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Revising Paragraphs

Revising Paragraphs. Shaping for Readers’ Access. Revising Paragraphs. Essay readers expect to see in an essay: An Introduction (with a thesis) A body section (with t opic sentences), and A conclusion . Essay Structure. Revising Paragraphs.

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Revising Paragraphs

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  1. Revising Paragraphs Shaping for Readers’ Access

  2. Revising Paragraphs • Essay readers expect to see in an essay: • An Introduction (with a thesis) • A body section (with topic sentences), and • A conclusion

  3. Essay Structure

  4. Revising Paragraphs • Readers need to see that the paragraphs within the body of the essay – the support paragraphs– have their own similar shapes

  5. Paragraph Structure

  6. The Topic Statement • The Topic Statement as Readers’ Framework • Tells the readers what to look for • I hateGoonville summers because of the chiggers, ticks, scorpions, and rattlesnakes • The Topic Statement as Writers’ Framework • Always take a definite stand; assert something significant • Abortion laws in our state discriminate against the poor. • How Audience and Purpose Determine a Topic Statement’s Focus

  7. Paragraph Unity • Each paragraph in an essay requires both external and internal unity • External: when it belongs with all of the other paragraphs in the essay • Internal: every sentence directly supports the topic statement

  8. Signal Term • A signal term is a key word or phrase that announces the viewpoint • See Application 6.1, p. 110 • The pressures of the sexual revolution are everywhere. • Signal term = everywhere

  9. Signal Term (cont’d) • High voltage from utility transmission lines can cause bizarre human and animal behavior. • Signal term = behavior

  10. Signal Term (cont’d) • Nuclear power plants need stricter supervision

  11. Signal Term (cont’d) • Producers of television commercials have created a loathsome gallery of men and women, presumably, on Mr. and Mrs. America. • Signal term = commercials

  12. Signal Term (cont’d) • From the very beginning of school, we make books and reading a constant source of possible humiliation. • Signal term = reading

  13. Signal Term (cont’d) • High interest rates cripple the auto and housing industries. • Signal term = high interest rates

  14. Paragraph Coherence • Every sentence follows a connected line of thought, like links in a chain, from the beginning of the paragraph to the end.

  15. Paragraph Coherence • Ordering for Coherence • General-to-specific order • Specific-to-general order • Emphatic order • Chronological order

  16. Paragraph Coherence • Parallelism & Repetition • Similar grammatical structures and word order for similar items or for items of equal importance. • What isthe shape of my life? The shape of my life today starts with a family. I have a husband, five children, and home just beyond the suburbs of New York, I have also a draft, writing, and therefore work I want to pursue. The shape of my life is, of course, determined by many other things – my background and childhood,my mind and its education, my conscience and its pressures, my heart and its desires. I want to give and take from my children and husband, to share with friends and community, to carry out my obligations to [humanity] and to the work, as a woman, as an artist, as a citizen. • - Anne Morrow Lindbergh

  17. Paragraph Coherence • Using Transitions for Coherence

  18. Guidelines for Shaping Your Support Paragraphs • Think of each support paragraph as a mini-essay (introduction, body, conclusion) • Build each paragraph around a clear topic statement that supports your thesis and tells readers what to expect • Focus the paragraph on one limited aspect of the thesis. • Revise your topic statement as needed. • Make the paragraph unified. • Make the paragraph coherent.

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