1. Salman bin Abdulaziz University College of Science and Humanity Studies, Al-Kharj

2. Department of English Level 3(2nd Semester) Course Title : Essay Writing (1)

3. Prepared by Bahia Khalifa Ibrahim Prepared by Bahia Khalifa Ibrahim

4. Paragraph Structure A paragraph is a group of related sentences that discuss only one idea. It can be short (one long sentence) or long (ten sentences). The number of the sentences is unimportant; However, the paragraph should be long enough to develop the main idea.

5. It may stand by itself(as a paragraph to answer a test question) or it may be a part of a longer piece of writing such as an essay or a book. A paragraph is marked by indenting the first word about half inch from the left margin.

6. The Three Parts of the Paragraph Topic SentenceSupporting SentencesConcluding Sentence

7. All paragraphs have topic sentence, supporting sentences; and a concluding sentence. The Topic Sentence Is the most important sentence; since it states the main idea of the paragraph.

8. It names the topic of the paragraph and limits it to one specific area that can be discussed completely in the space of a single paragraph. It is a complete sentence; it contains at least one subject and one verb.

9. It contains both a topic and a controlling idea(the part of the topic sentence which announces the specific area to be discussed.) It is the most general statement in the paragraph because it gives only the main idea.

10. It is usually the first sentence except for experienced writers, who prefer to put it in other locations Sometimes the topic sentence comes at the end. In this case, the paragraph often begins with a series of examples or facts and the topic sentence is the conclusion from these facts.

11. Supporting Sentences  They explain or prove the topic sentence.  There are several kinds of specific supporting details: examples, statistics, reasons, descriptions and quotations.

12. The Concluding Sentence  It serves two purposes:  It signals the end of the paragraph.  It leaves the reader with the most important ideas to remember. I t can do this in two ways:  By summarizing the main points of the paragraph.

13.  By repeating the topic sentence in different ways.  Concluding sentences are customary for stand-alone paragraphs.

14. Signals for ending paragraphs End-of –paragraphs followed by comma: Finally, in brief, in conclusion, indeed, in short, lastly, therefore, thus, to sum up,

15. End-of –paragraphs not followed by comma: The evidence suggest that….. There can be no doubt that… ….. These examples show that… We can see that