developing paragraphs

A paragraph is a unit of thought; it is at once a unit in itself and part of a larger whis , the essay. A paragraph is likely a mini-essay; it should be unified, coherent’, and well developed. Ais unified when all sentences in the paragraph are focused on the one the central thought otopic ; a paragraph is coherent when it develops naturally and smoothly, and one sentelogically to another. There many ways to develop a paragraph, for example, by process,and effect, by comparison and contrast, etc. 1. effective paragraphs

Unity: unit of a paragraph is concerned with its content. If all sentences in the lead to one central theme, the paragraph is unified.

Coherence: coherence of a paragraph is concerned with its form, or its organizatisentences in a paragraph should be arranged in a clear, logical order, and the transitiobe smooth and natural..

Transition: eg: using parallel structures; repeating words and word groups. Using to refer to nouns and using Transitional expressions. 2 . Ways of developing paragraphs Planning a paragraph

Paragraphs need to be planned. First, think of the topic or theme or main idea, anit in a complete sentence.

Developing by time Developing by process Developing by space

Developing by example or generalization Developing by comparison and contrast Developing by cause and effect Developing by classification Developing by definition

Developing by combination of methods

Chapter 4 developing paragraphs

Focus 1 features of a paragraph

All essays or articles are made up of paragraphs; paragraphs in turn are made up of

sentences. That is to say, paragraphs run between sentences and essays in terms of the length of composition. we have learned to make effective sentences in chapter 3. Although paragraphs are made up of sentences, single, correct, and effective sentences put together do not necessarily make an effective paragraph. The paragraph has one, and only one, central idea. The sentence concerning the topic of the paragraph is usually called the topic sentence.

Thus we can say that an effective paragraph generally has three fundamental features: a central idea, supporting evidence, and connection between the sentences. Focus

2 ways of developing a paragraph

When we write a paragraph，the first thing we should do is to think of a central idea or theme and write it down in a complete sentence, which will serve as the topic sentence. Then we should think of the details or examples to support the main idea. we need to work out an outline to put these details in good order. With the outline, the paragraph is almost half-done.

There are many possible ways to develop a paragraph. Let us study these methods one by one.

1 Development by time

In other words, things are mentioned according to the time when they happened, the first thing first and the last thing last. This is an easy and clear way to arrange a paragraph.

Words and Phrases used in describing chronological relations：

now, nowadays, when, before, after, while, during, between...and..., in...(year), since..., later, afterwards, earlier, formerly, from then on, at the turn of the century, in the 1990s, at birth, in childhood, in infancy, in adolescence, as an adult, in adulthood, in old age, at death, simultaneously, simultaneous with, at the same time as, the former, the latter, previous, previously, prior to, first, second, in the first place, in the second place, to begin with, next, then, subsequently, in the next place, in conclusion, finally, lastly, in the end

2 Development by process

The paragraph gives a step-by-step description of getting things ready before moving house. This method is called development by process. it is a very useful method when we tell people how to do things in correct order so as to avoid mistakes or even failures. Before we develop a paragraph by process, it is important to make clear the right sequence of the things to be done, and state every step in a clear way. Very often, present tense is used in instructions.

3 Development by space

Sometimes we want to describe what a place looks like. There are several things we can learn from this paragraph. First, it is important to decide where we stand when we start our description. Secondly, we learn how the author concentrates on the best-known features of the place, and ignore the minor ones, even if they are also quite colorful and interesting. Lastly, descriptions of places are often in the present tense.

Words and Phrases used in describing spatial relations

where, in which, to which, from which, under, over, inside, beside, on top of, along, through, as far as, north, northern, south, southern, at the back, in front, in the middle

adjacent to, parallel, rectangle, corresponding to, parallel to, semicircle, distance, perpendicular to, slope, midpoint, plane, space, interior, opposite, surface, diagonal, overlapping, vertical, edge, pyramid, horizontal, limit, exterior, intersection

4 Development by example

Examples and illustrations are used in explaining things. a well-chosen example can make our writing vivid and convincing.

Words and Phrases used for giving specific details

for example, for instance, for one thing, to illustrate, in other words, as follows, let me illustrate, let me cite as proof, as an illustrtion, in one instance, in this instance, as an example, take...as example, in practice, according to statistics, according to statistical evidence

5 Development by comparison and contrast

When we compare one thing with another, we show the similarities; when we contrast one thing with another, we show dissimilarities.

There are two different ways of presenting similarities or dissimilarities: block presentation or the subject-by-subject pattern presentation or the point-by-point pattern. alternating presentation is different in that we discuss both things under each of the various aspects compared or contrasted. Words and Phrases used in making comparison and contrast to compare:

similar to, similarly, like, alike, likewise, correspond to, correspondingly, resemble, resemblance, almost the same as, at the same rate as, as, just as...so..., in like manner, in the same way, to have...in common, common characteristics, to be parallel in, both, to contrast:

differ from, different from, however, still, nevertheless, otherwise, even so, less/more/faster ...than, although, unlike, while, whereas, in contrast to, in opposition to, on the contrary, on the other hand, on the opposite side

6 Development by cause and effect

Development by cause and effect is another way we use in writing. In a paragraph developed by cause and effect, we often ask \"why\" first and then give the reasons or causes behind it, for very often an effect may have many causes and a cause ,may have many effects, and find out the logical relationship between them. Logical thinking is particularly important in writing paragraphs of cause and effect. Words and Phrases used in discussing cause and effect

so, thus, hence, since, due to, the reason for, for this reason, the cause of, it follows that, accordingly, consequently, the consequence of, therefore, have an effect on , for, because, because of, as a result, the result of, result in, the effect of, as owing to, owe...to, thanks to, out of, so that, so as...to , such...that, now that, seeing that, for fear that,

make...possible, make it possible/impossible for...to do

7 Development by classification

We can also write a paragraph by using the method of classification.

Very often, when we face a number of ideas, people or objects, we want to classify them into groups according to their similarities or differences, because this gives us w clear and in-depth view of them and sometimes, a feeling of order. Clear classification often helps us to see the different values of people or ideas. the most important thing for a good classification is the category as well as its defining features.

Words and Phrases used for classification

main kinds of, kinds of, basic kinds, minor, primary, secondary, similar/similarities, dissimilar/dissimilarities, differences, opposing, opposite, classify, classifications, divide, divisions, kinds, types, classes, parts, categories, aspects. factors, sources, regions, times, attributes, characteristics, qualities

according to..., with respect to..., fall into...categories, can be divided into...kinds/types/classes/parts...