Presents a theory and model of the paragraph which is useful in teaching students to make generalizations about paragraph structure. (DD)

This handbook of English is divided into three major sections. In the first section, "The Expression and Communication of Thought," chapter one considers the task of writing, including different kinds of essays, style, and the use of standard English. The second chapter is devoted to the process of planning and writing and examines problems of…

Working with teachers, parents, and the school board, the East Hampton (Connecticut) Public Schools developed a program that improved students' paragraph writing within one year. The program involved setting objectives on paragraph construction and use of supporting information, giving teachers inservice training, specifying students' problems,…

Describes the results of three experiments designed to identify cues people use to paragraph text and to determine whether those cues are semantic, formal, or both. (HOD)

Today's paragraph is not a logical unity, and we should stop telling our students that it is. (DD)

A technique for assisting students in selecting and organizing data for compositions is explained. (JH)

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which the currently taught methods of paragraph development are actually used in contemporary expository writing. Composition textbooks published since 1960 were examined to ascertain which methods of development are being taught. To discover the types of paragraph development found in…

The authors contend that because sentence-combining exercises provide students with disciplined writing practice without the sometimes paralyzing pressure to be "creative," they are probably the most basic and useful means of preparing students for writing original compositions. Presented is a sentence-combining exercise. (KC)

Investigates whether readers are aware of and have any preferences about paragraph length. Finds that readers are aware and have a more positive attitude toward writing with paragraphs of less than 100 words. Finds that paragraph length does not affect attitudes toward the expertise of the writer, ease of comprehension, or quality of the passage.…

Even at an early age, children are guided by their intuitions as they write. Intuitions are the culmination of perceptions that have been internalized and synthesized into patterns. Furthermore, they take time to develop. Consequently, if systematic instruction is to play a part in the formation of intuitions about written language then it must…

The objectives of this packet on communication skills are to teach elementary students how to organize their ideas, follow directions, correct their own errors, recognize and write a topic sentence, recognize and write a concluding sentence, recognize sentence fragments and run-on sentences, write a paragraph, and effectively communicate with…

Finds that only 70% of sociology textbook paragraphs contain material important for understanding major textbook concepts, that substantive material is not evenly distributed among chapters in the same book, and suggests students be made aware of this as a reinforcement for the importance of selective reading. (MS)

Argues that the paragraph represents a semantic unit, not just a grammatical convention. Presents original research to establish the types and frequencies of certain paragraph formats found in expository material. Discusses the most appropriate time for teaching students the ideational relationships within paragraphs. (FL)

Describes writing assignments in which students develop paragraphs incorporating various sense images. (RL)

In asserting that cohesion both exists in a superordinate relationship to unity and emphasis and must be considered a part of the surface structure of written language as well as the deep structure, this text provides a commentary on the paragraph as the basic unit of written language and an analysis of the structure underlying paragraph…