Entry # 5

Entry # 5 Parts of a Paragraph

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Last visited June 5th 2020. 

   

                               should:

≽ Start with a TOPIC SENTENCE, also called opening sentence;

≽ draw the audience's interest;

≽ continue with the BODY, which includes the supporting  
  arguments;

≽ present the BODY as a series of arguments. The order of those 
  arguments is specific: either chronological, or 
  in order of strenght of the argument;

≽ finish with a CLOSING SENTENCE that restates the topic sentence 
  and adds some extra information;

≽ leave the audience in a thinking mood after the closing 
  sentence.  

Trivia: The basic structure of a paragraph is graphically represented in hundreds (I mean HUNDREDS) of web sites as a hamburguer, due to its three-levels content. Let us skip the gross illustration. You are welcome.

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The topic sentence is a crucial part of writing letters, emails, and papers that clearly and concisely tell the reader what you are trying to say. There are a few qualities that make for a good topic sentence:

• Brevity: Long, rambling sentences can be confusing. Don’t pack your topic sentence too full of details. That’s what the rest of the paragraph is for.
• Clarity: Likewise, don’t beat around the bush. Say exactly what you want to say. Try not to engage in wordplay and don’t speak in vague terms.
• Precision: Don’t be too broad when introducing the topic that you’re going to discuss. Not only is that a bland approach, it is also unhelpful to readers.

On the other hand, there are a few things that make for a bad topic sentence. Be sure that you aren’t using these kinds of sentences to introduce your paragraphs, as they are unhelpful to readers and do little to help you get your point across.

• Don’t use facts as topic sentences. Remember, you are using the topic sentence to introduce a point you are trying to make, or your opinion.
• Don’t just talk about the “what” – talk about the “why” as well. That is, don’t just think about the effect, but it’s cause.
• Don’t say “I am going to tell you…” or I am going to speak about…” when introducing a topic.

 (I have decided to formulate my own topic sentences to practise with more difficulty than the "choose the right topic sentence" proposed at Ottawa's University "The Writing Centre").

"The unexpected change of the syllabus in the English Teachers Training Institute has been devastating for many students who were too overloaded of duties to accomplish the demands of a 7-courses-a-year schedule, having to succeed in all of them".  

The previous topic sentence is not right due to the large amount of information that it offers. Probably, the reference to the duties and difficulties of the students would suit in the body of the paragraph, that is meant to provide arguments to support the topic sentence.

"It is a challenge for our teachers to decide whether to be strict, or more relaxed than the usual, as regards the marks they give us this year We are not only immerse in an unprecedented pandemic, but also  struggling to stay afloat in the last year of a perishing old syllabus. Thus, our urge to accomplish the high demand of a 7-courses-a-year schedule is more real than ever. Our teachers are standing at a crossroads and will have to carefully weigh the mentioned circumstances at the moment of deciding on a student's unsatisfactory final mark".

I think that the previous paragraph is well structured, since the topic sentence introduces the conflict in a contextualized, not vague frame, avoiding an excess of information.  Right after this, we meet the arguments that explain the conflict: first, the serious pandemic, then, the change of academic plan, and lastly, the students' busy lives. Finally, we get to the closing sentence, which wraps up the conflict, and give a final piece of information that will surely leave the reader thinking: the extra responsability that lies in the teachers' hands this year. 

How formidable it is to find out that writing well is not actually an impossible task if we follow certain rules. Far from restricting our fluency, those rules will provide an essencial frame to shape our discourse and make it more effective in terms of communication.



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