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CharacteristicsofGoodParagraphsCharacteristicsofGoodParagraphs•Unity•Coherence•Development•GoodGrammar•GoodTransition1.Unity•Acentraltheme;onetopicsentence(mainidea),whichcanbeanactualsentence,oranimpliedthought,andallsentenceswithintheparagraphrelatetothetopicsentence.•LudwigvanBeethovenovercamemanypersonalproblemstoachieveartisticgreatness.Hewasamajorcomposerofthenineteenthcentury.HewasborninBonn,Germany,in1770andfirststudiedmusicwithacourtorganist.Hewasappointeddeputycourtorganistatasurprisinglyearlyagein1782.Healsoplayedtheharpsichordandtheviola.HewenttoViennain1792tostudymusicunderHaydn.Hismusicshowsgreatdisciplineandcontrol.2.Coherence•Properorder;eachsentenceleadssmoothlyandlogicallytothenextsentence.•1.Thinkofthetopicorthemeormainideaoftheparagraph,putthatthoughtintoacompletesentence(topicsentence).•2.Thinkofthedetails,examplesorfacts•3.Arrangetheminlogicalorder.•4.Checktheparagraphforwordchoiceandgoodgrammar•I'mfascinatedbymygrandmother.Sheisabout90thisyear.Shedoesn'thavemuchsenseofhumor.Shewasbornintoawell-to-dourbanfamily.Shebelievesineverything:festivals,news,TVads,success,andallthegods.Shehatesdogs.Shetakesawalkinthegardeneveryday.Shelikestoeatfruit.Sheseemstoneverrequiretheservicesofadoctor.Shecollectspostcardsandlikesthecolorofastrawberry.•Thetopicsentencecanoccuranywhereintheparagraph,anditcanbeexplicitormerelyimplied.•Whetheryoudoordonotopenagiftinthepresenceofthegiver;whetheryoushouldorshouldnotturntheplateovertolookatthemaker'ssymbolontheback;whetheryouputyourcoatonbeforeorafteryouleavethehost'shouse;whetheryoueatasquietlyorasnoisilyaspossible;whetheryoucarryonaconversationduringameal;whetheryouwalkinfrontoforbehindaseatedperson;whetheritisafriendlyoranoffensivegesturetoputyourhandonthearmofthepersonwithwhomyouaretalking--theseandathousandotherquestionsaremattersofculturaldefinition.Noneofthemisinherentlyrightorwrong,andnoneisgoodorbadmannersexceptasasocietydefinesitso.3.Development•Thetelevisionwesternofseveralyearsagodiffersgreatlyfromthewesternoftoday.Twentyyearsago,forexample,thebankrobberinawesterncouldbeidentifiednotbythecrimeshecommittedsomuchasbythecoloroftheclothinghewore-whichwasblack.Today,thetelevisionwesternrevealsthevillainbymannerismsandpersonality.Theparagraphshouldhavesufficientinformationtosupportthetopicsentence4.GoodGrammar•Theparagraphshouldhaveproperpunctuation,accuratespelling,etc.•Theroomislocatedonfifthfloorofhighbuilding.Onethirdofitstotalfloorspaceistakenupbydoublebed.Facingit,incornerbehinddoor,standscupboardloadedwithpots,bowls,dishes,bottles,andbagsofriceandflour,deskfillscompletelythegapbetweenbedandwallwithwindow.Behinddeskischair,theonlyoneintheroom;andittouchesalmosttheboxesandtrunkspiledagainstwallonoppositeside.•Theroomislocatedonthefifthfloorofthehighbuilding.Onethirdofitstotalfloorspaceistakenupbyadoublebed.Facingthebed,inthecomerbehindthedoor,standsacupboardloadedwithpots,bowls,dishes,bottles,andbagsofriceandflour.Adeskcompletelyfillsthegapbetweenthebedandthewallwithawindow.Behindthedeskisachair,theonlyonein1110room;anditalmosttouchestheboxesandtrunkspiledagainstthewallontheoppositeside.5.GoodTransition•Useoftransitionwordsthatmovethereaderbetweenthoughtsandparagraphs.•“inadditionmeansthatmoreinformationisbeingprovided.•forexample•incontrastmeansthewriterispointingoutdifferencesintheinformationpresented•Moreexpressionsonp21Exercises•Directions:Identifythetopicsentenceinthefollowingparagraphs.Notewhethertheparagraph'sDevelopmentissufficientforthetopicsentence,andcrossoutanysentencesthatdonotdevelopthecontrollingidea.Then,identifytheTransitions.•1)Itiscommonknowledgethatone'sperceptionoftimemayvarydependingontheactivityoneisengagedin.Apersonmaybeengrossedinconversation,onlytorealizethatwhatfeelslikeonlyafewminutesisactuallymorethananhour.Itstartswiththemostimportantinformationandcontinuesintoincreasinglyinconsequentialdetails.Incontrast,waitingforatardyacquaintancemaymakeeveryminuteseemlikeanhour.•2)Oncepeoplewereverymuchafraidofghosts.Theirfearledthemtodevelopelaborateritualstowardoffencounterswiththedead.Forexample,sinceprimitivepeoplebelievedthatghostscouldcapturetheirspiritatfunerals,theycarriedwoodenimagesofthemselvesinthehopethattheghostswouldbefooledintocarryingofftheimages.Imageshavebeenpopularwithpeoplefromprimitivetimesuntiltoday.Atonetimepeoplebelievedthattakingapictureofsomeonewouldrobthepersonofhisorhersoul.Itispossible,too,thatthetraditionofsittingupwiththedeadcomesfromabeliefthatghostsescapeinthenight.Certainlytheritualoflayingtombstonesisderivedfromasuperstitionaboutthedead.Peopleoncebelievedthatstonespiledontopofagravewouldkeepthedeadperson'sghostfromescapingandhauntingtheliving.Eventuallythenumberofstonesdiminisheduntilonlyonestone,thetombstone,wasleftasareminderoftheancientsuperstition.Paragraphstructure:TopicsentenceSupportingdetails1Supportingdetails2Supportingdetails4Supportingdetails3Concludingsentence•Thetopicsentencecanoccuranywhereintheparagraph,anditcanbeexplicitormerelyimplied.•Complete•Clear•Specific•Teachingachildgoodmanne