PARTS OF A PARAGRAP

H

The main ideaThe main idea is

what a writer wants to say about a topic. It is the idea that a

paragraph is organized around.

The topic sentence

•States the main idea of the paragraph

•Found at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the paragraph

Supporting sentences

• Give details that explain or prove the main idea

• Contain sensory details, facts, definition, description, explanation, repetition, quotation, or examples that support the main idea of the paragraph

Unity in a paragraph is when all the

sentences support, or tell something about,

one main idea.

To create COHERENCE in a

paragraph:FIRST

arrange details in an order

that makes sense

SECONDuse

transitional words or phrases to

connect ideas

Ways of organizing paragraphs

TIME ORDER•The writer tells a series of

events in more or less the exact order in which they occurred. (chronological order)

•Example: Call of the Wild by Jack London

Series of events1. Camp was reached.

2. Morning found Dave weak.

3. At harness-up time Dave was too weak to run.

4. Then he wormed his way forward.

5. The last his mates saw him he lay gasping in the snow.

6. They heard him howling as they passed out of sight.

Tips on understandingTIME ORDER

•Think about the order.

•Look for key words and dates.

•Ask “What happened next?”

•Ask “Does the order make sense?”

•Draw a time line or sequence chain.

Location order• Paragraphs are organized in

order from one location to another. (spatial order)

• You can almost draw what the writer is describing. (specific details or features)

• Example: The Cay by Theodore Taylor

Cause-effect order

•The writer begins with the cause and moves to the effects or begins with effects and then explains the cause.

•Example: Slavery in the United States by Charles Ball

CAUSE

Men threw children

overboard.

EFFECT

1. Two women leaped overboard after their children.

2. Another woman broke her arm an later died.

3. One rescued woman threw herself overboard again.

Tips for determining CAUSE AND EFFECT.

•To find the cause of something, ask “Why did it happen?”

•To find the effect, ask “What happened as a result?”

•Look for more than one cause or effect

ORDER OF IMPORTANCE

organizes the paragraph by order of importance.

The writer may begin with the most important idea and moves to the least

important idea…

…the writing moves from the least important details to the main idea stated in

the last sentence.

MAIN IDEA:Buffalo herds dwindled.

DETAIL #1:30 million buffalo roaming the plains

DETAIL #2:Killed to feed crews building the railroad west

DETAIL #3:Killed for sport or to be used for shoes, robes, or belts

DETAIL #4:Between 1872 and 1882, more than 1 million killed each year

…the writing moves from the least important details to the main idea stated in

the last sentence.

MAIN IDEA:Mountain men blazed

the first trails that allowed pioneers to

move west.

DETAIL #1:Mountain

men killed off all animals in some places.

DETAIL #2:Trappers

searched for new streams where beaver

lived.

DETAIL #3:Explorations

led to earliest firsthand

knowledge of Far West.

COMPARISON-CONTRAST ORDERshows how one thing is like (compare) or unlike another

(contrast).

part wolves dogs

legs longer shorter

chests narrower rounder, fuller

feet bigger smaller

tails hang down Curl upward

scents special scent gland

no scent gland in tail

CLASSIFICATION ORDERgroups things to show

broad similarities.BIRDS REPTILES MAMMAL

SINVER-

TEBRATESPLANTS

Penguins Sea turtles

Whales Squid Seaweed

GENERAL AND SPECIFIC

• A general term covers many things. It groups related things together.

• A specific term applies to just a few things or one thing. It separates that thing from others like it.

• A term can be more general than some terms and less general than others.

• Proper nouns are always specific.

•Clincher sentence•Also called the concluding

sentence•Restates in different words

the topic sentence•So called because it clinches the point made in the paragraph

•Use only if necessary to summarize the paragraph