Writing Academic English #2

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.