How to Write a Paragraph

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Paragraph 7: Discuss a childhood experience. Choose an experience that deeply affected you. First tell exactly what happened, giving important details. Then explain the meaning this experience had for you.

The Process of Writing Basic Paragraphs

1.Narrow the topic in light of your audience and purpose.

2.Write a complete and limited topic sentence. If you have trouble, free write or brainstorm first; then narrow the topic and write the topic sentence.

3.Free write or brainstorm, generating facts, details, and examples to develop your topic sentence.

4.Select and drop ideas for the body of the paragraph.

5.Arrange ideas in a plan or an outline, deciding which ideas will come first, which will come second, and so forth.

6.Write the best first draft you can.

7.Conclude. Don’t just leave the paragraph hanging.

8.Revise as necessary, checking your paragraph for support and unity.

9.Proofread for grammar and spelling errors.

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Samples of Paragraphs

Paragraph 1 Parents’ Day: Russian People’s Great Homage to Forefathers

Parents’ Day is an honoured custom devoted to parents. This ritual is very important for Russian people, since the day is a way to express love and sorrow for forefathers. Parents’ Day is the only holiday when relatives assemble together in memory of their dead relatives. In the morning, families go to graveyards where their relatives are buried. They bring flowers, food, candles, and other symbolic items. First of all, visitors clear the graves. Then people lay small tables next to graves. After these arrangements, the families put food on the plates, near the images of the deceased. For a few minutes, the loved ones eat in silence, remembering the buried forefathers. In addition, some people show homage by pouring alcohol out of a glass onto the graves. In the afternoon, people go home, where they lay the table again. At this ritual meal, they serve their dead forefathers as well as the loved ones still living. The host puts some food on a plate and fills a glass with alcohol. Then, this meal is placed in front of the dead relatives’ images. The rituals associated with Parents’ Day illustrate the great homage Russians pay to their forefathers.

Paragraph 2 The Process of Taking a Steam Bath

One of the Old Russian Customs, and also one of the favourite activities among modern Russian people, is the ritual of taking a steam bath. This treasured tradition has hardly changed through time. At first, a group consisting of 3 to 5 or even more people enter a special room called a sweating room. Here, the temperature reaches 100-120 degrees centigrade. Then, the bathers sit down on special shelves situated one under another and wait to become hot. To make the sweating room as steamy as possible, the bathers pour water or kvas, a national Russian beverage, onto the burning hot stove. This process is called poddavat. Because of the high temperature and burning steam, not everyone is able to stay in the steam bath for a long time. So, some overheated bathers leave the sweating room for a while. Others – those who can endure such conditions – begin to lash each other with switches of green birch twigs. This moment, the core of the entire sweat ritual, is one of the favourite moments among steam-bath-lovers. Another pleasant moment is when bathers run out of the bath to pour a bucket of cold water on themselves. In winter, they sometimes run outdoors and dive into a snowdrift. Finally, back inside, the bathers sit down at a table in a separate room called the

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“dressing room”. There, they pass the time drinking kvas, beer, or tea, and talking with one another. Then, the entire process is repeated again… and again.

Russian people greet spring in a special way. In the historic past, this greeting lasted for a whole week. It is called Maslyanitsa, meaning “butter” in

English. Throughout the whole week, Russian people cooked pancakes served with honey, caviar, fresh cream, and butter. Maslyanitsa celebrations may be segmented into three parts. First was the meeting of Maslaynitsa on Monday. On this first day, people wore funny masks and costumes. (Sometimes, men wore women’s clothing, or vice-versa.) The lively masquerade gave way to another merry festival featuring delicious foods and lots of wine. Filled with food and drink, people broke into round dances with songs and games. Part two was broad Maslyanitsa, or the peak of the festive occasion, on Thursday. On Thursday, gifts were hung atop a long ice pole standing in the village square. Any man who could climb to the top of the pole was allowed to take one of the presents. Meanwhile, the feat of fighting was taking place: one “wall” of men against another “wall” of men. Such rigorous fun helped to warm people up on Russia’s cold, late winter days. The last part of the celebration – the good-bye-day – arrived on Sunday morning. On that day, one group of people attacked the ice castle, while the other group defended the castle. After that competition, a big girl of straw was burned as the final act of saying good-bye to the nearly passed winter. In present times, Russians celebrate Maslaynitsa on only one day. We try to combine all the weeklong traditions into this one day of festivity.

Paragraph 4 Improving English Language Skills

Language skills, like nature, flourish (grow, improve) with care and maintenance. Mastering American English – or any foreign language – demands practice and persistence. Several techniques can help learners reach their goals of fluency and confidence in English. The most efficient road to improvement is to speak with native speakers, if possible. They are the best sources for discovering idioms, slang words, and new meanings added to old words. “What’s up?” “What’s going down?” “No kidding”, “right-on”, and “ultra” are expressions not easily learned from a standard dictionary. Another favourite study method is watching American movies. Who wouldn’t rather learn English from Matt Damon, Tom Cruise, or Sandra Bullock than from a book? No single chapter can enrich

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language skills as much as watching “Searching Private Ryan”, “Good Will Hunting”, “Mission Impossible””, or “Speed II”. The ambitious speaker of English must be able to read as well as to speak and to comprehend. The world’s best vocabulary and reading teacher may be the Internet. Choose any topic; the Internet is a continually expanding encyclopedia. Read about today’s news, sports, politics,

CDs, books, fashion, food. Work crossword puzzles, practice grammar through games, surf to exotic countries and meet interesting people, shop for clothes, check-out weather forecasts around the world – all part of English language practice. And if you don’t like writing paragraphs, practice writing skills through e-mail messages and chat rooms. English will soon be “virtually” at your fingertips.

