Academic Writing Notes

Paragraph Unity

Good paragraphs have unity. This means all the sentences in the paragraph are about the same main idea. To check writing for unity, ask yourself these questions:

What is my topic?

What is my controlling idea?

Do all the supporting sentences in my paragraph talk about this topic and this controlling idea?

Example:

In this example, the italic sentence does not belong. It's not related to the topic of the paragraph (protect your skin) or the controlling idea (steps).

Is there evidence of prewriting activity (brainstorm, plan) ?

Are the title main words capitalized?

Does the title fit the piece?

Are paragraphs used to organize information?

Is the introduction effective?

Is the main idea clear, with a sense of purpose?

Is information placed in logical order?

Is there enough supporting evidence?

Does the writer stay on topic?

Is the writing interesting?

Is the word choice appropriate?

Does each sentence begin with a capital letter?

Does each sentence end with a proper punctuation?

Is each sentence a complete thought?

Are there any spelling errors (underline please)?

Are there any other words that should be capitalized?

Are plurals and possessives correct?

Are quotation marks used correctly?

Is the conclusion effective and relevant?

A good summary includes these parts:

Topic sentence: Include the name of the piece you are summarizing, the author (or director, or musician), and the topic.

Body: Include the main ideas from the work. A good way to organize the main ideas is to ask the question who, what, where, when, why and how.

Conclusion: You can include the author's conclusion or write your own. For example, you can write the answers to these questions: Did the work help you or change you in some way? Will you remember the work? Why? Will you recommend it to other people? Why or why not?

Model Summary

Summary of The Alchemist

Point of View 

Point of view is  the perspective from which a sentence or paragraph is written. Consistent point of view means you should use the same person or personal pronoun throughout a sentence or paragraph: first person singular ( I ), first person plural (we), second person singular or plural (you), third person singular (he, she, it, one) or third person plural (they).  Avoid confusing shifts from one point of view to another.

Example of Confusing Shift: 

College students soon see that you are on your own.

In this example, the writer shifts from the third person ( students) to the second person ( you and your)

To correct this mistake, use the same person pronoun throughout the sentence.

College students soon see that they are on their own.

OR

In college, you soon see that you are on your own.

You should also be consistent in using the right singular or plural pronoun. If the noun the pronoun refers to is singular, use the singular pronoun for that person. If the noun is plural, use the plural pronoun.

Example of Incorrect Pronoun:

A teacher should grade their papers promptly.

To correct this mistake, use the third singular pronoun or use the plural noun.

A good teacher grades his or her papers promptly.

OR

Good teachers grade their papers promptly.

Read the article carefully.

Write down the author’s purpose for writing this article. ( Why did he/she write it ? What, in general, was he/she trying to tell the reader ? )

Reread the article looking for major ideas that directly support the author's purpose. Sometimes a major supporting idea is covered in one paragraph, sometimes in several paragraphs.

Summarize each major supporting idea into a single sentence. Be sure this idea directly supports or furthers the author’s purpose for writing the article.

Using your author's purpose as your guide, create a thesis statement which will be a summary of the entire article. This thesis statement will be the topic sentence for your summary paragraph and must include the authors name and the title of the article.

Combine Sentences with FANBOYS

Combing 2 simple sentences into 1 sentence using For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So.

Example :

I like grilled pork, but I don’t like spicy rice cake

Combine Sentences with joining words : After, Although, Because, Before, Since, Unless, While

Example:

Timed Writing

How quickly can you write in English ? There are many times when you must write quickly, such as on a test. It is important to feel comfortable during those times. Timed-writing practice can make you feel better about writing quickly in English .

Take out a piece of paper.

Read the writing prompt.

Brainstorm ideas for five minutes.

Write a short paragraph ( six to ten sentences).

You have 25 minutes to write your paragraph.

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Concluding Sentence

The concluding sentence is the last sentence of the paragraph. It concludes, or wrap up, a paragraph. It lets the reader know that you have finished talking about the idea introduced by the topic sentence.

A concluding sentence often has one of these four important purpose :

It restates the main idea.

It offers a suggestion.

It gives an opinion.

It makes a prediction.

Restates the Main Idea

Perhaps the easiest concluding sentence to write is one that simply restates the main idea or summarizes the main points of the paragraph. 

The following transitional words and phrases are commonly used at the beginning of a concluding sentence:

as a result

certainly

in conclusion

clearly

overal

because of this

therefore

thus

for this reason

surely

for these reasons

in brief     

Example 1:

Topic Sentence :            At some point, most parents have to decide whether or not to allow their children to have pets.

Concluding Sentence:    In brief, although many children want a pet, parents are divided on this issue for a number of important reasons.

