Paragraph Development and Topic Sentences

1. Paragraph Development and Topic Sentences 機械三德 91301020 陳韻如 機械三德 91301038 洪典佑 工管三智 91303083 林逸儒

2. Paragraph Development and Topic Sentences • A typical expository paragraph starts with a controlling idea or claim, which it then explains, develops, or supports with evidence. Paragraph sprawl occurs when digressions are introduced into an otherwise focused and unified discussion. Digressions and deviations often come in the form of irrelevant details or shifts in focus.

3. Irrelevant Details 1.When I was growing up, one of the places I enjoyed most was the cherry tree in the back yard. 2. Behind the yard was an alley and then more houses.3. Every summer when the cherries began to ripen, I used to spend hours high in the tree, picking and eating the sweet, sun-warmed cherries. 4. My mother always worried about my falling out of the tree, but I never did.5. But I had some competition for the cherries – flocks of birds that enjoyed them as much as I did and would perch all over the tree, devouring the fruit whenever I was not there. 6. I used to wonder why the grown-ups never ate any of the cherries; but actually when the birds and I had finished, there were not many left.

4. Shift in Focus EX 1 1It is a fact that capital punishment is not a deterrent to crime. 2Statistics show that in states with capital punishment, murder rates are the same or almost the same as in states without capital punishment. 3It is also true that it is more expensive to put a person on death row than in life imprisonment because of the costs of maximum security. 4Unfortunately, capital punishment has been used unjustly. 5Statistics show that every execution is of a man and that nine out of ten are black. 6So prejudice shows right through.

5. Shift in Focus EX 2 1 The punishment of criminals has always been a problem for society. 2 Citizens have had to decide whether offenders such as first-degree murderers should be killed in a gas chamber, imprisoned for life, or rehabilitated and given a second chance in society. 3 Many citizens argue that serious criminals should be executed.

6. 4 They believe that killing criminals will set an example for others and also rid society of a cumbersome burden. 5 Other citizens say that no one has the right to take a life and that capital punishment is not a deterrent to crime. 6 They believe that society as well as the criminal is responsible for the crimes and that killing the criminal does not solve the problems of either society or the criminal.

7. Topic Sentences Topic sentences are not the only way to organize a paragraph, and not all paragraphs need a topic sentence.For example, paragraphs that describe, narrate, or detail the steps in an experiment do not usually need topic sentences. Topic sentences are useful, however, in paragraphs that analyze and argue.

8. Topic sentences are particularly useful for writers who have difficulty developing focused, unified paragraphs (i.e., writers who tent to sprawl ). Topic sentences help these writers develop a main idea or claim for their paragraphs, and, perhaps most importantly, they help these writers stay focused and keep paragraphs manageable.

9. Topic sentences are also useful to readers because they guide them through sometimes complex arguments. Many well-known, experienced writers effectively use topic sentences to bridge between paragraphs. Here’s an example of how one professional writer does this:

10. Example Soon after the spraying had ended there were unmistakable signs that all was not well. Within two days dead and dying fish, including many young salmon, were found along the banks of the stream. Brook trout also appeared among the dead fish, and along the roads and in the woods birds were dying. All the life of the stream was stilled.

11. Before the spraying there had been a rich assortment of the water life that forms the food of salmon and trout – caddis fly larvae, living in loosely fitting protective cases of leaves, stems or gravel cemented together with saliva, stonefly nymphs clinging to rocks in the swirling currents, and the wormlike larvae of blackflies edging the stones under riffles or where the stream spills over steeply slanting rocks. But now the stream insects were dead, killed by DDT,and there was nothing for a young salmon to eat.

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