英语写作之Paragraph

What is a paragraph?

A paragraph is a unit of thought. Paragraphs vary in length.

Criteria of an Effective Paragraph

unified coherent
Unity Coherence

Steps in Writing a Paragraph
Step 1: Give a topic sentence (Think of the theme or main idea, and express it in a complete sentence) Step 2: Think of the details or examples or facts that may be used to support or explain the main idea. Step 3: Work out an outline to arrange the details or examples or facts in logical order.


End Implied
How to write a good topic sentence?
1. A topic sentence should be neither too general nor too specific. If it is too general, the reader cannot tell exactly what the paragraph is going to discuss. If it is too specific, the writer may not have anything left to write about in the rest of the paragraph.



Sequence: at first, first of all, to begin with, in the first place, at the same time, for now, for the time being, the next step, in turn, later on, meanwhile, next, then, soon, the meantime, later, while, earlier, simultaneously, afterward, finally
Part Four The Paragraph
Hale Waihona Puke Baidu
Contents of This Part
I. Criteria of an effective paragraph II. Steps in writing a paragraph III. Ways of developing paragraphs


Direction: here, there, over there, beyond, nearly, opposite, under, above, to the left, to the right, in the distance

Exception: aside from, besides, except, except for, excluding, exclusive of, other than, outside of Restatement: in essence, in other words, namely, that is, that is to say, in short, in brief, to put it differently Contrast and Comparison: comparatively, identically, likewise, similarly, in contrast, conversely, instead, on one hand, on the other hand, on the contrary, rather, yet, but, however, still, nevertheless


Transition

Good transitions should be used to make one sentence run smoothly to another Ways of transition:

Transition



Ways of transition: using parallel structures repeating words or word groups using pronouns to refer to nouns in preceding sentences being consistent in the person and number of nouns and pronouns, and the tense of verbs using transitional expressions
主题句既不能太笼统，也不能太详细。 前者会 使要讨论的内容不明确，后者会影响开展下文。
Example: American food is tasteless and greasy(油腻的) because Americans use too many canned, frozen and prepackaged foods and because they fry everything in oil or butter.
Too specific
American food is terrible.
Too general
American food is tasteless and greasy.
Good
2. Do not involve too many related ideas in your topic sentence; if you do, your paragraph will not be unified.

Details on Page 68
Transitional words
Addition: also, again, as well as, besides, coupled with, furthermore, in addition, likewise, moreover, coupled with, together with Consequence: accordingly, as a result, consequently, for this reason, for this purpose, hence, otherwise, so then, subsequently, therefore, thus, wherefore Generalizing: as a rule, as usual, for the most part, generally, generally speaking, ordinarily, usually
Transition / Development


well developed
Unity

A paragraph is a component part of an essay. Each paragraph has only one theme, so what is written should be closely related to the theme. The central theme is usually summarized in the topic sentence. Place of topic sentence: beginning, middle, end, implied.
主题句中不应包含过多的意思，以免影响段落的 统一性。

San Francisco is famous for its temperate climate, its many tourist attractions and its cosmopolitan(世界性的) atmosphere.
Too many ideas


Exemplifying: for example, for instance, such as, markedly, namely, including, for one thing, illustrated with,, in this case Emphasis: above all, chiefly, especially, specifically, with attention to, particularly, in particular
Summarizing: all in all, all things considered, briefly speaking, by and large, in any case, in any event, in brief, in conclusion, on the whole, in short, in summary, in the final analysis, in the long run, to sum up, to summarize
Three main parts of a paragraph

GO=Topic Sentence Continue=Supporting Sentence Stop=Concluding Sentence

What kind of health problems does cigarette smoking cause？

We all know that cigarette smoking is a dangerous habit because it causes health problems．Doctors say it can be a direct cause of cancer of the lungs and throat and can also contribute to cancer of other organs． In addition， it can bring about other health problems such as heart and lung diseases． It is clearly identified as one of the chief causes of death in our society．


Please identify the topic sentence in each paragraph


Sample 1 Beginning Californians and New Englanders are both American. They speak the same language and abide by the same laws. However, they are very different in their ways of life. Mobility has made a great impression on the culture of Californians, lack of mobility is the mark of the customs and morality of New Englanders. Middle Sample 2 Sample 3
San Francisco is famous for its temperate
climate / many tourist attractions / cosmopolitan atmosphere. Good
Homework

Task 3 Supply a topic sentence for each paragraph.
Coherence

The sentences in a paragraph should be arranged in a clear, logical order. A paragraph is coherent when each sentence in it naturally leads to the next sentence in explaining and developing the central idea. Sample 4