ACADEMIC WRITING

WHAT IS PARAGRAPH?

ARRANGED BY :

YUNUS (2018747906)
ACHMAD ANSORUDDIN (20187479057)
FATTAKU ROHMAN (201874290126)

UNIVERSITAS INDRAPRASTA 2019

 Table of Contents

Chapter I
INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………….1
Chapter II
DISCUSSION
A. The Nature of Paragraph 2
B. The Form of Paragraph 5
C. Logical Paragraph Development in English 6
BIBLIOGRAPHY 8
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Academic writing is the kind of writing used in high school and college classes.
Academic writing is different from creative writing, which is the kind of writing you
do when you write stories. It is also different from personal writing, which is the kind of
writing you do when you write letters or e-mails to your friends and family. Creative
writing and personal writing are informal, so you may use slang, abbreviations, and
incomplete sentences. However, academic writing is formal, so you should not use
slang or contractions. Also, you should take care to write complete sentences and to
organize them in a certain way.
When we read a writing (an article, a papar, or a book), we can see the reality that the
writings consist of groups of sentences. Every group of the sentences begins on a new line
and sometimes marked by indentation. If we observe them thoroughly, the sentences which
are united into a group, are closely related to one another and to the single unit of thought
expressed by the whole group or series of the sentences. The group of sentences is called
paragraph.
This paper will present the study of the paragraph as the most basic structure in any
writing particularly for the following topics: the definition of paragraph, the forms of
paragraph and the logical paragraph development in English.
 CHAPTER II
DISCUSSION
WHAT IS PARAGRAPH?
A. The Nature of Paragraph
A. 1. Paragraph overview

Most of the writing that you will be asked to do in college will be in the form of
paragraphs. A paragraph consists of several related sentences that deal with a single topic,
or an aspect of a topic. Paragraphs may stand alone, as in the case of responses to
questions on examinations. Usually, however, paragraphs are parts of longer pieces of
writing, such as essays, reports, and term papers. In such cases, paragraphs help your
reader by breaking down complicated ideas into manageable parts and relating each part to
the main idea or thesis of your composition.

A. 2. The important and the purpose of paragraph

Paragraphs are the most important part of writings, both personal writing or
nonpersonal writing. Personal writing can be used in a quick Twitter posting, personal
letters, on application forms, in literature and in university writing courses.

Nonpersonal writing relies on a defined structure for formatting an essay, high school
book report, college research paper or master’s thesis, academic subjects such as physics,
mathemathics, economics, agriculture, business and etc. The language is formal, unlike the
more casual language of journalism that must be understood by a wider audience. Unless
your report is about slang words, don’t use them in writing that will be read by college-
educated instructors.

The purpose of a paragraph is to express a speaker’s thoughts on a particular point in

a clear way that is unique and specific to that paragraph. In other words, paragraphs
shouldn’t be mixing thoughts or ideas. When a new idea is introduced, generally, a writer
will introduce a new paragraph

B. Definition of Paragraph

Almost every piece of writing you do that is longer than a few sentences should be
organized into paragraphs. This is because paragraphs show a reader where the subdivisions
of an essay begin and end, and thus help the reader see the organization of the essay and
grasp its main points.
 Joseph Villiers Denney and Fred Newton Scott in an ebook entitled Paragraph
Writing, published in 1893 page 1, defined paragraph as a unit of discourse developing a
single idea. It consists of a group or series of sentences closely related to one another and to
the thought expressed by the whole group or series. Devoted, like the sentence, to the
development of one topic, a good paragraph is also, like a good essay, a complete treatment
in itself.

Based on Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, New 9th Edition, Paragraph

is a section of a piece of writing, usually consisting of several sentences dealing with a
single subject. The first senntence of a paragraph starnts on a new line. In addition,
according to Merriam Webster online dictionary, paragraph is subdivision of a written
composition that consists of one or more sentences, deals with one point or gives the
words of one speaker, and begins on a new usually indented line.

Regardless of whether it is freestanding or part of a larger unit, a well-organized

paragraph has three characteristics:
■ A good paragraph is unified: all of its sentences are related to one main idea.
■ A good paragraph is coherent: the thoughts proceed logically from sentence to sentence.
■ A good paragraph is developed: it contains enough information to convey the idea of the
paragraph in a reasonably thorough way.

Good paragraphs are coherent. This means that the sentences are in the right order with
the right connecting words so that the reader is not confused.
In addition to being unified and coherent, good paragraphs are developed. They
contain details and material that fulfill the promise made to the reader in the topic
sentence.

Sentences shouldn’t be randomly thrown into a paragraph. Each sentence should be

placed carefully within the paragraph. Because the way we organize our paragraph will be
determined by the type of paragraph we are writing (narrative, descriptive, etc,), proper
organization will be addressed in each paragraph chapter.
Look at the following simple example of how a paragraph organized:

Topic Sentence
The ancient Egyptians believed in many different gods and
D
e goddesses and each one had their own role to play in maintaining peace
t
and harmony across the land. Some gods and goddesses took part in
a
i
l
 creation. Other gods and goddesses brought the flood every year. Some
offered protection, and some took care of people after they died. Egyptians
had local gods who represented towns, and minor gods who represented
plants or animals. The ancient Egyptians believed that it was important
to recognize and worship these gods and goddesses so that life
continued smoothly. Concluding Sentence

Keeping one idea to one paragraph is the most basic rule of good paragraphing. If
you find yourself moving into a new idea, stop and get ready to write a new paragraph.

