Paragraphs One of the most important aspects of producing effective writing is knowing how to:

•create a paragraph

•organise individual paragraphs into meaningful and logical sequences to create a coherent piece of writing

Paragraphs

All paragraphs have similar features, though there are some exceptions. Paragraphs usually consist of three parts:

•a topic sentence •2-3 supporting sentences •a concluding sentence

Most of the problems students have with paragraphing arise because:

•more than one major idea is being presented within the paragraph

•the supporting sentences do not relate to and hence do not support the topic sentence

•paragraphs do not relate to each other

Paragraphs

•a topic sentence

•2-3 supporting sentences

•a concluding sentence

WHEN YOU WRITE A NEW PARAGRAPH YOU MUST CONSIDER…

The structure of the paragraph:

The quality of the paragraph:

P

E

E

•Correct punctuation (full stops / capital letters /commas /question marks)

•Correct grammar

(word order / choice of vocabulary)

•Correct style

(formal / serious / entertaining)

Paragraphs

TIme Person TOpic Place

Ti P To P

Paragraphs

START A NEW PARAGRAPH WHEN THERE’S A CHANGE IN…

TIme

Person

TOpic

Place

You move to a new period in time

AFTER THE PARTY / THAT EVENING

You move to a different place

THE ROAD WAS ICY / IN THE DISCO

You move to a new topic or point

ANOTHER REASON FOR MY VIEW IS…

You bring in a new person or change from one person to another (especially in conversations)

I HEARD A VOICE IN THE DISTANCE

START A NEW PARAGRAPH WHEN…Paragraphs

Correction Exercise

We are going to look at an extract from The Iron Man, by Ted Hughes.

Your task is to decide when a new paragraph must begin.

•How many paragraphs does this extract need?

•Which word starts each paragraph?

•Which changes (TiPToP) show that we need a new paragraph?

Hogarth joined the farmers. Slowly they drove back down the lane, and slowly, with all his cogs humming, the Iron Man stepped after them. They led through the villages. Half the people came out to stare, half ran to shut themselves inside bedrooms and kitchens. Nobody could believe their eyes when they saw the Iron Man marching behind the farmers. At last they came to the town, and there was a great scrap-metal yard. Everything was there, old cars by the hundred, old trucks, old railway engines, old stoves, old refrigerators, old springs, bedsteads, bicycles, girders, gates, pans – all the scrap iron of the region was piled up there, rusting away.

from The Iron Man, Ted Hughes, Faber, 2001