2. Defining & Developing the Paragraph

8/12/2019 2. Defining & Developing the Paragraph

1/34

KEY FACTORS IN

WRITING


2/34

EXPLORING

Before even writing a single word, the process ofwriting begins first with exploring.

In the exploring stage, there are 4 key steps:

1. Think about your topic2. Think about your audience

3. Think about your purpose

4. Try exploring strategies


3/34

TOPIC

Your topic, or subject, is what you are writing about.

When an instructor/lecturer gives you a writingtopic, narrow the topic and find an angle that

interests you. When you think about your topic, ask yourself the

following questions:

What special knowledge do I have about the topic?

What subtopics are most relevant to me? What aspect of the topic do I care about deeply?


4/34

AUDIENCE

Your audience is your intended reader.

In your personal, academic, and professional life,you will often write for a specific audience.

Your tone and vocabulary must be adapted to suiteach audience.

When considering who your audience will be, askyourself the following questions: Who will read my essay?

What does my audience already know about the topic? What information will my readers expect

Should I use informal or formal language?

How should I adjust my vocabulary and tone to appeal tomy readers?


5/34

PURPOSE

Your purpose is your reason for writing. Sometimesyou may have more than one purpose.

When you consider purpose, ask yourself the

following questions: Is my goal to entertain? Do I want to tell a personal story or

anecdote?

Is my goal to persuade? Do I want to convince readers thatmy point of view is the correct one?

Is my goal to inform? Do I want to explain something orpresent information?


6/34

PURPOSE

Your general purpose is to entertain, inform, or persuade.Your specific purposeis your more precise reason for writing.For example, imagine that you are writing about music. Youcan have the following general and specific purposes.

General purpose: to inform Specific purpose: to explain how to become better at playing

the piano.


7/34

CLASS EXERCISE

Read the following selections and answer thequestions regarding them. Also, be able to explainyour answer.


8/34

CLASS EXERCISE

I just made my favorite dessert. It looks awesome. Ihope it tastes alright. I almost freaked out when Irealized I forgot to turn the oven on. My instructor is

super, and hes got a great sense of humor with myand the other students. Next, I am going to try tomake a more complicated dessert.

1. What is the most likely source of this paragraph?a. Web site article b. personal journal c. textbook d. memoir

2. What is its primary purpose?

3. Who is the audience?


9/34

CLASS EXERCISE

I never mastered the art of the thump. Whether themelon is ripe or not, the thump sounds the same to me.Each one I cut, however, seems to be at its pinnacletoothy, crispness, audacious sweetnessSitting on the

stone wall, sun on my face, big slice of watermelonIm seven again, totally engrossed in shooting seedsbetween my fingers and spooning out circles from thedripping quarter moon of fruit.

1. What is the most likely source of this paragraph?a. Web site article b. personal journal c. textbook d. memoir




10/34

CLASS EXERCISE

Eat regularly. Eating is one of lifes greatest pleasures, and it

is important to take time to stop, relax, and enjoy mealtimes

and snacks. By scheduling eating times, people do not miss

meals. People may not get adequate nutrients if they miss

a meal, and they might not be able to compensate for alack of nutrients by eating a subsequent meal. So eating

meals regularly is especially important for school-age

children, adolescents, and other adults.

1. What is the most likely source of this paragraph?

a. Web site article b. personal journal c. textbook d. memoir




11/34

CLASS EXERCISE

About 5,000 years ago, another revolution in technology was

taking place in the Middle East, one that would end up

changing the entire world. This was the discovery of

agriculture, large-scale cultivation using plows harnessed to

animals or more powerful energy sources. So important wasthe invention of the animal-drawn plow, along with other

breakthroughs of the periodincluding irrigation, the wheel,

writing, numbers, and the use of various metalsthat this

moment in history is often called the dawn of civilization.

1. What is the most likely source of this paragraph?

a. Web site article b. personal journal c. textbook d. memoir




12/34

EXPLORING STRATEGIES

After you determine your topic, audience, andpurpose, try some exploring strategiesalso known asprewriting strategiesto help get your ideas flowing.

When you have your topic, it is also important to makesure that your topic is not broad, but focused.

Find one aspect of your topic that you know about alot and that you find interesting.

If your topic is compelling, chances are your audiencewill also like your topic.


13/34


To help narrow and develop your topic, there are 4prewriting strategies you can use:

1. Freewriting

2. Brainstorming3. Questioning

4. Clustering


14/34


Freewritinggives writers the freedom to writewithout stopping for a set period of time.

The goal of this exercise is to record the first

thoughts that come to mind. As you write, dont be concerned about word

choice, grammar, or spelling. Just write withoutstopping.


15/34


Brainstormingis like freewriting, except that youcreate a list of ideas and you can take the time tostop and think when you create your list.

