Cause and Effect Paragraph

What is Cause and Effect Paragraph?

Cause and effect paragraph shows either the causes or effects of a situation. Therefore, you can write about the:

• Causes of a situation – what makes a situation happens.
• Effects of a situation – what happens as the result of the situation.

We can write the cause and effect paragraph in two ways:

• Cause-to-Effect method – You focus on Effects
• Effect-to-Cause method – You focus on Causes

Development Techniques and Samples

Cause-to-Effect Method

The topic sentence introduces the situation and the effects of the situation. The supporting sentences support the topic sentence by explaining each effect with details. Finally, the concluding sentence closes the paragraph. Hence, we can organize it in the following way.

Title
Topic sentence = Situation + (causes/makes) EFFECTS (e.g. Road accidents three main problems.)
Supporting sentences =

• SI1: Effect 1 (e.g. death and injury) + SD1: Details of Effect 1 (e.g. lost of lives, many become disabled...)
• SI2: Effect 2 (e.g. damage properties) + SD2: Details of Effect 2 (e.g. repairing, compensation...)
• SI3: Effect 3 (e.g. wasting time) + SD3: Details of Effect 3 (e.g. solve the problem, law suit...)

Concluding sentence= Restate / Summarize / Predict / Suggest

Here is the sample paragraph.
Road Accident
(1) Road accident causes three main problems. (2) First, it causes death and injury. (3) It has become one of the leading causes of death as it has claimed many lives so far and injured tens of people everyday. (4) Second, it damages the personal and public properties. (5) The damages do require repairing and compensating. (6) In some cases, it costs a lot of money. (7) Last, it wastes the time. (8) Those who are involved lose the time to work as well as to solve the cases or court cases. (9) These may last for years. (10) In brief, ones must try their best to avoid it.

Effect-to-Cause Method

The topic sentence introduces the situation and the causes of the situation. The supporting sentences support the topic sentence by explaining each cause with details. Finally, the concluding sentence closes the paragraph. Hence, we can organize it in the following way.

Title
Topic sentence = Situation + (is caused by/ is made by) CAUSES (e.g. Deforestation is caused by three main factors.)
Supporting sentences =

• SI1: Cause 1 (e.g. drivers) + SD1: Details of Cause 1 (e.g.careless, drunk-driving, speeding...)
• SI2: Cause 2 (e.g. vehicle) + SD2: Details of Cause 2 (e.g. too old, technical defects…)
• SI3: Cause 3 (e.g. roads) + SD3: Details of Cause 3 (e.g. curving, slippery, no signs…)

Concluding sentence = Restate / Summarize / Predict / Suggest

Here is the sample paragraph.
Road Accident
(1) Road accidents are caused by three factors. (2) Firstly, they are brought about by drivers. (3) Being careless, drunk-driving, speeding, and abusing the laws are the best examples. (4) Secondly, vehicle conditions also lead to accidents. (5) Some vehicles are too old, have technical defects, or are not regularly checked. (6) Finally, the road conditions might also be one of the causes. (7) Some accidents happen due to poor, curving, or slippery roads. (8) In short, the drivers, vehicles, and roads are the main causes of accident.

***

Classification Paragraphs

What Is Classification Paragraph?

Classification paragraph organizes, or sorts, people or items into categories. For examples,

Techniques for Writing Classification Paragraphs

Topic Sentence

The topic sentence presents a topic and an organizing principle -- how things are classified; for examples, they are classified by kinds, by colors, by ages, by race, etc.

Topic Sentence = Topic + Organizing Principle

Look at the examples.
There are two kinds of students in my class.

Supporting Sentences

Supporting sentences support the topic sentence by telling each category and examples of things in the category.

Supporting Sentences = Categories + Examples in the categories

Look at the example.
Topic sentence = There are two kinds of students in my class.
Supporting Sentences =
    Category 1: Active students
        + Example of Category 1: work hard, proactive, rarely absent, involved...
    Category 2: Passive students
        + Example of Category 1:lazy, chat, do not do homework, absent...

