Ⅰ. Effective Paragraphs 1. Unity
Unity of a paragraph is concerned with its content. If all the sentences in the paragraph lead to one central theme, the paragraph is unified. The central theme is usually summarized in what is called the topic sentence. It often appears at the beginning of the paragraph; however, it may also be found in the middle or at the end of a paragraph.
For instance:
I’ve done my share of leaning on their shoulders over the years. I never felt there was anything I couldn’t tell my Mom and Dad, and I am the kind who has to get it all out when I have a problem. Over the years they’ve heard it all: the time in junior high when one boy was constantly bugging me, the time in high school when I got caught drinking, the time I wrecked their
A paragraph is unified when all the sentences in the paragraph are focused on one central thought or on a single topic; when the writer wishes to introduce a new thought or topic, he should begin a new paragraph. A paragraph is coherent when it develops naturally and smoothly, and one sentence leads logically to another. There are many ways to develop a paragraph, for example, by process, by cause and effect, by comparison and contrast,
Exercisesⅱ. Cross out the sentence that is not connected to the topic of this
paragraph:
Books are placed on the library shelves in numerical order. In other words, all the books on one subject are put together under the same number; for example, all books on United States history are numbered 973, and are placed together on the 973 shelf or shelves. Of course, such books are borrowed mostly by students who learn history.
PartБайду номын сангаасThree
The Paragraph
A paragraph is a unit of thought; it is at once a unity in itself and part of a larger whole, that is, the essay.
A paragraph is like a mini-essay; it should be unified, coherent and well developed.
So the second factor is what happens to the individual—the sort of environment in which he is brought up. If an individual is in poor environment, it is likely that his brain will fail to develop and he will never attain the level of intelligence of which he is capable.
Exercisesⅰ: Find out the topic
sentence of the following paragraph:
There are two factors which determine an individual’s intelligence. The first is the sort of brain he is born with. Human brains differ considerably, some being more capable than others. But no matter how good a brain he has to begin with, an individual will have a low order of intelligence unless he has opportunities to learn.