Organization of Paragraphs

1
Organization of Paragraphs

• Writing to Communicate
• Chapter 3

2
Basic Organization of a paragraph

• Three basic parts
• Topic sentence introduces the topic and main
  idea of the paragraph
• Body consists of sentences that explain, or
  support, the topic sentence
• Concluding sentence ends the paragraph by
  reminding the reader of the main point of the
  paragraph
• When you follow this pattern, your paragraph will
  be easy for your reader to understand.

3
Topic sentence

• Model 1
• People in the United States celebrate New Years
  Eve in many ways.

Topic The subject of the paragraph
Controlling idea Limits the topic of your
paragraph
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Topic SentencesOne topic could have many
controlling ideas.

• New York is a fun place to be on New Years Eve.
• New York has great entertainment.
• New York is the worlds most famous city.

5
The Essay
Conclusion
Introduction
Topic
Controlling idea 1
Controlling idea 3
Body Paragraph 3
Body Paragraph 1
Controlling idea 2
Body Paragraph 2
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Writing Paragraphs

• Every paragraph needs a topic sentence. The topic
  sentence is usually the first sentence of the
  paragraph. It gives the reader an idea of what
  the paragraph is going to be about. 
• The supporting sentences need to be about the
  idea presented in the topic sentence. In a
  paragraph, every sentence should "belong". 

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Each Body Paragraph Topic Sentence (Subject of
the para.) Body (Supporting sentences 1, 2
) Concluding Sentence
8
An Example

• I had a wonderful summer. First, I started
  sleeping in every day. I would then go swimming
  with my friends. I stayed up late watching TV a
  lot, and I went to camp for a week. I wished my
  summer would never end!

"I had a wonderful summer" is the topic sentence.
Everything else supports that idea. The final
sentence is the concluding sentence. It sums up
what the author wants to communicate in the
paragraph. "I wished my summer would never end!".