The Structure of a Paragrap h

In this unit, yo u will learn ...

• the definition of a paragraph.
• the parts of a paragraph.
• how to identify and write topic sentences.

:) What is a paragraph?
As you leamed in Unit 1, a paragraph is a group of sentences about a single tapie. Together,
the sentences of the paragraph explain the writer's main idea (most important idea) about
the tapie. In academic writing, a paragraph is often between five and ten sentences long,
but it can be longer or shorter, depending on the tapie. The first sentence of a paragraph
is usually indented (moved in) a few spaces.

Understanding a paragraph
Read this paragraph. It is the beginning of an article about Switzerland in a student
newspaper. Then answer the questions.

Switzerland - Something lnteresting at Every Turn

By Ken]ones

If yo u dream of travelling
to a country with beautiful
mountains, delicious food,
wo nderful places to go sight-
seeing and polite p eople, you
should visit Switzerland. If
you look at the map, the first
thing you notice is that
Switzerland has many mountains, including some of the highest in Europe.
C limbing or skiing clown the mountains is great fun. Another thing yo u w ill
notice is that Switzerland shares its borders w ith five different countries:
France, Germany, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. In fact, there are four official
languages in Switzerland: German, French, Italian and R omansch. All these
gro ups of people make Swiss culture very interesting. Finally, Switzerland has
many cities and interesting places to visit. Cities such as Bern have modern
buildings like the Paul Klee Zentrum, yet the traditional alpine refuges in the
mountains show that the country's old traditions are still alive. All the people,
places and things to see definitely make Switzerland a great place for a holiday.

THE STRUCTURE OF A PARAGRAPH 11

2 a. What is the tapie af the paragraph?

b. What is the main idea abaut the tapie?

c. What ideas help explain the main idea?

Paragraph organisation
:) What makes a paragraph?
A paragraph has three basic parts:

1. The topic sentence. This is th e

main idea af the paragraph . It
is usually the first senten ce af Xxxxx xx xxxxx xxx xx xxxxx xxxx xx
the paragraph, and it is the XXXX XX XXXXXXX XXX XX XXXX XXXXX XX
mast general sentence af the
xxxxxxxxx xx. Xxx xxx xxxxxx xxx xx x
paragraph .
XXXXXXXXX XX XXXX XXX XXXXX XXXXXXX
2. The supporting sentences. Th ese
XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XX XXX X XX XXXXX
are sentences that talk abaut ar
explain the tapie senten ce. They xxxxxxxxxx xxx xxxxxxxx xxxx. Xxxx xx
are more detailed ideas that X xxxx X xxxxx XXX XXX XXX. Xxxx X XXX
fo llaw the tapie senten ce.
XXXXXX XXX XXXXXX XX XX XX X XXXXXXXXX

3. The concluding sentence. This xx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx. Xxxx xx x xxxx x

may be fo und as the last senten ce
xxxxx xxx xxx xxx. Xx xxxxxx xxxxxxxxx
af a paragraph. It can fin ish a
paragraph by repeating the main XX XX XXXXXXX X XXXX X XXX XXXXX XX X

idea ar just giving a final XXX XX XXX XX X XXX X XXXXX XXX.

camment abaut the tapie.

((

12 THE STRUCTURE OF A PARAGRAPH

 2
2 Read the paragraph about Switzerland in exercise 1 on page 11 again. Circle the
topic sentence, put one line under the supporting sentences, and put two lines under
the concluding sentence.

3 Puta tick(,/) next to the group of sentences that makes a good paragraph. Why are
the other groups of sentences not good paragraphs?

M!J best {riend has man!! dif{erent hobbies, such as skti'n.!j, cookin.J, andpla!ft'n.!J the
piano, and she is ver¡¡ 3ood at al/ o(these activities. For e,xample, she has pla!fed the
piano (or ten !fears and has won three piano competitions. She a/so /ikes to spend time
travel!ti1.!J, and she has been to man!! di/ferent countries in the world. She 3rew up
speak1i1.!J Spanish and [Link], but now she can a/so speak French and !ta!tan. I !tk.e m!f
best {riend ver!! much.

Classes in literature are useful no matter what job you íntend to have when you
fínish university. Books are about lífe. People who study literature learn the ski// of
reading carefully and understanding characters, situations, and re/atíonshíps. This
kind of understanding can be useful to teachers and business people alike.
Literature classes a/so requíre a lot of writing, so they help students develop the
ski// of clear communícation. Of course, a professional writer needs to have thís
ski//, but it ís an equally important skíll far an engineer. Final/y, readíng literature
helps develop an understanding of many dífferent points of view. Reading a novel by
a Russian author, far example, will help a reader learn more about Russian culture.
Far anyone whose job may bríng them ínto contact with Russían col/eagues, this
insight can help encourage better cross-cultural understanding. Studying
literature is studying life, so ít is relevant to almost any job you can think of.