Explanation: The information in this concluding sentence is very similar to the topic sentence. In addition, the concluding sentence includes the phrase “ a number of important reasons” because the paragraph includes several reasons for allowing or not allowing children to have pets.

Example 2:

Topic Sentence:           eBook readers are excellent devices for students.

Concluding Sentence:   It is clear that eBook readers have made students' live much easier.

Explanation: This concluding sentence also restates the idea of the topic sentence. The examples in the paragraph show how eBook readers simplify students' lives, and the concluding sentence emphasizes this fact.

Offers  a Suggestion | Give an Opinion | or Make a Prediction

A concluding statement can offer a suggestion, give an opinion, or make a prediction. Sometimes a concluding sentence does a combination of these three options.

Example 1:

Topic Sentence :             Snorkeling can be one of the most amazing adventures you can ever take part in.

Concluding Sentence:     If you want to have one of the most beautiful experiences that anyone can ever have, you should try snorkeling for a day.

Explanation: This topic sentence introduces snorkeling as an amazing adventure, and the concluding sentence offers a suggestion that the reader should try snorkeling.

Example 2:

Topic Sentence:             Fortunately, my parents were very strict with me when I was a child.

Concluding Sentence:    Looking back, I am not sorry that my parents were strict with me because I think it was the best way to bring up a child.

Explanation: This topic sentence explains that the writer’s parents were very strict. In the concluding sentence, the writer gives his opinion that being a strict parent is the best way to raise a child.

Example 3:

Topic Sentence:            The menu at Fresh Market, one of the newest restaurants in downtown Springfield, consists of only five main dishes that are simple but very delicious.

Concluding Sentence:     If you eat a meal at Fresh Market, I am sure you will enjoy it tremendously.

Supporting Sentences

Supporting Sentences give information that explains and expands the topic of the paragraph. They answer questions - who? what? where? when? why? and how? - and give details. Good writers think of these questions when they write supporting sentences for the topic sentence.

Kinds of Supporting Sentences

Good supporting sentences have different goals. Writers vary them to:

explain: The family moved from the village to the capital for economic reasons.

describe: She lived in a lovely three-story castle surrounded by a forest.

give reasons: Lukas finally quit his job because of the stressful working conditions.

give facts: More than ten percent of the university's student population is international.

give examples: Oranges and grapefruits grow in California.

define:  Many tourists visit Bangkok, which is the capital and largest city in Thailand.

Writer’s Notes:

Staying on Track 

_______COMPARISON________

Comparison

In a paragraph of comparison, you talk about ways that two or more things are similar.

The topic sentence names the things you are comparing and states how you plan to compare them. For example : Seattle, Washington and London, England, have similar weather.

All of the sentences in the paragraph should take about similarities. There should be no sentences about differences.

Signal Words & Phrases

Here are some common expressions you can use to signal comparisons. Notice the grammar and punctuation of each words and phrase.

similar to, like

The weather in Seattle, Washington, is similar to / like the weather in London, England.

also

Seattle has cool, rainy days all year long. London also has many cool, wet days.

alike, similar

Arabic and Hebrew are similar / alike in many ways.

both...and

Both Arabic and Hebrew have sounds pronounced in the back of the throat.

the same

Hebrew and Arabic came from the same ancient language.

similarly

Hebrew belongs to the Semitic language family. Similarly, Arabic is a Semitic language.

_______CONTRAST__________

Contrast

In a paragraph of contrast, you talk about ways that two things are different.

The topic sentence names the two things you are contrasting. The controlling idea states how they are different. For examples: Seattle, Washington, and Los Angeles, California, have very different weather.

The supporting sentences should describe differences.

Use listing signals ( first, second, next, another, also, etc.) to separate the differences.

Signal Words and Phrases

Here are some common signal phrases you can use to draw contrast. Notice the grammar and punctuation of each word and phrase.

however, in contrast, on the other hand

Seattle has cool, rainy days all year long. On the other hand, Los Angeles has rain only in the fall and winter.

but

Seattle has cool, rainy days all year long, but Los Angeles has rain only in the fall and winter.

different

Mice and rats are different in several ways.

different from

Mice are different from rats.

unlike

Paragraph Structure 

The topic sentence

In most cases, the topic sentence of a paragraph is the topic sentence. The topic sentence tells you what the paragraph will be about. From a good topic sentence, you should be able to predict the content of the paragraph.

The support sentences

The topic sentence is followed by the support sentences. Support sentences expand on the topic sentence. The material in the support sentences should be presented in a systematic way. Order of importance, chronological order, order of operations or space order are most frequently used.

The concluding sentence

The concluding sentence summarizes the main point of the paragraph. It often re-states the idea in the topic sentence using different words. Not all paragraphs have a concluding sentence.