Concluding Sentence

The concluding sentence closes the paragraph by restating the topic sentence, summarizing the main categories, making a prediction about the topic, or giving a suggestion about the topic.

Organizing Your Ideas in Classification Paragraphs

You may organize your ideas in this way.

Title
Topic Sentence =  
      Topic + Organizing Principle
Supporting Sentences = 
      Category 1 + Examples in the category 1
      Category 2 + Examples in the category 2
      Category 3 + Examples in the category 3 
Concluding Sentence = 
      Restate / Summarize / Predict / Suggest

Sample Classification Paragraphs

Students in My Class

There are two kinds of students in my class. First, some of them are classified into active students. These students work hard; they rarely absent. They are proactive and organized for the class. Also, they pay attention and are involved in class activities. Second, the rest of them are categorized as passive students. These kinds of students do not study by heart; they are often absent. During class, they do not really pay attention to teaching. Some even try to chat in the class. All in all, some of students are active, while the rest are passive.

Reference:

Susan Anker (2010). Real Writing. Paragraph and Essays for College, Work, and Everyday Life. 5th edition

Definition Paragraph

Definition

According to Folse et al (2010), definition paragraph defines something. Similarly, Anker (2010) stated that definition paragraph explains what a term or concept means.

The definition paragraph has two purposes; i.e.

• tells what something is.
• gives facts, details, and examples to make the definition clear to the reader.

Writing Techniques

How to Write Topic Sentence

The topic sentence of definition paragraph contains a term (topic), ther term's category or class, and the term's features or characteristics. Therefore,
→ Topic Sentence = Topic + Class/Category + features/characteristics
For examples,

• Insomnia is a sleep disorder that prevents people from sleeping.
• Stress is the response of the body to any changes happening.

How to Write Supporting Sentences

Supporting sentences in definition definition paragraph explain what a term or concept means by providing specific examples and giving details about the examples so that your readers understand what the writer means.Therefore,
→ Supporting Sentences = Examples + Details of the examples
Here are the examples:
Topic sentence: Insomnia is a sleep disorder that prevents people from sleeping.
Supporting sentences:

• a. hard to fall asleep. + Details
• b. wake up in the middle of the night + Details
• c. wake up without feeling rested in the morning + Details

Topic sentence: Stress is the response of the body to any changes happening.
Supporting sentences:

• a. when we have a lot of to do. + Details
• b. when we are free. + Details
• c. when we got sick. + Details

How to Write Concluding Sentence

The same as other types of paragraph, the writer may:

• restate the topic sentence,
• summarize the main ideas,
• predict something about the topic,
• or suggest something about the topic.

Reference

Folse et Al (2010). Great Paragraphs. 3rd edition. P- 99
Susan Anker (2010). Real Writing. Paragraph and Essays for College, Work, and Everyday Life. 5th edition. P-205

Persuasive Paragraph

A paragraph is a group of sentences about one topic. There are four main kinds of paragraphs: descriptive, persuasive, narrative, and expository paragraph.

A persuasive paragraph aims to seek support for a writer’s opinion or argument. It convinces the readers to accept a particular point of view or take a specific action. Therefore, a writer needs to include reasons and examples to support his opinion. The reasons and examples can be opinions or facts (statistics, figures, result of study, survey, etc.).

The writer needs to include the three elements and information as follow:

Topic sentence	= topic + controlling idea = Concept + an opinion or argument about something
Supporting sentences	= supporting ideas + supporting details = Arguments (facts/opinions) + examples/explanations
Concluding sentence	= restate, summarize, predict, or suggest

Supposed that you are going to write about a topic about ‘change’, you may come up this brainstorming:

• Topic sentence: If we want to change our world, we need to change ourselves first. 
• Supporting sentences: 
• Be a role model 
• Every person affects other people 
• People believe when they see 
• If we want a friendly smile from others, we smile first 
• Direct control 
• External things influence us less than ourselves 
• If you change how you think then you will change how you feel and what actions you take. 
• Value added 
• Changing your outer world without changing yourself is that you will still be you 

