ge117 week three: topic sentences

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GE 117 Composition I Week Three – Writing a Paragraph

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Page 1: GE117 Week Three: Topic Sentences

GE 117 Composition IWeek Three – Writing a

Paragraph

Page 2: GE117 Week Three: Topic Sentences

Week Three – Writing a Paragraph

Review from Week 2 – Planning for the Writing Process

Areas of Planning for a Writer: 1) Objective – What is your purpose for writing 2) Audience – Who will be reading your writing? 3) Tone – What emotions/feelings should be

conveyed? 4) Diction – What kinds of words are appropriate

for my audience? 5) Point-of-View – 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Person?

Page 3: GE117 Week Three: Topic Sentences

Week Three – Writing a Paragraph

Week 2 Review Continued Homework Assignment: 2 Letters, 2

Audiences. Change your tone and style

according to audience.

Page 4: GE117 Week Three: Topic Sentences

Week Three – Writing a ParagraphLike, what’s happening today,

man?Week Three Objectives

1)Convert a limited topic into a Topic Sentence.

2)Expand upon a Topic Sentence by adding relevant and specific details.

3)Describe and utilize a variety of organizational patterns for writing paragraphs.

Page 5: GE117 Week Three: Topic Sentences

Week Three – Writing a Paragraph

Q: What is this thing you call a Paragraph?

A: A Paragraph is the fundamental building block for all Composition and Writing efforts. It’s comprised of 4-12 sentences that are all on the same limited topic.

Page 6: GE117 Week Three: Topic Sentences

Week Three – Writing a Paragraph

The nature of a Paragraph:

1) Consistent limited topic – Once you have a new topic, you need a new paragraph.

2) Ranges from 4-12 sentences. 3) Must have a logical and coherent

organization.

Page 7: GE117 Week Three: Topic Sentences

Week Three – Writing a Paragraph

Characteristics of a Paragraph (See Pages 66-75 in L.W.)

1) Unified: All sentences must be on the same limited topic, and they must all contribute in much the same way. No sentences should undermine or contradict what you have previously stated.

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Topic Sentence

What the #$%^ is a topic sentence anyway?

http://webster.commnet.edu/sensen/part3/sixteen/techniques_topic.html

Skip slide

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Week Three – Writing a Paragraph

Characteristics of a Paragraph

2) Specific : Sentences must make use of specific details to engage reader. Avoid vagueness, generalities, and meaningless statements. Boring sentences = Boring Paragraph = Boring Writing!

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Week Three – Writing a Paragraph

Characteristics of a Paragraph

3) Adequately Developed: Ideas should be fully developed and expressed in a Paragraph. Avoid touching upon ideas briefly without developing them properly. It would be better to leave out an idea entirely than to develop it only slightly.

Page 11: GE117 Week Three: Topic Sentences

Week Three – Writing a Paragraph

Characteristics of a Paragraph

4) Coherent – Sentences must be sequenced in the proper order. Ideas transition logically from one sentence to another. The right pieces are in the right places, much like a Jigsaw Puzzle!

Page 12: GE117 Week Three: Topic Sentences

Week Three – Writing a Paragraph

Topic Sentences Every paragraph has a Topic Sentence,

which serves two functions:

1) To reveal the limited subject of the paragraph and the author’s feelings or thoughts about the subject matter.

2) To relate the subject matter of the paragraph back into the essay’s overall Thesis Statement.

Page 13: GE117 Week Three: Topic Sentences

Week Three – Writing a Paragraph

Topic Sentences

A Topic Sentence is usually (although not always) the first sentence in the paragraph.

It serves as a “road sign” for a reader. It tells them what to expect down the road.

See page 67 for sample Topic Sentences.

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Week Three – Writing a Paragraph

Organization and Paragraph (and essay) Development

Every paragraph needs an internal logic that organizes and sequences the individual sentences in an appropriate order. There are some commonly used Organizational Methods.

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Week Three – Writing a Paragraph

Paragraph Organization (See pages 54-57 in L.W.)

1) Simple-to-Complex: A simple idea, definition, or term is expressed first and each sentence that follows builds upon the simple sentence by adding further details, information, and complexity.

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Week Three – Writing a Paragraph

Paragraph Organization

Simple-to-Complex is useful in providing information in a clear, logical way. It is used widely in teaching and instructional materials, since students need to know simple ideas first to grasp more advanced concepts later on.

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Week Three – Writing a Paragraph

Paragraph Organization

2) Chronological: Sentences are organized by Time. Sentences are presented in an order that reflects the sequence of events the paragraph is about.

Page 18: GE117 Week Three: Topic Sentences

Week Three – Writing a Paragraph

Paragraph Organization

Chronological Method is perfect for Narrating or Storytelling. It also is appropriate for giving instructions, explaining a process, and many other objectives.

Page 19: GE117 Week Three: Topic Sentences

Week Three – Writing a Paragraph

Paragraph Organization

3) Spatial: Information in the paragraph is organized

by Space. Sentence sequences are created by moving through space in a logical and consistent manner, such as Up-Down, Left-Right, Inside-Outside, etc.

Page 20: GE117 Week Three: Topic Sentences

Week Three – Writing a Paragraph

Paragraph Organization

Spatial organization is very useful for Describing or Illustrating a specific Person, Place, or Thing. Details can be provided about the topic as the writer moves in and around the space of the subject.

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Week Three – Writing a Paragraph

Paragraph Organization

4) Emphatic Order:Sentences are ordered in terms of their relative importance or significance. The writer decides which sentences contain ideas that deserve more emphasis or attention than others and creates an order to express that emphasis.

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Week Three – Writing a Paragraph

Paragraph Organization

Emphatic order can be Least-to-Most emphasis or Most-to-Least emphasis.

Put your best foot forward or save your best for last.

Never, ever, ever, place your “Best” idea in the middle of a paragraph. That’s no-man’s land!

Page 23: GE117 Week Three: Topic Sentences

In-class exercise

Chronological:204-205, If Only Spatial: 164-166, Salt Marsh Emphatic: 238-240, Pursuit of Possessions Simple-to-Complex: 389-392, Americans and Food

Each group will provide a brief summary of each article, and provide an analysis that explores how the article succeeded based on its chosen organizational structure and how the article might have benefited from a different organizational structure.

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Week Three – Writing a Paragraph

Homework Assignment - A Childhood Memory - Write 1 well developed paragraph of 8-12

sentences on a Childhood Memory. Use checklist on pp 58 to help with homework assignment.

- Remember to make your paragraph unified, specific, well developed and coherent.

- Choose and utilize 1 of the 4 organizational methods for your paragraph.

- Typed, double-spaced, Font size 12.