Lesson 2 Discussion .pdf

LOCATING MAIN IDEAS English for Academic and Professional Purposes Locating Main Ideas Locating Main Ideas Main Idea The main idea of a paragraph is the author's message about the topic....

LOCATING MAIN IDEAS English for Academic and Professional Purposes Locating Main Ideas Locating Main Ideas Main Idea The main idea of a paragraph is the author's message about the topic. Thesis Statement Topic Sentence The central idea of a multiple-paragraph Presents or describes the main of a paragraph. composition. It develops one argument of the thesis statement In an academic text, the thesis statement is usually: A topic sentence can either be explicitly or i. presented in the abstract or executive implicitly stated: summary i. EXPLICITLY STATED beginning, middle, or last part of the paragraph ii. found at the last part of the introduction ii. IMPLICITLY STATED It is written in a declarative sentence. not directly seen or stated in a paragraph English for Academic and Professional Purposes Analyze the relationship between thesis statement and topic sentence The thesis statement and the topic sentence are very much related to each other. Basically, topic sentences develop the details in the thesis statement. If the thesis statement contains three details, then the paper will have three topic sentences. English for Academic and Professional Purposes Sample 1 Thesis Statement In some cases,the thesis statement located at the last part of the introduction is replaced with a purpose statement. Purpose statement is introduced by signal phrases: "The study examined.." "This paper examines.." "The aim of this essay is to.." "This paper begins with.." "The primary objective of this paper is to.." Sample 2 TIPS: Read the title of the text and make inferences on its purpose. If the text has no abstract or executive summary, read the first few paragraphs as the thesis statement is usually there. In other cases, you may also check the conclusion where the authors sum up and review their main points. Sample Topic Sentence TIPS: Read the first sentence of the paragraph very carefully because most authors state their topic sentence at the beginning of the paragraph. Browse the sentences in the paragraph to identify what they state. The sentence that states the main idea of the paragraph is the topic sentence. Find the concept or idea being tackled, which in colloquial term is the "big word" in the paragraph. Identify the purpose of the paragraph. The sentence that presents or describes the purpose is the topic sentence. Observe the writing style of the author. Focus specifically on where he/she usually places his/her topic sentences. BASICS OF SUMMARIZING, PARAPHRASING AND DIRECT QUOTING English for Academic and Professional Purposes English for Academic and Professional Purposes For example: Original Passage When to use? Thank you! Have a great day ahead.