See the paragraph:

Changing Our World

If we want to change our world, we need to change ourselves first. First, we have to be a role model. Everyone can affect other people, so what we do will influence others. People believe when they see, not just only hear. We have to prove that what we do is good or right so that they will follow. To be an example, if we want others smile at you, we may need to smile first. Secondly, we have direct control over ourselves only. Things happen to us are partly because we let them; external things influence us less than ourselves. If we change how we think, we will change how we feel and what actions to take. If we perform poorly in our study, we can’t blame the government, school, and teachers because blaming others is denying the reality. If we change by studying hard, the teachers will try more and the school will provide more services, too. Last, we will need to add values to ourselves. If we change the things around without changing ourselves, we will still be ourselves, the same person. We will still have the flaws, anger, negativity, self-sabotaging tendencies, etc. All in all, we should start from ourselves.

Illustration Paragraph

Illustration paragraph (which is also called exemplification paragraph) uses examples to make an idea or generalization more specific and detailed.

As you have learned that a paragraph consists of topic sentence, supporting sentences, and concluding sentence, an illustration can be organized in this way.

TITLE
Topic Sentence = Idea/Generalization + Opinion on the idea/generalization
Supporting Sentence =
     Supporting Idea: Example 1 (Fact/Opinion) + Supporting Detail: Details/Explanation on example 1 
     Supporting Idea: Example 2 (Fact/Opinion) + Supporting Detail: Details/Explanation on example 2 
     Supporting Idea: Example 3 (Fact/Opinion) + Supporting Detail: Details/Explanation on example 3 
Concluding Sentence = 1. Restate, 2. Summarize, 3. Predict, or 4. Suggest

Here is an example.

SMOKING
Smoking is not good. When you smoke, your health will be risk. You might be vulnerable to some cancers and lung complications. If you smoke, you will need to spend a lot of money. Supposed that a pack of cigarette cost one dollar, you may need to spend up to 33% of your GDP per capita. This is a huge amount of expense. Also, whenever you smoke, you will be a bad model for young people or children. They may think it is okay to smoke, which is wrong indeed. All in all, you should not smoke.

Cause and Effect Paragraph

WHAT IS CAUSE AND EFFECT PARAGRAPH?

Cause and effect paragraph either shows what cause something to happen (causes) or what are the results caused by something (effects).

Cause

– something which brings some effects.

Effect

– Something which is brought about by a cause.

Hence, the basic principles of cause and effect paragraphs are:

CAUSE →	produces brings about leads to makes	→ EFFECTS
EFFECT ←	is produced by is brought about is driven by is made by	← CAUSES

ORGANIZING OF CAUSE AND EFFECT PARAGRAPH

Basing on the principles above, a writer may organize the cause and effect in two different approach: cause-to-effect or effect-to-cause approach.

Cause-to-effect approach

In this approach, a cause brings about an effect; hence, the topic sentence indicates that a cause leads to some effects. The supporting sentences discuss the effects in more details. Here is the basic layout:

Title
Topic sentence  =	Topic + (Cause)	Controlling idea ([brings about few] Effects)
Supporting sentences =	Supporting ideas + (Effect 1 + (Effect 2  + (Effect 3+	Supporting details Explanation on effect 1 ) Explanation on effect 2 ) Explanation on effect 3)
Concluding sentence =	1. restate, 3. predict, or	2. summarize, 4. suggest

Look at the example below:
Coming soon
 

Effect-to-cause approach

In this approach, an effect is brought about by an cause; hence, the topic sentence indicates that an effect is produced by some causes. The supporting sentences discuss the effects in more details. Here is the basic layout:

Title
Topic sentence  =	Topic + (Effect)	Controlling idea ([is brought about by few] Causes)
Supporting sentences =	Supporting ideas + (Cause 1 + (Cause 2  + (Cause 3+	Supporting details Explanation on cause 1 ) Explanation on cause 2 ) Explanation on cause 3)
Concluding sentence =	1. restate, 3. predict, or	2. summarize, 4. suggest

Look at the example below:
Coming soon

Process Analysis Paragraph (2)

A process analysis paragraph is written to tell how to do something or how something is done. It may be a recipe, or instructions on how to fix something, or directions to a place. There are two different types of process analysis — directive and informative.

