45913932 body paragraph

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Body ParagraphsBody Paragraphs

References

2001 by Ruth Luman

Writing Paragraphs of ImportanceWriting Paragraphs of Importance


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Body ParagraphsBody ParagraphsPurpose

The body paragraphs in your essay support

the main idea in your thesis statement by

breaking it down into smaller ideas or subtopics.

Ideas in your paragraphs should relate back tothe thesis statement.

Essay

Introduction &

Thesis Statement

Body Paragraph 1

_____________

Body Paragraph 2

_____________

Body Paragraph 3

_____________

Body Paragraph 4

_____________

Body Paragraph 5

_____________


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Body ParagraphsBody Paragraphs

Most paragraphs contain between five toten sentences. The first line of a paragraph isusually indented (begin a few spaces to the

right of the margin) to show that there is anew paragraph.

Form

________________________ . ____________________. _____________________. _________________________.

____________________________. ____________________.______________________. ______________________________.

indent


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Key FeaturesKey Features

Body paragraphs should should containsome of the following features

A Topic Sentence

Supporting Sentences

A Concluding Sentence

Unity


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Topic SentencesTopic Sentences

Every paragraph should have a topic

sentence. This is the most important sentence

because it expresses the main idea of the

paragraph.

Definition


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Body Paragraph

An important factor in learning a foreign language has to do with the

concept of intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation. When we do something

for the fun of it or because we enjoy it, that is called intrinsic

motivation. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is when we do

something for the purpose of receiving some kind of external reward

such as money, time off from work, etc. Many education experts believe

that intrinsic motivation is more powerful when it comes to helping

students retain what theyve learned. The question and challenge for

teachers today is, How can we help our students become intrinsically

motivated in what we are teaching?

ExampleExample

Topic Sentence

Topic Sentence: statesthe main idea of theparagraph.


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Topic Sentence EssentialsTopic Sentence EssentialsComplete Sentence

There are several things you need to

remember when writing topic sentences. Thefirst is that topic sentences are always

complete sentences.


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ExampleExample

Strategies of learning English.

There are many strategies

that you can use to help you

learn a new language.

Not a completesentence


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ExampleExample

The Day of the Dead.

The Day of the Dead is a

special holiday in Mexico

when people can get

together to rememberdeceased loved ones.

Not a completesentence


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Topic Sentence EssentialsTopic Sentence Essentials

Two Parts

A topic sentence contains the topicof the

paragraph and a controlling idea. Thecontrolling idea limits the topic to something

very specific.


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Topic Sentence Companies should develop more efficient forms of

energy such as solar heating panels.

ExampleExample

This sentence does not contain a controllingidea. This is not a good topic sentence,

because it does not limit the topic to make it

more specific.

Controlling Idea: limits the ideas

in the paragraph and makes the

sentence more specific.

Topic Sentence Companies need to develop more efficient forms of

energy.

Topic: names the main

idea


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Example #2Example #2

Topic and Controlling Idea

Topic Sentence

One of the most serious problems in todays inner-city public

schools is overcrowded classrooms.


idea or general subject

of the paragraph

Controlling Idea: makes a specific

comment about the subject. Tells

the reader what the paragraph will

say about the main topic.


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Example #2Example #2

Topic and Controlling Idea

Topic Sentence

One of the most serious problems in todays inner-city public

schools is the low percentage of trained teachers.


idea or general subject

of the paragraph

Controlling Idea: makes a specificcomment about the subject. Tells

the reader what the paragraph will

say about the main topic.


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Be Careful!Be Careful!

Make sure that your topic sentence doesnot contain too many controlling ideas.


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Topic Sentence The advent of the Internet has benefited society

through improved communication.

ExampleExample

There are too many controlling ideas to becovered in one paragraph. A good topic

sentence should be limited to one controlling

idea.

Most topic sentences contain only

one controlling idea.

Topic Sentence The advent of the Internet has benefited societythrough improved communication, access to information, and

streamlined commerce.


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Supporting SentencesSupporting Sentences

Definition

Every paragraph has sentences that relate

to the ideas in the topic sentence. These

sentences are called supporting sentences.Look at the supporting sentences on the next

page to see how the writer provided more

information on the subject in the topic

sentence.


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Supporting SentencesSupporting Sentences

TopicS

entence


concept of intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation.

When we do something for the fun of it or because we enjoy it, that

is called intrinsic motivation.

Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is when we do something for

the purpose of receiving some kind of external reward such as

money, time off from work, etc.

Many education experts believe that intrinsic motivation is more

powerful when it comes to helping students retain what theyve

learned.Supporting Sentences


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Concluding SentenceConcluding Sentence

A concluding sentence is the last

sentence in a paragraph. A conclusion can

remind the reader of the main points of a

paragraph and/or leave the reader with

something to think about in relation to the

topic. Look at the next page to see how

the writer used a concluding sentence.

Definition and Purpose


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Body Paragraph


concept of intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation. When we do something

for the fun of it or because we enjoy it, that is called intrinsic

motivation. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is when we do

something for the purpose of receiving some kind of external rewardsuch as money, time off from work, etc. Many education experts believe

that intrinsic motivation is more powerful when it comes to helping

students retain what theyve learned. The question and challenge for

teachers today is, How can we help our students become intrinsically

motivated in what we are teaching?

Concluding SentenceConcluding Sentence

This concluding sentence triesto leave a final thought with thereader by asking a question.


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Concluding SentenceConcluding SentenceUseful Expressions

It is sometimes helpful to have a concluding expression

in your last sentence to signal the end of your paragraph.

Some common expressions used in concluding sentences

are listed below.

As we can see,

These examples show that

As a result,

In summary,

Finally,

Consequently,


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UnityUnityDefinition

Good paragraphs have unity. That

means that each sentence in the paragraph

is related to the topic sentence. Unified

paragraphs also discuss only one main idea.


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Body Paragraph

One of the recent status symbols for many American business people is the

palm pilot. Palm pilots are small electronic devices that help people organize

information such as dates for meetings, short notes, and addresses of contacts.

Fax machines are also very popular among office workers. With palm pilots, a

person can input information at any time and any place. Many business people

also have cellular phones so that they can make phone calls from just about

anywhere. When a person returns to the office from a business trip, he/she wont

have to spend hours organizing notes or addresses, because the palm pilot

already has that information. All that person has to do now is hook up the palm

pilot to a personal computer, and voila! All the information from meetings is

efficiently organized on the hard drive of the personal computer!

Find the sentences that are off topic or do not relate to the topic

sentence. TopicSentence

These sentences donot relate to thetopic sentence in theparagraph. Thisparagraph does nothave unity.


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Practice ExercisePractice Exercise

Now, you are ready to practice what youve learned. Click on

the button below to go back to Unit C. Do the Interactive

Exercise and print and complete the worksheet for Practice

Exercise Two.


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References PowerPoint Presentation by Ruth Luman:

Modesto Junior College.

This project incorporates portions of copyrighted works.These items are included under the fair use exemption ofthe U.S. Copyright Law and have been prepared accordingto the educational fair use guidelines. They are restricted

from further use.

45913932 body paragraph

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