PARAGRAPH

DEVELOPMENT

BRAINSTORM

- Quickly writing down all the thoughts that come into your head.

- Do not worry if the idea or writing is good or bad.

- Feels like there is a storm of ideas in your brain

• A paragraph has three parts:

TOPIC SENTENCE

SUPPORTING SENTENCES

CONCLUDING SENTENCE

TOPIC SENTENCE

MAIN SUBJECT/TOPIC

CONTROLLING IDEA

Supporting Sentences

- Explain the topic by giving more

information about it.

- List the main points of a paragraph.

Examples

- Illustrate the supporting point sentences.- Are specific - Make your meaning very clear

Let’s think of supporting sentences for the following topic sentences:

1.A good friend has four important qualities.

2.A university education is important for these reasons

Concluding Sentence

- Signals the end of the paragraph- Reminds the reader of the main idea.- Begin with conclusion signals: In conclusion,to conclude, to summarize

THE PARTS OF A PARAGRAPHTHE PARTS OF A PARAGRAPH

TOPIC SENTENCETOPIC SENTENCE

• What is it?– The first sentence in a paragraph

• What does it do? – It introduces the main idea of the

paragraph

• How do I write one? – Summarise the main idea of the

paragraph

SUPPORTING SENTENCESUPPORTING SENTENCE

• What are supporting details?– They come after the topic sentence– They make up the body of the paragraph

• What do they do?– They give details and support the main

idea• How do I write them?

– Give supporting facts, details, and examples

CONCLUDING SENTENCECONCLUDING SENTENCE

• What is it?– The last sentence in a paragraph

• What does it do?– It restates the main idea

• How do I write one? – Restate the main idea but using different words – The closing sentence should be very similar to the

topic sentence.

HOW LONG IS A PARAGRAPH?HOW LONG IS A PARAGRAPH?

• 5-6 sentences in total

• 1 Topic sentence

• 1 Concluding sentence

• 3-4 sentences of

supporting details

Topic Sentences

What is a Topic Sentence?

A topic sentence is often, but not always, the first sentence in a paragraph.

It tells us the MAIN IDEA of the paragraph.

It also tells us what the author wants to SAY ABOUT the topic.

Parts of a Topic Sentence

A topic sentence tells what the main idea of the paragraph will be.◦ - We will call this the “subject / topic” of ◦ the paragraph.

A topic sentence tells what the author is going to say about the subject.◦ - We will call this the “controlling idea”

of ◦ the paragraph.

Putting the parts together

SUBJECT + CONTROLLING IDEA

The invention of the light bulb◦ (subject)

changed the world in many ways ◦ (controlling idea)

The invention of the light bulb changed the

world in many ways.

Example“A rabbit is different from other

animals because of three unique

characteristics.”

The subject is “rabbit” The controlling idea is “three unique characteristics”

There are two ways to make ice cream at home.

The subject is “making ice cream.”

The controlling idea is “two ways to make it.”

He collects books that were written over a

hundred years ago. But he is also interested in

the best sellers of today. If I ever need to get him

a present, I know I can always please him by

buying him a book.

Which of the following topic sentences is the best one for the above paragraph?

A. Reading is fun. B. Books are my father’s hobby. C. My father was a main influence in my life.

The most beautiful flower is the rose because it

comes in so many different colors. Another

beautiful flower is the daisy which sometimes

grows wild. Spring flowers like tulips, daffodils,

and crocuses are also very pretty.

Which of the following topic sentences is the best

one for the above paragraph? A. Don’t you just love spring? B. The rose is the most loved flower the world

over. C. There are many lovely flowers to consider for your garden.

Let’s review………..

PARTS OF A PARAGRAPH

Topic Sentence

Supporting sentence 1

Supporting sentence 2

Supporting sentence 3

Concluding Sentence

Contains the topic and the controlling idea of the paragraph

Ideas (with explanations, examples, and details) which support and develop the controlling idea

Ideas (with explanations, examples, and details) which support and develop the controlling ideaContains a restatement of the topic sentence/main idea

Contains a restatement of the topic sentence/main idea