Paragraph 5 Russian Features in Nekrasov’s Poem “Who Lives Well in Russia”

The well-known Russian poet, Nekrasov, devoted many of his poems to describing the character of the Russian people, including the poem “Who Lives Well in Russia.” In this work he praised the Russian people for their honesty. This national feature is well described in the episode about Ermila Girin. The peasants gave him money to buy a windmill, trusting his word of honour. When he returned the remaining money, he had one ruble left. Ermila spent the whole day looking for the man to whom he owed the money, but he didn’t find his debtor. Finally, Ermila gave the ruble to a blind man, but he didn’t keep it for himself. Nekrasov also wrote about Russian people’s love of beauty. An example of this character trait is illustrated in Yakim Nagoy. Yakim saved all the paintings from a burning house, having lost all his money. In his poem, Nekrasov described some other good features of peasants, such as their strength: “If I wake up before dawn and finish work at midnight, then I will have time for everything.” Nekrasov was proud of the fact that no other people but Russians could enjoy themselves so much, that after exhausting work the Russian man has enough strength to go on a spree: “You needn’t grieve. Look around and enjoy yourself.” However, Nekrasov described one negative feature of the Russian people – their hard drinking: “The Russian peasants are smart; the one bad thing is that they drink until they knock their minds out of their heads, and they fall into the ditches, and it is sad to see!” Nekrasov’s “Who Lives Well in Russia” represents an enduring portrait of Russians’ joy, strength, soulful character, and all-to-human weakness.

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Paragraph 6 Wrong Visions of Russians in the Film “Armageddon”

Some U.S. films continue to express wrong opinions about Russians. The most significant example is one the scenes from the catastrophe movie, Armageddon, in which the Russian orbital station MIR and a Russian astronaut were shown. The film dramatized several things that cannot be true about Russians. First, the Russian astronaut was drunk. He staggered, spoke indistinctly, and had a foggy look. Second, he was dressed in an old quilted jacket, a cap with earflaps, and valenki. It is impossible to survive in such clothes on a space ship. Next, the space station was ready to fall to pieces. In truth, even though the MIR is well-travelled in space, it still performs efficiently. Finally, at the end of the movie, there was a conversation about who would be a volunteer to save the world but die on the asteroid. And the Russian astronaut said that he would be killed in Russia if he didn’t offer himself. This fear is not based in truth; no one can make someone do what he or she doesn’t want to do. Overall, Armageddon shows Russians as heavy drinkers, technologically backward, and careless about the consequences of what their actions. This vision is wrong-minded. Perhaps Russian film makers should concentrate on correcting the world’s image of their country.

Paragraph 7 The National Joke

The most frequent association with Russia is probably Russian vodka. The whole world, including Russians, like to joke about this theme. The film, Don’t play the fool America is one kind of such jokes. In the film, a large American company got information that there was a diamond field in one Russian village. The president of the company decided to check this information and to send a submarine to the river near the village. But it is necessary to distract the attention of Russians from checking. How to do it? Yes, Russians like to drink, so let them drink free! So, a village citizen cached a 200-liter barrel of alcohol in the river. And the party began! Nobody in the village was working: everyone was drunk. But when the Americans tried to check the diamond field, they met a drunk Russian and had to go to the party to drink, too. To save them, the submarine’s soldiers were sent. First, they fought with the drunken men but then had to drink, too. This is Russian hospitality. So, in the end, the Americans didn’t check the diamond field and went back to the USA. And soon came the Japanese… Theoretically, such a party could be in a Russian village. But the film is a comedy, and everything is exaggerated… except for the vodka.

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Paragraph 8 Television: Home Education

Television can be a valuable educational tool. Now, many good educational programs are offered by Russian networks and through cable service. One group of programs helps enrich knowledge about nature and animals. For example, In the World of Animals and Dialogue with Animals take the home viewer into unfamiliar world of animal behaviour. Other programs introduce viewers to the world of geography and travel, such as The Good-for-Nothing Notes and The Traveler’s Club. A third group of educational programs educates the television audience in history and culture. The History Wheel and Almanac around the World are only two popular examples. Yet another cluster of programming helps broaden viewers’ mental powers: Brain-Ring, What? Where? When?, The Fortune, and Oh, Lucky Bargee! Besides, thanks to programs such as News and Time, viewers sitting at home can get the latest political and economic news from around the world. All of these educational programs on television help viewers to expand their minds and to experience many spheres of life. Television can clearly become a valuable and convenient educational tool in every Russian household.

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References

1.Fawcett S. Evergreen: A Guide to Writing [Текст] / S. Fawcett, A. Sandberg / – Ed. by R. Winfield. – Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996. – 496 p.

2.Leggett G. Prentice-Hall Handbook for Writers [Текст] / G. Leggett, C. Mead, M. Kramer / – Ed. by J. Perkins. – New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, 1985. – 558 p.

3.Macdonald A. Mastering Writing Essentials [Текст] / A. Macdonald, G. Macdonald / –Ed. by A. Grey. – New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, 1996. – 446 p.

4.Turabian K. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers [Текст] / – Ed. by W. Booth. – Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. – 439 p.

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HOW TO WRITE A PARAGRAPH

Учебно-методические указания для студентов 3 – 4 курсов

Составители: Панченко Наталья Николаевна

Помешкина Наталья Александровна

Компьюторная вёрстка и оформление Н.Н. Панченко Н.А. Помешкина

Иркутский государственный лингвистический университет

664000 Иркутск, ул. Ленина, 8 тел. (3952) 24-25-97