By Joseph Cheatle

Keep one idea to a paragraph Unity

Single focus Coherence

Makes the paragraph easily understandable to a reader

Logical Bridges The same idea of a topic is carried over from

sentence to sentence Successive sentences can be constructed in

parallel form

Verbal Bridges Key words can be repeated in several

sentences Synonymous words can be repeated in several

sentences Pronouns can refer to nouns in previous

sentences Transition words can be used to link ideas

from different sentences

When you begin a new idea or point

To contrast information or ideas

When your readers need a pause

When you are ending your introduction or starting your conclusion

A topic sentence is a sentence that indicates in a general way what idea or thesis the paragraph is going to deal with. Although not all paragraphs have clear-cut topic sentences, and despite the fact that topic sentences can occur anywhere in the paragraph (as the first sentence, the last sentence, or somewhere in the middle), an easy way to make sure your reader understands the topic of the paragraph is to put your topic sentence near the beginning of the paragraph. Regardless of whether you include an explicit topic sentence or not, you should be able to easily summarize what the paragraph is about.

To state the main point of a paragraph To give the reader a sense of direction

(indicate what information will follow) To summarize the paragraph’s main point

Placement Often appears as the first or second sentence

of a paragraph Rarely appears at the end of the paragraph

Does the topic sentence declare a single point of my argument?

Does the topic sentence further my argument?

Is the topic sentence relevant to my thesis? Is there a clear relationship between this

topic sentence and the paragraph that came before?

Does the topic sentence control my paragraph?

Where have I placed my topic sentence?

The topic (introduced by the topic sentence) should be discussed fully and adequately.

Paragraph should provide evidence and support for the topic sentence

Methods to make sure your paragraph is well-developed: Use examples and illustrations Cite data (facts, statistics, evidence, details, and

others) Examine testimony (what other people say such as

quotes and paraphrases) Use an anecdote or story Define the terms in the paragraph Compare and contrast

Evaluate causes and reasons Examine effects and consequences Analyze the topic Describe the topic Offer a chronology of an event (time

segments)

Order to time (chronology) Order of space (descriptions of a location

or scene) Order of climax (building toward a

conclusion) Order of importance (from least to most

important or from most to least important)

When you begin a new idea or point To contrast information or ideas When your readers need a pause When ending your introduction or starting

your conclusion

Signposts – internal aids to assist readers; they usually consist of several sentences or a paragraph outlining what the paper has covered and where the paper is going

Transitions – usually one or several sentences that “transition” from one idea to the next. Transitions can be used at the end of most paragraphs to help the paragraphs flow one into the next

One main idea per paragraph Aim for four to six or more sentences per

paragraph If you have very short paragraphs, think

about whether they are really part of a larger paragraph – and can be combined – or whether you can add details to support each point and thus make each into a more fully developed paragraph

Introduce the quote Cite the quote correctly

“….” (Woolf 50). Your should cite the author, however, if you

are using multiple works by a single author, you can cite the works themselves.

Explain the quote and why it is important to your paper

As the symptoms of Septimus’s shell-shock continue to escalate in seriousness, Sir William Bradshaw, a noted psychologist, is called upon to help him. Sir William has, “not only prospered himself but made England prosper, secluded her lunatics, forbade childbirth, penalised despair, made it impossible for the unfit to propagate their views until they, too, shared his sense of proportion” (Woolf 97). According to Sir William, it is only through “proportion” that a person can live a prosperous life. He defines “proportion” as, “...

NO NEEDLESS SPACING Heading (name, class, date due all to the left) Title centered and only the first letter

capitalized, if there is a title of a book or movie in your title, please use correct formatting

Type 12 Times New Roman font Double-spaced 1” margins top and bottom, 1.25” sides (max.) Page number and name, on the top right of

every page Page break between your writing and the works

cited page.

The Owl at Purdue http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl

PlainLanguage.govhttp://www.plainlanguage.gov

The Everyday Writer What is Close Reading?

http://www.mantex.co.uk/samples/closeread.htm