Writing a Paragraph

Principles of Paragraph Development
Whether you are writing a sentence, paragraph or a longer composition, you must observe the principles of unity, coherence, and emphasis

Unity
A paragraph has unity when all its elements are related to one another and to the topic sentence. No element should digress from the writer’s main idea and enough details are included for completeness.

A unified paragraph deals only with only one main idea and has consistency of mood, tone, point of view and level of language.

Coherence
Refers to the logical relationship among the elements in a paragraph. It provides a smooth flow of meaning through the orderly arrangement of ideas.

Five ways of Ordering Ideas in a Paragraph
Chronological or time order (for narration or process analysis)
Enumeration or listing order
Spatial order (for description or for showing location in space)
Casual order and
logical order (inductive – from particular instances to a generalization or deductive – from a generalization to particulars)

Emphasis
Refers to the giving of focus to the most important elements of ideas. This can be achieved by proper positioning of elements (the beginning and end of paragraph for the most important ideas.

Making an Outline
For a well-organized paragraph, it is important that you outline your ideas first. An outline will help you see whether all the necessary elements are included in your paragraph.

Methods of Paragraph Development

Description
As you think or see a person, place or thing, you use vivid words to make your description come to life. It is creating a picture in writing. It moves the reader to see, hear, feel, smell or experience something the writer has in mind. In short, description gives life to the ideas of an author through well-meaning words.

Two types of Description
1. Informative or objective description
This type of description gives information of facts as it pictures out a person, place or thing in accurately chosen words. It may be a long prose or a brief statement. It is intellectual in form and content.

2. Artistic or subjective description
This type of description gives pleasure to the reader while stimulating his imagination. It presents the creativity of the author as he expresses his moods, passions, opinions and feelings through vivd words.

Narration
Conversations, speeches, as well as written discourses, can be made more interesting and colorful with the use of narration. Narration is a method of recounting an event or a series of events like when we tell a story or explain how something happened.

Flashback
In a flashback, you present a later detail or action before the earliest details or actions are traced up to the latest detail or action. This is used in storytelling for a special or artistic effect.

Definition
The process of clarifying the meaning of term is called definition.
Simple terms may be easily explained by giving a synonym or an explanatory phrase. Another way would be by explaining the meaning in a sentence. In a sentence definition, the speaker or writer expresses the nominal definition or dictionary meaning. This is also known as a formal definition which contains three elements:

1. The term to be defined
2. The group or class to which the term belongs; this is known as the genus, and
3. The characteristics of the term that distinguish it from the other members of the group or class; this is known as the differentia

TERM GENUS DIFFERENTIA

1. Ecumenism is any movement which promotes better understanding
among differing religions.

2. A computer is an electronic that accepts and stores data, accesses and
device retrieves data, performs certain operations
on the data and presents the results of those
operations.


Extended definitions
Paragraph or a series of paragraphs are needed to expound the meaning. In this case, the sentence definition serves as the topic sentence

Extended Definitions using
synonyms and antonyms
cause and effect
using negation
using description

Classification
Classification is putting together one class and its subclasses, including its characteristics, as different from the other classes.

Cause and Effect
This tries to explain the relationship of two occurrences of phenomena by identifying which one is the reason (cause) and which is the result (effect) of the other.

Analogy
This gives attention to commonalities between ideas that are abstract and objects that are concrete.

Comparison and Contrast
Pointing out the commonalities is known as comparison, while showing the differences is known as contrast. We do this particularly in making choices as when we buy things or adopt a proposal. Before making an evaluation, the criteria for the comparison or contrast should be determined.

Deduction
This style of paragraph development where the topic sentence is found at the beginning of the paragraph is called deduction.

Induction
Method of paragraph development in which the organization of ideas starts with details and leads to the concluding idea which is the topic sentence

Study skills

Studying is an art and an all-out effort at learning which involves a lot of things – from getting to class on time and aswerting examinations effectively. One of the most neglected activities in studying is perhaps taking notes on class work and reading.

Note – Taking
Is writing in condensed form the content of a chapter or a whole book or classroom lectures or speeches.

The Six R Principles of note-taking

Record
Refers to writing down meaningful ideas and facts in a lecture

Reduce
Refers to summarizing notes taken down from the lecture.

Recite
Refers to reducing the main idea and facts form suitable statements for recitations

Reflect
Refers to thinking of ideas that make your notes more meaningful to you.

Review
Refers to reciting of notes frequently either nightly or several times during the week.

Recapitulate
Refers to summarizing of what have been taken down, picking keywords and concepts an providing clues to details described in the notes.

Learning Styles

What is learning style?

It is the more or less consistent way in which the person perceives, conceptualizes, organizes and recalls information

Where do learning styles come from?

Your learning styles are influenced by our genetic make-up, previous learning experiences, culture and society you live in

Why study learning styles?
By thinking about your preferred style, you can try and apply this to learning new things. If you are able yo use your natural style, you will likely find learning much easier.

Learning style classification systems

Field independent vs. field-dependent

Field independent learners are those can easily separate important details from a complex or confusing background. They tend to rely on themselves and their own thought system when solving problems. They are not so skilled in interpersonal relationship.

Field dependent learners are those who find it more difficult to see the parts in a complex whole. They rely on other’s ideas when solving problems and are good at interpersonal skills.


Left-brain dominant vs. Right-brain Dominant

Students who are left-brain dominant:

• Intellectual
• Process information in a linear way
• Tend to be objective
• Prefer established or certain information
• Rely on language

Those who are right-brain dominant:

• Intuitive
• Process information in a holistic way
• Prefer illusive, uncertain information
• Rely on drawing to help them think

Auditory Learners

• Are able to recall what they hear
• Learn by listening and speaking
• Enjoy talking and interviewing
• Enjoy oral reading, choral reading, listening to recorded books

Visual Learners

• Are able to recall what they see and will prefer written instructions
• Are sight-readers
• Enjoy reading easily
• Prefer video information

Tactile Learners

• Learn best by touching
• Understand direction that they will write
• Learn best through manipulation

Kinesthetic

• Learn by touching or manipulating objects
• Need to involve their whole body in learning
• Remember best if they act it out