Paragraph Structure

Academic Writing

• Academic writing is a type of writing done in college classes, aiming to explain or provide information about something.
• Its purpose is to explain or give information, and its audience is the teacher and classmates.

Skills Required for Academic Writing

• Sentence structure (arranging words in a sentence)
• Organization (arranging ideas in a paragraph)
• Grammar and punctuation

Choosing a Writing Idea

• A student should choose a specific idea to focus on throughout their writing piece.
• This idea should be inserted in a specific format, often in the initial position of the writing.

Paragraph Organization

What is a Paragraph?

• A paragraph is a group of related sentences about a single topic, with one main idea.
• A paragraph has three main parts: topic sentence, supporting sentences, and concluding sentence.

Topic Sentence

• The first sentence in a paragraph, which names the topic and tells what the paragraph will explain about it.
• The topic sentence tells the reader what the paragraph will be about.

Supporting Sentences

• The middle sentences in a paragraph, which give examples or details about the topic.
• Supporting sentences should be presented in a systematic way, with two types: major and minor details.

Major and Minor Details

• Major details: primary points that support the main idea, forming the basic framework of paragraphs.
• Minor details: developing the major supporting details.

Concluding Sentence

• The last sentence in a paragraph, which summarizes the main point or repeats the topic sentence in different words.
• Not all paragraphs have a concluding sentence.

Title

• A title tells the topic of the paragraph in a few words, and is short and not a complete sentence.
• Examples of titles: "My Classmate Friendship" and "A Famous Soccer Player".

Inferences

• An inference is a discovered idea in writing that is not stated directly.
• Inferences can be made every day, and in a text, the correct inference will always be supported by the text.
• The main idea is implied when it is only suggested by the supporting details and not clearly stated in one sentence.

This quiz covers the basics of paragraph structure, including main ideas, major and minor supporting details, and concluding sentences.