Paragraph
A paragraph is a group of sentences that form a distinct unit developing
one major idea.
A good paragraph is well organized, properly linked and fully developed.
Types of paragraph
1. Descriptive paragraph
It is a verbal picture of a person, place, or thing.
It is the kind of writing which attempts to appeal to the reader's sense,
recreating for him the author's original impression of the subject being
described.
It is very much concerned with sensory impressions (sight, sound, smell,
taste, touch).
Description can be objective or impressionistic.
Description rarely appears alone in modern writing. It is most often used
with narration.
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Cont…
Descriptions of People
In order to write an interesting description of somebody
we must use suitable nouns and adjectives.
When we describe persons, we are concerned with their
physical appearance and with their personality.
Certain noun and adjectives help us to describe the
persons accurately. Here are some examples:
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Useful nouns for describing a person's appearance
Age: baby, toddler, youngster, youth, boy, girl, teenager, man, woman,
lady, young man, young woman, old man, old woman, elder
Parts of the Face: forehead eyes, eyebrows, nose, nostrils, ears,
cheeks, mouth, lips, jaw, chin
Parts of the Body: head, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, legs, feet
Hair: hairstyle, plaits, braids, beard, moustache
Clothes:
cloth,fabric;shirt,teeshirt,tie,coat,jacket,trousers,jeans,socks,pullover,
sweater;sut
overcoat,raincoat,dress,blouse,skirt,shawl,scarf;shoes,sandals,boots,h
at,glasses, spectacles
3 Jewelers: Necklace, bracelet, ring, earrings, anklet
Cont…
Useful adjectives for describing a person's appearance
Age: young, middle-aged, old, elderly; in his/her early
thirties / mid-forties / late fifties etc
Face: long, round, oval, attractive, beautiful, un-shaven
Hair: long, medium-length, short; straight, curly, wavy;
dark, black, blonde, gray, fair, white, plaited, bald
Forehead: high, low
Eyes: blue, brown, gray
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Cont…
Ears: big, small
Nose: long, pointed, turned-up
Body Build: tall, short, fat, plump, over-weight, thin, slim,
slender, skinny, under-weight, broad-shouldered, muscular
Clothes: cotton, woolen, hand-woven, leather, traditional,
western, colorful
General appearance: handsome, good-looking; beautiful,
lovely, pretty, attractive, well-dressed, smartly-dressed, dressed
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Cont…
Useful adjectives for describing a person's personality
Happy, cheerful unhappy, sad, miserable
Friendly, pleasant, amusing unfriendly, unpleasant
Kind unkind, cruel
Hard-working lazy
Reliable, trustworthy unreliable
Polite, well-mannered impolite, rude, ill-mannered
Honest, truthful dishonest, crafty
Unselfish, generous selfish, mean
Clever, intelligent, wise stupid, silly, dull
Quiet talkative
Confident shy
Modest, humble proud, boastful, arrogant
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Cont…
Sample of descriptive paragraph for persons
I am forty years old, rather tall and I have blue eyes and
short black hair. I wear casual clothes as I teach students
in a relaxed atmosphere. I enjoy my job because I get to
meet and help so many different people from all over the
world. During my spare time, I like playing tennis which I
play at least three times a week. I also love listening to
classical music and I must admit that I spend a lot of
money on buying new CDs! I live in a pretty seaside town
on the Italian coast. I enjoy eating great Italian food and
laughing with the likable people who live here.
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Cont…
Sample of descriptions of places
My bedroom is very cozy. It is a small room with thick carpeting
and light blue walls. Below the north window is my double bed
covered with an imitation of leopard skin bedspread. To the left of
the bed against the wall is a nightstand with a reading lamp, an
alarm clock, and a portable radio. At the foot of the bed is a
wooden stand holding my black-and-white TV. Behind the wooden
stand and in front of the closet are three comfortable armchairs. On
the east and west walls posters of famous historical and
geographical sites are plastered. The holy cross bearing the
crucifixion of Christ is hung to the wall alongside the portrait of
Virgin Mary embracing infant Christ...
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2. Narrative Paragraph
It is a paragraph in which a writer tells the story of
something that happened.
It is concerned with narrating a series of events,
happenings or incidents which may be either real or
imaginary that lead to a conclusion.
A narrative paragraph provides the reader with more
background information, such as the events that led to or
triggered the story’s current events.
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Cont…
Sample of narrative paragraph
“It’s been almost ten years since I first ran for political office. I
was thirty-five at the time, four years out of law school, recently
married, and generally impatient with life. A seat in the Illinois
legislature had opened up, and several friends suggested that I
run, thinking that my work as a civil rights lawyer, and contacts
from my days as a community organizer, would make me a viable
candidate. After discussing it with my wife, I entered the race and
proceeded to do what every first-time candidate does: I talked to
anyone who would listen. I went to block club meetings and
church socials, beauty shops and barbershops. If two guys were
standing on a corner, I would cross the street to hand them
campaign literature. And everywhere I went, I’d get some version
of the same two questions.”
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(Barack Obama)
3. Argumentative Paragraph
It is a patterns of development in which the writer attempts to support a
controversial point or defend a position on which there is a difference of
opinion.
When one writes argumentation, his main purpose is to convince his reader
about some issue, to persuade his reader to take some action.
The writer attempts to convince readers through logical reasoning.
This argumentation is a process of reasoning in which a series of facts and
judgments are arranged to establish a conclusion.
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Cont…
Sample of Argumentative Paragraph
The school fair is right around the corner, and tickets have
just gone on sale. We are selling a limited number of tickets
at a discount, so move fast and get yours while they are still
available. This is going to be an event you will not want to
miss! First of all, the school fair is a great value when
compared with other forms of entertainment. Also, your
ticket purchase will help our school, and when you help the
school, it helps the entire community. But that’s not all!
Every ticket you purchase enters you in a drawing to win
fabulous prizes. And don’t forget, you will have mountains of
fun because there are acres and acres of great rides, fun
games, and entertaining attractions! Spend time with your
family and friends at our school fair. Buy your tickets now!
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4. Expository paragraph
It is patterns of development that expresses or explains an
idea, object or phenomenon.
So when you write exposition, your purpose is to make
clear to the reader that how something works, how
something is made, or how something happened.
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Cont…
Sample of expository paragraph: How to clean and
organize your room
Here is the perfect system for cleaning your room. First,
move all of the items that do not have a proper place to
the center of the room. Get rid of at least five things that
you have not used within the last year. Take out all of the
trash, and place all of the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink.
Now find a location for each of the items you had placed
in the center of the room. For any remaining items, see if
you can squeeze them in under your bed or stuff them into
the back of your closet. See, that is easy!
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