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 To understand how paragraphs and essays are related.  To understand the basic steps in composing an essay.

letter word sentence paragraph essay The focus of this lesson: How paragraphs form an essay

 The steps in the process of writing a paragraph are: 1. developing ideas (brainstorming). 2. creating the topic sentence (narrowing the topic). 3. writing supporting sentences (developing the ideas). 4. writing concluding sentences (ending the paragraph).

 An essay is a collection of paragraphs that presents facts, opinions, and ideas on a topic. An essay can be as short as three or four paragraphs or as long as ten or more typed pages that include many paragraphs.  Perhaps you have heard of a research paper, which is a special paper that answers a research question.  A research paper is actually a kind of essay.

There are many possible reasons:  is a common assignment for students in an English composition class. Students write essays on various topics to practice their writing skills.  for other classes, such as literature, history, or science classes. In these classes, the essays are about topics in the subject matter of the course.  Another occasion for essays is the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL, IELTS…)  Articles in magazines and other publications are considered essays.  Some authors collect essays about a topic or theme, such as traveling or nature, and compile them in books.

Essays are similar to paragraphs in a number of ways:  They both discuss one topic.  They both use similar organizational elements to help the reader understand the information.  Essays have supporting and concluding paragraphs, just as paragraphs have supporting and concluding sentences.  Both paragraphs and essays have an introduction (or topic sentence), a body (supporting information), and a conclusion.

 The main difference between an essay and a paragraph is the length and, therefore, the scope of the information. Remember that the length depends on the topic and on the purpose of the writing. Imagine that your teacher gives you the general topic of university education. You are asked to write a paragraph about something related to university education. A paragraph usually has five to ten sentences, so you must narrow down your subject to include the most important information in these few sentences. Your paragraph topic could be the tuition costs at the university.  On the other hand, your teacher might ask you to write an essay about university education. Your essay will need to include several paragraphs about a larger topic, such as a comparison of university and community college education. In general, a paragraph topic is very specific while the essay topic must cover a wider scope.

Comparison of Paragraphs and Essays Purpose of PartsParagraphEssay Introduction Topic sentence Hook Gets readers interested. Thesis statement Gives the main idea. Topic sentenceHook Gets readers interested. Thesis statement Body Supporting sentences Supporting paragraphs Organize the main points. Topic sentences Give supporting information. Supporting sentencesSupporting paragraphs Organize the main points. Topic sentences Conclusion Concluding sentence Concluding paragraph Signals the end of the writing. Concluding sentenceConcluding paragraph Activity 1

Quiz title Activity 2