Checklist for writing a paragraph

Step 1 - Write the topic sentence

The best starting point for a paragraph is a topic sentence. If you are writing a paragraph in response to a specific question, this should not be a difficult task because the wording of the question will assist you.

Step 2 - Brainstorm

Once you have written the topic sentence, you need to think of ideas to support it. Try brainstorming. Jot down anything that relates to your topic sentence: facts, details or examples. This might only take a few minutes, but it is an important part of the writing process.

Step 3 - Plan

Brainstorming will probably provide you with more ideas than you require. Read over what you have written, and cross out those ideas which do not obviously relate to the topic sentence. Arrange the remaining ideas in the order you wish to present them in your paragraph.

Step 4 - Write the first draft

The first draft should include all the ideas in your plan. It is a good idea to use  every second line if you are writing the first draft on paper. This makes revision and editing much easier. Once you have finished written the first draft, think about what you have written. You might consider a concluding sentence. Write one if you think it is necessary to complete the paragraph.

Step 5 - Revise and edit

Revising and editing your paragraph means rethinking and rewriting. It may involve making additions or corrections, rewriting sentences or rearranging details.

Ask yourself the following questions:

Is the topic sentence clear and relevant?

Do the facts, details and examples explain/develop the topic sentence?

Is there enough support?

Is the material presented in a systematic way?

Does one sentence lead smoothly to the next ?

Step 6 - Check grammar, spelling and punctuation

Step 7 - Write the final draft

If you follow these general rules, you will be able to write successful, well-organized paragraphs.

One Topic & One Main Idea

Good paragraphs are about one topic and one main idea. All paragraphs include a topic sentence.

The topic is the broad subject - what the paragraph is about.

The main idea is usually the writer's feeling or opinion about the topic.

The topic sentence is usually the first sentence in a paragraph. It introduces the topic and gives the main idea.

Examples:

Topic:  my grandmother Main Idea:   taught me the meaning of giving Topic Sentence:    It was my grandmother who taught me the true meaning of giving.

Supporting Sentences & Details

Supporting point are all the other sentences in the paragraph that develop the main idea. Details can be examples, explanations, or descriptions that add to the supporting points.

Examples:

Supporting Point 1: My grandmother's door was always open to visitors. Whenever she cooked, she always made extra food. She felt it important to always be ready to offer a home-cooked meal to anyone stopped by.

Supporting Point 2: In addition, my grandmother helped others by volunteering at a hospital. She delivered flowers or mail to patients and helped them with things they could not do for themselves, like writing letters, for example.

Supporting Point 3: Furthermore, even though my grandmother was a very busy woman, she always had time for me. I'll never forget the many books she read to me or games she played with me when I was a child.

Conclusion

The last sentence or two of the paragraph summarizes the main idea or opinion of the writer.

Run-On Sentences

A run-on sentence is a sentence error. It happens when you join two or more simple sentences without any conjunctions or punctuation.

There are two ways to correct or prevent a run-on sentence:

End the first independent clause with a period and start the other with a capital letter.

Correct : My sister is a nurse. She works 60 hours a week

Incorrect: My sister is a nurse she works 60 hours a week.

Inset a comma and a coordinating conjunction between independent clauses. A comma is not enough

Correct: My sister is a nurse, and she works 60 hours a week.

Fragments

A fragments is an incomplete part of something. In writing, a fragment is an incomplete sentence that is missing either the subject, the verb, or the independent clause.

Adjective clause with missing independent clause :

Correct : My brother, who is six and a half feet tall, is always uncomfortable on airplanes.

Incorrect: My brother, who is six and a half feet tall.

Phrase without an independent clause :

Correct: American enjoy driving foreign cars, for example, Toyotas, Volkswagens, and Audis.

Spatial Ordering means organizing details according to their location.

The topic sentence for a spatial paragraph should :

mention the place you are describing

make a comment about it

You can organize details in the following ways. You can also use a combination of these ways. For example, if you are looking at an open refrigerator, you could describe the items on each shelf from top to bottom and from left to right ( or right to left).

Organizing by Spatial Ordering

top to bottom |  bottom to top 

far to near | near to far

right to left | left to right 

outside to inside | inside to outside

clockwise | counter-clockwise

north to south | south to north

Listing by Order of Importance

In a listing-order paragraph, you divide the topic into segments. These segments may describe, for example, types, groups, characteristics, reason, ways of doing something, examples, advantages, or disadvantages.

Some paragraphs list the points in order of importance. Some discuss the least important point first and the most important point last. Some discuss the most important point first and the least important point last.

Use signal words and phrases like these to list items by order of importance:

Signal Words and Phrases for Order of Importance

*    first, second, third, etc.  |  first of all, to begin  |  next, also, in addition, finally 

 *   one (way, reason, etc.)  |  another (example, characteristic, etc.)   |  the next (point, problem, etc.)