PARAGRAPH UNITY

Read and analyze the following paragraphs

1. The pink sheep: Many years ago, a special gift came to me in an interesting way. When I was a small
boy, I enjoyed playing in my garden. One day, I found a hole in the wall of my garden. It was near the
ground, so I could not see through the hole, but I knew that behind the wall was my neighbor’s
garden. Who made that hole? I felt really interested, so I used rocks to make the hole wider. One day,
when I was trying to break through the wall, I noticed a small hand appear from the hole. The hand
was holding a rubber sheep. It was pink and it had wide eyes. I caught that rubber sheep. Then I
pushed my favorite wooden truck through the hole to give to that child on the other side. Sometimes, I
bought toys with my lucky New Year money. A long time later, when I was old enough to go out, I
went round the corner to find the child who gave me that special gift, but nobody was in that house.
My neighbor said that a girl used to live there, and she was the same age as me. I never found her,
but her gift has a special meaning for me.
2. Three talented in my family: My mother grew up in a creative and interesting family in Nepal. Her
father was an astronomer who worked for the King of Nepal. Very often he would take her to work
with him so she could look through a telescope and see the planets and stars. Then she would play in
the planetarium until her older brother came to pick her up. On the walk home, her brother would tell
her stories. Sometimes he would point to someone on the street or standing in a doorway and tell her
that the stranger was a magician or a time-traveler and begin a new story about the person. My
grandmother was also interesting. She liked to paint portraits of children. She painted many beautiful
portraits of my mother and her cat, Sani, although my mother said it was difficult to sit still. After my
mother left Nepal, she studied computer programming in Wisconsin. I love to remember my mother’s
stories and now I enjoy telling my own daughter about her grandmother’s life in Nepal.
3. Life in a new place: I am a Thai girl living in the US, and there are many adjustments that I must
make. First of all, I must get used to a new kind of food. I am learning to eat a lot of hamburgers
because they are not expensive and they are easy to buy. The people are different and I am learning
to meet new foreign friends. For example, two of my new friends are from Pakistan. Pakistan is also an
interesting country to visit. The weather requires another kind of adjustment. Some days, it is hot just
in my country, but on other days, it is cold and this is very strange for me. I came to the U.S. to study
and I enjoy my classes and my teachers. I am adjusting to the U.S. in many ways, but it is not a
problem for me because I like to know about different places and people.
4. Jay Gatsby was my favorite character in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This is a
classic American novel. One of the qualities I valued most about him was his generosity and loyalty to
his friends and neighbors. For example, he gave many extravagant parties and never thought about
Ho Huyen. MA. Med. VNU Page 1
 PARAGRAPH UNITY

the cost. He invited anyone he knew and liked regardless of their social status. His large home was
situated on the water on Long Island. In fact, he befriended a struggling young man and offered to
help him earn more money. This book is required reading in many courses because it reveals the
lifestyles of the 1920s. Although this young man remained faithful to Gatsby, others took advantage of
his good nature.
5. Having my friends and family together at my wedding was an amazing experience. I had not seen
some of my uncles, cousins, and aunts for many years. Both my mother and father were born in
different countries. So, my relatives are scattered all over the world. Although we try to get together
for important occasions, this was the first time everyone could attend. Most importantly, my good
friends had never met my relatives. Watching them all dancing, laughing, and having a wonderful time
will stay in memory forever.

The band we hired played music that the guests loved and we danced for hours. It was difficult finding
a group that could play all the diverse styles that I wanted at the wedding. Most bands specialize in
one or two different kinds of music. However, these musicians really knew all types of music_ from
1940s jazz and swing, to salsa, meringue, and even hip-hop. In short, there was music to suit
everyone’s tastes. It was incredible. Even my grandparents danced all night.
6. Some students do well in a competitive classroom. These students work hard to be better than other
students. Teachers create competition in learning by talking about the students with the highest
scores. They also create competition by having students play games. Some teachers even give prizes
to the winner. Competition for some students can motivate them to learn more.

7. Students who prefer to work alone often have trouble concentrating when other students are nearby.
They try to find quiet places to study. Coffee shops are noisy. They can study successfully in libraries,
study rooms, or alone at home. Sometimes they use ear plugs to find quiet and to concentrate. These
students do best when there are no distractions.

Ho Huyen. MA. Med. VNU Page 2

 PARAGRAPH UNITY

Recognizing unity in supporting sentences:

1. I am an organized person: A) My desk is always neat and tidy. B) I have a system of organizing
my papers, and I can always find what I need. D) My friends always want me to help them put
their closets in order.
2. Tea and coffee are very different from each other: A) coffee has more caffeine than tea
does. D) Tea is much more common around the world than coffee does.
3. In my opinion, people spend too much money on cars: A) some driver spends a fourth of
their income on car payment, which is unnecessary. B) Cars do not increase in value, so they are
not a great investment. D) People who do not pay cash must also pay interest, so they lose even
more money.
4. It is easy to get sports injury: B) Runners often have problems with their angle and knees. C)
Basketball players can break their fingers or get knocked over by another player.
5. My city is famous because of its architecture: A) we have ancient re-tiled buildings around
the main square. C) It has expensive tree-lined boulevards with beautiful limestone buildings and
monuments. D) A famous university is located on the side of a mountain.
6. There are several reasons why online courses are increasing in popularity: A) Online
courses are flexible in terms of time. C) Online courses are more convenient for students who live
far away from the campus.
7. Childhood diabetes has many possible causes: A) Obesity is a major cause of diabetes. B)
Children who eat too much sugar can get diabetes.
8. The best way to reduce traffic in our city is to build a metro subway system: A) B)
Widening the freeway has not solved the problem of traffic congestion. C) A metro subway system
would encourage people to take public transportation work.
9. I’m afraid of dogs because I had a scary experience with one when I was ten: A) B) My
neighbor owned a collie dog that ran around the neighborhood without a leash. C) The dog bit me.
10. Scenic Beach is my favorite picnic spot because of its beauty: A) It is a quiet narrow beach
covered with oyster shells. C) The Olympic Mountains rise straight up out of the water on the other
side of the channel.
11. Train stations are interesting places to visit: A) The architecture of each train station is often
connected to the history of a city. B) The passengers are frequently more interesting to watch than
other types of travelers.

Ho Huyen. MA. Med. VNU Page 3

 PARAGRAPH UNITY

12. The world of dinosaurs is very familiar to general population:. B) Every year, new movies
and TV shows about dinosaurs are produced. C) Children study dinosaurs and play with dinosaur
toys from an early age.

Read the two paragraphs and decide which one is better unified?
A. Cooperation is one of the most important things to learn, and my school gives us many
opportunities to practice. Once you’re out of school, you can’t always work with the people you
want to, so it’s good to learn to cooperate with everyone. (explanation) My teachers assign
group projects so that we can learn to work together. (general example) In one of my classes,
there is a “Unanimous Superior” rating for students who have learned well and cooperated with
others in our group. If we argue, we’ll never finish the project, so we learn how to compromise.
(Specific eg.) I believe that cooperation is the key for doing well in and out of school.
(concluding sentence)

B. On a basketball team, you have to pass the ball instead of hogging it, and that’s cooperation.
One time in my math class, we had to do a group project in pairs. I really didn’t like the person
I was supposed to work with. My partner and I talked. We ended up doing the work, and we
got a good grade. My goal right now is to cooperate with others even if I don’t want to work
with them. I will do my best.

Ho Huyen. MA. Med. VNU Page 4