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WhatIsaParagraph?Aparagraphisusuallycomposedofatopicsentence,supportingsentencesandaconcludingsentence.IATopicSentence:Atopicsentencestateswhattheentireparagraphisabout.Agoodtopicsentenceshouldbeageneralsentencethatpresentsthetopicclearly.Example:Theunderlinedsentenceisthetopicsentence.Mymotherisneithertallnorheavy,butshe’sthebiggestpersoninmylife.Therehasbeennootherpersonwithagreaterinfluenceonme.Mostmothersfeed,wash,andclothetheirchildren,andmymotherisnoexception.Butmorethanthis,shemadesurethatIreceivedthefinesteducationpossible.Thiseducationwasnotatexpensiveschoolsorfamousuniversities,butathome,byherknee,patiently.Mymotherexplainedtomethedifferencebetweenrightandwrong;thevirtuesofgenerosity,honesty,andhardwork;andtheimportanceoffamilyandsocialties.FromherIunderstoodwhoIwas,whereIbelonged,andhowIshouldspendmyenergy.NomatterhowbigImightgrowtobe,Ihopetobeasgreatasmymother.Exercise:Fillintheblankwiththetopicsentence..IfyouarearesidentofTaipeiandtraveloverseas,oneofthefirstthingsyouwillnoticeisthatcitiesseemtoclosetheirdoorsduringtheeveninghourswhenthenighthasjustbegun.Supermarkets,departmentstores,anddrugstoresclosebefore9:00p.m..Moviesstopplayingandbusesandsubwaysstoprunningbeforemidnight.Thesidewalksarenearlyempty,andfewcarsventureforthonthestreets.InTaipei,however,onecanplay24hourseveryday.Moviesrununtiltheearlyhoursofthemorning,KTVsandMTVsoperate24hours,andcrowdeddiscosandpubsplayloudmusictodancersanddrinkersuntildawn.InTaipei,thenightsareasbusyasthedays.ⅡSupportingSentences:Supportingsentenceshelpsupportatopicsentencebyprovidingfacts,examplesorexplanations.Example:Theunderlinedsentencesaresupportingsentences.WritingagoodcompositioninEnglishisnotdifferentfromwritingagoodcompositioninChinese.Bothrequiregoodcontrolofthetopic.Beforestartingtowriteineitherlanguage,however,oneshouldhaveastrongthesisormainpointaswellasacarefuloutline.Thethesiskeepsone’smindonthetopicwhileanoutlineguidesthewriterthrougheachimportantmajorpoint.Anintroductionwhichinformsthereaderofthethesisisimportant,too.Anintroductionshouldnotonlyintroducethetopicstatementbutalsocatchthereader’sattention.Finally,everywell-writtencompositionendswithastrongconcludingparagraph.Thisparagraphreviewsthemajorideasandexplainswhythetopicisimportant.Ifawriterfollowsthesefewsimplesteps,asuccessfulcompositionissuretoresult.Exercise:Underlinethesupportingsentences.ShouldKTVsbeoff-limitstojuniorandseniorhighschoolstudents?Manyparentsandeducatorsthinkso.Theyclaimthatthesebusinessesareunhealthyandevendangerous.Theyareunhealthybecausetheyaredark,notwellair-conditioned,andservejunkfood.Theycanbedangerousbecausetheysometimesburndownandaresometimesthemeetingplaceforgangsters.However,thesecasesarefewinnumber.KTVsareactuallyagoodplaceforstudents.Theyareaninexpensivesourceofentertainmentforstudents.Theyallowstudentstosocializeinpositivegroupactivitieslikesinginganddancing.Theyarealsoagoodplaceforteacherstorelaxwiththeirownstudents.Sincetheusualbenefitsaremoreimportantthantheoccasionaldisadvantages,IdonotthinkKTVsshouldbeoff-limitstostudents.ⅢAConcludingSentence:Aconcludingsentenceprovidesalogicalconclusionbasedontheinformationfoundinthesupportingsentences.Example:Theunderlinedsentenceistheconcludingsentence.Shouldteachersusephysicalpunishmentontheirstudents?Thisquestionhasalwayscausedagreatdebateamongparents,teachers,andstudentsthemselves.Isupporttheuseofphysicalpunishmentasameansofcontrollingstudentbehavior,butonlyasafinalmeanstocontroladangeroussituationorasameansoflastresort.Wouldanyfair-mindedpersoncriticizeateacherforhittingastudentinordertodefendhimself?Thenwhywouldanyonefindfaultwithateacherforhittingastudentwhowasreadytohurtotherstudents,orastudentwho,despitetheteacher’smanywarnings,continuedtobehavebadly?Inthesecases,then,teachersshouldbeallowedtousephysicalforceasapunishment.Exercise:Fillintheblankwiththeconcludingsentence.Cellularphonesaremoreofanuisancethanahelp.Inclassrooms,movietheaters,andrestaurants,wecanheartheirannoyingringingwheninsteadweshouldhavequietsurroundings.Drivershaveaccidentsbyusingcellularphonesintheircarsbecausetheypayattentiontotheirphoneratherthantothetrafficaroundthem.Finally,peoplewhohaverecentlypurchasedacellularphone—andthatisanawfullotofpeople—makemanyunnecessarycallsjusttoplaywiththeirnew“toy,”whichisabothertoeveryoneelse..