{"id":117,"date":"2020-02-25T23:15:33","date_gmt":"2020-02-26T04:15:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/advancedenglish\/chapter\/paragraph-analysis\/"},"modified":"2021-08-06T16:59:02","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T20:59:02","slug":"paragraph-analysis","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/advancedenglish\/chapter\/paragraph-analysis\/","title":{"raw":"Paragraph-Level Text Analysis","rendered":"Paragraph-Level Text Analysis"},"content":{"raw":"
\r\n\r\nWhen exploring a text, consider the structure and arrangement of paragraphs.\r\n\r\nIn terms of structure, an \u201cacademic\u201d paragraph includes a topic sentence (bold text)<\/strong>, which introduces the paragraph\u2019s main idea. It then offers several sentences (or at least one, as a minimum) to support or explain the topic sentence (underlined text)<\/span>. Finally, it concludes with a sentence that helps transition to the next paragraph (italicized text)<\/em>.\r\n
Note that the topic sentence is often, but not always, the first sentence in the paragraph. You\u2019ll hear more about that later. (For more about topic sentences see \u201cWriting Paragraphs<\/a>\u201d in the \"Drafting\" section of this text.)<\/div>\r\nHere\u2019s an example:\r\n

Our reliance on single-use plastic water bottles is more than simply wasteful; it is bad for our environment because of the composition of the bottles themselves and the chemicals they release as they break down in our landfills.<\/strong>Single-use plastic water bottles cause dangerous substances to \u201cleach\u201d into the soil and water (Macklin). The bottles typically don\u2019t begin to break down for one hundred years, or even longer. Their decomposition may be speeded up by extreme weather conditions, e.g., very hot or very cold temperatures. As they break down, they release dangerous chemicals like bisphenol-A into the soil. Bisphenol-A is an endocrine disruptor, i.e., it can affect the levels of hormones within the human body, creating disease. In addition, BPA is known to be carcinogenic (cancer-causing) in humans. As these chemicals accumulate in the soil, they eventually sink into the water table, contaminating the water\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0(O'Connor).\u00a0Making the environmental threats of single-use water bottles even more frightening is the fact that there is currently no known technology for removing BPA and other leachates from the soil and water once they\u2019re there.<\/em><\/p>\r\nWriters may choose to use short or long paragraphs to create specific effects\u2014much the same as using short and long sentences. Short paragraphs can build tension or a sense of expectation, while long ones may create a \u201cstream of consciousness\u201d feeling, in which the narrator\u2019s thoughts, feelings, and reactions are given in a continuous, rambling flow.\r\n\r\nThe classic arrangement of paragraphs in a text may be described as \u201clinear\u201d or time-based. In other words, the narrator typically starts at the beginning and moves logically to the end. Sometimes a writer will use flashbacks, flash-forwards, or dream\/imaginative sequences to affect the usual flow of time in the story or to provide additional information. For example, a flashback allows the reader to learn something about the story\u2019s past they wouldn\u2019t have known otherwise.\r\n

Tip: Remember the tip about \"bookmarking\" your reading, or reading simply the first and last sentences of each section? See how you can get the meaning of the above paragraph without reading the entire thing.<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

Text Attributions<\/h3>\r\n