Understanding Paragraphs and Compositions
body paragraph
A middle paragraph in an essay. It develops a point you want to make that supports your thesis.
transitional paragraph
A paragraph that helps readers move from one major section of a long paper to another usually by summarizing the previous point, introducing the next point, and helping readers understand how the two are related
taco cat
a phrase that is spelled the same forward and backward
thesis statement
a sentence or two in the introduction that announces your topic and what you want to say about it
example
a specific instance or illustration of a general idea
transitional word
a word that connects ideas
anecdote
an extended example or brief story, often entertaining or amusing
introduction
catches the reader's interest, sets the tone of a composition, and presents the thesis statement
qualities
coherence, unity, and elaboration are the ____ of a paragraph
composition
consists of paragraphs that individually elaborate on specific points of a complex main idea, which is the main focus
topic sentence
directly states the paragraph's main idea
clincher sentence
emphasizes or summarizes the main idea of a paragraph
statistics
facts based on numbers
sensory details
information collected using the five senses
facts
information that can be proven
transitional phrase
phrase that creates links between ideas in your paper and can help your reader understand the logic of your paper.
main idea
provides the central focus of the paragraph
coherence
quality achieved when all of the details and ideas in a paragraph are logically arranged an clearly connected
unity
quality achieved when all of the sentences in a paragraph work together as a unit to express or support one main idea
transitional sentence
sentence that links one paragraph to the next by finding a common point
elaboration
supporting sentences that thoroughly develop a main idea
supporting sentence
supports the main idea of the paragraph
Noah
the last student to start working on the Introductory Techniques assignment
general to specific
the structure of an introductory paragraph
bacon
the tastiest vegetable known to man
organizational pattern
the term for a logical structure in which text is arranged, such as a sequence, comparison and contrast, problem and solution, or cause and effect
parts
the topic, support, and clincher sentences are the ___ of a paragraph
TOP
to check your own writing for elaboration, coherence, and unity, as whether your writing is ____
spatial
type of order that arranges details or ideas according to their location in space; used in descriptive writing
order of importance
type of order that arranges details or ideas from most to least important, or vice versa
logical
type of order that groups related details or ideas together to show their relationship; used to explain or classify
chronological
type of order that presents actions and events according to the order in which they occur; used to tell a story or explain a process
show place
use above, across, around, beyond, from, here, in, on, over, there, to, under to _______
show time
use after, before, eventually, finally, first, meanwhile, then, when to _______
compare ideas
use also, and, besides, in addition, similarly, too to ________
contrast ideas
use although, but, however, instead, nevertheless, otherwise, yet to _______
show cause and effect
use as a result, because, consequently, so, therefore, thus to ________
show importance
use first, last, mainly, then, to begin with to _______
direct references
using pronouns that refer to nouns used earlier in a piece of writing or repeating words or phrases used earlier in the writing
logical progression
when a composition has an order or pattern that creates a rational flow of ideas to a culminating point is is said to have ___________ ___________
