Functional English

Lecture-5

Paragraph Writing
 Paragraph Writing

Below are two topics

• For each topic, think of two possible controlling ideas,

and then write a topic sentence for each of these
controlling ideas

Topic: Cheating

• Controlling idea:

• Topic sentence:

2
 Topics

• Choosing supporting details based on

the method of paragraph development
• Avoiding restatement of the topic
sentence
• Making supporting details specific
• Identifying supporting details

3
 Paragraph Writing

Supporting Details

• Once you have constructed a topic sentence made up

of the topic and its controlling idea, you are ready to
support your statement with details

• The quality and number of these details will largely

determine the effectiveness of the writing

• You can hold your readers’ attention with your choice

of details, or you can lose your readers’ interest
because your details are not compelling

4
 Paragraph Writing
• Supporting Details

• A supporting detail is a piece of evidence used by a

writer to make the controlling idea of the topic
sentence convincing and interesting to the reader

• A piece of evidence might be a descriptive image, an

example taken from history or personal experience, a
reason, a fact (such as a statistic), a quotation from an
expert, or an anecdote used to illustrate a point

5
 Paragraph Writing

How to Choose a Supporting Detail

• For a paragraph to be well developed, the main idea

must be supported with several details
• There are various methods of paragraph development
• A writer chooses supporting details according to what
best fits the method of development

How to Choose a Supporting Detail

• For instance, if the writer is describing someone’s
appearance, the details are made up of sensory images

6
 Paragraph Writing

Methods of Paragraph Development

Narration: telling a story using a sequence of events

Description: using sensory images to create a picture

with words

Process: using steps explaining how to do something or

explaining how something works

7
 Paragraph Writing
Methods of Paragraph Development

Illustration or example: giving instances of the main idea

Comparison/contrast: showing similarities or differences

Cause and effect: examining reasons or outcomes

Extended definition: analyzing at some length the

meaning of a word or concept

Classification: dividing a subject into groups or parts

8
 Paragraph Writing
• In writing a paragraph, your goal should be to educate
your readers

• Try to give them some understanding of your subject

• Don’t assume they know about your topic or are

interested in it

• If you provide enough specific details, your readers

will feel they have learned something new about the
subject, and this alone is a satisfying experience for
most people

9
 Paragraph Writing
• Effective supporting details will encourage readers to
keep on reading

• Such details will make your points more memorable,

and they will give pleasure to those who are learning
new material or picturing the images you have created

10
 Paragraph Writing
• Finding the Topic Sentence and Supporting Details
• Read the paragraph below, identify the topic sentence
and the supporting details:
Fairness is the ability to see more than one side in a
situation, and sometimes it even means having the ability
to decide against your own interests. For example, in San
Antonio, Texas, a woman was locked in a bitter custody
dispute that involved her thirteen-year-old son. The
mother loved her son and wanted custody of him, even
though she had a major health problem. She listened
patiently while her ex-husband argued for full custody of
the child.

11
 Paragraph Writing

The woman felt that she had presented a good case

before the judge, but when the boy was asked for his
feelings in the matter, the mother found herself faced with
a difficult situation: her son wanted to live with his father.

12
 Paragraph Writing

The woman felt that she had presented a good case

before the judge, but when the boy was asked for his
feelings in the matter, the mother found herself faced with
a difficult situation: her son wanted to live with his father.

• Topic sentence: The first sentence

• Type of Supporting Details: Anecdote

13
 Paragraph Writing

Avoiding Restatement of the Topic Sentence

• Writers need to recognize the difference between a

genuine supporting detail and a simple restatement of
the topic sentence

Avoiding Restatement of the Topic Sentence

• Each topic sentence below is followed by four
additional sentences
• Three of these additional sentences contain acceptable
supporting details, but one of the sentences is simply a
restatement of the topic sentence

14
 Paragraph Writing
1. Most adults no longer wonder whether cigarette
smoking is bad for their health.
a. Based on the evidence from more than thirty thousand
studies, a federal law requires that cigarette
manufacturers place a health warning on their
packages.
b. Studies have shown that smoking causes nearly 80
percent of lung cancer deaths in this country.
c. Few people today have any doubts about the
connection between cigarette smoking and poor health.
d. We know that 30 percent of the deaths from coronary
heart disease can be attributed to smoking.

15
 Paragraph Writing
2. Iceland has a very barren landscape.

a. One-tenth of the island is covered by ice.

b. There is not a single forest on the entire island.

c. Nearly everywhere you look in Iceland, you see vast

desolate areas.

d. Three-fourths of the island is uninhabitable

16
 Paragraph Writing
3. When the Mexican earthquake struck in 1985, scientists
and city planners learned a great deal about the kinds of
buildings that can survive an earthquake.
a. Buildings that had foundations resting on giant rollers
suffered very little damage.
b. Buildings that were made only of adobe material
simply fell apart when the earthquake struck.
c. Many modern buildings were designed to vibrate in an
earthquake, and these received the least amount of
shock.
d. After the 1985 Mexican earthquake was over, officials
realized why some buildings were destroyed and
others suffered hardly any damage at all.

17
 Paragraph Writing
• Below is a topic sentence for which supply three
supporting details Be sure each detail is specific, not
general or vague, and use complete sentences for your
answers.

1. The recent financial crisis has had far-reaching

consequences for many Pakistani families.

18
 Paragraph Writing

Supporting Detail
Each of the following three paragraphs develops an idea
by using illustration

Read each paragraph and decide what source the writer

used to obtain the illustration

Choose from the following list:

• Example from personal experience or knowledge
• Imaginary or hypothetical example
• Information from an interview or survey conducted by
the writer
• Outside research (material found in books, in articles, or
on the Internet)

19
 Paragraph Writing

1. Most students today believe they must learn how to

use a computer if they are to be competitive in the job
market. A case in point is my first-year writing class. Out
of the twenty-three students surveyed, all but two felt
they must be computer literate before they leave college
or they might not be able to get the jobs they want.
Fifteen of the students currently own their own
computers and claim they are able to get their college
work done more easily. Two of these fifteen students
actually have part-time jobs, one in the library and one in
the history department, where they both enter data on
computers. This seems to show that these students
already are at an advantage over the rest of the students
who are still learning to use a computer.

20
 Paragraph Writing

2. Most students today believe they must learn how to

use a computer if they are to be competitive in the job
market. Just to illustrate, if a person wants a career in
auto mechanics and thinks he or she has no need to learn
how to use a computer, that person is likely to be
surprised. What if the auto mechanic needs to operate a
sophisticated computer to determine malfunctions in
cars? What if the staff expects the mechanic to
understand how to enter data on the office computer and
also expects the person to know how to read the
computer printouts? What if he or she must go to school
to learn the newest technology, and instead of working
with actual cars, everyone works on computer
simulations?

21
 Paragraph Writing

3. Most students today realize they must learn how to use

computers to compete in the job market. Last semester, I
took my first computer course. To my great pleasure, I
found that my new skills helped me not only write
compositions but also practice my math. I also
discovered that I could go online and talk with people all
over the world who have interests similar to my own. In
addition, I was able to use the computer to access
information from the school library. I plan to become a
teacher, and I will be able to use my computer skills to
make tests and worksheets, research information for
class, and help students make discoveries for
themselves.

22
Thank you

23