Paragraph Structure

Paragraph Structure Writing a paper is a lot like designing a skyscraper…

Topic Sentences • The first sentence in your paragraph is your topic sentence. • Topic Sentences: • Most general of any sentence in the paragraph • Introduce an overall idea • Don’t go too far into detail • Let the reader know what you’re talking about, but don’t squish too much into it.

Topic Sentences • For example, if you were going to write about your hometown’s landmarks you might start: “My hometown is famous for several amazing landmarks. First, it is noted for the Kaw River, which is very wide and stinky. Also, on the other side of the town is Mount Oread, which is home to the University of Kansas…” Note the space between the first line of the paragraph and the following. This is an indent and every paragraph should start with one.

Topic Sentences Here are some bad topic sentences: “My hometown is famous because it is located by the Kaw River, which is very wide, and because it is built near a University, which not many cities can claim.” (too many details) “There are two reasons why some people like to buy cars with automatic transmission and two reasons why others like cars with manual transmission.” (1 idea per paragraph) “Clouds are white.” (boooooring)

Supporting sentences • The topic sentence should leave the reader with a question in mind. • Supporting Sentences/Details answer the question. “My hometown is famous for several amazing landmarks. First, Lawrence is noted for the Kaw River, which is very wide and stinky. Also, on the other side of the town is Mount Oread, which is home to the University of Kansas. It is also home of the Chesty Lions of Lawrence High, the chestiest lions in America.”

Supporting sentences • A paragraph should have 5-7 sentences. • 3-5 supporting sentences • While the example sentences from the previous paragraph answer the question posed by the topic sentence, they lack informative details. • As much as possible, use enough detail for the reader to understand exactly what you’re talking about.

Supporting sentences “My hometown is famous for several amazing landmarks. First, Lawrence is noted for the Kaw River, which is very wide and stinky. It is more than X miles long and Y miles wide and home to many species of fish native to Kansas. Also, on the other side of the town is Mount Oread, which is home to the University of Kansas. The University is far superior to any other school in the world. Lastly, Lawrence is also home of the Chesty Lions of Lawrence High, the chestiest lions in America.

Concluding sentence • Concluding sentences are used to sum up the information in a paragraph. • They restate the information in the topic sentence in a new way. • Concluding sentences often serve as transitions to the next idea in the next paragraph, especially in short paragraphs.

Concluding Sentence “My hometown is famous for several amazing landmarks. First, Lawrence is noted for the Kaw River, which is very wide and stinky. Also, on the other side of the town is Mount Oread, which is home to the University of Kansas. Additionally, it is the home of the Chesty Lions of Lawrence High, the chestiest lions in America. Lawrence is well known for it’s landmarks and sleepy peacefulness, but it wouldn’t be the town it is today without it’s history of turmoil and conflict.” • This concluding sentence restates the topic sentence and helps lead in to a paragraph about the history of Lawrence.

Academic writing • Academic writing not only follows the outlined paragraph structure, it also has standards of language. • No contractions. Instead of using contractions, write the words out. No “it’s” “you’re” “won’t” “don’t” etc. • No first person. • No second person. • Elevated vocabulary • Never use these: “thing”, “stuff”, “drama”, “I mean”, “Now…”, “etc.”

Connectors, consider this “Each of the U.S. manned space exploration projects had specific major goals. The Mercury project was designed to test whether or not human beings could survive and function in outer space. The Mercury project tested rockets with the new Mercury space capsule, which could hold one person. The Gemini project was intended to find out whether two people could work in the weightless environment of space. Gemini astronauts took "spacewalks." They floated outside their spacecraft in a spacesuit, connected to it by a tether. Gemini astronauts tried out new flying skills. Some astronauts flew two spacecraft extremely close together; this procedure was called "rendezvous." On some Gemini flights, astronauts physically linked two spacecraft together. Linking, or "space docking," was a major goal of the Gemini program. The Apollo project, with three astronauts, was intended to test spacecraft and skills so that people could actually fly to the Moon and land on it. Performing scientific experiments on the lunar surface and collecting rocks for study on Earth were goals.”

Now consider… “Each of the U.S. manned space exploration projects had specific major goals. For example, the Mercury project was designed to test whether or not human beings could survive and function in outer space. In addition, the Mercury project tested rockets with the new Mercury space capsule, which could hold one person. As another example, the Gemini project was intended to find out whether two people could work in the weightless environment of space. One way of doing this was by having Gemini astronauts take "spacewalks." That is, they floated outside their spacecraft in a spacesuit, connected to it by a tether. Gemini astronauts also tried out new flying skills. For example, some astronauts flew two spacecraft extremely close together; this procedure was called "rendezvous." On some Gemini flights, astronauts physically linked two spacecraft together. This linking, or "space docking," was a major goal of the Gemini program. Finally, the Apollo project, with three astronauts, had the goal of testing spacecraft and skills so that people could actually fly to the Moon and land on it. Other goals included performing scientific experiments on the lunar surface and collecting rocks for study on Earth.”

Common connectors For example, For instance, One example of (this) is First, Second, Third, As another example, Another example of [xxx] is (that) Finally, In conclusion, To summarize, On the other hand,

Unity “Each of the Russian manned space exploration projects had specific major goals. For example, the Vostok project was designed to test whether or not human beings could survive and function in outer space. For another example, the Voshkhod project was intended to find out whether people could work in the weightless environment of space. One Voshkhod cosmonaut experimented with weightlessness by taking a "spacewalk." That is, he floated in a spacesuit outside his Voshkhod spacecraft, connected to it by a tether. The cosmonaut to do this was Alexei Leonov. Several weeks later, Leonov's spacewalk was followed by that of U.S. astronaut Ed White. Finally, the Soyuz project, with three cosmonauts, had goals of testing spacecraft and spaceflight skills so that people could fly long missions in Earth orbit.”

Practice • Using the EXPO markers, let’s practice writing some sentences. • Write an informational, interesting topic sentence that leaves the reader with a question about one of the following topics: • The legal drinking age being 21 • Immigration Laws • KU Basketball • Lawrence High School

Practice • Now write a supporting detail sentence for one of the following topic sentences: • High school can be a difficult and scary time for many teens, but there are several ways to get involved. • Women and girls may, in general, spend more time and effort getting ready in the morning. • Reading is an important hobby that has dwindled significantly in popularity.

Now practice writing a concluding sentence that also transitions into a new paragraph • Family Guy ripping off The Simpsons  Seth McFarlane is unoriginal and/or sexist. • Sports are physically healthy  sports help make friends • English is your favorite subject  Ms. Mense is an excellent English teacher

Paragraph Structure