Paragraph Structure: Writing Topic Sentences

The topic sentence is the generalisation that announces the subject and the controlling idea that the details in the paragraph will support and develop. The difference between a topic sentence and a support sentence is that a topic sentence (1) is more general and, (2) allows for development. In expository writing the topic sentence usually comes at the beginning of a paragraph, cueing readers to expect certain details to be developed. What questions are prompted by the following topic sentences? How would you expect the topic to be developed in the rest of the paragraph? e.g. Q: A: Proteins serve three functions in the human body. What are they? First......... ( ) Second........... ( ) Third............

Spectator bias in cricket is destroying the quality of the game.

Most people have the wrong idea about the definition of statistics.

Another difference between Shortland Street and Days of Our Lives is the actors themselves.

The topic sentences have been removed from the paragraphs in the following student essay. 1. 2. Jot down the controlling idea for each paragraph. Compose your own topic sentences to fit each paragraph.

Alienation in contemporary society occurs for a number of reasons. A person is alienated when he possesses some characteristic that society cannot understand or accept. To avoid the frustration of coping with a person who is different, society forms a stereotype, alienating the type of person in question. Alienation is a cruel process, isolating an individual for circumstances over which he has no control. The causes of alienation can be divided into four major categories: personal habits, disabilities, race, and beliefs and ideologies. _____________________________________________________________________ ____________________. Poor hygiene, alcoholism, and drug abuse are justifiable causes for alienation. The individual, due to misplaced priorities, acquires a habit that society deems unacceptable. Since the individual should be capable of eliminating this habit, society does not feel compelled to tolerate this type of person. The individual possessing the undesirable habit is alienated from society until he chooses to conform to the social conventions. _____________________________________________________________________ _______________________. These can be either physical or mental. Physical disabilities such as speech, hearing, and vision impediments are common causes for alienation, creating extensive difficulties for the afflicted individual. Society often views the physically handicapped as a nonperson, lacking feelings and rights. Therefore, the physically disabled individual finds the agony of alienation added to the inescapable burden of his handicap. ________________________________________________________ are also a cause for alienation from society. Disabilities such as schizophrenia hinder the individuals ability to function within society. Society, in general, does not understand mental disabilities, failing to realize that the afflicted person requires understanding, compassion, and patience in order to recover. Instead, society often shuns the mentally disabled, adding further to their existing problems. _____________________________________________________________________ ______________________. Society stereotypes the various races on the assumption that undesirable personality traits are linked to a specific race. Since this ideology is totally illogical, the individual who is alienated for this reason is outraged by his or her predicament. Alienation because of race is very unjust, because an individual is condemned before he is even born. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________. The beliefs held by the majority of the people are viewed as

correct and acceptable. Beliefs and ideas straying from this social norm are condemned. Therefore, individuals are often alienated for such reasons as religion, politics, and personal morality. Despite the belief in freedom of choice for the individual, vast numbers of people are alienated from society on the basis of their beliefs and ideologies. This is very hypocritical, especially in America, where society supposedly believes in freedom of the individual. Alienation is obviously a serious problem in contemporary society. Innocent people are unjustly condemned for circumstances over which they have no control. Alienation is a cruel process, placing additional burdens on those individuals already experiencing difficulties in life.

Evaluating Paragraphs: Unity, Coherence, Development

Although one-sentence paragraphs are common in newspapers and shorter forms of business writing such as letters and memos, they are not particularly useful in expository writing because they do not develop the subject fully. A paragraph of less than three sentences usually provides inadequate development of an idea. While there is no specific word length for a paragraph, a well-developed one usually contains between 75 and 150 words (five to seven sentences). Qualities of a Good Paragraph: A good paragraph is unified, coherent, complete, and well organised. Unity: A paragraph should be unified around one main concept or idea. The topic sentence (the statement which makes the central point) provides the structure and the focus for a unified paragraph; all of the subsequent elements proceed from it. Coherence: Sentences should follow each other with continuity. When they unfold in a sequential or logical way, they are inter-connected like the links in a chain, each new unit related to the last and interlocked with the next. Coherence begins with a clear statement of what the paragraph will be about, and it proceeds through the orderly development of this topic sentence. The use of transitional words, parallel sentence structures, and repeated key words can help provide continuity between sentences. Completeness: A well-developed expository paragraph contains enough specific details and explanations to support, amplify and/or prove the central idea. It does not include unrelated facts or statements.

Evaluate the following paragraphs in terms of their unity, coherence, completeness, and organization. 1. In New Zealand, cannabis is big business, especially in the Bay of Plenty, Northland, Coromandel and Coastal Marlborough districts. Growing the plant is risky, but the crop is highly sought-after and is financially worthwhile. Although it is now illegal to grow, that has not always been the case. It is only in recent times that cannabis has been used by Western society as a mind-altering drug; before this, the plant had many uses. The drug marijuana was obtained from the leaves, flowers and small stems and was used for medicinal purposes. Hashish, which is the sap of the plant, was also used for medicine, and the stem was the source of hemp used in rope-making. The history of cannabis has been long and colourful. Its uses are many and varied. Cannabis can grow quickly and easily. To families, it can become a source of sorrow. 2. The writers I like have paragraphs varied in length, development, and organisation. They let me know where they are going, move quickly through simple material, and explain and illustrate more difficult points. Their paragraphs are carefully connected, and when there is a marked change in thought, there are enough indications to help me follow the shift. They do not repeat unnecessarily or digress; instead, they cover their subject thoroughly and briefly. While I am still interested, they complete their work in a satisfactory final paragraph and leave me wishing that there were more writers like them (Tichy 259). 3. Humanity has always employed technology: they are tool-making animals. The use of water, wind and fire goes back to the earliest days of civilisation as do techniques for measuring and building. Work with levers is of similar early origin. Primitive crafts and trades have developed slowly over many centuries. Yet it was not until the nineteenth century that the great burgeoning of technology that transformed the world in a few decades took place. Only then was a systematic approach made to technological problems.

