Writing a paragraph

Handout

1. Read the paragraph and do the exercises below

The city of Toronto has many wonderful attractions. The most notable site is the tall and majestic CN Tower. Secondly, Toronto has many restaurants, because of its culturally diverse communities. Finally, Lake Ontario provides an incredible view for visitors. These qualities make Toronto a very attractive city for tourists.

Tasks:

- Identify the topic of the paragraph / the controlling idea

- Find the topic sentence / the supporting sentences / the concluding sentence

- Name the logical connectives

2. Work in pairs. Choose the best topic sentence and concluding sentence for the two paragraphs below (You don’t need to use all sentences)

1. Many aspects of human communication are nonverbal.

2. Thanks very much for your letter.

3. So, body language in all its forms is a powerful tool for communication.

4. Call me and let me know what’s happening.

5. However, be careful not to offend people with gestures.

6. I have some news for you.

Paragraph 1

…I’ve just started a new job in a travel agency. I work with a great team of people and I get to travel all the time. It’s just a blast! I also met a cute guy last week. He works for the same company, but in a different division. I can’t believe my luck. I hope life with you is as good…

Paragraph 2

…If you look at a group of people, notice how they use their hands, face and whole body to express how they feel. Gestures can have international meaning. Think about how you would express “Hi” or “Bye”, “Be quiet!”, “Fantastic!”, “Good job!”. It’s surprising how many other nationalities use the same gestures…

3. The stages of paragraph writing are mentioned in the following exercise. Define the correct order of the stages

Organizing your ideas. One way to organize your ideas is a topic outline. You first have to decide what the main idea of the paragraph is. Then you need to consider which points to include in order to support your main point.

Assessing the assignment. The first step is to know the topic and purpose of the assignment.

Rewriting. Rewriting is a critical part of the writing process and consists of two separate processes: revising and editing. You may start revising as soon as you finish writing, or, better yet, set your paragraph aside for a while and go back to it later. When you edit, you check to make sure the spelling, capitalization, punctuation, vocabulary, and grammar are correct.

Writing the first draft. Once you have your ideas generated and an organizational pattern to follow, you can write your first draft.

Generating the ideas. There are many ways to do this; two of the most effective are brainstorming and free writing.

4. Read the information about paragraph types, and discuss them in groups. Decide what kinds or paragraphs are mentioned above.

Descriptive paragraphs (explaining how someone or something looks or feels). The topic sentence names the object. The supporting sentences may describe its place, size, shape, colour, functions, appearance, feelings, etc. The concluding sentence may sum up the general impression/feelings caused by the described object.

Process paragraphs (explaining how something is done). The topic sentence names the process and its importance, purpose. The supporting sentences describe the steps/stages you follow when performing the process. The concluding sentence may contain evaluation of the process.

Opinion paragraphs. The topic sentence presents the opinion, the supporting sentences present the arguments in favour of the opinion. The concluding sentence reinforces the opinion stated in the topic sentence.

Comparison/contrast (advantages/disadvantages) paragraphs. To compare means to show the similarities between some objects. To contrast means to find differences between objects.

Problem/solution paragraphs explain a problem and then propose a solution. Usually these types of paragraph require more than one paragraph.

5. Work in groups. Write a paragraph choosing one of these topics. Sometimes you have to decide the controlling idea

- my dream house

- frying eggs

- learning English

- ways of losing weight

- protecting the environment

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14