A well-organized paragraph supports or develops a single controlling idea, which is

expressed in a sentence called the topic sentence. A topic sentence has several important
functions: it substantiates or supports an essay‟s thesis statement; it unifies the content of a
paragraph and directs the order of the sentences; and it advises the reader of the subject to be
discussed and how the paragraph will discuss it. Readers generally look to the first few
sentences in a paragraph to determine the subject and perspective of the paragraph. That‟s
why it‟s often best to put the topic sentence at the very beginning of the paragraph. In some
cases, however, it‟s more effective to place another sentence before the topic sentence—for
example, a sentence linking the current paragraph to the previous one, or one providing
background information.
Paragraphs can contain many different kinds of information. A paragraph could
contain a series of brief examples or a single long illustration of a general point. It might
describe a place, character, or process; narrate a series of events; compare or contrast two or
more things; classify items into categories; or describe causes and effects. Regardless of the
kind of information they contain, all paragraphs share certain characteristics. One of the most
important of these is a topic sentence.

B. The Form of English Paragraph

 A paragraph is a group of sentences which develop one subject logically. The number
of sentences in the paragraph depends on its subject. A paragraph with a simple subject may
have five sentences, but a paragraph about a difficult subject may have ten sentences.

A good paragraph has five to ten sentences, with 75 to 150 words. Notice the
indentation at the beginning of the paragraph. It is important to realize that many writers in
the sciences and business do not use indentation; instead, they begin the first line of the
paragraph on the margin and skip a line between paragraphs. Whether you use the
identation is matter of personal choice, but either use it or don’t use it every time you write
a paragraph. Also, see that there are no breaks in the paragraph. A paragraph runs
continuously from the first sentence to the last sentence. Here is the example of poor
paragraph :

C. Logical Paragraph Development in English

 Organising the sentences in your paragraph according to a logical order helps the reader
to follow the development of your ideas. There are two types logical paragraph development.

The first is deductive paragraph. A paragraph that uses the deductive order of
organization states the main idea in the first sentence. The body sentences of the paragraph
are statements that support the main idea. Another name for this organization is general-to-
specific order.

The first sentence in such a paragraph is also known as the topic sentence. The
supporting sentences that follow it give specific details providing reasons and evidence that
the topic sentence is true. The writer's stance on the topic is clear from the beginning of the
paragraph. An alternate organization is inductive order, in which background information is
provided at the beginning, and the conclusion states the main idea.

Then, its structure goes from the macro to the micro. Start by explaining the big
picture and as it develops explain the particular ideas that arise from the main idea.

Example of deductive paragraphs

The opening sentence of the deductive paragraphs is the main idea of the text, without
exception. They can be used for any type of text, since it directly affects the text form and is
adaptable.

The ancient Egyptians believed in many different gods and goddesses and each
one had their own role to play in maintaining peace and harmony across the land. Some
gods and goddesses took part in creation. Other gods and goddesses brought the flood every
year. Some offered protection, and some took care of people after they died. Egyptians had
local gods who represented towns, and minor gods who represented plants or animals. The
ancient Egyptians believed that it was important to recognize and worship these gods and
goddesses so that life continued smoothly.

The second is inductive paragraph. An inductive paragraph is a paragraph in which

the main idea is exposed at the end of it. In the introduction and development of these
paragraphs, arguments that conclude in the main idea are explained. That is to say, the
arguments are exposed and then the thesis that they support is explained.
Therefore, its structure goes from the particular and specific, to the macro and universal. The
secondary ideas are explained at the beginning of the text, and from the sum of these ideas
the main idea is created, in the end and as a conclusion.

Example of deductive paragraphs

Oceans have ingredients which can benefit human health. Several important medical
treatments are based on chemicals discovered in marine animals. On the other hand,
increasingly common phenomena such as harmful algal blooms have demonstrated their
negative impact on human health. The health of marine ecosystems is affected by human
activities such as pollution, global warming, and over fishing. But at the same time, human
health depends on thriving ocean ecosystems. We need a better understanding of the many
ways marine organisms affect human health, both positively by providing drugs and
bio-products, and negatively by causing human ailments.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Asul Wiyanto. 2004. Terampil Menulis Paragraf. Jakarta.

2. Dr. Djago Tarigan. 2009. Membina Keterampilan Menulis Paragraf dan
Pengembangannya. Bandung.
3. Oxford Dictionary New 9th edition.
4. Merriam Webster Online Dictionary.
5. 2nd Edition Paragraph Power : communicating ideas through paragraphs by George
M. Rooks , Longman, year 1999.