Lesson 9 — Activity 3: The Elements of a Paragraph

You have looked at the most common types of paragraphs in Activity 2. You have also tried brainstorming ideas for writing.


In this activity, you will learn about the parts of a paragraph. You know that a paragraph is a group of sentences based on the same topic.
She's looking over the parts of the paragraph she's written.


To be very clear to your reader, your paragraphs should include the following:

A topic sentence:
  • This is usually the first sentence in your paragraph.
  • It explains to the reader what the paragraph is about.

A body:
  • This is usually three or four sentences that support or explain the topic sentence.
  • It is what fills out the paragraph. Without the body, the reader would not have enough information to share your experience or know if he or she should believe what you said in your topic sentence.

A concluding (or clincher) sentence:
  • The concluding sentence sums up the main idea of the paragraph.
  • It repeats or summarizes the main point stated in the topic sentence in a different way to emphasize the main idea.

Think of your paragraph as a hamburger:

This is the hamburger paragraph model.
Image courtesy of www.imagesgoogle.com



This video gives you just one more example of the parts of a paragraph.




Go to the next page to try a Self-check Activity on the parts of a paragraph.