COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES- I ENGLISH WRITING 27. WRITING SKILLS: SHORT PARAGRAPHS This is the third lesson under the fifth unit which will enable you to gain confidence in the writing of paragraphs and passages. The different strategies that are to be adopted for effective writing will be explained with appropriate examples. This lesson moves forward from the previous lessons in this unit where you had been taught the basic concepts for construction of simple/compound/complex sentences, tools for combining and expanding sentences and done practice exercises based on the same.
27.0 Objectives By the end of this lesson you will: i. ii. iii.
organize ideas and facts in a meaningful order following a basic structure develop content in order to make the piece interesting and informative write short paragraphs and passages in a structured form
27.1 Introduction As you are aware, writing is one of the four basic components of communication. You are also aware that any written matter comprises of sentences and paragraphs. The first step to writing longer text would be to acquire the necessary practice in writing paragraphs. In the earlier lessons you learnt advanced concepts of sentence formation and gained confidence in writing better sentences. The whole exercise has prepared you to move on to the next step that is, acquiring the required skills for writing paragraphs and passages. You need to pay careful attention and make a conscious effort to understand the features and ideas explained for writing paragraphs. See how they apply to the examples given for each. Thereafter, try to create simple paragraphs from incidents or situations in your life or from merely observing what is going on around you. The more you practice the more your writing skills will get enhanced and you will be in a position to write interesting paragraphs.
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27.2 Writing 27.2.1 What is Writing? In simple terms, when you organize ideas and thoughts into suitable paragraphs, it is called writing. In other words when you arrange the content of any piece of writing, (an article, a story, an essay or a novel…) in an orderly form it is called writing. 27.2.2 How is Writing different from Speaking? There are many differences between a spoken and a written language. To begin with, in spoken language, you have no need to know the spelling and the rules of punctuation. For instance, when you say “At night, the knight threw his sword through the window”, the person to whom you say it would have no trouble understanding your meaning. However, if you were to write: “At knight, the night through the sword threw the window,” This sentence makes no sense. It leaves the reader puzzled. The cause for the confusion is the use of incorrect spelling of the words. Perhaps you can see from this that having the ability to speak a language is not sufficient for a writer. To be able to write well, one has to have a basic knowledge of the rules of grammar, punctuation and spellings too. Additionally, one must know how to put the parts of a sentence together in such a way that the result makes sense and is also interesting. The process of writing varies with each individual. There are some essential stages that each piece of writing goes through. One must remember that for any kind of writing, the writer needs to: a. have a clear idea of the purpose and therefore what the contents should be b. make sure the contents are presented in a way that the reader is able to understand Sometimes while writing an essay or an article or even a story, one tends to get carried away, delivering unnecessary information or irrelevant details. Therefore, it is important to follow a basic structure and organize sentences in a logical way.
27.3 Paragraph Writing You have already learnt how to write different kinds of sentences –simple, compound and complex. By now you are also familiar with the various tools like transitional words and phrases and techniques of combining and expanding sentences that make sentence writing effective. We shall now see how we can construct paragraphs.
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27.3.1 What is a Paragraph? A paragraph is a group of sentences that conveys an idea or an experience. It must have unity, order and clarity. Unity - All the sentences should focus on a single point and should be related to the main theme. Order - The sentences should be written in a logical order i.e. they should follow an order of events or a particular pattern of thought; appropriate sentence connectors or linking words need to be employed. Clarity -The paragraph should express a main thought clearly. 27.3.2 A Paragraph has Three Parts 1. A focus or topic sentence that clearly states the central idea. 2. One or more sentences that support the central idea. 3. The closing sentence that summarizes the topic. Read this paragraph. One needs to plan for a vacation. For instance, you begin by deciding where you would like to go and the duration of stay. You then make the travel arrangements and the hotel bookings for the number of persons going on the trip. The next thing to do is the packing. It is advisable to pack sensible clothes and footwear suitable for a comfortable holiday. Even though you may like to pack a lot of things, it is better to travel light so that you don’t feel burdened with unnecessary baggage. Never fail to carry a small box of essential medicines as they are useful in case someone catches a cold or fever. It is always a good idea to reconfirm the bookings already made before leaving. Also, make a checklist of the things you need to ensure before locking the house and make sure you follow it. These simple precautions will help make your vacation hassle free. See, it is so easy to plan for a vacation! What does the paragraph talk about? It talks about planning for a vacation. Does the first sentence indicate it? Yes, it does. This sentence is called the focus or topic sentence. What are the other sentences that show a relationship with the main theme? Sentences such as, ‘make the travel arrangements and the hotel bookings’ etc., support the main topic of the paragraph. What do we call the last line of the sentence?
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It is called the closing or concluding sentence. It emphasizes the central idea.
Self-Check Questions Give one line answers. 1. What are the three characteristics of a paragraph? 2. What is the function of a topic sentence in a paragraph? 3. What is the function of the closing sentence in a paragraph?
