WRITING 3 - Week 1

Chapter 1:
PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE

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 OVERVIEW

• How to write good

supporting sentences
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• Writing practice
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 1. Good supporting sentences

“Supporting sentences give information that explains and

expands the topic of the paragraph. They answer
questions— Who? What? Where? When? Why? and
How?—and give details. Good writers think of these
questions when they write supporting sentences for the
topic sentence.”
(Unit 4, Great Writing 2, p.72)
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 Read the topic sentence below and predict the kind of
information you will find in the paragraph.
New York and Boston attract millions of tourists, but I think one of
the best cities to visit on the east coast of the United States is
Washington, D.C.

WHY? HOW? WHAT?

WHO? WHERE? WHEN?

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“New York and Boston attract millions of tourists, but I think one of
the best cities to visit on the east coast of the United States is
Washington, D.C. It has some of the most interesting landmarks and
tourist spots in the country. There are many monuments to visit, such
as the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, and the
Washington Monument, which is the tallest building in Washington.
For more excitement, the area called Georgetown in northwest
Washington is famous for its shopping and restaurants. Finally, there
is the White House tour. On this tour, the guide leads visitors as
they walk through many of the rooms in the White House and view
the home of the president of the United States. Although
Washington, D.C., does not have the large number of visitors that
New York or Boston does, I think this city is one of the best
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destinations for tourists.” (Example Paragraph 21, Great Writing 2, p.73)

Good supporting sentences have different goals. Writers
vary them to:
• explain: The family moved from the village to the capital
for economic reasons.

• describe: She lived in a lovely three-story castle

surrounded by a forest.

• give reasons: Lukas finally quit his job because of the

stressful working conditions.
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• give facts: More than ten percent of the university’s
student population is international.

• give examples: Oranges and grapefruits grow in

California.

• define: Many tourists visit Bangkok, which is the

capital and largest city in Thailand.
(Unit 4, Great Writing 2, p.76)
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 NOTES
1. Don’t include unrelated information
2. Don’t write overlapped supporting details
3. Do select a good pattern of organization
(CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, SPATIAL ORDER, or
ORDER OF IMPORTANCE)

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 2. Writing practice
A. Identifying the unrelated sentence (irrelevant sentence)
My Evaluation of Dining at Fresh Market
[1] The menu at Fresh Market, one of the newest restaurants in downtown
Springfield, consists of only five main dishes that are simple but very
delicious. [2] My number one dish there is pasta with fresh vegetables. [3]
The pasta is cooked just right, and the vegetables include broccoli, onions,
tomatoes, and corn. [4] My second favorite main dish is the spicy chicken
and brown rice soup. [5] The chicken is a little hot for some people’s
tastes, but many people really like the fact that you get brown rice instead
of the usual bland white rice. [6] The other main dishes are fried chicken
with curry potatoes, Greek salad with grilled shrimp, and fried fish with
vinegar chips. [7] All three of these use the freshest of ingredients and
taste great. [8] The waiters do not give any information about the
beverages at this restaurant. [9] If you eat a meal at Fresh Market, I am
sure you will enjoy it tremendously.
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[1] There are three good options for traveling between Rome and Paris.
[2] The fastest way is by plane. [3] However, flying between these two
cities can be a little expensive unless you can find a discounted airline
ticket. [4] The second way is by train, which is very popular with many
tourists. [5] In fact, Rome and Paris are visited each year by millions of
students from all over. [6] The train fare is not so expensive, and the
service is very good, but the overnight trip takes about 14 hours. [7]
Finally, many people take a bus. [8] The bus is the cheapest of the three
options, but it takes up to 22 hours, which means it takes the most time.
[9] If you research each of these three travel options, you will find the
best way for you to travel between Rome and Paris.
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 B. Identifying supporting sentences

Read the model answer (Practice 27/ p.39) and do the same
with the paragraph on the next slide.

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 Strict Parents

Fortunately, my parents were very strict with me when I was a child. I

think that they were protective because I was an only child. However,
at that time, it felt like I was in prison. I had to come straight home
after school and immediately do my homework. [1] After I finished my
homework, I was allowed to watch only one hour of television. While my
friends were playing video games or watching cartoons, I was usually
doing chores around the house to help my mother. [2] This included
doing some of the laundry and ironing, mowing the lawn, and helping to
prepare dinner. [3] My father was an architect, and my mother was a
housewife. Looking back, I am not sorry that my parents were strict
with me because I think it was the best way to bring up a child.

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 POSSIBLE ANSWER

[1] good supporting sentence It is an example of why the writer felt

he or she was in prison.

[2] good supporting It is a list of the chores the writer had to do

around the house.
sentence
The writer’s parents’ occupations are not
related to how the writer was treated.
[3] unrelated sentence There is no relationship between being
an architect and being a strict parent.

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C. Writing supporting sentences [GROUPS_TO BE SCORED]
TS1: It is challenging to improve English writing skills.

SS1 SS2 SS3 SS4

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C. Writing supporting sentences [GROUPS_TO BE SCORED]
TS2: I have never forgot the time I started to play for this soccer team

SS1 SS2 SS3 SS4

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 FINISH THE QUIZ
ON ELEARNING PLATFORM

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 PREPARATION

How to write an effective narrative paragraph

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 THANK FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

ThS. Đường Thanh Hùng Đức, Khoa NN, VLU, 2021 18