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• 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, etc.
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• 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.
• f）The Laundromat is far from my apartment, and I waste much valuable time.
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• g）I have never had to cook before, and usually the results are discouraging.
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• The controlling idea: • Since I began living in an
apartment and going to school, my biggest problem has been the housework.
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• a）Cooking my food is a bigger problem.
• i）I also have trouble with the complicated instructions, so occasionally I end up with pink socks or a shirt that is too small.
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3. Transition
• Coherence may not be perfect even if the writer arranges his sentences in a clear, logical order. He has to use good transitions so that one sentence runs smoothly to another.
it may be seriously oned whether the advent of modern communications media has much enhanced our understanding of the world in which we live.
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Exerciseⅲ:
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.
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 Volkswagen Rabbit, rough times with my former boyfriend, a精n选d on and on….
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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. 精选
Part Three
The Paragraph
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• 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.
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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.
• b）The worst problem is doing my laundry.
• c）Cleaning the apartment is not too bad; although it takes time away from my studies; at least when I finish the apartment looks nice.
• Listed below are a controlling idea and nine sentences that develop the controlling idea. Renumber the sentences to arrange them in what you think is the best order; then compose a paragraph, using the controlling idea as your first sentence.
• h）Mostly I am embarrassed as I sit in the Laundromat with all the women, and so I wait until all my clothes are dirty before I do this terrible task.
follow the writer’s train of thought and
understand what he is talking about.
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For instance:
• There is some feeling nowadays that reading is not as necessary as it once was. Radio and especially television have taken over functions once served by painting and other graphic arts. Admittedly, television serves some of these functions extremely well; the visual communication of news events, for example, has enormous impact.