who is my audience (age, interests, education, and expectations)?
b. What do I want to communicate to my audience?
c. How can I make this paragraph interesting and valuable for my audience?

 WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO WRITE ABOUT?

 “Pre-” means before; pre-writing means the work done by the writer
Pre-Writing before the paragraph is written. Pre-writing strategies are decisions
you make and steps you take before you write your paragraph.

Before you write a paragraph, you must take two major

decisions:
1. Choose a subject
a. That you know
b. That you are interested in
c. That you want to communicate to an audience
2. Choose an audience: elementary school chidren? a
university profesor? your mother? your classmates?
 Choosing a subject
Suppose, you decide you would like to write about your
arrival in the U.S. As you begin to make decisions about
what you want to communicate to your reader, you
would find that this subject could be used for several
paragraphs:

My brother meeting me

Problems with customs Alone at JFK Airport

My arrival in the
U.S.
First impression of What I was afraid of
the U.S.
The order of your pre-writing strategies (that is, which decisión
you make first, second, etc), and the number of steps you take
will depend on:
1. The assignment
2. The material available
3. Your individual writing strategies

If we use the subject, your arrival in the U.S., you might

Discover that the subject is like a cake: it can be cut into
several “pieces” –or topics for paragraphs. You might also
find that some of the pieces (for example, “Alone at JFK
Airport”) would work better tan others because:
1. You know more about that “piece” and so you have
more information to communicate.
2. Your audience might be more interested in that topic
3. You are more interested in that topic
 As you continue to think about the topic, you may begin to write down
ideas, information, or examples that you could use in the paragraph. This
information gathering process can be done entirely in your mind, or it
can be written down in various ways. One example is below:

Time and weather Crowded (describe)

(describe)

Alone at JFK Airport Got off the plane

Tired (describe)

Old lady helped

My arrival in the Frightened
U.S.
Spoke a little
Spanish
Didn’t speak good Didn’t know where to
Spanish find my luggage Asked if I needed
help
 Selecting an Audience

 Who is the audience?

The audience for your paragraph will determine:

1. What you say
A. What does the audience already know about my topic?
B. What information does the audience need to know about my topic?
C. What will the audience expect to find in my paragraph?
2. How you say it
A. The vocabulary you use
B. The length of your sentences

Exercise 1
 Subject Topic

HOW CAN YOU NARROW THE SUBJECT TO A TOPIC?

A subject is abroad area of information. Books are written about

subjects. However, in order to write a single paragraph about a
subject, you must narrow that subject to a topic. That is, you must
move from a general subject to a more specific topic. In other
words, you must cut the “cake” into pieces.
Think about each of the subjects below. Then write three narrowed (that is, more specific)
topics that could be used as topics for three different paragraphs.

SUBJECTS TOPICS
Cars 1. How to buy a used car
2. Gas mileage in Japanese cars compared with American cars
3. Why X car is a good car
Books

Teachers

Movies

Music

Video games

TV Shows

Entertainment
Note:
Often the selected topic can function as the title of a paragraph.
Usually a title is not a complete sentence. The major words in titles are
usually capitalized:
How to Write a Paragraph
My Hobby
Soccer vs. Football
The Gezira Scheme
 The Topic Sentence

 WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS PARAGRAPH?

In most academic writing, the first sentence of each paragraph is called the topic sentence.

Tells what the paragraph will be about

The topic sentence States the main idea of the paragraph

Introduces the reader to the main idea

of the paragraph
 Focuses and directs the paragraph
The topic sentence
Is the most general sentence in the
paragraph

Is the most important sentence in

the paragraph

The topic sentence contains explained

that is, developed in the sentences that
controlling ideas that need to described
followed the topic sentence
be illustrated
Note:
The topic sentence is not simply a statement of fact. A fact does not contain any controlling
ideas, and so it cannot be easily explained, described, and/or illustrated. Furthermore, a simple
statement of fact does not allow the audience to know what the paragraph will be about.

