Entry# 5

Paragraph organization 

Characteristics 

-It has a very specific structure.

structure.

-It starts with a topic sentence that introduces the topic that you are going to talk about. 

-It has a body in which you get all of the supporting details, the supporting arguments for your topic sentence.

-A closing sentence in which you remind the audience what you are writing about,  you are restating your topic sentence and keeping your audience thinking.

  

Some practice 

Topic sentences

There are two broad theories concerning what triggers a human's inevitable decline to debate.

The first is the wear-and-tear hypothesis that suggests the body eventually succumbs to the environmental insults of life. The second is the notion that we have an internal clock which is genetically programmed to run down. Supporters of the wear-and-tear theory maintain that the very practice of breathing causes us to age because inhaled oxygen produces toxic by-products. Advocates of the internal clock theory believe that individual cells are told to stop dividing and thus eventually to die by, for example, hormones produced by the brain or by their own genes. (from Debra Blank, "The Eternal Quest" [edited]).

Many politicians deplore the passing of the old family-sized farm, but I'm not so sure.
I saw around Velva a release from what was like slavery to the tyrannical soil, release from the ignorance that darkens the soul and from the loneliness that corrodes it. In this generation my Velva friends have rejoined the general American society that their pioneering fathers left behind when they first made the barren trek in the days of the wheat rush. As I sit here in Washington writing this, I can feel their nearness. (from Eric Sevareid, "Velva, North Dakota").

Although the interpretation of traffic signals may seem highly standardized, close observation reveals regional variations across this country, distinguishing the east coast from central Canada and the west as surely as dominant dialect or political inclinations.

In Montreal, a flashing red traffic light instructs drivers to careen even more wildly through intersections heavily populated with pedestrians and oncoming vehicles. In startling contrast, an amber light in Calgary warns drivers to scream to a halt on the off chance that there might be a pedestrian within 500 meters who might consider crossing at some unspecified time within the current day. In my home town in New Brunswick, finally, traffic lights (along with painted lines and posted speed limits) do not apply to tractors, all terrain vehicles, or pickup trucks, which together account for most vehicles on the road. In fact, were any observant Canadian dropped from an alien space vessel at an unspecified intersection anywhere in this vast land, he or she could almost certainly orient him-or-herself according to the surrounding traffic patterns.  

Source: University of Otawa Writing Centre.
Retrieved from : https//www.uottawa.ca/en.
Available
At:https://arts.uottawa.ca/writingcentre/en/hypergrammar/writing-paragraphs/review-topic-sentences. Last visited: July 6th,2020

Study notes

Writing a paragraph can be difficult and sometimes we can even think that we don't know how to develop it.But if we take into consideration some tips, I'm sure that we can be able to make a good paragraph.To write a good writing students need to understand the four essential elements of paragraph writing and how each element contributes to the whole. These elements are unity, order, coherence and completennes.Taking into account these norms of writing, your paragraph should start with a topic sentence  which is the main idea that you state as a writer. This idea unifies your paragraph,and with the supporting sentences provide details and discussion. Moreover, this supporting ideas convince your reader to believe or envision what you do and give them everything they need to see your point of view. In addition, a paragraph should have a closing sentence to conclude a particular idea or train of thought before moving on to start a new line for the next paragraph. The second element which is essential to develop a well organized paragraph is the order, this element refers to the way in which we organize your supporting sentences. Order helps the reader grasp your meaning and avoid confusion. The third element that is one of the most important is coherence, this is the quality that makes your writing understandable. Besides, sentences within a paragraph need to connect to each other and work as a whole. The fourth and last element that we should have in mind is the completennes, this element leads us to write a well-developed paragraph. This happens if all sentences clearly and sufficiently support the main idea , then your paragraph is complete.

Apart from these already mentioned elements,  I would like to add the importance of transition words, which help words tie separate paragraphs, connecting them to make a coherent idea. Phrases like: In addition, moreover, let readers track your ideas and understand how they relate to each other. 

Metalanguage analysis

Paragraph organization

After watching the video I can say that I have a more clear idea of how to write a well-developed paragraph. To be honest, I have always had doubts at the moment of writing, I didn't know how to develop a good paragraph , I mean, I didn't take into consideration these norms such as the topic sentence, its supporting sentences, a concluding sentence and the order. In my opinion,  althought I consider that it is very difficult to make a good paragraph, if you have these elements in mind, I totally  believe that you will  be able to develop a well developed paragraph. These tips will let you write without wasting time in thinking or finding structures to get a correct paragraph organization.
Regarding the video, as I said before in the previous entry when we saw the video in which explained about how to differenciate speech acts, I firmly believe that these tools are very useful nowadays. In my case, I study better watching videos and I don't waste time reading in paper, I mean, I like reading because I know that books enrich and improve my vocabulary and reading skills, but in my opinion I am in favour of teaching through didactic and interesting videos as the ones that you gave me.

As regards study notes, I have to say that I'm keen on writing in paper, even if I have something printed beforehand, I need to make a resume and take down notes . I need to take the new information into my own words, so that I can make it more understandable for me. As far as I'm concerned, making mindmaps and charts are very useful for me, finding key words in each given video or page will be an excellent tool to teach our students how not to waste time reading without no guideliness . Apart from this tool, I'm totally sure that if we teach students through didactic and interesting videos, they will acquire the information quickler than reading a book. I think that students pay more attention to something virtual instead of something printed. I'm talking about my own experience because I see that videos call their attention, it might be because they contain images, graphics, colours and in some cases persons.