descriptive narrative writing exercises thesis

I think we should raise the legal driving age. Adopted or used LibreTexts for your course? Prisoner follows the daily lives of eight suburban housewives who have chosen to be put in jail for the purposes of this fake psychological experiment. Sexism and racism exist in today’s workplace. As the unifying sentence for the paragraph, it is the most general sentence, whereas all supporting sentences provide different types of more specific information, such as facts, details, or examples. After reading the new TV guide this week I wondered why we are still being bombarded with reality shows, a plague that continues to darken our airwaves. I dread to think what producers will come up with next season and hope that other viewers will express their criticism. Most academic essays contain the topic sentence at the beginning of the first paragraph. Paragraphs – Narrative, Descriptive, Expository, and Persuasive Narrative . The supporting sentences then expand on how breathing exercises help the writer by providing additional information. Paragraphs separate ideas into logical, manageable chunks, each paragraph focusing on only one main idea and presenting coherent sentences to support that one point. If the paragraph contains a concluding sentence, it is the last sentence in the paragraph and reminds the reader of the main point by restating it in different words. A descriptive thesis attempts to present facts as they exist. Write your responses on your own sheet of paper. In this case, the supporting sentences are placed before the topic sentence and the concluding sentence is the same as the topic sentence. This paper will discuss the likelihood of the Democrats winning the next election. She let out a wheeze as she sat down heavily in the wooden rocking chair. Some well-organized paragraphs do not contain a topic sentence at all, a technique often used in descriptive and narrative writing. Paragraphs that begin with the topic sentence move from the general to the specific. Each related supporting idea is developed with facts, examples, and other details that explain it. Authors are losing money as a result of technological advances. Better yet, they require no pills, no equipment, and very little time. Topic Sentence (topic + comment/judgment/interpretation): ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________, Supporting Sentence 1: _________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________, Supporting Sentence 2: _________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________, Supporting Sentence 3: _________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________, Supporting Sentence 4: _________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________, Supporting Sentence 5: _________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________, Supporting Sentence 6: _________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________. Check out the 5 step guide- Choose your topic- Brainstorm for it. A preview for the first episode shows the usual tears and tantrums associated with reality television. The unrealistic demands of union workers are crippling the economy for three main reasons. They may also form part of a university application. Effective paragraphing makes the difference between a satisfying essay that readers can easily process and one that requires readers to mentally organize the piece themselves. When you are prompted to tell a story about your own life or experiences, a narrative essay is usually the right response. a. By exploring and refining one idea at a time, writers build a strong case for their thesis. Have questions or comments? A dog in my neighborhood can predict when its master is about to have a seizure. The final sentence is the concluding sentence. Each of the following sentences in the paragraph supports the topic sentence by providing further information about a specific reality television show and why the writer finds it unappealing. We’ve had enough reality television to last us a lifetime! The methods used in this type of essay are analysis, measurement, elaboration, interpretation, comparison and contrast. Thoughtful organization and development of each body paragraph leads to an effectively focused, developed, and coherent essay. Even though it had never been to their new home, the cat was able to track down its former owners. Hours before the exam, my heart would begin pounding, my legs would shake, and sometimes I would become physically unable to move. Although no single sentence in this paragraph states the main idea, the entire paragraph focuses on one concept—that Luella is extremely old. An effective paragraph contains three main parts: In informative and persuasive writing, the topic sentence is usually the first sentence or second sentence of a paragraph and expresses its main idea, followed by supporting sentences that help explain, prove, or enhance the topic sentence. You are likely to lose interest in a piece of writing that is disorganized and spans many pages without breaks. If you notice that you have used a topic sentence in the middle of a paragraph in an academic essay, read through the paragraph carefully to make sure that it contains only one major topic. It reiterates the main point that viewers are bored with reality television shows by using different words from the topic sentence. Imagine reading one long block of text, with each idea blurring into the next. The first sentence tells readers that the paragraph will be about reality television shows, and it expresses the writer’s distaste for these shows through the use of the word bombarded. As this definition implies, a descriptive narrative essay involves the use of a lot of descriptive tools … The following figure illustrates the most common paragraph structure for informative and persuasive college essays. The writer produces detailed examples as evidence to back up his or her point, preparing the reader to accept the concluding topic sentence as the truth. In each of the following sentence pairs, choose the more effective topic sentence. Along with the return of viewer favorites, we are to be cursed with yet another mindless creation. In essays, each supporting paragraph adds another related main idea to support the writer’s thesis, or controlling idea. Create a topic sentence on each of the following subjects. It’s amazing how just breathing correctly has helped me learn to manage my anxiety symptoms. The last sentence is the concluding sentence and restates how breathing can help manage anxiety. In narrative and descriptive paragraphs, however, topic