Tham khảo tài liệu 'steps to writing well_2', ngoại ngữ, kỹ năng viết tiếng anh phục vụ nhu cầu học tập, nghiên cứu và làm việc hiệu quả | 66 PART ONE - THE BASICS OF THE SHORT ESSAY APPLYING WHAT YOU VE LEARNED TO YOUR WRITING If you are currently drafting an essay look closely at your body paragraphs. Find the topic sentence in each paragraph and circle the key words that most clearly communicate the main idea of the paragraph. Then ask yourself if the information in each paragraph effectively supports explains or illustrates the main idea of the paragraph s topic sentence. Is there enough information If you re not sure try numbering your supporting details. Are there too few to be persuasive Does the paragraph present clear specific supporting material or does it contain too many vague generalities to be convincing Where could you add more details to help the reader understand your ideas better and to make each paragraph more interesting For more help revising your paragraphs see Chapter 5. PARAGRAPH UNITY Every sentence in a body paragraph should relate directly to the main idea presented by the topic sentence. A paragraph must stick to its announced subject it must not drift away into another discussion. In other words a good paragraph has unity. Examine the unified paragraph below note that the topic sentence clearly states the paragraph s main point and that each sentence thereafter supports the topic sentence. 1 Frank Lloyd Wright America s leading architect of the first half of the twentieth century believed that his houses should blend naturally with their building sites. 2 Consequently he designed several prairie houses whose long low lines echoed the flat earth plan. 3 Built of brick stone and natural wood the houses shared a similar texture with their backgrounds. 4 Large windows were often used to blend the interior and exterior of the houses. 5 Wright also punctuated the lines and spaces of the houses with greenery in planters to further make the buildings look like part of nature. The first sentence states the main idea that Wright thought houses should blend with their location and .
