Writing a Paragraph

Topic Sentence
Parts of a
Supporting Details
Paragraph
Closing Sentence

Prewriting Paragraphs

Writing Paragraphs
How to Write a
Paragraph Editing Paragraphs

Publishing Paragraphs

Narrative
Kinds of Paragraphs

1. What is your main idea?

a. There is one main idea and it must be clear to your reader. Does it exactly
say what you want to express in your paragraph? It needs to be reworked
on until it does.

2. What should your topic sentence say?

a. State the main idea clearly. Tell exactly what the paragraph is about. Not
too general, not too specific
i. What is the topic sentence?
The topic sentence is the first sentence in a paragraph.
ii. What does it do? It introduces the main idea of the paragraph.
iii. How do I write one? Summarize the main idea of your paragraph.
Indicate to the reader what your paragraph will be about.
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 Example:

There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the
world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have
access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high
standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are
encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Canada's cities are
clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of
space for people to live. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.

3. How will you develop your main idea?

a. Find and use details that help tell about your main idea (supporting
details):
i. Facts
ii. Examples
iii. Reasons
iv. Description
v. Events
vi. Steps (next)

4. Do your details stick to the topic?

Each detail must support your main idea. In the opening paragraph, every
sentence develops one specific topic.

i. What are supporting sentences

They come after the topic sentence, making up the body of a
paragraph.

ii. What do they do? They give details to develop and support the
main idea of the paragraph.

iii. How do I write them? You should give supporting facts, details,
and examples.
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 Example:

b. There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the
world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All
Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price.
Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are
taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue
studying at university. Finally, Canada's cities are clean and
efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of
space for people to live. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.

5. Who is your audience? What is your purpose?

a. Always consider your audience (for an individual or a group, a friend or
a stranger) and purpose (to inform, to persuade, to entertain or to
express yourself) when your write.
6. How will you organize your details?
a. Decide the organization of your paragraph, what makes sense for you.
i. Start with the big idea and support it (topic first then the supporting
details)
ii. Build up to the big idea (supporting details then topic sentence)

7. Where should you put your topic sentence?

a. The topic sentence can be at last or at the beginning

8. How will you begin?

a. Beginning with your topic sentence and making it interesting and
appropriate is the best way to start a good paragraph.

9. How will it end?

a. Write a concluding sentence that ties up the paragraph neatly.
i. Restate the main idea in different words
ii. Pick up key words or details and summarize

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 iii. Add a new detail or understanding
a. What is the closing sentence?
The closing sentence is the last sentence in a paragraph.

b. What does it do? It restates the main idea of your paragraph.

c. How do I write one? Restate the main idea of the paragraph using
different words.
Example:

There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the
world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have
access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high
standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are
encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Canada's cities are clean
and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for
people to live. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.

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 Writing Process Notions

1. Prewriting: gathering and organizing ideas for a composition

a. Step 1.1: BRAINSTORMING
i. Look at the topic and try to collect information
1. Listing
2. Clustering
3. Questionning
b. Step 1.2: OUTLINING
i. Before you start listing your ideas, you need to define your
purpose. Then, you can make a list of your best ideas. Put
them in order that makes sense. Don’t forget that each main
idea refers to a paragraph.
2. Drafting:
a. Now it’s time to start writing your text. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It
is only a draft and needs to be improved. So, you are allowed to make
mistakes.
i. Work from your outline. Use your outline and add new ideas
as you go along if it is necessary. Audience + purpose =
fundamental
ii. Let the words flow. Write quickly. Don’t worry about neatness.
Don’t be afraid to cross out words, leave blank spaces, or
move things around. Don’t stop because of mistakes.
iii. Start anywhere. When a good idea pops up in your head, write
it down immediately, even if it’s about the middle of the story.
You can fill out the empty parts later.
iv. Jump around if necessary. When ideas rush to your head,
make a few notes here and there.
v. Do more prewriting. If you get stuck, work on your prewriting
some more and sometimes you may also need to adjust your