Directive process analysis explains how to do something. It gives directions for the reader to follow. Informative process analysis explains how something is done by giving data (information). The difference is that the the directive process analysis tells you what to do in the future, while the informative process analysis tells you what has occurred or what is occurring.

HOW TO WRITE INFORMATIVE PROCESS ANALYSIS PARAGRAPHS 

An informative process analysis paragraph may be simply organized as below.

• Title
• Topic sentence = Topic + Controlling Idea
• Supporting sentences (1) = Supporting idea (1) + Supporting details (1)
• Supporting sentences (2) = Supporting idea (2) + Supporting details (2)
• Supporting sentences (3) = Supporting idea (3) + Supporting details (3)
• Concluding sentence = Restate, summarize, predict, or suggest

Note: The supporting ideas are the steps or stages of how something is done while the supporting details are short explanations of each step or stage.

Look at the sample paragraph below.

Paragraph Writing Process Five steps are necessary for writing a good paragraph. First, a writer must choose a topic. The topic must not be two broad or too narrow. Second, she needs to draft a topic sentence; he needs to add a controlling idea to the topic. The controlling idea limits his writing. Third, he brainstorms and organizes supporting ideas and details. The supporting ideas are stages or steps of how to do something or how something is done. Next, he writes a first draft. The draft contains topic sentence sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence. All of the sentences must be complete sentences. Last, he needs to revises his draft. This stage requires proofreading and editing. He may ask a friend to proofread and edit it afterwards. In short, if you want to write a good paragraph, follow these steps.

Comparison and Contrast Paragraphs

A comparison and contrast paragraph  show similarities or differences between two people, objects, or ideas and convince or show that one thing is better or worse than another. Comparison indicates similarities while contrast indicates differences between those two objects, people, or ideas.

A single paragraph may include only similarities, only differences, or both similarities and differences depending on the topic and purpose. Usually, the purpose of comparison and contrast is always stated in the topic sentence of a paragraph.

The Ideas Organization

Comparison and contrast can be outlined in two approaches: point-by-point and block-by-block (all-of-one).

The Point-by-point Approach

In this approach, the writer compares or contrasts point 1 of X to point 1 of Y. Then he compares or contrasts point 2 of X to point 2 of Y. He proceeds until he has covered all the points. Thus, it looks like this:

Topic Sentence: Comparison or Contrast between X and Y
Supporting idea 1 -- First Comparison or Contrast
• point 1 of X
• point 1 of Y
Supporting idea 2 -- Second Comparison or Contrast
• point 2 of X
• point 2 of Y
Supporting idea 3 -- Second Comparison or Contrast
• point 3 of X
• point 3 of Y
Concluding sentence -- restate, summarize, predict, or suggest

See this paragraph:

High School and College

Even though high school and college are both places of learning, they differ in at least three ways. The first difference is their social atmospheres. ^(X1) In high school the class is usually smaller, so most students know one another well. ^(Y1) In college, students don’t know one another well as students are constantly coming and going. The second difference is their accountability. ^(X2) In high school, the students are forced to learn; if they don’t learn, it could be the teachers’ fault. ^(Y2) In college, in college the students are expected to learn. If they don’t learn, it is the students’ fault. The third and last difference is their success. ^(X3) The students succeed in high school when they can complete the assigned work. ^(Y3) In college, the students’ success is determined when they do the unassigned work. That is extra research that relates their lessons to the application in real life. In spite of these differences between high school and college, they both serve the same purpose — to prepare an individual for the real world.

