Writing

1. Writing Paragraphs, Linking, Topic Sentences, & Transitions

2. writing Letters 26 vowels, consonants words sentences Fragments, run-ons, etc. Good writers know there are different types of sentences paragraphs essays books English classes usually start here!

3. Paragraphs • What does a paragraph do? • Paragraphing helps readers • --by “clumping” like bits of information • --by signaling when a sequence of related sentences begins and ends. • --judge what is most important in what they are reading • *writers typically emphasize important information by placing it at the two points where readers are most attentive at the beginning and ending of a paragraph

4. a good paragraph . . . • --is focused, unified, and coherent • --is made up of “linked sentences,” sentences that are meaningfully related to one another • --develops one idea • --has an effective topic sentence

5. “Linked sentences” • The sentences of a paragraph should be meaningfully related to one another, and the relationships among the sentences should be clear. Don’t jump around. • Effective: ABCDEF • Not Effective: AF • Not Effective: DBCAEF • Not Effective: AAAABBBBCCCCDDDEEEFFF Good writers do this! These have ideas but are not coherent. These repeat the same ideas.

6. What’s a topic sentence? • A topic sentence lets readers know the focus of a paragraph in simple and direct terms. Because a topic sentence forecasts the subject of the paragraph, its role is similar to that of an essay’s thesis statement. • Because paragraphing usually signals a shift in focus, readers expect the topic sentence to tell them whether the paragraph is going to introduce another aspect of the topic or develop one already introduced. • Metaphorically, a topic sentence could be seen as being similar to a road sign because it tells readers in easy-to-read language where they are going and / or where they have been. It gives GUIDANCE.

7. Sample topic sentences • Example #1 • Topic Sentence: A polar bear has a unique walk. • Content of ¶: Details that support claim that the polar bear’s walk is unique. • Example #2 • Topic Sentence:Eskimos have extensive knowledge about how to use every part of an animal. • Content of ¶: Details that show how an Eskimo effectively utilizes different parts of an animal (i.e., whale teeth  end of spear; whale skin  waterproof “cloth”)

8. Example of a junk paragraph • Maturity and attitude go together because both determine why you want to become a model. I went to the university for two years, not because I wanted to but because I was pushed into it. I used to think models were thought of as dumb blondes, but after being here at the university I realized that people still have respect for modeling and know all the hard work put in it. • Although each sentence mentions modeling or the university, the two topics are not well connected. With each sentence, the focus shifts. There is no unity because there is no single idea controlling the sentences. The various elements of the writing do not “stick together” or “link” to form a coherent meaning, and the reader becomes disoriented. Where’s the topic sentence?

9. Another junk paragraph • Traveling down Sand Island Access Road you would never guess that just a small distance away a large beach park exists. This concrete heaven, which sports a sewerage treatment facility and lies so close to the airport, gives no hint of the large camping ground and treatment facility and lies so close to the airport, gives no hint of the large camping ground and park which lies beyond. Sand Island Beach Park is one of the most well hidden beach spots on Oahu. • Once the maze of ware houses and small buildings has been solved you find yourself transported into a scene totally incongruous with the concrete jungle previously traversed. The road narrows, leading you into a large expanse of green: an extremely large expanse of green considering how well concealed the whole place is. A few large trees cast shades down upon the ground, giving the people there a place to shelter from the sun. Upon entering the park, it is hard to believe that just a few meters away gray, drab concrete covers the earth instead of this lush green grass.

10. Example of a strong ¶ with a strong topic sentence • Eskimos have extensive knowledge about how to use every part of an animal. Knowing that muskox horn is more flexible than caribou antler, they preferred it for making the side prongs of a fishing spear. For a waterproof bag in which to carry sinews for clothing repair, they chose salmon skin. They selected the strong, translucent intestine of a bearded seal to make a window for a snow house – it would fold up for easy traveling and it would not frost over in cold weather. To make small snares for sea ducks, they needed a springy material that would not rot in salt water – baleen fibers. The down feather of a common eider, tethered at the end of a stick in the snow at an aglu, would reveal the exhalation of a quietly surfacing seal. Polar bear bone was used anywhere a stout, sharp point was required, because it is the hardest bone.