1. The Four Aims
Purposes of Writing

2. To Inform
Some writers want to give facts and other kinds of information or explain something to their readers. This information may be based on research, personal knowledge, or something you witnessed or heard. It can also explain a process or tell about a series of events.
Examples: Newspaper Articles, Research Papers, How-To’s

3. To Persuade
Sometimes writers want to persuade other people to change their minds about something or to act in a certain way, such as purchasing an item or voting for a certain candidate.
Examples: Advertisements, Persuasive Essays

4. To Express
Sometimes writers simply want to express their own feelings and thoughts. This type of writing places greater emphasis on opinion than on fact.
Examples: Journals, Newspaper Editorials

5. To Be Creative
Some writers present their writing in nontraditional ways for the purpose of entertaining their reader or leading their reader to look at an idea from a different perspective. The purpose of this writing is often to create a mood, emotion, or image.
Examples: poems, songs, plays

6. The Parts of a Paragraph

7. The purpose or focus of gathered thoughts in a paragraph
Main Idea
The purpose or focus of gathered thoughts in a paragraph

8. A statement that specifically expresses the main idea of the paragraph
Topic Sentence
A statement that specifically expresses the main idea
of the paragraph

9. Supporting Sentences
Gives details, examples or information to support or
elaborate the main idea

10. Clincher Restates the main idea of the paragraph
in a different way than the topic sentence; pulls all the details together and signals
the end of the paragraph

11. Traits of a Good Paragraph

12. Unity
All the parts of the paragraph work together as a unit to express and support one main idea

13. Coherence
The ideas in a paragraph are arranged and connected in a way that will make sense to the readers

14. Order of Ideas
Chronological Order- used to relate events in the order they happen(ed)
Spatial Order- used to describe objects or places according to where they are located
Order of Importance- used to show importance of details in relation to one another
Logical Order- used to group related ideas

15. Elaboration
Development or expansion of the paragraph’s main idea using plenty of supporting details

16. Methods of Elaboration
Sensory Details- precise bits of information collected using the five senses
Fact- statements that can be proven true (Statistics are facts involving numbers.)
Examples- specific instances, or illustrations, or an idea