The Block-by-block Approach

In this approach, the writer compares or contrasts all points of X before compare or contrast all points of Y. Thus, it looks like this:

Topic sentence: Comparison or Contrast between X and Y
A. Supporting idea 1 -- Features of X
• point 1 of X
• point 2 of X
• point 3 of X
B. Supporting idea 2 -- Features of Y
• point 1 of X
• point 2 of X
• point 3 of X
Concluding sentence  -- restate, summarize, predict, or suggest

See this paragraph:

High School and College

High school and college are both places of learning, they, however, differ in some ways. ^(X1)In high school, the students have more sense of community. The class is usually smaller, so most students know each other well. ^(X2) The teachers have more responsibility, too. The students are forced to learn; if they don’t learn, it could be the teachers’ fault. ^(X3) Moreover, the students rate their success by completing the assigned work. In college, however, it is different. ^(Y1) The students don’t really know one another well as they are constantly coming and going. ^(Y2) The students need to be more responsible; they are expected to learn. If they don’t learn, it is their fault. ^(Y3) Also, their success is determined by doing the unassigned work. That is the extra research that relates their lessons to the application in real life. In spite of these differences between high school and college, they both serve the same purpose — to prepare an individual for the real world.

Descriptive Paragraph (2)

A paragraph is a group of sentences about one topic. Theses sentences, classified according to their job, are topic sentence, supporting sentences, and concluding sentence. The paragraph which describe about a place or person is called descriptive paragraph.

The purpose of a descriptive paragraph is to create image in the reader's mind. Writer needs to include description to draw that image. When we describe a person, the description could be his/her appearance, personality, knowledge/talents/skills, experiences (background, work, study, achievement…), and hobby.

Supposed that you are going to write about your friend, you may come up with such description bellow:

• appearance: good looking, average height,
• personality: friendly, helpful, intelligent, flexible, open-minded
• knowledge/talents/skills: ability, learn fast, planning
• experiences: work hard, promoted, respect

Look at the sample paragraph.

Thida

I really admire one of my friends, Thida. She works hard both in her study and job. She started working when she was in high school. Now she has already got managerial position. All her subordinates respect her for her knowledge, experiences, and ability in solving problems. She learns things fast and is very good at planning and analysis. Thida has good looking with her average height. She has a very friendly smile. She is also an open-minded and flexible person. She looks at people problems and tries to help them individually. She rarely generalizes things. I am proud to be her friend.

Remember
You may write a descriptive paragraph about a person by including description about his/her:

• appearance (how he/she looks),
• personality,
• knowledge/talents/skills,
• experiences (background, work, study, achievement…),
• and hobby

Descriptive Paragraph (1)

A paragraph is a group of sentences about one topic. Theses sentences, classified according to their job,  are topic sentence, supporting sentences, and concluding sentence. The paragraph which describe about a place or person is called descriptive paragraph.

The purpose of a descriptive paragraph is aimed to create image in the reader's mind. Writer needs to include description to draw that image. The important description could be what you see, what you hear, what/how you feel, what you smell, and what you taste; i.e. the description from the five senses.

Supposed that you are going to write about a place, Wat Phnom, then you may come up with this description:

• What you see: hill, stupa, pagoda, monasteries, museum, trees, grass, big clock, people, monk, monkeys, elephant...
• What you hear: wind, people praying/talking, bird singing...
• What you smell: incense, flowers, perfume...
• What you feel: quiet, fresh, relaxing, holly place...

Look at the sample paragraph.

Wat Phnom

Wat Phnom is an interesting place. It is a one of the perfect places. There is a big stupa, surrounded by trees and green grass, built on a hill. On top of the hill, there is a pagoda, museum, and few monasteries. The trees offer home to many monkeys and birds. There are people visiting, praying, or relaxing. It is a peaceful place. The sound of wind, people praying and talking, and bird singing is pleasing. As the wind blow, it brings us mixed smell of perfume, flowers, and incense where people have placed for praying. The air is also fresh. It is a relaxing place which can bring away our stress and tiredness. You should visit there some day.

