WHAT IS A PARAGRAPH?

I. WHAT IS A PARAGRAPH?
LETTER

WORD

SENTENCE

PARAGRAPH
II. STRUCTURE OF A PARAGRAPH
1. TOPIC SENTENCE:
The topic sentence states what the paragraph will be about. It gives the topic of the paragraph,
and it also restricts the topic to one or two main ideas which can be explained fully in the space of
one paragraph. The controlling idea is the specific area that the topic is limited to:
Topic Controlling idea
Studying abroad has two main benefits

2. SUPPORTING IDEAS
Supporting ideas explain and develop the topic sentence. Specifically, they discuss the topic
sentence by explaining the main ideas and discussing those more fully using reasons, examples,
facts, results, statistics, or anything else that proves your ideas are true.
Supporting idea 1
Fact 1
Example 1
...
Supporting idea 2
Fact 2
Example 2
...
Supporting idea 3
Fact 3
Example 3
...
3. CONCLUDING SENTENCE
Concluding sentence can be used to signal the end of the paragraph. It tells the reader the important
points to remember. It is often a paraphrase of the topic sentence. Concluding sentences are
optional and paragraphs often do not have them. You won't get marked down if you do not have a
concluding sentence, but it is a good way to add coherence to your paragraph.

III. APPLICATION ON THE PARAGRAPH 1

In recent years, the phrase “milk tea” has become widespread in Vietnam. Despite its
boom, milk tea, unfortunately, has more disadvantages than advantages for three main reasons.
First of all, we all know and cannot deny a truth: not only is milk tea not good for our health
but it also does serious harm to us. This is because when we drink a cup of milk tea, our body
absorbs approximately 500 calories, which we need if we run in 45 minutes. Besides, drinking
too much milk tea can lead to health issues such as diabetes, obesity, etc. These problems are
now popular among young people at an alarming rate. Moreover, the tapioca pearls in the milk
actually have no vitamins as well as nutritious values. Secondly, the widespread of milk tea
makes difficulty in management. As you know, the number of milk tea shop has increased from
some brands to hundreds of new brands in the past few years. Have you ever wondered if any
of those have business registration or materials used to make milk tea have clear origins or they
will take responsibility for their product? You spend money on a glass of milk tea, but you are
not able to make certain what it really contains. Thirdly, along with its popularity is also the
expensive cost. As we know, a normal glass of milk tea which only consists of milk and tea
costs you a quite large amount of money, whereas more expensive ones would cost an arm and
a leg. Instead of spending money on those unhealthy drinks, you could use it to buy other
healthy and less expensive beverages like fruit juice and smoothie, or you can save up for future
plans. In conclusion, milk tea may has good sides but it also has drawbacks if we do not
consider drinking it wisely.

1. Topic sentence:

2. Supporting idea 1

Supporting idea 2
-

Supporting idea 3

3. Concluding sentence
IV. APPLICATION ON THE PARAGRAPH 2

Nowadays, there is nothing more than spending time playing online games that make
many children feel at ease. However, if overused, it can make them addicted, which may lead
to many serious consequences. First of all, violent online games are often blamed by experts to
be the reason why children tend to express violence and anti-social behavior. This is due to the
early stage of the character and mindset formation of a child who approximately ages under
16, which is extremely open to any “input”, in this case, violence. Second of all, spending hours
concentrating on a gadget’s screen prevents children from any physical activities. This,
obviously, leads to childhood obesity and optical issues, both of which are indeed common for
a great number of children these days. In addition, playing games is not considered to be a good
way to kill time. Wisely, time should be spent on reading books, doing physical exercise or on
other healthy and active hobbies. In conclusion, playing online games needs our careful
consideration. Children, adults and whoever plays games, online games in particular, must
know that the cons can outweigh the pros.

1. Topic sentence:

2. Supporting idea 1

Supporting idea 2

Supporting idea 3

3. Concluding sentence
 MORE EXERCISES
TOPIC 1: Love needs a lot of things rather than love itself to survive. Are you in

agreement with this point of view? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant

examples from your own knowledge or experience.

1. Topic sentence:

2. Supporting idea 1

Supporting idea 2

Supporting idea 3

-
3. Concluding sentence

MORE EXERCISES
TOPIC 2: It is said that music plays a very important part in our life. What

do you think about this? Show your evidence to support your view.

1. Topic sentence:

2. Supporting idea 1

Supporting idea 2

Supporting idea 3

-
-

3. Concluding sentence

MORE EXERCISES
TOPIC 3: Obesity has become a worldwide issue for some reasons. To what extent do you

agree? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own

knowledge or experience.

1. Topic sentence:

2. Supporting idea 1

Supporting idea 2

Supporting idea 3
-

3. Concluding sentence

MORE EXERCISES
TOPIC 4: Many things that used to be done in the home by hands are now being done by

machines. Does this development bring more advantages or disadvantages?

1. Topic sentence:

2. Supporting idea 1

Supporting idea 2

-
 Supporting idea 3

3. Concluding sentence
 TRANSITIONAL WORDS
1. Transitional words that show Time
Before, After, Since, Next, During, At The Same Time, Then, Always, While, Often, Sometimes,
Meanwhile, etc.

