WHAT IS A PARAGRAPH? A paragraph is a group of sentences. It is not enough to say that a paragraph is a group of sentences, because the relation of each sentence, the beginning, and the ending sentences of the paragraph, what constitutes a good paragraph are very important.
THE TOPIC OF A PARAGRAPH- A paragraph develops a topic. The topic is basically the subject of the paragraph; it is what the paragraph is about. The topic of a paragraph is usually introduced in a sentence; this sentence is called the "Topic Sentence". A good topic sentence states an idea or an attitude about the topic as well. This "idea" or "attitude" about the topic is called the "controlling idea"; it controls what the sentences in the paragraph should relate to and develop the controlling idea. However, it is not enough merely to have a topic and a controlling idea. The controlling idea should be clear and focused on a particular aspect. Reviewing, a topic sentence has a particular function: to introduce the topic and the controlling ideas. So where should the topic sentence be placed in the paragraph? generally, because the topic sentence does introduce, it is a good idea to place it at or near the beginning of the paragraph, however, depending on the paragraph, the topic sentence may be in the middle or even at the end of the paragraph. It is usually a good idea to state topic sentences clearly, not only to be certain but also to help control the development of the paragraph. Once you have found a manaeable paragraph, you need to examine that topic more closely in order to see what you think about it and what your own feelings or attitudes are about it. To decide on the controlling idea and what you want to say about a topic, begin by making a detailed list of things that come to mind about the topic. You can write the list using complete sentences, or you can just take brief notes. The form your notes take is not really important; what is important is writing down enough notes so that you can pick out an aspect of the topic that seems worthy of development. Once you have taken notes and formulated a controlling idea about the topic, the next step is to extract from your notes the material you can use to develop the paragraph. This material will be used to support the opinion or attitude expressed in your topic sentence. It serves to back up, clarify, illustrate, explain or prove the point you make in your topic sentence. We have seen that a paragraph must have a topic sentence and a controlling idea, support, and unity. Another element that a paragraph need is coherence. A coherent paragraph contains sentences that are logically arranged and flow smoothly.
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Logical arrangements refers to the order of your sentences and ideas. There are various ways to order your sentences, depending on your purpose.
THE NARRATIVE PARAGRAPH-" Present and Past Narration"... The sentences written to organize the paragraph should have a topic sentence, controlling idea, support, unity and coherence. There are several ways of organizing sentences in paragraphs. Actually, the arrangements of sentences and details depends on the writer's purpose. Suppose, for example, that you were asked to explain a process ( how to do something), you would begin by explaining what do do first and finish by explaining what to do last. Ordering your sentences and ideas in order of time is referred to as CHRONOLOGICAL development.There are principally two ways of writing that require chronological development: narration and process description.Although narrartion usually refers to the telling of a story, the term is used here to describe the relating of an experience. that experience may be in the past ( past narration), or it may be a typical experience( what people usually do ), or it mat be going on now( Present Narration ).Ordering your sentences and ideas chronologically is not hard, as you know. However, deciding what to include and what to limit-in other words, making your paragraph unified-can be difficult.
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