Remember
You may write a descriptive paragraph about a place by including description about:

• what you see, 
• what you hear, 
• what/how you feel, 
• what you smell, 
• and what you taste in supporting sentences of the paragraph.
  

Narrative Paragraph

Sam An Teng

Objectives: After learning this unit, you will be able to:

• identify key elements in a narrative paragraph, 
• write narrative paragraph about an event or story. 

WHAT IS NARRATIVE PARAGRAPH? 

Narrative paragraph tells a story or an event. Events in narrative paragraph should be arranged chronologically, that is in the order in which they have happened. 

Almost everyone narrates, reads, or listens to stories from books, other people, or media. However, the audience expects and needs more from a written narrative. Therefore, a narrative paragraph must have a central idea (what the story/event is about), characters (who it about), a plot (conflict, complication, climax, and resolution of the story/event), adequate description, and setting (when and where the story happens)

DEVELOPING A NARRATIVE PARAGRAPH 

A good narrative paragraph normally requires three necessary components: background information, the story/event, and conclusion. 

• 1. Background information
  
  The background information sets the scene for the audience. It includes the following pieces of information: 
  • A topic sentence, 
  • What story/event is about, 
  • Who it is about, 
  • When it happens, 
  • Where it happens, 
  • Where is the source of the narration. 
  
  
  Note: the topic sentence of a narrative paragraph does not start the narration. It establishes a purpose. It does not tells only a story, but also the reader's view point. Therefore, writing a strong topic sentence is important. 
  
  
• 2. Story
  
  The story or event happens 3 different stages: the beginning, the middle, and the end of the story or event.
  • beginning of the story -- the beginning tells what happens first in the story.It can be the problem which make the story or event happen. 
  • middle of the story -- the middle tells the main events or important activities of the story/event. 
  • end of the story -- the end tells the final events, i.e. the result or what brings the end of the story/event.
  
  
• 3. Conclusion
  It is a concluding sentence. The writer can either restate the topic sentence, give a concluding remark, make a prediction about the story, or make a suggestion. 
  
  

Read the following sample paragraph and explanation below: 

Tum Teav 

(1) Tum Teav is an interesting story. (2) The story is a real love tragedy happened in the 16th century in presently Kampong Cham province. (3) It is widely taught in high school. (4) The story begins when Tum and Teav fall in love at their first sight. (5) Their love is so deep that they have abused the traditional barriers and engaged in a pre-marriage love affair – it is strongly prohibited in Khmer culture. (6) Not long after, Teav’s mum arranges a marriage with rich guy for Teav, but fails. (7) Then, Teav is selected as a concubine and sent to the capital. (8) The king admires her so much, but with mercy he offers Tum and Teav a wedding. (9) As dissatisfaction grows, Teav’s mum rearranges the marriage with the previous guy. (10) Teav is deceived and comes back home. (11) With worry, Tum follows her. (12) Tum arrival at Teav’s wedding marks end of the story. (13) Tum is caught and executed. (14) Teav, with love for her husband, commits suicide. (15) The couple death outrages the king that he orders execution for those involved in the tragedy. (16) The story, I believe, is so appealing. 

Explanation:

• The topic sentence is sentence (1). It tells the purpose, that's what the writer will write about. 
• The background information includes sentences (2) and (3). Sentence (2) tells what the story is about, and when and where it happen. Sentence (3) tells the source of the story.
• The story comprises of sentence (4) to (15). 
• Sentence (4) and (5) tell the beginning of the story. 
• Sentence (6)-(11), which is middle of the story, tell the main events happen in the story. 
• Sentence (12)-(15) tells the end of the story.
• Sentence (16) is the concluding sentence. It restates the topic sentence. 

TRANSITIONAL WORDS IN NARRATIVE PARAGRAPH 

A narrative paragraph tells events in chronological order, so it soimportant to link event from one event to another. To do so, a writer need to use transitional words. The common Transitional expressions used in a narrative paragraph are: after, finally, soon, as (soon as), later, then, before, meanwhile, upon, during, next, when, first, now, and while. 

What Is Paragraph?