4.

Smoking is a selfish habit. It may offer a pleasurable experience to the smoker, but to the non-smoker confined in the same room it offers no more than a lungful of poisonous and aggravating fumes. It is necessary for smokers to become aware of other peoples feelings and health and to refrain from smoking in their presence. For their own health, too, smokers must be made aware of the harm they are doing to their bodies. To promote non-smoking in public places could encourage smokers to cut down on their ration of cigarettes per day. There are plenty of other relaxants available which give the same calming effect to smokers as cigarettes do. For example, exercise is a healthy alternative to releasing stress and tension, as are listening to or playing music, reading or writing. Anything which requires physical and mental action is a far healthier habit and interest than smoking.

5.

This social problem is the leading cause of death in many countries, almost to epidemic proportions, yet it remains one of the socially acceptable things to do, despite its addictive qualities. The causes of alcoholism are many, yet there is a general consensus that alcohol can provide relaxation, relieve tensions and induce a positive mood change. More importantly, the effects are immediate, and people use alcohol as a solution to their problems, thus enhancing its likelihood of abuse. Grammar is notoriously the most widely and deeply hated of all studies, at least in English-speaking countries. Several reasons, each containing at least some truth, have been advanced to explain this fact. One is that the kind of grammar that has been traditionally taught in our schools is based on Latin, and fits English so loosely that considerable parts of it can be understood only as an act of faith, with a distinct element of mysticism. Another is that the subject is often taught not as a body of information but as a system of morals, toward which we often have a split reaction. While one side of our minds tells us that we ought to obey the rules because they must somehow be right, the other tells us that if we do well lose many of our friends, and feel like prigs in the process. And finally there is the widespread suspicion that the whole subject is unnecessary an imposition foisted on us by schoolteachers and their ilk. If somebody would just shoot all grammarians, honest people could live in peace. Why, asks young Tommy, have any parts of speech at all? What are they good for? Why dont they just let us talk sense? (Myers 20).

6.

Improving Coherence with Transitions between Paragraphs

Connections between paragraphs enable the reader to glide from one paragraph to the next and see the logical relationship between them. Linking words, repeated key words and echo phrases are some of the devices writers use to make the logical relationships between paragraphs explicit. What key terms are carried over from one paragraph to the next? Where does the writer use a transitional sentence to prepare readers for a new paragraph?

One of the least-considered effects of food is its influence on the relationships between species. In Africa there is a badger-like animal called the ratel. It has tough skin and powerful claws and wanders around in bush country, living on beetles, snakes and small mammals - and all the time looking for honey to which it is particularly partial. In the same area lives a small brown bird which eats insects and grubs but, like the ratel, has a passion for honey. The local source of honey is a wild bee which builds nests in tree trunks and crevices. The bird finds these easily enough but cannot get inside them. The ratel has claws strong enough to rip the nests open but has difficulty finding them. So they join forces. The bird looks for a ratel and when it finds one, begins to chatter loudly and persistently. The ratel moves toward the bird, making chuckling and hissing sounds in reply. The honey guide, for that is its name, leads the ratel directly to the nest, waits while it breaks it open and eats its fill, and then joins in the feast. Lately, the honey guide has discovered that people can usually be relied upon to provide the same cooperative service, and it often tries to entice them to a hive in the same way. In southwest New Guinea there is a tribe of fishers who have a similar working arrangement with the local dolphins. The fishers go out each morning to a particular cove and slap their oars on the water. Dolphins suddenly arrive and swim in front of the boats until they find a shoal of fish, which they herd into a compact mass. The fishers run a net around the fish and haul them into the boats, pausing every now and then to throw a particularly tasty one to the dolphins, who gather around with their heads out of the water to watch the whole performance. The interaction seems to be every bit as rewarding to them as the fish they receive. In both of these examples, the common factor forming the bond between the species is food. Most associations between widely different animal species are based on a better feeding deal for one or both of the associates. All the close relationships between our species and the animals which we have domesticated began with our offering them food. The connection between food and friendship in our minds is so close that it has already caused one misunderstanding. Opportunist animals in dull zoos are forced to create their own variety. They find the best potential source of interest in the people who pass by, and they perform all sorts of outlandish behaviour patterns to attract our attention. With our often surprisingly limited imagination, we assume that they must be begging for food, so we ply them with buns and sticky sweets. To keep us there responding, they have to reward us by eating at least part of the rubbish we throw their way. And so every day animals in zoos die of overeating when all they really lack is attention. (Adapted from Lyall Watson, The Omnivorous Ape)