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Developing a Paragraph

Creative Writing
September 10, 2015
Teaching Creative Writing

Paragraph Development
It is important to develop a paragraph that
contains one idea or thought, and to start
another paragraph when a new idea or
thought develops. Learn to determine
where the break should be.

Description
Most good descriptive writing appeals to
the readers senses (sight, smell, taste,
touch, and feel). Use lively, specific details
to present the descriptive details in a
logical sequence.
Topics: people you are familiar with, a big
event, a favorite food

Narrative
To narrate means to tell a story or to give an account
of. A narrative takes many forms: a novel, short story,
biography, or even autobiography.
When you write a narrative, you should try to re-create
a story or experience in a way that readers can
imaginatively participate in it or relate to it.
It is important to use specific details, to limit the
subject, and of course to write the narrative in logical
order.
Topics: personal experiences that stand out in your
mind as being significant, and firsts (first date, first
time driving a car, etc.)

Example
To write an example piece means that you rely on
examples for the support of the main focus, to support
the main idea. Examples make the piece more concrete,
clarifies, and can make the author more credible.
A writer may talk about loss of a certain object or person,
and the reader may agree, but may have a different
description of the emptiness he/she feels. However, by
adding examples, the reader understands what the writer
is feeling.
Make sure your examples are examples, and not
generalizations. You should be able to support your
writing with examples. Be specific and think about the
arrangement of your examples.

Comparison and Contrast


Comparison and Contrast shows both
similarities and differences. Be fair with
comparison-contrasts. Follow a pattern of
organization (either by point or by subject).
Topics: past vs. present, what something
was thought to be like vs. what it is really
like, people, emotions, etc.

Cause and Effect


Cause and effect tells why something
happened. A causal chain tells of a chain
of events that resulted in a cause, that in
turn resulted in another cause, and so on.
A cause and effect piece of writing should
also tell why something happened.
Topics: a major decision in life, romance,
etc.

Definition
Definition writing is an extended definition
of something (not just a dictionary
definition).
Topics: happiness, freedom, wealth, hope,
fun, etc.

Analogy
An analogy is writing about something
unrelated in order to illustrate your point.
Possible topics

Assignment
Choose five of the styles and write a
paragraph for each type.

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