English Grammar and Composition chapter 10: Writing Paragraphs

UNIT 10

Writing Paragraphs

Model 1: Paragraph writing by description

My School

I love my school where I learn many things. I go to Avaynagar Pilot High School. This school is situated in Barishal district. Its land area is about 4 acres. Nearly eight hundred students read in this school. Our school has a three-storied building painted in yellow. The head teacher's office, assistant head teacher's office, teachers' room, office room, library room and three class rooms are situated on the ground floor. There are classrooms and laboratory on the first floor. We have 23 teachers, 3 office staffs and 2 peons. Our school has a big playground where we play during our tiffin and sports period. We really enjoy our time at school.

Note: The text above is an example of a paragraph, which is a combination of a few sentences that develop a single idea. The first sentence is called the topic sentence. The sentences in the middle are called the body and the last sentence is conclusion.

Example 2

My Favourite Hobby

Every person has some activities which he enjoys during his leisure time. Many people listen to music, many others do gardening, some play games and do many other things. I have a favourite pastime of my own. I like to watch movies. I specially try to watch English movies. I have watched Harry Potter, Narnia, Thirteen Ghosts, The Conjuring, Rise of the Guardian etc. Some Bangla movies like Emiler Goyenda Bahini, Amar Bondhu Rashed, Deepu Number Two, Gohonar Baksho etc. are also there in my list of favourite movies. I believe that watching English movies will improve my fluency and accuracy in speaking English. I try to observe how the actors speak, their pronunciation and the words they use in different situations. I believe having a good hobby enriches us.

Printed page 97

Activity 1

Try to write a paragraph on ‘Your Locality’ following the model paragraph ‘My School’. Use the answers to the following questions to write your paragraph:

What is the location of your locality? (i.e. district, Upazilla, Union…)

What is the main occupation of the people in your locality?

What are special in your locality?

How is the relationship among the people?

What are the problems in your locality?

How do you want to serve your locality?

Activity 2

Write a paragraph about your family answering the following questions:

Who are the members of your family?

What are the occupations of your family members?

What are the different responsibilities of your family members?

How is the relationship among your family members?

What are your responsibilities towards your family?

How do you support each other?

How do you feel if you are away from your family members?

Activity 3

Now write a descriptive paragraph on your hobby. Answer the following questions:

c. What is your hobby?

d. How long has this been your hobby?

e. Why do you enjoy your hobby?

f. Who influenced you to choose this hobby?

g. What do you do exactly?

Printed page 98

Activity 4

Write a paragraph describing a place you have visited recently. Answer the following questions:

a. Where did you go?

b. When did you go?

c. How many days did you stay there?

d. Who accompanied you?

e. What did you do?

f. What was your most memorable memory?

Activity 5

Write a paragraph describing the person you like most. Use the following clues:

a. Who is the person?

b. Why is she/he favourite to you?

c. What is special in him/her?

d. Tell about a special memory with him/her.

Model 2: Paragraph writing by listing

Paragraph writing by listing provides a list of points in support of the topic sentence.

Look at the spidergram and read the paragraph on ‘Important Aspects of your Village’.

Figure

Labels: Name and position, Education, Playground, Important offices or buildings, Roads, Relations between people, Welknown people of this village, Haat and Bazars, My Village

Description: A central circle labelled "My Village" with eight surrounding circles, each joined to the centre by a blue arrow pointing outward. Clockwise from the top: "Name and position", "Education", "Playground", "Important offices or buildings", "Roads", "Relations between people", "Welknown people of this village", "Haat and Bazars".

Printed page 99

Important Aspects of My Village

My village is very dear to me. Its name is Rasulpur. The village is situated at Satkhira Sadar upazilla in Satkhira dictrict. This is a village of many educated people. About hundred percent of the children are enrolled in primary schools. It has got two government primary schools and a high school. One of the most attractive things of the village is its large playground where people of all ages and gender flock together in the afternoon. This village is also known for two well-decorated mosques standing side by side which are called ‘paired mosques’. There is a brick built road running through it. The road is named after the liberation war martyr Major Zaman. It is the birth place of many well-known people. Cultural programmes are organised at the playground on different special national days. For all these reasons, I can say that my village is one of the best villages in our country.

Now read the following spidergram and write a paragraph on ‘Your Favourite Teacher’

Figure

Labels: My Favourite Teacher, Name and school, his/ her age and educational qualifications, how much I like him/ her, his/ her relationshiop with students and colleagues, What are specialabout her/his teaching, What I have learnt from her/him

Description: A central circle labelled "My Favourite Teacher" with six surrounding circles, each connected to the centre by a grey line. Clockwise from the top: "Name and school", "his/ her age and educational qualifications", "how much I like him/ her", "his/ her relationshiop with students and colleagues", "What are specialabout her/his teaching", "What I have learnt from her/him".

Printed page 100

Activity 6

1. Write paragraphs on

   a) Your father

   b) Your mother

   c) Your best friend

   d) Your favourite teacher

2. Develop the following topic sentence into a listing paragraph.

Model 3: Development of paragraph by examples

Read the following paragraph written by a school going student.

My dreams in the next five years

As human beings we have some dreams. I have some dreams which I would like to see come true immediately. First, I would like to visit Cox’s Bazar and the Sundarbans with my family. I have talked to my parents about this. They have told me that they will go there soon. Secondly, I have a dream to develop a rich library in our locality. My friends and I are planning to talk to the elder people for this purpose. We will also collect books from door to door, rich people and other sources. I have also some dreams related to my study. In the next three years, I am going to sit for JSC/PSC and SSC examinations. I am studying my best. My parents are very careful of my education. My teachers are also helping me to learn properly. My dream is to achieve the best grades in the coming exams. I believe, one day , my dreams will come true and I will succeed in my life.

Printed page 101

Model 4: Paragraph writing following narrative style

A day out

Outing has always been very enjoyable to me. I often travel to nearby places with my family and close relatives. Last week, my parents, my sister Samia, two of my cousins Rini and Abir, and I went boating on the Jamuna. We started in the morning at 7 o’clock from Gajaria and hired a boat and started our river cruise. As the boat moved on the river, the sceneries of both the sides charmed us. We saw thatched huts, cornfields, green sceneries, and peasants working on the field. As the boat moved through the river, we were enjoying the chirping of birds and the nature around us. Within a moment, out of excitement, we started singing songs. We also listened to some songs from the boatman. At lunch time, we anchored the boat and took our lunch by the riverside. After lunch, we walked around the riverside for a while. Then we started our journey back. I will remember the day for a long time.

Note: A narrative paragraph usually narrates experiences or events of the past. Past tense is used to narrate these events/experiences.

Activity 7

Now follow the model and write how you spent the last Eid ul Adha/ Durga Puja/ Christmas/ Budhdha Purnima.

Cues

You need to answer the following questions while writing the paragraph.

• When did the ceremony take place?
• What did you do throughout the day?
• How was the arrangement for the celebration made?
• Which food was cooked on that day?
• What was your most interesting experience that day?