Sam An Teng

What is a paragraph?

Paragraph is a group of sentences about one topic or one main idea. In academic area, it is recommended to write between 6-12 sentences.

The elements of a paragraph

There are three elements in a paragraph: topic sentence, supporting sentences, and concluding sentence (see the sample below).

Topic sentence

A topic sentence tells the readers what the paragraph is about. It is usually, but not always, the first sentence of the paragraph.

Supporting sentences

Supporting sentences develop the topic sentence (or topic) by adding details, description, or explanation.

Concluding sentence

Concluding sentence marks the end of the paragraph. It is the last sentence which give a wrap-up message about the topic.

Sample:

(1) My hometown, Rattanakiri, is interesting for two reasons. (2) First, it is the natural resources. (3) It is rich in mountains, forests, waterfalls, rivers, and lakes. (4) For examples, there is a beautiful lake called Yeak Loam which has clear sky blue water and is surrounded by forest. (5) There are waterfalls which are not far but easy to access from the town. (6) There are national park where tourists can experience forest and wildlife. (7) Second, it is people and culture. (8) The province is home of some ten ethnic groups. (9) Each group has unique language and culture. (10) Therefore, how people live together is something amazing to learn and understand. (11) In short, natural resources and its people and culture make it an attractive place.

Explanation:
Sentence 1 is a topic sentence.
Sentence 1-10 are supporting sentences.
Sentence 11 is a concluding sentence.

Writing tip: Topic sentence

A good topic sentence consists of one clear topic and one controlling idea.

• Topic -- it's what the paragraph is about.
• Controlling idea -- it's the limit of supporting ideas supposed to be written.

In brief, 

Topic sentence = topic + controlling idea

For examples, 

My hometown, Rattanakiri, is interesting for two reasons.

Explanation:

"My hometown" is the topic.

"interesting for two reasons" is the controlling idea.

Writing tip: Supporting sentences

Supporting sentences consists of major supporting sentences (supporting ideas) and a group of minor supporting sentences (details).

• supporting ideas -- they are the sub-topics.
• details -- they are facts, opinions, examples, etc.

In brief, 

Supporting sentence = supporting idea (one sentence) + details (one or few sentences)

For examples,
Sentence 2 and 7 above are supporting ideas. 
Sentence 3, 4, 5, and 6 are details of sentence 2 "First, it is the natural resources.".
Sentence 8, 9, and 10 are details of sentence 7 "Second, it is people and culture.".

Writing tip: Concluding sentence 

Concluding sentence does not tell something new about the topic; it is a

1. summary of what have been written,
2. restatement of topic sentence,
3. a suggestion about the topic, or
4. a prediction about the topic.

For examples, concluding sentence for the paragraph above might be written in four different ways; as,

1. In short, natural resources and its people and culture make it an attractive place. [It is a summary of what have been written.]
2. In brief, my hometown is a fascinating place. [It restates (rewrites) the topic sentence.]
3. To sum up, my hometown is a good place for you to visit. [It is a suggestion about the topic: My hometown.]
4. In conclusion, I believe other people will enjoy a unique experience while visiting there. [It is a prediction about the topic: My hometown.]

Wrap-up: Paragraph organization 

To make it simple, a paragraph shall be arranged in order as

      TOPIC

      topic sentence = topic + controlling idea

      Supporting sentence (a) = Supporting idea + details

      Supporting sentence (b) = Supporting idea + details

      Supporting sentence (c) = Supporting idea + details

      ................................. = ...................... + .......... 

      Concluding sentence = (way 1, 2, 3, or 4 mentioned above)
 

Types of paragraph

There are four main types of paragraph: descriptive, persuasive, narrative, and expository paragraph. 

Descriptive 
It is a paragraph that describes people, place, or things. 

Persuasive 
It is a paragraph that is aimed to persuade the readers about something (cause, effect, argument...).

Narrative
It is a paragraph that narrates a story or events.

Expository
It is a paragraph that explores about something (scientific experiment, analysis ...).