reasons, examples,
facts, statistic,
quotation, comparison,
definition, classifications, descriptive. A concluding sentence is a sentence which signals the
end of the paragraph and leaves the reader with importation points to remember. Oshima and Hogue 2006: 18 also state there are two additional elements
of paragraph: unity and coherence. Unity means that the paragraph of a text has one main idea to discuss. The main idea is stated in the topic sentence and then
each and every supporting sentence develops. Coherence means that the paragraph is easy to read and understand because, 1 the supporting sentences are
in some kind of logical order, and 2 the ideas are connected by the use of appropriate transition signals. The relationship between the ideas is clearly shown
by using appropriate transition words and phrases such as “first of all”, the
second important characteristic”, “for example” and “in conclusion”. So we can make a conclusion that, a well-written text contains five elements: a topic
sentence, supporting sentence, a concluding sentence, unity, and coherence.
E. Types of Paragraphs
A paragraph is a group of sentences that works together to develop a main idea. Paragraphs are organized differently depending on her purpose. There are
three main types of paragraphs in English; they are narrative, descriptive, and expository.
a Narrative Paragraphs
A narrative paragraph tells a story. In this type of paragraph, the writer composes the paragraph by considering some aspects like what happened,
before, during, and after a situation. b
Descriptive Paragraphs This type of paragraph is used to describe what something looks like. For
example, in describing a physical appearance or a city. The characteristic of the descriptive paragraphs is that it gives the reader a clear mental picture
of what is being described. c
Expository Paragraphs The expository paragraph is used to explain something to the reader. The
writer can explain something in many ways. Some of these are: 1.
by comparing two things or people, 2.
by showing the steps in a process, 3.
by analyzing something a
Dividing something into its parts b
Analyzing a problem 4.
by persuading a
Trying to make others do something b
Arguing for the writer’s opinion Boardman and Frydenberg, 2002:4
F. Organization of Paragraphs
Paragraphs can stand alone or they can be parts of longer pieces of writing, such as essay. When they stand alone, they almost always consist of these three
parts, but when they are part of longer piece of writing, there can be many variations in their style.
1. The topic sentence
A topic sentence is the most important sentence in paragraph because it contains the main idea of the paragraph. A good topic sentence has two
parts: the topic and the controlling idea. The topic is the subject of the paragraph. It is about what we are writing about. The controlling idea
limits the topic of the paragraph to the aspect that the topic we want to explore in our paragraph.
2. The body
The body of the paragraph consists of some supporting sentences. There are two types of supporting sentences: major supporting sentences and
minor supporting sentences. The major supporting sentences are the main details that tell us about the topic sentence. The minor supporting
sentences tell us more about the major supporting sentences. 3.
The concluding sentence The concluding sentence of a paragraph is generally a restatement of the
topic sentence Oshima and Hogue, 2006:4
G. Genre in English Text
