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PARAGRAPH WRITING: TYPES AND TECHNIQUES:STRUCTURE

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Journalistic Writing ­ MCM310
VU
LECTURE 20
PARAGRAPH WRITING: TYPES AND TECHNIQUES
What is a paragraph?
A paragraph is a collection of related sentences dealing with a single topic. To be as effective as possible, a
paragraph should contain each of the following: Unity, Coherence, A Topic Sentence, and Adequate
Development. As you will see, all of these traits overlap. Using and adapting them to your individual purposes
will help you construct effective paragraphs.
1. Unity:
The entire paragraph should concern itself with a single focus. If it begins with a one focus or major point of
discussion, it should not end with another or wander within different ideas.
2. Coherence:
Coherence is the trait that makes the paragraph easily understandable to a reader. You can help create
coherence in your paragraphs by creating logical bridges and verbal bridges.
Logical bridges:
·  The same idea of a topic is carried over from sentence to sentence
·
Successive sentences can be constructed in parallel form
Verbal bridges:
·  Key words can be repeated in several sentences
·
Synonymous words can be repeated in several sentences
·
Pronouns can refer to nouns in previous sentences
·
Transition words can be used to link ideas from different sentences
3. A topic sentence:
A topic sentence is a sentence that indicates in a general way what idea or thesis the paragraph is going to deal
with. Although not all paragraphs have clear-cut topic sentences, and despite the fact that topic sentences can
occur anywhere in the paragraph (as the first sentence, the last sentence, or somewhere in the middle), an easy
way to make sure your reader understands the topic of the paragraph is to put your topic sentence near the
beginning of the paragraph. (This is a good general rule for less experienced writers, although it is not the only
way to do it).
4. Adequate development
The topic (which is introduced by the topic sentence) should be discussed fully and adequately. Again, this
varies from paragraph to paragraph, depending on the author's purpose, but writers should beware of
paragraphs that only have two or three sentences. It's a pretty good bet that the paragraph is not fully
developed if it is that short.
Some methods to make sure your paragraph is well-developed:
·  Use examples and illustrations
·
Cite data (facts, statistics, evidence, details, and others)
·
Examine testimony (what other people say such as quotes and paraphrases)
·
Use an anecdote or story
·
Define terms in the paragraph
·
Compare and contrast
·
Evaluate causes and reasons
·
Examine effects and consequences
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Journalistic Writing ­ MCM310
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·  Analyze the topic
·
Describe the topic
·
Offer a chronology of an event (time segments)
TYPES OF PARAGRAHS:
SIMPLE LISTING PARAGRAPHS:
Structure:
1. Topic Sentence (central idea or focus)
2. Body
3. Conclusion
Example 1:
I need a water bottle for the hike in case I get thirsty. A sweater is useful if it gets cold. A compass will help me
go in the right direction. Sandwiches will be an easy to carry snack. I can use a camera to take picture of usual
or attractive places.
Example 2:
City has many interesting areas. Chinatown is a neighborhood where you can eat good Chinese food. On Fifth
Avenue, you can see many beautiful stores. Greenwich Village has interesting clubs and restaurants. Broadway
is the center of American theater. Truly, New York has something for everyone.
Simple Listing Paragraphs: Practice
Write simple listing paragraphs on the followings:
·  My courses at university
·
My favorite things
·
my favorite places in Pakistan
·
The people in my family
ORDER OF IMPORTANCE PARAGRAPH
Difference between listing and order of importance paragraphs: In the body.
Compare the following paragraphs. Of course the second one is Order of Importance Paragraph.
When we choose a car, we must think about many things. It must be big enough for the number of people
we want to carry. It must not cost more than we want to spend. It should be fuel efficient. We want a
car that looks good. It can be difficult to find the right car.
When we choose a car, we must think about many things. The most important is that it must be big
enough for the number of people we want to carry. The second most important thing is that it must
not cost more than we want to spend. Third, it should be fuel efficient. Last, we want a car that looks
good. It can be difficult to find the right car.
STRUCTURE:
Topic sentence
1st importance + 2nd importance + 3rd importance
Conclusion
Example:
"What Makes a Good Boss?"
There are three important qualities necessary in a good boss. The most important is
fairness. If the boss is fair, workers can feel that if they do a good job, their work will be appreciated, and their
efforts will be rewarded. The second most important quality is leadership. The boss should be an example and
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Journalistic Writing ­ MCM310
VU
a teacher. This allows workers to learn from a boss so that they can increase their job skills and get promoted.
