Early Writing - Paragraph Writing

What is a Paragraph?

• A paragraph is a group of sentences that tells about one subject or area.  
• Each sentence in a paragraph must give information about the topic

Reasons to write a paragraph

• Describe something
• Tell a story
• Explain something
• To Persuade

Parts of a paragraph
topic sentence:
States the main idea of the paragraph. It tells the reader what the paragraph will be about.

supporting details: 
Sentences that are connected to the main idea. They include information or details the reader needs in order to understand the topic. Sentences should be ordered in the best possible order. 3  main ways to do this is either by time, location or importance.  

closing statements:

Sums up the paragraph’s message. It reminds the readers of the topic.

Topic Sentence

•What is the topic sentence?  

The topic sentence is the first sentence in a paragraph. 

 What does it do?  

It introduces the main idea of the paragraph.

How do I write one?  

Summarize the main idea of your paragraph. Indicate to the reader what your paragraph will be about.

  

Example:

  There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price.

Supporting Details 

What are supporting sentences? 

They come after the topic sentence, making up the body of a paragraph.

What do they do? 

They give details to develop and support the main idea of the paragraph.

How do I write them? 

You should give supporting facts, details, and examples.

Example:

  There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university.

Closing Sentence

What is the closing sentence? 

The closing sentence is the last sentence in a paragraph.

What does it do? 

It restates the main idea of your paragraph.

How do I write one? 

Restate the main idea of the paragraph using different words.

 

Example:

  There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Canada's cities are clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for people to live. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.