As you think about the topic, write down words orphrases that come to mind. Do not worry aboutgrammar or spelling.

The point is to generate ideas.


16/34


Heres an example of brainstorming

Topic: Mistakes college students make.

Party too much

Not doing homework

Waking up late for class

Getting too stressed

Weighed down by relationships

Choosing the wrong career path

Being too shy to speak in class

Feeling intimidated


17/34


Questioning is a means of generating ideas byasking questions and writing responses to them.

The questions can help you define and narrow your

topic. One common way to do this is to ask yourself who,

what, when, where, why, and howquestions.


18/34


Heres an example of how to structure your

questioning:

Questions Answers

What kinds of mistakes do collegestudents make?

Not doing homework, partying toomuch, missing classes.

Who makes the most mistakes? Freshies because they are notprepared for college life.

Why do some students miss class? Tired, not interested in studying

When do most students drop out? Many drop out in the middle of the

month

How should colleges help thesestudents?

Guidance counselors, friends,teachers

Why is this topic important New students can learn to avoidpitfalls, administrators can help

students


19/34


Clustering is like drawing a map of ideas andarranging them as a visual image.

To begin write your topic in the middle of the page

and draw a box or a circle around it. That idea will lead to another, so write the second

idea and draw a line connecting it to your topic.

Keep writing, circling, and connecting ideas until

you have groups, or clusters of them on yourpage.


20/34


Heres a sample of a cluster map:


21/34

GROUP ACTIVITIES

Brainstorm ideas for the following topic:

Ways to help preserve the environment.

Make a cluster map of your ideas.


22/34


Once you have ideas for your topic, it is good ideato have an outline to organize them.

Start by having topic sentences for each point inyour outline (these can be the topic sentences ofeach of your paragraphs).

Within each topic sentence or each outline point,write down sub-topics (these are theexpansions/support of your main point).

For an average essay, its good to have at leastfive main points in total.


23/34


The five points include:

Introduction

Body

Conclusion For an average college essay, the introduction

usually has one point, while the body has threepoints. The conclusion has one point.

Heres a sample of the structure of an outline:


24/34


Once you have ideas for your topic, it is good ideato have an outline to organize them.

Start by having topic sentences for each point inyour outline (these can be the topic sentences of

each of your paragraphs).

Within each topic sentence or each outline point,write down sub-topics (these are theexpansions/support of your main point).

For an average essay, its good to have at leastfive main points in total.


25/34


26/34

OUTLINING

Once youve decided which ideas you will be usingfor your essay, you are ready now to plan.

In the planning stage, the ideas you brainstormed

are put into an outline. The first step toward making an outline is to divide

the ideas.

Pick one or two ideas that stand out to you.


27/34

OUTLINING

Heres as example of dividing ideas and choosing them:

Communication problems for foreign students in the States.

Poor verbal skills use incomplete sentencesLack vocabulary Americans difficult to understand

New language Americans talk too fast

Poor pronunciation unclear expressions

Lack confidence use slang and idioms


28/34

OUTLINING

The ideas listed under communication problemscould be divided further into two subliststhosethat describe international students and those thatdescribe Americans.

Two items, (1)poor verbal skills and (2)Americansdifficult to understand can serve as titles for thesublists.

New language and lack confidence didnt fit ineither sublist, so they were crossed out.


29/34

CLASS ACTIVITY

Pick one idea that you want to write aboutregarding how to help preserve the environment.


30/34

OUTLINING

Finally, write a topic sentence.

The topic sentence is the most general sentence ina paragraph, and it expresses the central focus of

the paragraph. For example, lets say you are writing about

communication problems (general topic), apossible topic could be one of the following:

One problem that many international students face in theUnited States is communication with Americans.

OR

International students in the United States facecommunication problems with Americans.


31/34

GROUP ACTIVITY

Develop at least two topic sentences with the ideathat you have chosen.


32/34

OUTLINING

An outline is a formal plan for a paragraph.

In the outline, you write down the main points andsubpoints in the order which you plan to write about

them.


33/34

OUTLINING

The following is an example of an outline of thetopic, communication problems.

International students in the United States facecommunication problems with Americans.

A. International students have poor verbal skills.1. Lack vocabulary

2. Have poor pronunciation

B. Americans are difficult to understand.1. Use incomplete sentences

2. Use unclear expressions

3. Talk too fast

4. Use slangs and idioms


34/34

GROUP ACTIVITY

With the topic sentence you have written, developan outline with it.

Develop at least 4 points for your outline.

Write and develop an outline for the following topic:Mistakes college students make

Come up with a topic sentence and then create an outline.

2. Defining & Developing the Paragraph

Documents

Transcript of 2. Defining & Developing the Paragraph