Paragraph Development: Two Examples
1) Topic sentence + 1 illustration + summary sentence
A Happy Idea
A seemingly unimportant idea can sometimes have a far-reaching effect. For example, the simple idea of a factory worker resulted in saving an industry. For several years the makers of a soap-filled scouring pad glumly watched the declining curves of their sales charts. Then one memorable day an employee in the plant casually mentioned that he had found the pads excellent for cleaning sidewall tires. The idea was promptly turned over to an advertising agency that worked up a campaign about the efficiency of the pads for cleaning white sidewalls. The result was a sharp upturn on the sales charts and a new life for the company.
2) Topic sentence + several examples + summary sentence
Title Forgotten
Our family is noted for being absent-minded. For instance, my mother put the boiling tea kettle in the refrigerator and the ice cube tray in the oven. She then set off blithely, leaving the uncooked casserole on the table. On one important occasion, my father stuffed the notes for his speech in his overcoat pocket, and then he carefully hung the coat in the closet before leaving for his appointment. My sister, too, showed elements of absent-mindedness one chilly spring morning, she put her coat on over her slip and forgot her freshly ironed dress. As the temperature rose, her friends at school were puzzled to find her clutching her coat around her while the perspiration rolled off her nose. Sinceabsent-mindedness is so common to us, I’ve often wondered why we have no professors in the family.
A Few Notes about Paragraphs:
“Para” (parallel) “graph” (writing) means the following:
“Lines of writing parallel with other lines of writing in a unit.”
A paragraph is the smallest unit or cluster of sentences in which one idea can be developed adequately.
Each paragraph discusses only one main idea.
What A Good Topic Sentence Does
（1）informs the reader of the subject of the paragraph
（2）states some action about the subject
（3）limits the subject to a certain aspect
（4）almost always asserts an opinion or point of view
（5）often reflects the tone of a writer
（6）provokes questions in the reader’s mind (why? what? how? to what extent?)
（7）prevents a rambling discussion
Order Within Paragraphs
Goodwriters usually do not begin writing without a plan in mind. Just as without a road map you might wander around and waste time in reaching a destination in a strange city, so you can wander around and waste time in expressing your ideas if you do not have plan of organization for your writing.
The “road map” of writing consists of an outline which is constructed on the basis of some kind of order, depending upon the type of paragraph.
Following, you will find six kinds of possible order for paragraphs.
（1）Cause to Effect (Induction) or Effect to Cause (Deduction)——
Explains the causes, and then describes the effects (or vice versa).
（2）Importance ——
Arrange the sentences by stating the least important information first, and then moving forward to the most important last.
（3）Simple to Complex ——
Arrange the sentences with the simplest or most familiar ideas first, and then proceed to the more complex or less familiar.
（4）Space(Spatial) ——
Arrange sentences in a logical order, depending upon what is being described: from near to far, far to near, left to right, right to left, clockwise, counterclockwise, top to bottom, bottom to top, front to back, back to front, east to west, north to south, etc.
（5）Support ——
Arrange sentences by stating an opinion or point of view and then giving reasons for support (use specific examples, details, reasons).
（6）Time(Chronological ) ——
Arrange sentences in the order of natural occurrence, from the first step or earliest date, and proceed to the second, third, fourth, etc.
ASSIGNMENT:
Choose one of the topics listed below, develop a topic sentence, choose one of the two general patterns (above), and write a good paragraph.
The topics: dating, sports, make-up, cartoons, music, food, pets.
注：图片为帅气的Johnny和院子里去年春天开放的玫瑰花。