The third most important factor is that the boss acts with consistency. That way the workers know what to
expect each day. They know how they'll be treated and what their share of the workload will be. I would hire a
boss with these qualities for myself.
Order of Importance Paragraph: Practice
Write order of importance paragraphs on the following topics:
The three biggest cities in you country
The three most important historical places in your country
The most interesting places in your hometown
Source: Connor. Express Yourself in Written English. Illinois: NTC. 1990
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Table of Contents:
  1. INTRODUCTION TO JOURNALISTIC WRITING:Practical, THINGS TO KNOW
  2. QUALITIES OF GOOD WRITERS
  3. QUALITIES OF GOOD WRITERS
  4. QUALITIES OF GOOD WRITING:Achieve appropriate readability:
  5. QUALITIES OF GOOD WRITING:Be concise, Be creative, Be correct
  6. THE PROCESS OF WRITING:INVENTION, WHEN YOU START TO WRITE
  7. THE PROCESS OF WRITING II:ORGANIZING, DRAFTING, REVISING
  8. ALL ABOUT WORDS:HOW WORDS ARE FORMED?:SUFFIXES
  9. DICTIONARY-A WRITER’S LANGUAGE TOOL:KINDS OF INFORMATION
  10. PARTS OF SPEECH:Noun Gender, Noun Plurals, Countable Nouns
  11. BASIC CLAUSE PATTERNS
  12. ACTIVE AND PASSSIVE VOICE
  13. MODIFIERS AND SENTENCE TYPES:COMPOUND SENTENCES
  14. REPORTED SPEECH:Indirect Questions, Direct commands
  15. GRAMMATICAL SENTENCE – ISSUES:SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
  16. GRAMMATICAL SENTENCE – ISSUES II:SENTENCE FRAGMENTS
  17. EFFECTIVE SENTENCE:PARALLELISM, NEEDED WORDS, SHIFTS
  18. STYLE: GUIDELINE AND PITFALLS I:COLLOQUIAL VS FORMAL, CIRCUMLOCUTION
  19. STYLE: GUIDELINE AND PITFALLS II:AMBIGUITY, REDUNDANCY, EUPHEMISM:
  20. PARAGRAPH WRITING: TYPES AND TECHNIQUES:STRUCTURE
  21. PARAGRAPH WRITING: TYPES AND TECHNIQUES:Putting on Our Play
  22. ESSAY WRITING:VARIOUS STRATEGIES FOR ESSAYS, PROMPTS
  23. SIGNAL WORDS:Non word Emphasis Signals
  24. EXPOSITORY WRITING:LOGICAL FALLACIES, APPEAL TO EMOTION
  25. THE WRITING STYLES: REPORT and NARRATIVE WRITING, SHORT REPORTS
  26. THE WRITING STYLES: DESCRIPTIVE AND PERSUASIVE WRITINGS, Observation
  27. RESEARCH WRITING AND DOCUMNETING SOURCES:Handling Long Quotations
  28. Summary and Précis Writing:CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD SUMMARY
  29. Punctuation:THE PERIOD, THE COMMA, THE SEMICOLON, THE COLON
  30. MECHANICS:ABBREVIATIONS, NUMBERS, SPELLING, THE HYPHEN
  31. READING SKILLS FOR WRITERS:EDUCATED READING, STEPS
  32. PARTS OF A NEWSPAPER:Box-out, By-line, Caption, Exclusive, Feature
  33. THE LANGUAGE OF THE NEWSPAPERS II:BROADSHEET NEWSPAPER
  34. News Writing and Style I:WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A NEWSPAPER
  35. NEWS WRITING II:Accuracy, Clarity, Style, Qualities of Effective Leads
  36. EDITORIAL WRITING:WRITING AN EDITORIAL:STRUCTURING AN EDITORIAL
  37. WRITING FEATURES:GENERATING FEATURE STORY IDEAS
  38. WRITING COLUMNS:Column and a news report, Purpose, Audience
  39. WRITING ARTICLES FOR NEWSPAPERS:The Heading, The Lead
  40. WRITING ANALYSIS:purpose, scope, method, results, recommendations
  41. LETTERS TO EDITORS:Four important aspects about letters, Organizing letters
  42. BROADCAST AND WEB NEWS WRITING:WRITE CONCISELY, BROADCAST STYLE
  43. WRITING PRESS RELEASE, REVIEWS AND OBITUARIES:Summary of Content:
  44. THE ART OF INTERVIEWINGS
  45. FINAL THOUGHTS:Practical, Job-Related, Social, Stimulating, Therapeutic