Paragraph Development

Dr. Vafa Nadernia

PA R A G R A P H D E V E L O P M E N T : A R N A U D E T, M A R T I N L , B A R R E T T, M A R Y E L L E N ( 1 9 8 1 )

P R A C T I C A L W R I T E R W I T H R E A D I N G S : E . P. B A I L E Y, P. A . P O W E L L ( 2 0 0 8 )
 The Topic Sentence

Paragraph
It means the basic unit of composition in English language.
 The Topic Sentence

Paragraph Unity
The first sentence of a
paragraph is always indented
so that the reader will know
that a new subject-or a
different aspect of the same
subject-is being dealt with.
 The Topic Sentence
Paragraph Indentation
The writer does indentation by
leaving a blank space at the
beginning of the paragraph. The
student should think of
indentation as simply as the
other kind of punctuation. Just
as a sentence ends with a
period (.), so each new
paragraph begins with an
indentation.
 The Topic Sentence
Paragraph Length
It has more than 3 sentences
Each sentence ends in dot
The next sentence begins with a
capital letter
It includes 100-200 words
 The Topic Sentence
Topic V. Topic Sentence
Topic is a word (Football) Or a list of words (Foreign students in the United States)
Topic sentence is a Topic in a Sentence form (Football is a famous game these days.)
Topic sentence is the central idea of a paragraph
It is usually in the first line
 Sometimes it is in the middle as a link between two parts
 Sometimes it is in the end as a conclusion
 Sometimes we do not have a specific topic sentence but an implied one
T.S = Topic + Limiting statement
 The Topic Sentence

Topic Sentence= Topic + Limiting statement

 The Topic Sentence
Exercise: Write a Topic Sentence for each of the Topics listed below
Topic: John F. Kennedy (Aspect) (Place)
Topic sentence: John F. Kennedy was the first Catholic president elected in America.
(aspect) (place)
1. Topic: Registration at a large university (Aspect) (Differences)
2. Topic sentence: Registration at a large university is a challenging task and it is more
difficult than an open college.
3. Topic: Shopping for Food (Place) (Aspect) (Differences)
4. Topic sentence: Shopping for Food in big mall is very costly and sometimes it is a
fun in comparison with a grocery store.
 The Topic Sentence

Identify the “Irrelevant sentence”

The Topic Sentence

Identify the “Irrelevant sentence”