Paragraphing

To indicate place

"Above", "Adjacent to", "Below", "Elsewhere", "Farther on", "Here", "Near", "Nearby", "On the other side", "Opposite to", "There", "To the east", and "To the left". These are examples of this

To Compare

"Also", "In the same way", "Likewise", and "Similarly" are examples of this

Checklist for Revising Paragraphs

1. Does each paragraph contribute to the essay as a whole? (Does each support the essay's central idea, or thesis? Does it relate to the paragraphs that come before and after it?) 2. Is each paragraph unified? (Does it focus on one central idea that is either stated in a topic sentence or otherwise apparent) 3. Is each paragraph coherent? (Do the sentences follow a clear sequence? Are the sentences linked as appropriate by parallelism, repetition or restatement, pronouns, consistency, and transitional expressions?) 4. Is each paragraph developed? (Is the general idea of the paragraph well supported with specific evidence such as details, facts, examples, and reasons?)

Conclusions

Finishes off your essay and tells readers where you think you have brought them.

Repetition and Restatement

Using these two elements help make a paragraph more coherent and reminds readers what the topic is.

Process Analysis

When you analyze how to do something or how something works.

Illustration or Support

You provide specific examples and develop a paragraph by providing your reasons for stating a general idea.

To show cause or effect

"Accordingly", "As a result", "Because", "Consequently", "For this purpose", "Hence", "Otherwise", "Since", "Then", "Therefore", "Thereupon", "Thus", and "To this end" These are examples of this

To indicate time

"After a while", "Afterward", "As long as", "As soon as", "At last", "At length", "At that time", "Before", "Earlier", "Eventually", "Formerly", "Immediately", "In the meantime", "In the past", "Lately", "Later", "Meanwhile", "Now", "Presently", "Shortly", "Simultaneously", "Since", "So far", "Soon", "Subsequently", "Suddenly", "Then", "Thereafter", "Until", "Until now", and "When" These are examples of this

To Add or Show Sequence

"Again", "Also", "And", "And Then", "Besides", "Equally Important", "Finally", "First", "Further", "Furthermore", "In Addition, "In the first place", "Last", "Moreover", "Next", "Second", "Still" and "Too" These are examples of this

To repeat, summarize, or conclude

"All in all", "Altogether", "As has been said", "In brief", "In conclusion", "In other words", "In particular", "In short", "In simpler terms", "In summary", "On the whole", "That is", "Therefore", "To put it differently", and "To summarize" These are examples of this

To Contrast

"Although", "And yet", "But", "But at the same time", "Despite", "Even so", "Even though", "For all that", "However", "In contrast", "In spite of", "Nevertheless", "Notwithstanding", "On the contrary", "On the other hand", "Regardless", "Still", "Though", and "Yet These are examples of this

Don'ts of Conclusions

- A repeat of the introduction: Don't simply replay your introduction. The conclusion should capture what the paragraphs of the body have added to the introduction - A new direction: Don't introduce a subject that's different from the one your essay has been about - A sweeping generalization: Don't conclude more than you reasonably can from the evidence you have presented. - An apology: Don't cast doubt on your essay. Win your readers' confidence, display confidence.

Don'ts of Introductions

- A vague generality or truth: Don't extend your reach to wide with lines like, "Throughout human history" or "In today's world" - A flat announcement: Don't start with "The purpose this essay is..." or "In this essay, I will..." or any similar presentation of your intention or topic. - A reference to the essay's title: Don't refer to the title of the essay in the first sentence. Ex: "This is a big problem" or "This book is about the history of the guitar" - "According to Webster": Don't start by citing a dictionary definition. A definition can be effective springboard to an essay, but this kind of lead-in has become dull with overuse - An apology: Don't fault your opinion or your knowledge with "I'm not sure if I'm right, but I think... I don't know much about this, but..."

Strategies for Introductions

- Ask a question - Relate an incident - Use a vivid quotation - Offer a surprising statistic or fact - State an opinion related to your thesis - Provide background - Create a visual image that represents your subject - Make a historical comparison or contrast - Outline a problem or dilemma - Define a word central to your subject - In some business or technical writing, summarize your paper.

Introductions

- Focuses reader's attention on the topic and arouses curiosity about what you have to say - Specifies your subject and implies your attitude - Often includes your thesis statement - It's concise and sincere

Strategies for Conclusions

- Recommend a course of action - Summarize the paper - Echo the approach of the introduction - Restate your thesis and reflect on its implications - Strike a note of hope or despair - Give a symbolic or powerful fact or other detail - Give an especially compelling example - Create a visual image that represents your subject - Use a quotation

Paragraph Organization

1. General to Specific: Sentences downshift from more general statements to more specific ones. 2. Climactic: Sentences increase in drama or interest, building to a climax. 3. Spatial: Sentences scan a person, place or object from top to bottom, from side to side, or in some other way that approximates the way people actually look at things. 4. Chronological: Sentences present events as they occurred in time earlier to later.

Developing the Central Idea

An effective, well-developed paragraph always provides specific information that readers will need and expect in order to understand and stay interested in what you say.

Description

Details the sensory qualities of a person, scene, thing, or feeling, using concrete and specific words to convey a dominant mood, to illustrate an idea, or to achieve some other purpose.

Writing a Unified Paragraph

Develop the following topic sentence into a unified paragraph by using relevant information in supporting statements. Delete statements that don't relate directly to the topic, then rewrite and combine sentences as appropriate.

Paragraphs

Develops the main ideas that support the thesis of a piece of writing, and they break the supporting ideas into manageable chunks. For readers, they signal the movement between ideas and provide breathers from long stretches of text.

Narration

Doing this retells a significant sequence of events, usually in the order of their occurrence.

Effective openings

Opens with a statement of the essay's general subject, clarifies or limits the subject in one or more sentence, then asserts the point of the essay in the thesis statement

A Coherent Paragraph

Readers can see how the sentences flow logically and smoothly into one another.

Parallelism

The use of similar grammatical structures for similar elements of meaning within or among sentences.

Transitional Expressions

These can forge specific connections between sentences. Examples: "Therefore", "In Contrast", and "Meanwhile"

Pronouns

These help relate sentences to each other.

Comparison and Contrast

These may be used separately or together to develop an idea.

Consistency

This occurs primarily in the tense of verbs and in the person and number of nouns and pronouns.

Effective conclusions

Usually set off in its own paragraph, the conclusion should consist of a single sentence or a group of sentences.

Classification

When items are sorted into groups, you classify them to see their relations more clearly

Cause-and-effect analysis

Whenever you're explaining why something happened or what did or may happen

Division or Analysis

You separate something into its elements to understand it better

Definition

____ a complicated, abstract, or controversial term often requires extended explanation.