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Paragraph structure

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Must present a coherent argument.

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Identifies the main idea of the paragraph.

The point the writer wishes to make about that subject.

Usually appears at the beginning of the paragraph.

It is often the paragraph’s very first sentence.

Must be general enough to express the paragraph’s overall subject.

Specific enough that the reader can understand the paragraph’s main subject and point.

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Topic Controlling Idea

1. People can avoid burglaries by taking certain precautions. (The precautions for…)

2. There are several advantages to growing up in a small town. (The advantages of…)

3. Most US universities require a 550 point TOEFL score for a number

of reasons. (The reasons for…)

4. Air pollution in Mexico City is the worst in the world for a number of reasons. (The causes of…) or (The effects of…)

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Expand on the topic sentence.

Should be presented in a systematic way -according to: importance, time, operations or space, etc.

May contain: examples, explanations/reasons, descriptions, processes, statistics, comparisons/contrasts, arguments, causes/effects, facts, and so on.

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Not all paragraphs have a concluding sentence.

Can serve many different purposes: 1. Summarize 2. Give your final

thoughts or personal opinion.

3. Work as transition to the next paragraph

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Useful steps Step 1– Write the topic sentence Step 2 – Brainstorm ideas that help

you support the topic sentence.

Step 3 – Plan: cross out ideas that do not obviously relate to the topic sentence. Arrange the remaining ideas as they will appear in your paragraph

Step 4 – Write the first draft. Include all the ideas in your plan.

Step 5 – Revising and editing may involve making additions or corrections, rewriting sentences or rearranging details.

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1. Is the topic sentence clear and relevant? 2. Do the facts, details and examples explain/develop the topic sentence? 3. Is there enough support? 4. Is the material presented in a systematic way? 5. Does one sentence lead smoothly to the next?

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Adventure tourism is a different way for tourists to see New Zealand. This type of tourism uses the plentiful natural resources - mountains, rivers, lakes, wilderness areas and historical sites to provide adventure, thrills and challenges which are low risk but high in excitement. For example, the coastal areas in New Zealand are great for canoeing and kayaking. White-water rafting is another popular water adventure tour.

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No matter how you slice it, there are only 24 hours in a day. To be successful at university, students need to learn good time-management skills. The first skill is not taking on more than you can handle. If you are a working part-time, have a family and are involved in a community organisation, then taking a full course-load at university will be too much. Another time management skill is reasonably estimating the time required to perform each of the tasks at hand. For example, deeply reading a chapter from a course text cannot be completed in between television programmes. Finally, actually doing what needs to be done seems obvious, but is a very difficult skill. You may find that cleaning out your wardrobe becomes vital when you are avoiding study. Procrastination is a time manager's enemy. By learning time management skills your university study will be successful and most importantly enjoyable.

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The heart weighs about 11 ounces and is the size of a clenched fist. The heart of a man performs at about 60 to 80 beats a minute. In a year it beats some 40 million times. At each beat it takes in nearly a quarter of a pint of blood; in a single day it pumps 2,200 gallons of blood, and in the course of a single lifetime about 56 million gallons. Is there any other engine capable of carrying on such heavy work over such a long period of time without needing to be repaired? Obviously the human heart is a small yet highly efficient piece of equipment.

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Is what defines the scope and purpose of the paper.

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Bad thesis: Lily Bart experiences the constraints of many social conventions in The House of Mirth. [Of course she does. What does she do with these social conventions, and how does she respond to them? What's your argument about this idea?] Better thesis: Lily Bart seeks to escape from the social conventions of her class in The House of Mirth, but her competing desires for a place in Selden's "republic of the spirit" and in the social world of New York cause her to gamble away her chances for a place in either world.

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Bad thesis: Lily Bart and Clare Kendry are alike in some ways, but different in many others. [What ways?] Better thesis: Lily Bart and Clare Kendry share a desire to "pass" in their respective social worlds, but their need to take risks and to reject those worlds leads to their destruction.

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Bad thesis: Lily Bart gambles with her future, and Lawrence Selden is only a spectator rather than a hero of The House of Mirth. [Note: This is really the beginning of two different thesis statements.] Better thesis: In The House of Mirth, Lawrence Selden is a spectator who prefers to watch and judge Lily than to help her. By failing to assist her on three separate occasions, he is revealed as less a hero of the novel than as the man responsible for Lily's downfall. [Note: Sometimes thesis statements are more than one sentence long.]

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4. Statements such as "In this essay I will discuss " or "I will compare two stories in this paper" or "I was

interested in Marji's relationship with God, so I thought I would talk about it in this essay" are not

thesis statements and are unnecessary, since mentioning the stories in the introduction already

tells the reader this.

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A Great Thesis Statement

E X A M P L E

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Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. Abraham Lincoln November 19, 1863

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See the following video, read the article “How Slavery Helped Build a World Economy” and write an essay about the relationship between Slavery and Economy. 1. Apply all what we have learned in the course. 2. Make sure you have a thesis statement and a topic sentence

in each paragraph. 3. Write between 400 and 700 words. NO MORE THAN

THAT. 4. Organize the information in 5 paragraphs (Introduction,

three body paragraphs and conclusion)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRlfMhP_CMI

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http://www.une.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/12313/WE_Paragraphs_Academic-writing.pdf

http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Good-Topic-Sentence

http://el19online.ait.ac.th/paragraphwriting/paragraphwriting4.html