Effective Paragraph Structure and Revision Techniques

Chapter 2

Paragraph Structure:

• Topic sentence: states the topic and introduces the main idea

• Body sentences: support the topic sentence

• Concluding sentence: restates the main idea and ends the paragraph

Steps to develop:

Narrow the topic: make it more specific. You can use brainstorming, questioning, or freewriting.

Topic sentence: it introduces the topic to the paragraph, it states the paragraph’s controlling idea, it is the most general sentence in the paragraph, and it is followed by other sentences that provide supporting facts and examples.

Controlling idea: writer’s opinion or attitude

Supporting ideas: facts and examples that provide the reader with interesting information about the subject matter

You can organize your ideas in:

Time order: you arrange the details according to the sequence in which they occurred

Emphatic Order: you arrange the ideas in a logical sequence

Space order: it helps the reader to visualize what you are describing in a specific space

The paragraph plan: is a map showing the paragraph’s main and supporting ideas

Writing the concluding sentence: restate the topic sentence in a fresh way, make an interesting final observation, and end with a prediction, suggestion, or quotation

The first draft: the last step. Must include the topic sentence, supporting details, and concluding sentence. It's okay if it is messy or incomplete

Chapter 3

Revise: is modifying your writing to make it stronger and more convincing

Edit: is when you correct your final draft making necessary changes

Steps to revise and edit

Revise for unity: ensure that all parts of your work relate to the MI

Revise for adequate support: determine that your details effectively support the MI

Avoid circular reasoning: means that a paragraph restates a point many times.

Revise for coherence: verify that your ideas flow smoothly and logically

Transitional expressions: linking words or phrases. Ex: as well, accordingly, in contrast, therefore

Revise for style: ensure that your sentences are varied and interesting

Edit for technical errors: correct your work, and correct errors in grammar, spelling, mechanics, and punctuation

Tips: put your writing aside for a day or two before editing

Start to correct the mistakes at any stage of the process

Keep a list of your common errors in a separate grammar log

Final draft: when you have finished making the revisions and editing errors write your final draft