Writing Methods

Dr. Punam Tiwari

PSIT, Kanpur
 Activity:
Can you guess the missing lines?
 Can you guess the next lines to these
sentences?
• College life is the best time of our lives.
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• Chat over Whatsapp is easier than talking in front

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 Can you guess the starting lines?

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That’s why, you should watch 3 Idiots.
Can you guess the starting and ending lines?

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However, movies can have negative effects
as well, side by side its positives.
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 Can you guess
the most important line?
Can you trace the most important line?

Different people spend their holidays in

different ways. Some like to travel to nice
places. Some prefer staying home and
watching movies. Still, there are some who
make a get-together with their relatives.
Can you trace the most important line?

Different people spend their holidays in

different ways. Some like to travel to nice
places. Some prefer staying home and
watching movies. Still, there are some who
make a get-together with their relatives.
Can you trace the most important line?

Distance education lets you to have a degree

while you are doing a job. It is also good for
poor students who do not have good colleges
nearby, and cannot afford to go to another
city to study. Clearly, distance learning is a
strong alternative to college education.
Can you trace the most important line?

Distance education lets you to have a degree

while you are doing a job. It is also good for
poor students who do not have good colleges
nearby, and cannot afford to go to another
city to study. Clearly, distance learning is a
strong alternative to college education.
 So, what you have learnt so far

• A paragraph is a collection of sentences.

• The sentences are connected to each other.
• There is a complete idea, a ‘topic’ developed
in a paragraph.
• One line in the paragraph is the most
important line in it.
• This line could be at the beginning, end, or
middle.
 Definition: A Paragraph
• A paragraph is a collection of sentences, that
logically presents one single idea.
• One sentence among them is the most important
one. It is called the Topic sentence.
• The other sentences give support to the Topic
sentence. These sentences are called supporting
sentences.
Tools of Paragraph Writing

a. A good Topic sentence

b. Adequate development via supporting
sentences
c. Unity of Ideas
d. Coherence of logic
 1. Topic Sentence

• It is the most important line in the paragraph.

• It contains the central idea, and can be at the

beginning, end, or middle of a paragraph.
 2. Adequate Development

Adequate development means, using of

supporting sentences to give details about the
idea in Topic sentence.
 Techniques for
Adequate development
1. Through illustration:
a. give examples;
b. Give more description about
the product/person
2. Through comparison and contrast
3. Through cause and effect
4. Through classification: we give a list here.
5. Through problem and solution
Activity: Identify the idea-development
technique used
 Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1:
Cricket is popular in India because it gives you
a chance to become rich and famous. Take for
example M.S. Dhoni. He was born and
brought up in a middle class family, with a
single working-parent. Financial issues forced
him to take up a job with the railways, rather
than pursuing a career in cricket directly. But
his passion and efforts brought him back into
the game. Now, he lives in a posh house. He is
the ambassador for multiple commercial
brands.
 Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1:
Cricket is popular in India because it gives you
a chance to become rich and famous. Take for
example M.S. Dhoni. He was born and
brought up in a middle class family, with a
single working-parent. Financial issues forced
him to take up a job with the railways, rather
than pursuing a career in cricket directly. But
his passion and efforts brought him back into
the game. Now, he lives in a posh house. He is
the ambassador for multiple commercial
brands.
Answer: Illustration
Paragraph 2:
Paragraph 2
There are basically two types of Barriers. First,
you have general barriers. They happen in
usual, day-to-day lives. Like misunderstanding
between father and son on the issue of late-
night-party. Second, you have official barriers,
that happen only in office. Eg.: The teacher tries
to finish a large portion of syllabus in one class,
and the students lose interest.
Paragraph 2: Paragraph 2
There are basically two types of Barriers. First,
you have general barriers. They happen in
usual, day-to-day lives. Like misunderstanding
between father and son on the issue of late-
night-party. Second, you have official barriers,
that happen only in office. Eg.: The teacher tries
to finish a large portion of syllabus in one class,
and the students lose interest.
Answer: Classification
Unity
 3. Unity
• When all the supporting sentences are directly
related to the Topic Sentence, we have unity in
the paragraph.

