Template

Possible quiz material for ENSC 105W

The template

• Think of templates as the fast food of writing

  • a diet of them can be dangerous

• The hamburger

  • The hamburger is a bad metaphor for a paragraph

    • Not all paragraphs have a topic sentence
    • not all paragraphs have a conclusion sentence
    • not all paragraphs have 3 supporting sentences
    • not all paragraphs have 5 sentences
    • not all papers have 5 paragraphs

• The problem with paragraphing

  • a fundamental problem relates to paragraph structure
    • how we organize and communicate ideas are culture-specific

• Elements of paragraph structure

  • Five guidelines for analyzing and organizing paragraphs

    • 1. a paragraph is usually a set of sentences around a common theme
    • 2. english paragraphs usually follow a relative pattern of general to specific organization
    • 3. a paragraph is rarely longer than it is wide
    • 4. english paragraphs often follow common patterns

• paragraphs and culture

  • English is linear
  • or perhaps the model is stereotypical privileged nonsense

• Three common english paragraph patterns

  • General -> specific

  • Specific -> general

    • spatial description
    • statement
    • supporting evidence
    • definitions
    • compare

  • sequential

    • chronological
    • procedural
    • instructional
    • cause and effect

• Analysing paragraph organization

  • key terms :generalization, specification
  • related sentences create taxonomies of ideas in paragraphs

Formatting

• introductions

  • the introduction is one of the key paragraphs for readers:

    • first impressions matter
    • the reader is more likely to read if your position is clear
    • capture the readers attentions
    • reflect the question raised by the assignment
    • provide context
    • define key terms
    • convey the pattern of organization the paper follows
    • contain thesis statement
    • limit what is discussed
    • state the main conclusion