Unit 7 & 8

Paragraph, messages, letters, e-

mail writing
The paragraph
In many languages, the fundamental
unit of composition is the paragraph. A
paragraph consists of several
sentences that are grouped
together. This group of sentences
together discuss one main subject.

They are divided into 3 parts: the topic
sentence, the supporting sentences
and the concluding sentence.

A topic sentence usually comes at the
beginning of a paragraph; that is, it is
usually the first sentence in a formal
academic paragraph.

It is the most general sentence in a
paragraph, there are not many details in
the sentence, but it introduces an overall
idea that you want to discuss later in the
paragraph.

The topic sentence
Example
My hometown is famous
for several amazing natural
features. First, it is noted for
the Wheaton River, which is very
wide and beautiful. Also, on the
other side of the town is
Wheaton Hill, which is unusual
because it is very steep.
The supporting sentences
When a reader reads a topic
sentence, such as My hometown,
Wheaton, is famous for several
amazing natural
features,a question should usually
appear in the reader's mind. In this
case, the question should be like,
"What are the natural features that
make Wheaton famous?

The reader should then expect that
the rest of the paragraph will give
an answer to this question.


The supporting sentences
The second and third sentences are
called supporting
sentences. They are called
"supporting" because they "support,"
or explain, the idea expressed in the
topic sentence.

At minimum, you should have at
least five to seven sentences in
your paragraph.

Example
My hometown, Wheaton, is
famous for several amazing
natural features. First, it is
noted for the Wheaton River,
which is very wide and
beautiful. Also, on the other
side of the town is Wheaton
Hill, which is unusual
because it is very steep.


The concluding sentence
In formal paragraphs you will sometimes
see a sentence at the end of the
paragraph which summarizes the
information that has been
presented. This is the concluding
sentence. You can think of a concluding
sentence as a sort of topic sentence in
reverse.
Not all academic paragraphs contain
concluding sentences, especially if the
paragraph is very short.
Example
My hometown is famous for several
amazing natural features. First, it is
noted for the Wheaton River, which is very
wide and beautiful. Also, on the other side
of the town is Wheaton Hill, which is
unusual because it is very steep. The third
amazing feature is the Big Old Tree. This
tree stands two hundred feet tall and is
probably about six hundred years old.
These three landmarks are truly
amazing and make my hometown a
famous place.
In rhetorical studies and
communication studies, the information
conveyed by
a)words (in speech or writing), and/or
b) other signs and symbols.

A message (verbal or nonverbal--or both)
is the content of the communication
process.

What is a message?

The friendly letter
Friendly Letter is a type of letter written to
people who are your relatives, friends,
peers, acquaintances or anyone with whom
you have a relationship.
Friendly letters come under Informal
Writing because there are no hard and fast
rules for writing them. There is Nothing
Official about them. And you dont actually
need a solid reason to write a letter to a
friend.
Most of the times a friendly letter is written
to convey best wishes, congratulations,
apologies etc. It is a mean to communicate
and remain in touch with each other.
HEADING: Includes the address and the
date. In some cases, it is OK to just write
the date.

GREETING: The greeting usually starts
with 'Dear' and is followed the person's
name and then a comma.

BODY: After skipping a line, you begin
the body of your letter which is the main
text of your letter. Indent for each new
paragraph.

Main parts
Main parts
CLOSING: The closing includes a short
capitalized expression such as 'Sincerely'
or 'Love' and is followed by a comma.
Skip a line after the body before writing
your closing.

SIGNATURE: You sign your name
beginning directly below the closing.

Sometimes you may add a
POSTSCRIPT at the end of your letter.
You write P.S., add a note and then end it
with your initials.



E-mail writing
Write a clear subject in the subject line which
explains the reson for the message.

Write short and concise sentences.

Write the most important information first.

Use simple grammar. Avoid passive tense,
etc.

Use numbers or bullet points to make the
message clearer.

Use paragraphs to keep the email clear and
orderly.