SUPPORTING
SENTENCES
Supporting
sentences
are sentences to explain or prove the topic sentence. One of the biggest
problems in student writing is that student writers in fact give irrelevant
support to the ideas.. They need to use specific details to make the main idea
clear and convincing. There are several kinds of specific supporting details:
examples, statistics, and quotations.
Examples are perhaps the easiest kind of supporting
detail to use because you can often take examples from your own knowledge and
experience. You don't have to search the library or the Internet for supporting
material. Furthermore, examples make your writing lively and interesting, and
your reader is more likely to remember your point if you support it with a
memorable example.
Practice:
Step 1 Read
Paragraphs A and B about red-light running. Notice the different specific
supporting details that have been added to Paragraph B.
Step 2 Locate
the topic sentence in Paragraph B. Circle the topic and underline the
controlling idea.
Step 3 Which
supporting sentences in Paragraph B contain the kinds of details listed below?
Give the sentence numbers of each kind.
An example :
_____________________________________________________
A statistic :
_____________________________________________________
A quotation :
_____________________________________________________
Examples:
Paragraph
A: Paragraph without Support
Red-Light Running
Although some people think that red-light running is
a minor traffic violation that is no worse than jaywalking, I it can, in fact,
become a deadly crime. Red-light runners cause accidents all the time.
Sometimes people are seriously injured and even killed. It is especially a
problem in rush hour traffic. Everyone is in a hurry to get home, so drivers
run red lights everywhere. The police do not do much about it because they are
too busy. The only time they pay attention is when there is an accident, and
then it is too late. In conclusion, running a red light is a serious offense.
Paragraph
B: Paragraph with Support
Red-Light Running
"Although some people think red-light running
is a minor traffic violation that is no worse than jaywalking, it can, in fact,
become a deadly crime. Red-Light runners cause hundreds of accidents, including
deaths and injuries as well as millions of dollars in damages. Each year more
than 900 people die, and nearly 200,000 are injured in crashes that involve
red-light running. Motorists run red lights all the time. For example, in Fairfax,
Virginia, a five-month-long survey at five busy intersections revealed that a motorist
ran a red light every 20 minutes. Red-light runners are seldom caught. According
to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, "Communities don't have the
resources to allow police to patrol intersections as often as would be needed
to ticket all motorists who run red lights" ("Q&A").
CONCLUDING
SENTENCE
A
concluding sentence has two purposes:
1.
It shows the end of the paragraph.
2.
It leaves the reader with the most important ideas to remember. It can do this
in two ways:
•
By summarising the main points of the paragraph
OR
•
By repeating the topic sentence in different words
It
is not a must to put a concluding sentence in paragraph. For single paragraphs,
especially long ones, a concluding sentence is useful to the reader because it
is a reminder of the important points. However, a concluding sentence is not
needed for every paragraph in a multi-paragraph essay. You may also end a
paragraph without a formal signal or perhaps by using an expression.
End-of-paragraph
signals followed by a comma:
sum up, Finally, In brief, In
conclusion, Indeed, In short, Lastly, Therefore, Thus, To sum up.
End-of-paragraph
signals NOT followed by a comma:
The evidence suggests that …….
There can be no doubt that …….
These examples show that ……..
We can see that ...........................
Notes
1. Many people think In conclusion and
In summary are overused and so will not want you to use them.
2. Do not use the phrase At
last as an end-of-paragraph signal. At last means "at the end
of a long period of time," as in this sentence: At last, you'vecome
home.
ASSIGNMENT #3
This
assignment gives you practice in thinking and writing
Choose
one of the suggested topics and write a well-organized paragraph.
Try
to use a specific example to support your topic sentence.
Steps to do:
•
Spend 1 to 2 minutes at the beginning thinking of ideas and organizing them.
•
Spend 1 to 2 minutes at the end checking your work for errors.
•
Spend the remaining time writing.
Topic Suggestions
a.
Why
communication needs attitude to be successful.
b.
How to solve poverty problem in Indonesia.
c.
The
dependence of humans on electricity.
d.
How to increase students’ discipline and
responsibility.
e.
That
increasing the fuel price is/is not the
best solution for Indonesia economic problem
f.
That
developing countries should/should not sacrifice civil-political rights for economic development.
g.
The dependence of humans to forest and green
environment.
h.
How to solve marine pollution.
i.
The government should/should not control television
show.
j.
That in
public universities, tuition fees should be directly proportional to wealth.