sentences may be implied rather than explicitly stated, with all supporting sentences working to create the main idea. For more information contact us at [email protected] or check out our status page at https://status.libretexts.org. Compared to many animals, our own senses are almost dull. Until and unless it is interesting and meaningful, it will lose its relevance. Implied topic sentences work well if the writer has a firm idea of what he or she intends to say in the paragraph and sticks to it. It seems so simple, but by doing just a few breathing exercises a couple of hours before an exam, I gradually got my anxiety under control. These producers must stop the constant stream of meaningless shows without plotlines. He studied her face, like parchment, stretched across the bones so finely he could almost see right through the skin to the decaying muscle underneath. The LibreTexts libraries are Powered by MindTouch® and are supported by the Department of Education Open Textbook Pilot Project, the UC Davis Office of the Provost, the UC Davis Library, the California State University Affordable Learning Solutions Program, and Merlot. A descriptive narrative essay seeks to provide a vivid description of a situation, person or item such that they too can see it in their mind’s eye as the narrator saw it in person. The topic sentence is thus implied rather than stated so that all the details in the paragraph can work together to convey the dominant impression of Luella’s age. Unless otherwise noted, LibreTexts content is licensed by CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. a. An effective topic sentence has the following characteristics: Topic Sentence Begins the Paragraph (General to Specific), Topic Sentence Ends the Paragraph (Specific to General), When the Topic Sentence Appears in the Middle of the Paragraph. For most types of informative or persuasive academic writing, writers find it helpful to think of the paragraph analogous to an essay, as each is controlled by a main idea or point, and that idea is developed by an organized group of more specific ideas. The topic sentence functions two ways: it clearly refers to and supports the essay’s thesis, and it indicates what will follow in the rest of the paragraph. In narrative and descriptive paragraphs, however, topic sentences may be implied rather than explicitly stated, with all supporting sentences working to create the main idea. We also acknowledge previous National Science Foundation support under grant numbers 1246120, 1525057, and 1413739. In a paragraph such as this one, an explicit topic sentence would seem awkward and heavy-handed. There are too many dogs on the public beach. It makes sure that he does not hurt himself during an epileptic fit. This technique is frequently used in persuasive writing. These essays are often anecdotal, experiential, and personal—allowing the student to express themselves in a creative and, quite often, moving way. Read the following statements and evaluate each as a topic sentence. It draws on specific examples (a cat that tracked down its owners and a dog that can predict seizures) and then makes a general statement that draws a conclusion from these examples (animals’ senses are better than humans’). Because all the sentences in one paragraph support the same point, a paragraph may stand on its own. Thus, the thesis of the essay is analogous to the topic sentence of a paragraph, just as the supporting sentences in a paragraph are analogous to the supporting paragraphs in an essay. To support its claims, it uses proofs that are available readily to everyone and reasoning that is obvious to all its readers. In each example, the topic sentence is underlined. We want to hear from you. The following examples illustrate varying locations for the topic sentence. When writing a narrative essay, one might think of it as telling a story. Concluding Sentence (summary of comment/judgment/interpretation): The number of supporting sentences varies according to the paragraph’s purpose and the writer’s sentence structure. For many years, I suffered from severe anxiety every time I took an exam. In college-level expository or persuasive writing, placing an explicit topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph (the first or second sentence) makes it easier for readers to follow the essay and for writers to stay on topic, but writers should be aware of variations and maintain the flexibility to adapt to different writing projects. In this paragraph, the underlined sentence is the topic sentence. Exercising three times a week is healthy. The foundation of a paragraph is the topic sentence, which expresses the main idea or point of the paragraph. However, a paragraph loses its effectiveness if an implied topic sentence is too subtle or the writer loses focus. a. The exercises help slow my heart rate and make me feel less anxious. Placing a topic sentence in the middle of a paragraph is often used in creative writing. The preceding sentences enable the writer to build up to his main point (breathing exercises can help control anxiety) by using a personal anecdote (how he used to suffer from anxiety). Instead of being directly stated, the main idea is implied in the content of the paragraph, as in the following narrative paragraph: Heaving herself up the stairs, Luella had to pause for breath several times. Narrative essays are usually assigned as writing exercises at high school or in university composition classes. [ "article:topic", "license:ccbyncsa", "showtoc:no", "authorname:kcrowther" ], Creating Focused Paragraphs with Topic Sentences. If the paragraph contains a concluding sentence, it is the last sentence in the paragraph and reminds the reader of the main point by restating it in different words. Last year, a cat traveled 130 miles to reach its family, who had moved to another state and had left their pet behind. They open with a general statement about a subject (reality shows) and then discuss specific examples (the reality show Prisoner). Last year, I was referred to a specialist and finally found a way to control my anxiety—breathing exercises. a. Rap music is produced by untalented individuals with oversized egos. Luella smiled a toothless grin. It expresses the main idea—that breathing exercises can help control anxiety. The last sentence of this paragraph is the topic sentence. Tao approached her cautiously, as if she might crumble at the slightest touch. A topic sentence can appear anywhere within a paragraph or can be implied (such as in narrative or descriptive writing). 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