Paragraph Workshop
About this set
Created by:
acochren on July 5, 2012
Subjects:
language arts, Ms. C, Cochren, Thurston Middle School
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30 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 paragraph | section of text focused on a single idea |
| main idea | the overall point of a paragraph |
| topic sentence | the sentence in which a paragraph's main idea is stated |
| supporting sentences | contain the concrete details that prove, explain, or elaborate a paragraph's main idea |
| sensory details | what we expeerience through the senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell |
| facts | information that can be proven true by direct observation or by checking a reliable reference source |
| examples | typical instances of an idea |
| unity | all of the paragraph's sentences relate to the central focus or main idea |
| coherence | the supporting details are clearly connected and arranged with a smart organizational structure and transitional words and phrases |
| organizational structure | a way that the writer has organized his or her ideas; the most common are chronological, spatial, order of importance, cause and effect, sequential, compare and contrast |
| chronological order | the writer arranges the supporting details in the order in which they happened; often used in fictional stories, to explain a process, or to show cause and effect |
| spatial order | the writer arranges the supporting details according to their location; often used in writing descriptions |
| order of importance | the writer arranges the supporting details in which the most important is either located at teh beginning or the end of a series of ideas; often used in persuasive writing |
| transitional words and phrases | a writer uses these to create coherence; categories include comparing and contrasting, showing cause and effect, showing time, showing place; showing support |
| descriptive paragraph | the writer describes a scene or object |
| narrative paragraph | the writer tells a story or explains a sequence of events |
| expository paragraph | the writer presents information including facts, instructions, definitions in order to inform |
| persuasive paragraph | the writer attempts to convince others to accept his or her opinion and take action to support it |
| essay | a short piece of non-fiction writing which contains an introduction, body, and conclusion |
| introduction | the first paragraph of an essay which grabs or hooks the readers' attention and contains a thesis statement which provides the topic's main idea |
| ways to catch a reader's attention in an introduction | ask a question, start with an anecdote, or begin with a surprising fact |
| anecdote | a brief story that can catch readers' attention |
| body | the paragraphs of an essay in between the introduction and conclusion in which the writer presents the main supportive, concrete details to support the thesis |
| conclusion | the last paragraph of an essay in which the writer ties together the supporting ideas and gives the readers a sense that the writing is complete |
| ways to finish a concluding paragraph | restate the main idea in a different way; refer back to the introduction anecdote or surprising fact, offer insight through commentary or a quotation |
| thesis | the main idea statement in an essay's introductory paragraph |
| concrete details | Specific details that form the backbone or core of the body paragraphs. Synonyms for concrete details include facts, specifics, examples, descriptions, illustrations, support, proof, evidence, quotations, paraphrasing, or plot references |
| attention grabber or hook | A statement, startling fact, question, or anecdote that appears at the beginning of the introduction and "hooks" or grabs the reader's attention. |
| commentary | The writer's opinion or comment about something. Synonyms include opinion, insight, analysis, interpretation, inference, personal response, feelings, evaluation, explication, and reflection. |
| paraphrasing | Using your own words to restate an author's information; requires giving credit to the original author |
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