The following are examples of statement of fact:

1. Christmas is celebrated on December 25.

2. Abraham Lincoln was President of the U.S. during the Civil War.
3. The San Francisco 49ers won the Super Bowl in 1982.
 A topic sentence can be either:
1. A statement of opinoin
2. A statement of intent
A statement of opinion makes a judgement.
Words like interesting, bad, exciting, best,
terrifying, difficult, etc., give the writer’s
subjective opinion.
Examples:
Computers make some Jobs easier.
The most exciting pastime I have is climbing
mountains.
I consider myself a happy person.
Note:
Sometimes a topic
sentence can be both a
statement of opinion and
a statement of intent
A statement of intent is an objective
sentence that tells the reader what will be
objectively explained in the paragraph.
Examples:
The pesticide DBCP has several side effects.
There are three steps in processing fruit.
Before 1923, Venezuela was primarily an
agricultural country; today, however, the
Venezuelan economy is dependent on oil.
Exercise:
Read the topic sentences below. Identify them as either statement of opinion or a statement of intent. In
some cases, the topic sentence might be both.

STATEMENT OF….
1. A pharmacist has two major responsabilities:
to prepare drugs accurately and to check their
effectiveness. ____________________
2. Women in Ecuador have more problems than men. ____________________
3. Living in Guayaquil is better than living in Quito. ____________________
4. There are two ways to lose weight. ____________________
5. Making hayacas, a traditional dish, is time consuming
and complicated. ____________________
6. Swimming is my favorite sport. ____________________
7. Learning to use the university library is necessary
for all students. ____________________
8. Military wives lead unusual lives. ____________________
9. The burial ceremony in Indonesia has three rituals. ____________________
10. Raising the drinking age to 21 will save many lives. ____________________
 Controlling ideas

 HOW CAN YOU COMMUNICATE YOUR MAIN IDEA?

• Controlling ideas are words or phrases in a topic sentence that need

further explanation.
• You can ask questions about controlling ideas that will be answered in
the paragraph that follows the topic sentence.
 Following is another topic sentence with controlling ideas that need to be explained, defined, and/or
illustrated for the audience.

TOPIC SENTENCE: Statement of intent

A characteristic of Switzerland

Controlling ideas

is the variety of languages.

The following questions could be answered in the paragraph that follows the topic
sentence:
Which languages?
How many?
In what parts of the country is each language spoken? Why?
How many people speak each language?
 Concluding Sentences

The concluding sentence at the end of a paragraph usually uses one or more of the following
techniques:
1. Summarizes the material in the paragraph
2. Offers a solution to the problema stated in the paragraph
3. Predicts a situation that will result or occur from the statements made in the paragraph
4. States a conclusion to information given in the paragraph
Assignment #1
The paragraph in Worksheet #7 describes a characteristic of the author’s country. Write a paragraph
similar to it. Describe a characteristic of Ecuador. You might describe the geography, the languages
in your country, the religions in your country, or the people in your country. For this assignment, you
audience will be your classmates.
In your pre-writing for this assignment, answer as many of the following questions as possible:
What? Who?
What kinds of? Where?
In what ways? Why?
Where? How?

Assignment #2
Write a paragraph describing the languages spoken in your country. Are different languages spoken
in different geographical locations in your country? Do children in your country learn different
languages in school? Your audience for this paragraph is a U.S. university student who is ignorant
about your topic but who would like to know about it.
For your pre-writing, try brainstorming. Without stopping, write every thought about your topic that
comes to your mind. Write for at least five minutes. Do not stop to correct errors or consider more
appropriate vocabulary; do not worry about writing complete sentences. Just write, as fast as you
can, all your thoughts. Then evaluate the information. What thoughts will interest your audience?
What other details might be interesting? What ideas should probably not be part of this paragraph?
Select the most important ideas; then write the paragraph.