Whatisaparagraph?

Whatisaparagraph?(2)Aparagraphisagroupofsentencesthat developasinglepoint,ideaortopic.(3)Thetopicisusuallybest expressedclearlyatorveryneartheopening.(4)Inthisparagraph thetopicisannouncedintheopeningrhetoricalquestion(aquestion posedforthepurposeofmakingapoint),Whatisaparagraph?.(5) Thissetsuptheexpectationthatthereaderwillbegivenanansweror atleastanexplorationofthis.(6)Andthatiswhathappens.(7)The nextsentencepresentsabriefdefinition.(8)Thenwelearnmore abouthowthetopicofthisparagraphispresented.(9)Theoverall structurethatwecanseehereis:(i)theannouncementofthetopic (ii)thedevelopmentofthis(iii)aconclusionthatreflectsbackonthe contentoftheparagraph(heretheconclusioncomesinthissentence, whichreflectsbackonthekeystructuralelementsoftheparagraph). Nowreadthenextparagraphandseeifyoucanidentifyits structure(refertosentencenumbersinyouranswer). (1)Paragraphsarehelpfultobothwritersandreaders.(2)Theyhelp writersgrouptogetheranddevelopassociatedideasintocoherent units.(3)Thisisusefulbothattheplanningandwritingstages.(4) Whenplanningitishelpfultocollectthoughtstogetherintotopicsor points,eachofwhichmightbelaterworkedupintoaparagraph.(5) Whenwriting,ifyouareclearaboutthenatureoftheparagraphthat itexpressesasingletopic,pointorideayouwillfindyourselfwriting withgreaterclarityandpurpose.(6)Asreadersweliketobeableto recognisethreadsofthought.(7)Wealsolikethesensethatthings areintheircorrectplace.(8)Goodparagraphinginspiresconfidence: wefeelourselvestobeinthepresenceofagoodwriter,agoodguide throughthesubjectwearereadingabout. Considerhowcoherent(wellformed)thefollowingparagraphsare. Foreach,sayifthereisacleartopicthatisdevelopedlogically.Ifthe paragraphispoor,sayhowitcouldbeimproved.

Paragraph1
Grammarisoftenseenassomethinglikeacoldbath.Itisunpleasant butsomehowgoodforyouperhaps,even,insomeobscureway characterbuilding.Butmoststudentswhosaytheyarelosingmarks becauseofpoorgrammardonothavemuchideaofwhatgrammar actuallyis.Participlephrasesareoftenmadetostandaloneas sentences.Beinganexpressionofpoorgrammar.Incomplete

sentencesareperhapsthecommonestsignificantgrammaticalerror. Writtenworkassumesabittycharacter.Whatshouldbeformal academicwritingacquirestheaspectofnoteform.Formalacademic workshouldbeimpersonalintone.

Paragraph2
Readyournotes.Makenotesofyournotes.Ifyoucan,practisewriting undertimedconditions.Itisalsoagoodideatopractisetimedessay plans.Whengoingthroughyournotes,highlight,underlineandbring totheforekeyinformation.Examessaysarenecessarilydifferentto termtimework.Usuallytheyarebriefer,theylackextensive referencesand,becauseofthetimerestriction,theyarenotusuallyof suchhighquality.

Paragraph3
(1)TimemanagementismuchmoreofanissueatUniversitythanat schoolorcollege.(2)Why?(3)BecauseinHigherEducationonemust takegreaterresponsibilityforoneslearning.(4)Therewillbenoone, forinstance,toconstantlyremindyouofdeadlines.(5)Butitwillstill beuptoyoutomeetthem.(6)Youwillnotusuallybegivencourse books.(7)Itwillbeforyoutobuythemorborrowthemfromthe library.(8)ToalargeextenttheUniversityassumesthatyouare alreadyhighlydevelopedinautonomouslearning.(9)Thisisnot alwaysthecase.(10)AcoursesuchasLearningStrategiescanhelp youthinkaboutwhatautonomouslearningreallymeansandenable youtolearnsomestrategiestotakeresponsibilityforyourstudy. RoehamptonUniversity. WrittenbyAdrianChapman,LecturerinAcademicEnglish.