who am I

understanding paragraph

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1  Background of the Problem

English is the first foreign language in our country, which is taught from Elementary level to University level. English is also intensively used in international communication, in written as well as in spoken communication. In addition, many books of science, technology, art and other published issues are written in English.

Understanding the topic of a paragraph is a sophisticated reading task. Being able to draw conclusions, evaluate, and critically interpret articles or chapters is important for overall comprehension in college reading. Paragraphs have topics and main ideas. The topic is the broad, general theme or message. It is what some call the subject. Details, major and minor, support the main idea by telling how, what, when, where, why, how much, or how many. Locating the topic helps you understand the point the writer is attempting to express. Identifying  will increase your comprehension.

1.2 The Formulation of Problem

Dealing with limitation of the problem, the researcher would like to formulate the problem as follow:

1.      What is paragraph ?

2.      How do we identifying topic of a paragraph ?

3.      How many types of paragraphs?

4.      How many parts of paragraph?

1.3 The Objectives of the research

The objectives of the research could be formulated as follow:

1.      To know about what is paragraph.

2.      To know way identifying topic of a paragraph .

3.      To know the students ability to identifying of paragraphs.

4.      To know about how many part of paragraphs.

1.4    The Uses of the Research

Theoretically :

1.    As the references for other researchers who are interested to identifying topic of paragraph.

2.    As the support for the theory of Uderstanding Paragarpf expecially Identifying  topic of a paragraph.

Practically :

1.    As the information for all the teachers and the students to know strategies in Identiying of a paragraph.

CHAPTER II

2.1 Paragraph

               A paragraph is a group of sentences about a topic.  The topic is often explained in one sentence and developed in the rest of the sentences.  The sentence that announces the main point of the paragraph is called the topic sentence.  Though the topic sentence usually is the first sentence of the paragraph, it can appear anywhere in the paragraph.  It is also possible for a paragraph to have no explicit topic sentence.  However, even if a paragraph has no identifiable topic sentence, it must still have a clear main focus, and the reader should sense the connection among the sentences in the paragraph.

Every paragraph has a key concept or main idea. The main idea is the most important piece of information the author wants you to know about the concept of that paragraph. When authors write they have an idea in mind that they are trying to get across. This is especially true as authors compose paragraphs. An author organizes each paragraph's main idea and supporting details in support of the topic or central theme, and each paragraph supports the paragraph preceding it.

2.2 The way to Identifying Topic of a Paragaraph

The first thing you must be able to do to get at the main idea of a paragraph is to identify the topic - the subject of the paragraph. Think of the paragraph as a wheel with the topic being the hub - the central core around which the whole wheel (or paragraph) spins. Your strategy for topic identification is simply to ask yourself the question, "What is this about?" Keep asking yourself that question as you read a paragraph, until the answer to your question becomes clear. Sometimes you can spot the topic by looking for a word or two that repeat. Usually you can state the topic in a few words.

Let us try this topic-finding strategy. Reread the first paragraph on this page - the first paragraph under the heading Grasping the Main Idea. Ask yourself the question, "What is this paragraph about?" To answer, say to yourself in your mind, "The author keeps talking about paragraphs and the way they are designed. This must be the topic - paragraph organization." Reread the second paragraph of the same section. Ask yourself "What is this paragraph about?" Did you say to yourself, "This paragraph is about different ways to organize a paragraph"? That is the topic. Next, reread the third paragraph and see if you can find the topic of the paragraph. How? Write the topic in the margin next to this paragraph. Remember, getting the main idea of a paragraph is crucial to reading.

The bulk of an expository paragraph is made up of supporting sentences (major and minor details), which help to explain or prove the main idea. These sentences present facts, reasons, examples, definitions, comparison, contrasts, and other pertinent details. They are most important because they sell the main idea.

The last sentence of a paragraph is likely to be a concluding sentence. It is used to sum up a discussion, to emphasize a point, or to restate all or part of the topic sentence so as to bring the paragraph to a close. The last sentence may also be a transitional sentence leading to the next paragraph.

2.3 Types of Paragraphs

Of course, the paragraphs you'll be reading will be part of some longer piece of writing - a textbook chapter, a section of a chapter, or a newspaper or magazine article.

Besides expository paragraphs, in which new information is presented and discussed, these longer writings contain three types of paragraphs: introductory, transitional, and summarizing.

ü  Introductory paragraphs tell you, in advance, such things as (1) the main ideas of the chapter or section; (2) the extent or limits of the coverage; (3) how the topic is developed; and (4) the writer's attitude toward the topic.

ü  Transitional paragraphs are usually short; their sole function is to tie together what you have read so far and what is to come - to set the stage for succeeding ideas of the chapter or section.

ü  Summarizing paragraphs are used to restate briefly the main ideas of the chapter or section. The writer may also draw some conclusion from these ideas, or speculate on some conclusion based on the evidence he/she has presented.

All three types should alert you: the introductory paragraph of things to come; the transitional paragraph of a new topic; and the summarizing paragraph of main ideas that you should have gotten.

Exercise:

The rules of conduct during an examination are clear. No books, calculators or papers are allowed in the test room. Proctors will not allow anyone with such items to take the test. Anyone caught cheating will be asked to leave the room. His or her test sheet will be taken. The incident will be reported to the proper authority. At the end of the test period, all materials will be returned to the proctor. Failure to abide by these rules will result in a failing grade for this test.

Answer:

You should have underlined the first sentence in the paragraph - this is the stated main idea. What can be concluded from the information is: If you do not follow the rules, you will automatically fail the test. This concluding information is found in the last sentence.

2.4 Part of paragraphs

            A paragraph has three part : a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and concluding sentence.

            The topic sentence states the main idea of the paragraph. it not only names the topic of the paragraph, but it also limits the topic to one or two areas that can be discussed completely in the space of a single paragraph. The specific area is called the controlling idea.

            Supporting sentences develop the topic sentence. That is, they explain the topic sentence by giving reason, examples,facts,statistics,and quotations.

            The concluding sentence signals the end of the paragraph and leaves the reader with important point to remember.

CHAPTER III

CLOSING

3.1 CONCLUSION

If this papers gives positive result, for student ,it is expected that this technique will help them,improve their reading skill. The student will be able to:

1. Understand the vocabularies used in the text by looking at its context

2. Understand the main idea of the text by skimming

3. Understand the detail information of the text by scanning

4. Understand the goal, the parts, and the language features of text

3.2 SUGGESTION

Based on those definitions above, strategies are any tools or tactics that employ to learn more effectively and more autonomously. All of those factors made the students to have low motivation in learning English, especially reading.To improve the students' motivation in learning.

 

REFERENCE

Mikulecky,Beatrice.1996.More Reading Power.United States of America:Longman.

Writing User-Friendly Documents (U.S. National Performance Review).

All pages Copyright © 1998 Hunter College Reading/Writing Center.

http://www.flinders.edu.au/SLC.