• When we have sentences that are not related

to the topic sentence, the paragraph lacks
Unity.
 Activity:
Can you tell whether the following
paragraphs have Unity or not?
 Paragraph 1
Amy’s sister Polly is a shy girl. First of all, she
never raises her hand in the class, when the
teacher asks question. She even does not make
eye-contact, when the teacher talks to her. Amy
loves ice cream. Additionally, her sister never
comes out in the playground during lunch. It is
shame that Polly is not so well spoken as her
elder sister Amy, who is so good at sports.
 Paragraph 1
Amy’s sister Polly is a shy girl. First of all, she
never raises her hand in the class, when the
teacher asks question. She even does not make
eye-contact, when the teacher talks to her. Amy
loves ice cream. Additionally, her sister never
comes out in the playground during lunch. It is
shame that Polly is not so well spoken as her
elder sister Amy, who is so good at sports.
 Paragraph
• Fast food is an important part of city life.
• With busy work schedules, people often eat out
rather than cook at home. These food-items are
cheaply priced, and available from roadside
shops near offices. Thus, in metro cities, where
most people are office-goers, fast food makes for
a brisk business. Fast food items are good to eat
but low in nutritional content.
 Paragraph without unity
• Fast food is an important part of city life.
• With busy work schedules, people often eat out
rather than cook at home.
• These food-items are cheaply priced, and
available from roadside shops near offices.
• Thus, in metro cities, where most people are
office-goers, fast food makes for a brisk business.
• Fast food items are good to eat but low in
nutritional content.

The paragraph-topic is Fast food and city life.

It is not about the nutrition-quality of Fast food.
The last line breaks unity. It needs to be deleted.
Coherence
 4. Coherence
• This refers to proper ordering of sentences in a
paragraph. Coherence helps us to make a
paragraph logically understandable.

Coherence is achieved through:

1. Pronoun reference
2. Repetition of key words and phrases
3. Use transitional tags
 Activity: Arrange the sentences
in correct order
1. It dates back to the eighteenth century.
2. Once, he was so busy hunting that he couldn’t fine
time to sit down and eat.
3. There was a duke in Scotland who was always busy in
parties and hunting.
4. The birth of sandwich is an interesting story.
5. The duke loved it—it was both tasty and convenient
6. Therefore, his servant put meat and salad between
two slices of bread and gave it to him.
7. Thus born the ‘Sandwich’, named after the duke.
 4-1-3-2-6-5-7
• The birth of sandwich is an interesting story.
• It dates back to the eighteenth century.
• There was a duke in Scotland who was always busy in
parties and hunting.
• Once, he was so busy hunting that he couldn’t fine
time to sit down and eat.
• Therefore, his servant put meat and salad between
two slices of bread and gave it to him.
• The duke loved it—it was both tasty and convenient
• Thus was born the ‘Sandwich’, named after the duke.
 4a. Pronoun reference
Once a noun is introduced in the first
sentence—be it a person, thing or a concept,
sentences elaborating upon that noun follow,
using pronouns.
Eg.: The birth of sandwich is an interesting story.
It dates back to the eighteenth century.
 4b. Repetition of key phrases
Repetition is required to keep the memory
focused on the connection of ideas that are
developed in the paragraph.
Eg.: There was a duke who was always busy
partying and hunting. Once he was so busy
hunting that he could not find time to eat.
 4c. Use discourse markers
They are words that mark relation between
sentences—cause and effect, chronology of
events, conclusion, clarification, etc. Words like
indeed, in short, however, once, thus, etc are
used.

Eg.: Once, the duke was so busy hunting that he

couldn’t find time to eat.
Therefore, his servant made a snack of meat and
bread.
Thus was born the ‘Sandwich’.
 Methods of Paragraph Writing

• Depending upon our purpose, we can order

the Topic sentence and the Supporting
sentences in 7 specific ways. They are:

Deductive, Inductive, Exposition, Chronological,

Spatial, Linear, & Interrupted.

These are called ‘Methods of Paragraph Writing’.