2. Transitional words that show Degree

Most important, Less Important, Basically, First, Second, Subordinate, Primarily, Secondary, Lesser,
Essentially, Principally, Chiefly, etc.

3. Transitional words that show Comparison

Similar to, Similarly, Like, Alike, Either, Or, Neither, Nor, Correspondingly, Resemble, Almost the
same as, At the same time as, As, Just as, In a like manner, In the same way, Common in, also, etc.

4. Transitional words that show Contrast

Differ from, However, Otherwise, Still, Nevertheless, Nonetheless, Even so, Different from, Less
than, More than, Unlike, In contrast (to), On the other hand, Although, While, Yet, But, Instead,
Whereas, On the contrary, All the same, Just the same, Having said that, etc.
200 attended, as opposed to 300 the previous year.

5. Transitional words that show Cause and Effect

As, Since, So, For this reason, Thus, As a result, Due to, Consequently, Because, Because of,
Hence, Therefore, Owing to, So that, Due to, On account of, For, etc.

The employers have promised to investigate these complaints, and we in turn have agreed to end
the strike.

6. Transitional words that show Explanation

In other words, As, Such as, To clarify, Like, For instance, To explain, That is, To illustrate, To
paraphrase, For example, Namely, etc.

7. Transitional words to add more information

In addition (to), In particular, Moreover, Beside this, Similarly, Furthermore, Also, As well as this,
What's more, One way, Another way, Besides, etc.

On top of that/To make matters worse, smoking has been directly linked to lung cancer.

By the way/incidentally, do you remember an old friend of ours called Ransom?

8. Expressions to express your opinion

In my own opinion/view, To my way of thinking, In my view, To me, Personally, From my point of
view, It is my opinion that, I believe, I think, It seems to me that, It appears that, To my mind, To my
belief, There can be no doubt that, etc.

9. Adverbs showing your opinion

Seemingly, conceivably, possibly, perhaps, maybe, probably, presumably, certainly, almost,
doubtless, No doubt, definitely, etc.

10. Adverbs making general statement about your opinion

All in all, All things considered, As a rule, Altogether, Basically, Essentially, For the most part,
Generally, In general, On the whole, Overall, To sum up, In conclusion, Broadly speaking,
Generally speaking, By and large, etc.

11. Adverbs showing an idea which is not completely true: Almost, In a way, More or less,
Practically, So to speak, For all interests and purposes, To some extent, Up to a point, etc.

12. Adverbs showing Sequence

Firstly, First, Secondly, Second, Finally, First of all, Next, Then, Lastly, Last of all, After that, In the
end, etc.

That's absolute rubbish! For a start/first of all/in the first place/for one thing, it was Rod who said
that, not me. And secondly...

13. Reality
What did you think of 'Death in Action'?
To be (perfectly) honest/to tell the truth, I can't stand films like that.
 CONJUNCTIONS
A. Instead (of) = in lieu (of)
I will have stewed chicken instead/in lieu.
B. Therefore = hence, thus, so
1. We suspect they are trying to hide something, hence the need for an independent inquiry.
2. Eating habits formed in childhood tend to continue into adult life. Thus, the best way to prevent
heart disease among adults is to encourage healthy eating from an early age.
3. There is still much to discuss. We shall, therefore, return to this item at our next meeting.
4. There is still much to discuss. Therefore, we shall return to this item at our next meeting.
5. There is still much to discuss; therefore, we shall return to this item at our next meeting.
6. There is still much to discuss so we shall return to this item at our next meeting.
7. Children who grow up on a diet of junk food find it difficult to change this habit later in life. It is
essential, therefore, that parents encourage healthy eating from an early age.

C. However = nonetheless, nevertheless, be that as it may

1. There is little chance that we will succeed in changing the law. Nevertheless, it is important
that we try.
2. The problems are not serious. Nonetheless, we shall need to tackle them soon.
3. I know that he has tried hard; be that as it may, his work is just not good enough.
4. We thought the figures were correct. However, we have now discovered some errors.
5. We thought the figures were correct; however, we have now discovered some errors.
6. We thought the figures were correct. We, however, have now discovered some errors.
7. We thought the figures were correct. We have now discovered some errors, however.

D. Moreover = even more, in addition, additionally, furthermore, besides, what is more

1. He said he had not discussed the matter with her. Furthermore, he had not even contacted
her.
2. Besides working as a doctor, he also writes novels in his spare time.
3. Bilingual children do better in IQ tests than children who speak only one language. In
addition/What is more, they seem to find it easier to learn third or even fourth languages.
4. His claim that children find bilingual education confusing is based on very little evidence.
Moreover, the evidence he does provide is seriously flawed.

E. Although = even though, though, much as, while, in spite of the fact that, despite the
fact that
While I am willing to help, I do not have much time available.
F. In spite of = despite, notwithstanding
Notwithstanding some major financial problems, the school has had a successful year.
G. Because = as = now that = since = due to the fact that = Seeing that = Inasmuch as = In
that = for
Seeing that he's been off sick all week he's unlikely to come.
He's unlikely to come, for he has been sick all week.
H. Because of = due to, by dint of, by virtue of, owing to, on account of
1. He succeeded by dint of hard work.
2. She got the job by virtue of her greater experience.
3. Owing to his illness, he could not continue with his studies.
4. She retired early on account of ill health.