Parts of a Paragraph

When you read or write a paragraph, it is important to notice or include the main idea.  A good writer usually makes it clear what the main idea is, but not always.  When trying to figure out the main idea, ask yourself, "What is the biggest idea in this paragraph."  A lot of students mistake the details for the main idea.  One way to decide whether an idea is a detail or the main idea is to compare it to another idea.  Usually the main idea sounds better when it is read first, and the detail sounds better coming after.

Another thing you need to be able to do is to decide what the purpose an author had in mind for writing something. There are three primary purposes for writing:  to entertain, to inform, and to persuade.  Stories and narratives are usually written to entertain.  Newspaper and magazine articles, non-fiction books, encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, and textbooks are usually written to inform.  Editorials, letters to the editor of a newspaper, opinion pieces, and persuasive essays (obviously) are usually written to persuade.

Try your skills at figuring out main idea, purpose, transition and origin by linking to this online quiz:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHlFbzMySGV6R0xNOV9lVF9pT0VMTWc6MQ&ifq