 Lecture 7
Types of Technical Paragraphs
or
Methods of writing different types of paragraphs
 Methods of Paragraph Writing

Deductive
Interrupted

Inductive
Linear

Exposition

Chronological Spatial
 Activity:
The next two slides contain texts
on medical topics.
Can you tell the difference between
the two paragraphs? When do they
reach conclusion?
 Deductive Paragraph
• When we give a general statement, and give
specific facts to justify it, it is called Deductive
paragraph.
• The topic sentence comes at the beginning. It
states a fact.
• The supporting sentences come after it, and
give evidence that the fact is true.
 Deductive paragraph: Example

Mental depression is a dangerous symptom.

First, it can affect any one, be he an adult or a
child. This is because of cut-throat
competition in every area of life. Second,
depression has no physical indications. This
makes it hard to detect. Third, people have the
false idea that depression means madness.
Clearly, depression is a deadly disease, and is
hard to treat.
 Inductive Paragraph
• When we put together specific facts to reach a
probable conclusion, it is called inductive
paragraph.
• The Topic sentence comes at the last, as a
conclusion.
• The supporting sentences come at the
beginning, as clues.
 Inductive Paragraph: Example

Aryan reached late in office today. He comes

to office by public transport. He always starts

early from his home to avoid traffic.
Therefore, the bus he took today may have
faced a breakdown.
 Activity:
Can you guess the purpose of
these paragraphs?
 Expository Paragraph

• Purpose:
✔ explaining a concept.
✔ Giving details about a topic through examples,
descriptions, comparisons, etc.

Such explaining is called the Expository

method.
Any Wikipedia article is Expository in nature.
 Expository Paragraph: Example
Mirzapur is a crime-based TV series released
in 2018, on Amazon Prime. It revolves around
drugs, guns and lawlessness. It depicts the
rule of mafia dons and gang-rivalry in
the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh. Its
season 1 consists of 9 episodes in total. In
comparison with Sacred Games, it has scored
more popularity among the viewers.
 Chronological Paragraph

• Purpose: to give a background information of

a person or event.
• For example, medical history; tracing the
development of a country, a thing, an action
down the ages.
• The topic sentence is written in the beginning.
• The supporting sentences give a history, with
the oldest dates first.
 Chronological Method: Example
Going to halls for watching movies has
become redundant nowadays. In the 90’s,
people went to movie halls to watch movies
only. Those were the times of television and
VCRs. By the 2000s, people started having
their personal computers. So movies were
watched in DVDs. Now, with the advent of
android phone and 4G connectivity, people
can watch movies right in their mobiles.
 Spatial Paragraph
Purpose: to give exact description of a place, so
that people have clear idea of where things
are kept.
The Topic sentence comes at the beginning,
telling the name of the place.
The supporting sentences give details of things
positioned in that place.
 Spatial Method: Example

PSIT is located on the Delhi Agra express

highway. On entering the gate, you will find a
road that leads to two opposite sides. Follow
the left-hand side, and you will come across
PSIT-block, Pharmacy-block, and the finally,
the Boys’ hostel. Follow the right-hand side
road, you will come across the PSIT-COE block,
and the Girls’ hostel.
 Linear Paragraph
• Purpose: to give instructions in user manuals.
• We have to write every step, from starting
point to the finish.

• In linear method, one line logically leads to the

next line. So, no line could be missed.
 Linear paragraph: Example

Uninstalling a program needs a few, simple

steps. First, go to the Start Menu. Then, Go to
Control Panel. Next, click Uninstall a Program.
Then, select the program you want to remove.
Finally, click Uninstall at the top of the page.
 Interrupted / non-linear method
Paragraph
• Purpose: to talk about an experience in a
dramatic way.
• We talk about present, and then go back to
past, and then start talking about future.

• This is called Interrupted method. They show

the interrupted way of our thoughts.
 Interrupted Method: Example

I am a fan of movies of superheroes. From

Baahubali to Spiderman, I love them all. When
I was a child, I had a huge obsession for
Shaktiman. I even tried jumping off a terrace,
but was luckily saved. Now, I just use jackets
and T Shirts to show my obsession. Someday, I
dream of creating a superhero series on TV
myself.