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Year 7 English — Writing a paragraph

Build a paragraph from a topic sentence, supporting sentences and a closing sentence, and keep everything in it about one idea.

Name: ________________________

Before you start

A finished paragraph, drawn as the sentences it is built from. Find out what job each sentence is doing.

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  1. 1. The topic sentence, opening the idea
  2. 2. A supporting sentence — a reason
  3. 3. A supporting sentence — an example
  4. 4. A supporting sentence — a detail
  5. 5. The closing sentence, tying it off

The first and last sentences do a different job from the three in between: one opens the idea and one looks back over it, while the middle three are the only ones carrying anything new.

  1. 1.Write one word: The sentence that tells the reader what the whole paragraph is about is called the ____ sentence.

  2. 2.Which sentence does NOT belong in a paragraph about how honey is made?

    • a) Inside the hive the nectar slowly turns into honey.
    • b) Bees collect nectar from flowers.
    • c) They carry the nectar back to the hive.
    • d) The first bicycle was built in Europe.

  3. 3.Write one word: A paragraph that sticks to one idea and lets nothing else in is said to have ____.

  4. 4.Which would make the best closing sentence for a paragraph about the uses of bamboo?

    • a) So bamboo is one of the most useful plants we have.
    • b) Bamboo is a kind of grass.
    • c) Bamboo grows very fast.
    • d) My grandfather has a bamboo walking stick.

  5. 5.Match each linking word to what it tells the reader is coming.

    • however
    • for example
    • therefore
    • in addition
    • finally
    • because
    • an example of the point just made
    • a result of what came before
    • a contrast with what came before
    • one more point of the same kind
    • a reason
    • the last point in a list

  6. 6.How many main ideas should one paragraph have?

    • a) Two
    • b) Three
    • c) As many as you like
    • d) One

  7. 7.Put these sentences in order to make one good paragraph.

    • Second, it has shelves of books I could never afford to buy.
    • For all these reasons I go there whenever I can.
    • The library is my favourite place in the school.
    • First, it is quiet enough to think in.
    • Best of all, nobody there ever hurries you.

  8. 8.Sort each sentence by the job it does in its paragraph.

    Groups: Topic sentence · Supporting sentence · Closing sentence

    • They cost nothing to run and never need fuel.
    • The monsoon changes life in many ways.
    • So it is no wonder that so many people ride them.
    • In all these ways the monsoon shapes the whole year.
    • Farmers begin sowing as soon as the first rain falls.
    • Bicycles are a cheap way to travel.
    • Rivers that were almost dry fill up again.

Answer key — Year 7 English — Writing a paragraph

  1. 1. topic
  2. 2. d) The first bicycle was built in Europe.
  3. 3. unity
  4. 4. a) So bamboo is one of the most useful plants we have.
  5. 5. however → a contrast with what came before; for example → an example of the point just made; therefore → a result of what came before; in addition → one more point of the same kind; finally → the last point in a list; because → a reason
  6. 6. d) One
  7. 7. 1. The library is my favourite place in the school. 2. First, it is quiet enough to think in. 3. Second, it has shelves of books I could never afford to buy. 4. Best of all, nobody there ever hurries you. 5. For all these reasons I go there whenever I can.
  8. 8. The monsoon changes life in many ways. → Topic sentence; Farmers begin sowing as soon as the first rain falls. → Supporting sentence; Rivers that were almost dry fill up again. → Supporting sentence; In all these ways the monsoon shapes the whole year. → Closing sentence; Bicycles are a cheap way to travel. → Topic sentence; They cost nothing to run and never need fuel. → Supporting sentence; So it is no wonder that so many people ride them. → Closing sentence