One!!ºº¡:( wo/ to leam anotheY la11!Jutl!Je is to kve in a country wheYe that la11!Jutl!Je is
used. When you live tn anotheY country, the lan.'f uª.'fe is aYoundyou al/ the time, soyou
can leaYn to listen to and Sfeak it moYe easily

THE STRUCTURE OF A PARAGRAPH 13

2
The topic and the main idea
~ The to pie sentence ...
• usually comes first in a paragraph.
• gives th e writer's main idea or opinion about th e tapie and helps the reader
understan d what the paragraph is going to talk about.

4 Circle the topic of the sentence. Underline the main idea about the topic.
a. (Switzerland) is a very interesting country to visit.

b. Dogs make excellent pets .

c. A really good place to study is th e library at my sch ool.

d. Learning a foreign language creates job opportun ities.

e. Football is my favourite sport becau se it is exciting to watch.

f. One of the most valuable tools for students is the computer.

g. My sister and I have very different p ersonalities .

h. Su mmer is the best time to travel in my cou ntry.

i. My hometown is a friendly p lace to live.

5 For each of these paragraphs, choose the sentence from the list below that would make
the best topic sentence.

a.

..... ..... ..... ...... ... .... .. ..... .... ...... .... ... ... ... . When Ken wa nted
to enter a good university, he stud ied ha rd t o pass t he
examination. The first time he took the exam, he did
not do we ll, and he fe lt very d iscouraged . But he knew
he wa nted to study at that university, so he stud ied
more. The next year, he tried taking the exam aga in. The
second t im e, he d id very we ll, and now he is studying
engineering . 1 believe Ken is a good ro le model for me, and
he has t a ught me that never giving up is t he best way
to succeed.

1. One of my closest friends , named Ken , is a person I can trust.

2. My frien d Ken is a very su ccessful student.
3. I adm ire my friend Ken becau se h e doesn 't give up .

14 THE STRUCTURE OF A PARAGRAPH

 2
b.

. ................................... ........ ................................... ............................ .. ..... .. ... . Mat1y

cJiildrefl begit1 leart1it1g lo play fool-ball whefl 1-Aey are very ymit1g. You cat1 ofl-efl
see l-Í1e111 playit1g al- school or ifl /.Ji.e sl-reel-s arout1d 1-heir houses. Al- secot1dary
scJioo~ sl-udet1l-s 111ay play fool-ball ifl a 1-eam at1d co111pel-e ifl cÍ1a111piot1sÍ1ips. If a
player is very good, Ji.e migAI- go oft 1-o
play for a professiot1al 1-eam. People i fl
111y cout1l-ry /ove wal-cÍ1it1g fool-ball ofl
1-elevisiofl at1d a/so go 1-o mal-ches
whenever 1-Aey caft. Mat1y peopl e [Link] a
favouril-e 1-eam or player, at1d everyot1e
/oves 1-o 1-alk aboul- mal-ches and
compefil-iofts. Fool-ball is real/y like a
nal-iona l sporl- ifl 111y cout1l-ry.

1. I lave playing football, and I hope I can become a professional player one day.
2. There are many popular sports in my country, but the most popular sport is football.
3. Football is a difficult sport to learn to play well.

6 Write a topic sentence for three of these topics.

a. a favourite place to relax
b. a grandparent
c. a pet I have known
d. a favo urite food to eat
e. playing a musical instrument

tapie: ...... .... .... ........... ............... .. ... .

tapie: .. .......... ............. ... .. .... .......... ..

tapie: ............................................. .

THE STRUCTURE OF A PARAGRAPH 15

2
Review
7 These sentences are mixed up parts of one paragraph. Number the parts in order:
1. topic sentence, 2. supporting sentences, and 3. concluding sentence.

Whal should I sf!Ady al u11illetsifyP

a. ... ..... D was11 'I a11 easy decisio11, hui fot lhe teaso11s /isled abolle, I halle
decided fo sludy jout11a lism.

b. .. .... .. lf Ca/1 be difficu/I lo choose a subjecl fo sludy al U11 illetsily because

lhere ate so ma11y choices, hui by co11sideri11g 111y ski/Is a11d i11leresls,
I halle decided fo sf!A dy jout11alis111.

c. .. ...... I halle always e11joyed wtifi11g, so il is se11sib/e lo choose a subjed

lhal i11llo!lles wtifi11g. Whe11 I begi11 wotk i11g, I wou ld like fo halle lhe
oppotf!A 11ily lo ltalle/, a11d ltalle! is ofle11 a11 i111potla11I patl of a
jout11a lisf's job. Fi11ally, I am a/so i11leresled i11 phofogtaphy, a11d
piclutes ate llety impotla11 I i11 jo1At11alism.

8 Use words or phrases in the box to complete the sentences.

concluding sentence indented main idea paragraph

supporting sentences tapie tapie sentence

a. The .................. .. ........ .. is usually the first senten ce in a .. .. ........ .... .. ............. It gives th e

.............................. and the .............. .. ............ .. .

b. The first senten ce of a paragraph can be .. .. .. .. ........ .. .. .. .... .. .. .

c. The .............................. come after the tapie sentence, and they explain the to pie sentence.

d. The .............................. comes at the end of a paragraph.

16 THE STRUCTURE OF A PARAGRAPH