27.4 Types of Paragraphs There are four types of paragraphs. 1. 2. 3. 4.
Descriptive Paragraph Narrative Paragraph Expository Paragraph Persuasive Paragraph Read the following paragraph. Our national flag is very beautiful. We call it the Tricolour or the Tiranga. It has three colours. They are saffron, white and green. The saffron portion is at the top. The white portion is in the middle. The green portion is at the bottom. The white part has a blue wheel in the centre. We call it the Ashoka Chakra or the Dharma Chakra. What does the paragraph tell about the national flag? You’re right! It describes it. This type of a paragraph is called a descriptive paragraph. The descriptive paragraph is often written to describe a person, place or thing. It helps the reader to visualize or imagine in every possible way the thing that is being described. Now read this paragraph. Last evening I got home from work at 6 p.m. My wife had prepared dinner, which we ate immediately. After we had cleaned up the kitchen, we watched TV for about an hour. Then we got ready to go out with some friends. Our
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friends arrived at about 9 p.m. and we chatted for a while. We had decided to go and watch a movie. Later, we stopped by a café to have some coffee. We returned home late. We really enjoyed ourselves. What does this paragraph tell us? It tells us about what a husband and wife did one evening. What did they do first? They had their dinner. What did they do next? They cleaned up the kitchen and then watched the television. This paragraph narrates an incident in a logical order. In other words it tells us about an event the way it actually happened, in sequence. It is an example of a narrative paragraph. Notice how words like ‘after’, 'later' and ‘then’ are used in the paragraph to connect what happens. Now read another type of paragraph. “Fax” is short for facsimile. It is a way of sending images on paper by telephone. A beam of light scans across the images or message on a sheet of paper. The reflected beam is converted into digital signals. These are sent down the wire like a normal telephone transmission. At the other end, the signals are fed to a line of tiny metal probes. These get hot where the signal indicates “black” and cold when the signal means “white”. A roll of heatsensitive paper passes across the line of probes. Where it is heated it turns black. Otherwise it stays white. In this way the whole image is built up, line by line. The fax machine is a very useful tool in the office. This paragraph tells us about the fax machine. It explains facts, which can be easily understood. Such paragraphs are called expository paragraphs. They are used for writing facts about any subject. Read another type of paragraph. If you really decide to work hard, you can. A friend of mine went through her school life very casually. Her grades were mediocre and she knew she was not doing what she needed to. Yet, she continued to take life easy. When she was in the final year of school she realized she was wasting her life and would never be able to achieve any kind of success unless she changed her ways. Her friends were already planning for ambitious careers and studying hard in order to go on to specialized higher education that would help them attain their respective goals. My friend was always fascinated with architecture and knew she had no chance of pursuing a career in it unless she scored excellent grades in the board examinations. That is when she made the momentous decision; she began to focus on her studies and worked really hard throughout the year. As a result, she excelled in the board examinations
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and went on for higher studies in her chosen field. I am telling you this because it is an inspiring example of determination. If you really decide to work hard, nothing can stop you from achieving your goal! What does this paragraph tell us? It tells us about how a person (the writer) is coaxing another to work hard to reach success. There is the idea of persuasion. This is called a persuasive paragraph. The writer appeals to the emotions of the reader by giving an inspiring example of what hard work can achieve. The writer tries to influence the reader to see his/her point of view.
Self-Check Questions Given below are four short paragraphs. State the type of paragraph each is. 4. Our neighbours have a huge garden. Each of the family members is allotted duties to look after it. Due to this the garden is always well maintained. Recently it bagged the first prize for the best kept garden in the town. 5. I am confident you can do it was what the General told his soldiers about the job on hand. He drew their attention to the fact they had successfully rescued thousands of people marooned during the monsoon floods, the previous year. He said that no task was difficult for a soldier. 6. The wedding hall was decorated in real style. Bunches of flower arrangements adorned the walls and pillars, silk drapes hung from the arches and the floor was covered with red carpets. It was an impressive sight! 7. Sprouting is a process of germination. During sprouting the dormant enzymes become active. The stored minerals, vitamins, proteins, fats and carbohydrates in the seed are set free so that they can be easily absorbed by the body. Eat sprouts everyday!
27.5 Summing Up In this lesson you learnt about • •
basic concepts you need to adopt for writing paragraphs in a logical structured form four kinds of paragraphs and what they depict o Descriptive Paragraph - that which describes o Narrative Paragraph - that which narrates o Expository Paragraph - that which gives facts or information o Persuasive Paragraph - that which persuades The concepts you learnt and the practical work you will go through will enable you to acquire the skills that can be used for writing longer texts like essays.
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27.6 Answers to Self-Check Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
A paragraph should have Unity, Order and Clarity. A topic sentence clearly states the central idea in a paragraph. The closing sentence summarizes the topic of the paragraph. Narrative paragraph Persuasive paragraph Descriptive paragraph Expository paragraph
27.7 References 1. Sebranek, Patrick and Verne Meyer and Dave Kemper. Write Source 2000. Wisconsin: Write Source Educational Publishing House, 1995. 2. Panman, Sandra and Richard Panman. Writing Basics. New York: Active Learning Corporation, 1991. 3. Nagaraj, Dr. Geetha. Comprehend & Compose. New Delhi: Foundation Books, 2003. 4. Gilani, Archana, and Kaul, Mridula. & Suganthan Beena. The Grammar Tree India: Oxford University Press 2004 5. Colligan, Louise. Scholastic’s A+Junior Guide to Good Writing. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1988.
27.8 Glossary • • • • • •
Concluding Sentence: is the closing or finishing sentence Content: substance Paragraph: any written matter of four to five sentences Sequential: in order Support: ideas or facts that give more meaning to the topic Topic: theme or subject of any writing
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