1. The Paragraph
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2. What is a paragraph?
A paragraph is a basic unit of organization in
writing in which a group of related sentences
develops one main idea.
The three parts of a paragraph:
• The topic sentence
• Supporting sentences
• The concluding sentence
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3. What is a paragraph?
The first sentence of a paragraph is usually
indented.
The topic is the subject of the paragraph; it is
what the paragraph is about.
Often, it is necessary to restrict the topic, i.e., to
narrow it down to a more specific topic.
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4. Unity and coherence
A good paragraph has unity and coherence.
• Unity: it means that you discuss only one
main idea in a paragraph. The main idea is
stated in the topic sentence and then each
supporting sentence develops that idea.
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5. Unity and coherence
• Coherence: it means that your paragraph is
easy to read and understand because
1. Your supporting sentences are in some kind
of logical order, and
2. Your ideas are connected by the use of
appropriate transition signals.
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6. Unity and coherence
• Unity: each sentence within a paragraph
should relate to the topic and develop the
controlling idea. If a sentence does not relate
to or develop that area, it is irrelevant and
should be omitted from the paragraph.
• Coherence: a coherent paragraph contains
sentences that are logically arranged and that
flow smoothly (how well one idea leads to
another).
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7. The topic sentence
The topic sentence states the main idea of the
paragraph. It contains two elements:
• The topic, which states the topic of the
paragraph , and
• The controlling idea/s, which are the areas of
the topic that can be discussed completely in
the space of one paragraph.
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8. The topic sentence
The topic sentence clearly states the topic and the
controlling idea/s of the paragraph.
It is usually the first sentence in the paragraph.
It is the most important sentence in the paragraph,
since it is a helpful guide to both the writer and
the reader.
Points to remember about a topic sentence:
• It is a complete sentence.
• It contains both a topic and a controlling idea.
• It gives only the main idea, not specific details.
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9. The topic sentence
The topic sentence introduces the topic of a
paragraph. In addition, it also serves to state an
idea or attitude about the topic. This idea or
attitude is called the controlling idea and controls
what the sentences in the paragraph will discuss.
The controlling idea should be clear and focused
on a particular aspect.
The topic sentence is usually placed at the
beginning of the paragraph, i.e., it is generally the
first sentence of the paragraph.
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10. The topic sentence
The two parts of the topic sentence:
• The topic names the subject or main idea of
the paragraph.
• The controlling idea makes a specific
comment about the topic, which indicates
what the rest of the paragraph will say about
the topic. It limits or controls the topic to a
specific aspect of the topic to be discussed in
the space of a single paragraph.
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11. The topic sentence
Two reminders about the topic sentence:
• A topic sentence should be neither too general
nor too specific. The reader of a paragraph wants
to know generally what to expect in a paragraph
but he/she does not want to learn all of the
specific details in the first sentence.
• Do not include unrelated ideas in your topic
sentence. If you do so, your paragraph will lack
unity.
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12. The supporting sentences
The suppporting sentences develop the topic
sentence. They explain the topic sentence by
giving reasons, examples, facts, statistics, and
quotations, among other things.
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13. The supporting sentences
The supporting sentences are used to support
the opinion or attitude expressed in the topic
sentence. They usually back up, clarify,
illustrate, explain, or prove the point made in
the topic sentence.
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14. The concluding sentence
The concluding sentence signals the end of the
paragraph. It also leaves the reader with
important points to remember.
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15. The concluding sentence
The concluding sentence is helpful to the
reader.
It serves three purposes:
• It signals the end of the paragraph.
• It summarizes the main points of the
paragraph.
• It gives a final comment on your topic and
leaves the reader with the most important
ideas to think about.
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16. The title
Things to remember when writing titles:
• A title is not a complete sentence.
• All important or content words are capitalised.
• A title is not underlined.
• A title is not enclosed in quotation marks.
• A title is not followed by a period.
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17. Writing an outline
Before writing the paragraph, it is a good idea to
write an outline. It is useful in two ways:
• It provides a means for quickly checking your
sentences to see if they deal with the topic,
and
• It serves as a guide for checking whether the
sentences are logically arranged (the
organisation of the sentences will depend on
the topic and purpose of the paragraph).
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18. General Review
The topic sentence is the most general and most
important sentence in the paragraph. It:
• introduces the reader to the topic of the
paragraph;
• states the main idea of the paragraph; and
• focuses the paragraph.
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19. General Review
The topic sentence contains controlling ideas
that need to be explained, described and
supported.
The controlling ideas are words or phrases in a
topic sentence that need further explanation.
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20. General Review
The concluding sentence brings the discussion to a close.
Different types of purposes for the concluding
sentence:
• To summarise the material in the paragraph;
• To offer a solution to the problem stated in the
paragraph;
• To predict a situation that will result or occur from the
statements made in the paragraph;
• To make a recommendation concerning material
presented in the paragraph;
• To state a conclusion to the information given in the
paragraph.
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