Paragraph Level The Mechanics of Style - PowerPoint Presentation

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Paragraph Level

The Mechanics of Style

3

First Year Series

Writing Center

University of North Florida

Workshop Overview

A

successful paragraph introduces

a clear

Topic/Issue…

that moves readers toward specific questions…

a

nd then it answers

them.

Writing that succeeds in this way is called “cohesive.” It hangs together nicely.

Guided Practice

What is good about this paragraph?

During

the first decade of “Just Do It,” Nike “increased its market share of the domestic sport-shoe business from 18 percent ($877 million) to 43 percent ($9.2 billion)” (COAR). “Just Do It” expanded Nike’s target audience from hardcore, competitive athletes to the general public by appealing to the “inner” athlete. The new appeal was that anyone and everyone could wear the merchandise and feel included. Everyone – from your average teenager making a fashion statement, to professional athletes putting in hours of work – could wear a pair of Nike athletic shoes and experience the associated benefits of doing so. The values of that “inner athlete”—determination, dedication, and mental toughness—added up to a Nike brand that finally forced Reebok out of a dominant market position.

Guided Practice

We start with an unread page.

The reader hasn’t decided to read your document yet.

The reader is thinking: “Is this even worth reading?”

Your Topic/Issue should get them to answer “yes.”

Guided Practice

Topic/Issue

During the first decade of “Just Do It,” Nike “increased its market share of the domestic sport-shoe business from 18 percent ($877 million) to 43 percent ($9.2 billion)” (COAR

).

Now what is the reader asking?

Guided Practice

Topic/Issue

During the first decade of “Just Do It,” Nike “increased its market share of the domestic sport-shoe business from 18 percent ($877 million) to 43 percent ($9.2 billion)” (COAR).

The reader is

asking:

“Why? How?”



Answer

:

“

Just Do It” expanded Nike’s target audience from hardcore, competitive athletes to the general public by appealing to the “

inner

athlete

.”

Guided Practice

“

Just Do It”

expanded Nike’s target audience from

hardcore, competitive

athletes to the general public by appealing to the “

inner

athlete

.”

The reader is

asking: “What’s that? Really

? Explain.”



Answer

:

The new appeal was that anyone and everyone could wear the merchandise and feel included. Everyone – from your average teenager making a fashion statement, to professional athletes putting in hours of work – could wear a pair of Nike athletic shoes and experience the associated benefits of doing so.

Guided Practice

The

new appeal was that anyone and everyone could wear the merchandise and feel included. Everyone – from your average teenager making a fashion statement, to professional athletes putting in hours of work – could wear a pair of Nike athletic shoes and experience the associated benefits of doing so.

The reader is

asking:

“So what?”



Answer:

The values of that “inner athlete”—determination, dedication, and mental toughness—added up to a Nike brand that finally forced Reebok out of a dominant market position.

Guided PRactice

Topic/Issue

During

the first decade of “Just Do It,” Nike “increased its market share of the domestic

sport-shoe business

from 18

percent

($877 million) to 43 percent ($9.2 billion)” (COAR).

“

Why? How

?”

“

Just Do It” expanded Nike’s target audience from hardcore, competitive athletes to the general public by

appealing

to

the

“inner” athlete.

“Really? Explain.”

The

new appeal was that anyone and everyone could wear the merchandise and feel included. Everyone –

from

your

average

teenager making a fashion statement, to professional athletes putting in hours of work

–

could wear a pair

of Nike

athletic shoes and experience the associated benefits of doing so.

“

So what

?”

The

values of that “inner athlete”—determination, dedication, and mental toughness—added up to a Nike

brand

that

finally

forced Reebok out of a dominant market position.

Guided Practice

Sometimes, your

topic/issue

isn’t obviously interesting.

From the start, your reader

is already thinking:

“So what

?”

In

the 1990s, slimming products containing Chinese herbs were sold in

Belgium

as “traditional herbal medicines

.”

Guided Practice

In

the 1990s, slimming products containing Chinese herbs were sold in Belgium as

“

traditional herbal medicines.”

“So what?” The

main herb used in making them was

Stephania

tetrandra

.

“So what?” In Chinese, the

name for

Stephania

is

very similar to the name for

Aristolochia

fangchi

.

“So what?”

Aristolochia

contains

aristolochic

acid.

“

And?

” This

acid causes endemic nephropathy with permanent kidney damage and end-stage

kidney failure. After

medical dangers were associated with the herbal supplements,

the

International Agency of Research on Cancer classified

Aristolochia

as a human

carcinogen

(Dietz, 588

).

“Oh.”

Independent Practice

Where does this paragraph answer the question “so what

?” Where

should the answer go?

Clark’s

practice of carefully mapping every fossil made it possible to follow the evolutionary development of various types through time. Beautiful sequences of antelopes, giraffes and elephants were obtained — new species evolving out of old ones and appearing in younger strata, then dying out as they were replaced by still others in still younger strata. In short, evolution was taking place before the eyes of the

Omo

surveyors—and it

could be timed. The finest examples of this process were in several lines of pigs which had been extremely common at

Omo

and had evolved rapidly. Unsnarling the pig story was turned over to paleontologist Basil Cooke. He produced family trees for pigs whose various types were so accurately dated that pigs themselves became measuring sticks that could be applied to finds of questionable age in other places that had similar pigs.

Independent Practice

Clark’s practice of carefully mapping every fossil made it possible to follow the evolutionary development of various types through time. Beautiful sequences of antelopes, giraffes and elephants were obtained — new species evolving out of old ones and appearing in younger strata, then dying out as they were replaced by still others in still younger strata.

In short, evolution was taking place before the eyes of the

Omo

surveyors—and it could be timed.

The finest examples of this process were in several lines of pigs which had been extremely common at

Omo

and had evolved rapidly. Unsnarling the pig story was turned over to paleontologist Basil Cooke. He produced family trees for pigs whose various types were so accurately dated that pigs themselves became measuring sticks that could be applied to finds of questionable age in other places that had similar pigs.

Independent Practice

Clark’s practice of carefully mapping every fossil made it possible to follow the evolutionary development of various types through time. Beautiful sequences of antelopes, giraffes and elephants were obtained — new species evolving out of old ones and appearing in younger strata, then dying out as they were replaced by still others in still younger strata.

The

finest examples of this process were in several lines of pigs which had been extremely common at

Omo

and had evolved rapidly. Unsnarling the pig story was turned over to paleontologist Basil Cooke. He produced family trees for pigs whose various types were so accurately dated that pigs themselves became measuring sticks that could be applied to finds of questionable age in other places that had similar pigs

.

In short, evolution was taking place before the eyes of the

Omo

surveyors—and it could be timed.

Artifact-Based Practice

How does your document build – and then answer – readers’ questions?

WorkshoP summary

Cohesion is a kind of thoughtfulness. If you are thinking wisely about your readers’ concerns and questions – and responding to them – your paragraphs will hang together nicely.