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 plan (brainstorming and outline).
vi. Write on every other line. Give yourself room for making
changes.
vii. Leave your draft aside. When nothing seems to work, put your
draft away for a while. A day’s rest will allow you to look at it
with fresher eyes.
3. Revising
a. The revising part is one step to the final product. Do not be afraid to
use a pen and to cross out, add and shift words or sentences.
i. Reread with a fresh eye. Try to look at your draft as if it was
written by someone else. What do you like? What could be
better? What should be cut out?
ii. Consider purpose and audience. How can you make your
composition achieve its purpose better? Is there any way you
can make it more appealing to your audience?
iii. Find another eye. Ask a friend or relative for comments.
iv. Expand your best ideas. Develop interesting parts and
descriptions with more details, examples, and incidents.
v. Cut out unnecessary parts. Weed out, or rewrite, parts that lack
appeal or are unrelated to the main idea.
vi. Check you writing style. Consider these:

0 - Which long, rambling sentences could be broken up?

1 - Which short, choppy sentences could be combined?
2 - Where can I use vivid words instead of dull ones?
3 - Have I used transition words to make the order clear?
4 - Does every paragraph have a main idea?
- How can I vary my sentence beginnings?
4. Proofreading
a. Before handing in your text, it is important to correct your mistakes.
i. Check for errors. Pay special attention to the following details:
0 - spelling (use a dictionary)
1 - punctuation
2 - capitalization
3 - plurals
4 - verb tenses
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 ii.Look at one line at a time. Take the time to look carefully at
each sentence. Start by the end of your text.
iii. Go through your draft several times. Go over your text when
you’re well rested. A checklist may be useful to guide you
finding your mistakes.
iv. Find another eye. Ask a friend or relative to check your paper.
5. Publishing
a. Finally, you’re done!!!! You can publish your text in different way;
news paper, internet, journal prompts or entry, book report,
magazine, and so on.
i. Add a title and heading to your final draft
ii. Make a neat copy.
iii. Proofread one last time.
iv. Find a way to make the writing public
6. Editing
a. The editing part is done with your writing. You should ask other
people’s opinion to help you to improve yourself. There are different
kind of peer-evaluation feedback grids that can help to provide great
comments and being fair with the person you are evaluating.

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 Kinds of Paragraphs

Narrative Paragraph

Purpose: The narrative paragraph tells about one main incident or happening. The
author brings the incident to life so the reader shares the experience. It should be written
in logical order. It describes what a person does over a period of time.

How to Write the Narrative Paragraph:

- Have a topic sentence that arouses the reader's interest. You can describe a scene or
introduce characters.
- Build your paragraph around one main incident. Here is where your action takes place.
- Write the event in the order that it occurred. Do not skip around.
- Your ending should satisfy your reader's expectations. Bring your paragraph to a close.

Signal Words and Phrases:

next, then, while, after, first ,after while, a little later, at the same time, during the
morning, later that night

Example of Narrative Paragraph:

Yesterday evening I got home from school around 4 o'clock. My mother had dinner
prepared which we ate as soon as Dad came home from work. After eating, I helped
mother clear the table and do the dishes. After we got the kitchen cleaned, I had to sit
and do my homework. Mother always says, "No television until your homework is done".
I finally got my math finished, so I went into the family room and turned on the television.
I was watching American Idol, when the phone rang. It was my best friend, Amy. I talked
to her for awhile then it was time for bed. I put on my pajamas and turned on my favorite
cd. I finally started to get sleepy around 9:30. The next thing I knew, mother was calling
me to get ready for school.

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You must write your narrative paragraph with interesting events that
will catch the reader's attention. It is important to start your narrative
with a suspense. There must be dialogs that will help the reader to
understand the character and the personality of the character. The
events must be arranged one by one in a chronological order. The
narrative must have a climax. You can also end your narrative with a
conclusion or leave it to the imagination of the reader.

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