Lecture3a: Writing the“ Paragraph” 1. After the sentence, the paragraph is the fundamental unit of communication. By organising the main subject into smaller more specific topics, the paragraph can focus on and develop these subjects more fully. a paragraph may be of any length although it is generally best not to write a single sentence as a full paragraph. USually, it requires at least three sentences to develop a topic to some degree. Most paragraphs are organised round a central idea. Each sentence must somehow relate to this idea, or the paragraph will not cohere 2. The Topic sentence Usually. the first sentence tells the reader what the paragraph is about; it states the main idea of the paragraph and is called the topic sentence Example: The topic sentence for paragraph #l is italicized This semester, the freshmen at Xian Normal University felt the difference between high school and college tremendously. Many were overwhelmed by the work load. In high school, for example, they were never required to read a hundred pages night and then complete thirty questions. The freshmen class also found the standards of their professors unusually high Essays were expected to be neatly ty ped and proofread, or they would not be accepted lastly many students were not used to the responsibilities of living way from home. Overall, the freshmen year at Xian Normal University was a try ing time1 Lecture 3a: Writing the “Paragraph” 1. After the sentence, the paragraph is the fundamental unit of communication. By organising the main subject into smaller , more specific topics, the paragraph can focus on and develop these subjects more fully. A paragraph may be of any length, although it is generally best not to write a single sentence as a full paragraph. Usually, it requires at least three sentences to develop a topic to some degree. Most paragraphs are organised around a central idea. Each sentence must somehow relate to this idea, or the paragraph will not cohere . 2. The Topic Sentence Usually, the first sentence tells the reader what the paragraph is about; it states the main idea of the paragraph and is called the topic sentence Example: The topic sentence for paragraph #1 is italicized. This semester, the freshmen at Xian Normal University felt the difference between high school and college tremendously. Many were overwhelmed by the work load. In high school, for example, they were never required to read a hundred pages a night and then complete thirty questions. The freshmen class also found the standards of their professors unusually high. Essays were expected to be neatly typed and proofread, or they would not be accepted. Lastly many students were not used to the responsibilities of living way from home. Overall, the freshmen year at Xian Normal University was a trying time