LNGUA INGLESA V

2 BIMESTRE

Contedo:

Topic sentence Supporting sentence Concluding sentence Reasons and examples (transition signals) Facts and opinions Sentence structure: dependent and independent clauses Adjective clauses: who that - which

2o bimestre 1-2010 Profa. Leonilda Procailo

The paragraph topic sentence Topic sentence a sentena que contm a idia introdutria do pargrafo, texto. Geralmente encontra-se no incio do pargrafo, no final, ou no incio com complementao no final. A partir dela podemos ter uma idia geral do pargrafo. Veja: Deserts are very dry regions. They have very little rainfall. Few plants live there. Some specialized animals do. Some deserts have a surface of sand. The sand often forms dunes. These are created by the wind. Others have stones or rocks. A sentena sublinhada introduz a idia principal. __________________ Albert Einstein, one of the worlds geniuses, failed his university entrance examinations on his first attempt. William Faulkner, one of Americas noted writers, never finished college because he could not pass his English courses. Sir Winston Churchill, who is considered one of the masters of the English language, had to have special tutoring in English during elementary school. These few examples show that failure in school does not always predict failure in life. Que sentena carrega a idia geral? Sublinhe-a. Agora, vamos analisar outro trecho e identificar a topic sentence: Genetic research has produced both exciting and frightening possibilities. Scientists are now able to create new forms of life in the laboratory due to the development of gene splicing. On one hand the ability to create life in laboratory could greatly benefit mankind. Another beneficial application of gene splicing is in agriculture. Entirely new plants could be developed to feed the worlds hungry people. Ordene as sentenas dos pargrafos abaixo, iniciando ou concluindo o pargrafo com a topic sentence: Paragraph 1 ____ Even in other countries, where English is not the first or official language, like Spain and Portugal, English is widely spoken. ____ Second, it is the first or official language of more then 20 countries on all five continents, from Australia to Zimbabwe. ____ English is the first global language. ____ First, nearly a third of the worlds population of 3.5 billion speaks English as a first or second language. Paragraph 2 ____ In Europe, more than half of the business is conducted in English. ____ and nearly as much of the worlds mail and 90% of its faxes are in English. ____ Over half of the worlds technical, scientific and medical magazines are in English. ____ Three-quarters of the information stored in computers is in English, ____ Learning English is like opening a door the door to the world.

Vejamos os seguintes grupos de sentenas. Em cada grupo, uma sentena uma generalizao e os as outras trs so exemplos que a suportam. Selecione a generalizao: Grupo 1 1 The mass media are often badly used 2 Newspapers only give sensational news. 3 Radio programmes are usually superficial. 4 Television has bad effects on people. 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Grupo 2 Television commercials distort the truth about products. Crime films on television encourage violence. Television has bad effect on people Television documentaries stop people from thinking independently. Grupo 3 Toothpaste does not make teeth white. Television commercials distort the truth about products. The safety of electrical goods is exaggerated. Many widely-advertised pain-killers are not effective.

Note que a generalizao do grupo 2 pode servir como exemplo do grupo 1. Da mesma forma, a generalizao do grupo 3 ilustra a generalizao do grupo 2. Podemos concluir, ento, que a generalizao tem diferentes nveis. Os nveis de generalidade dependem do contexto. Leia o pargrafo e escolha o ttulo mais adequado: A) Poison in rivers and the sea. B) Natural poisonous substances. C) Plants, forests and fish. The world is full of poisonous substances. 2 Many of these occur quite naturally, independently of any action of man. 3 Thus the vapours from an active volcano may contain so much sulphur that plants cannot grow nearby. 4 Rivers flowing through forests may become deoxygenated because so much natural organic material is deposited in them. 5 Mercury, occurring naturally in the ocean, may reach such high levels that large numbers of fish are killed. 1.As sentenas esto numeradas no texto. Escreva o nmero que se refere a: a) substncias venenosas em geral; ______ b) substncias venenosas naturais; ______ c) tipos especficos de substncias venenosas naturais; ______
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THE SUPPORTING SENTENCES The middle sentences of a paragraph are the supporting sentences. The supporting sentences support, or prove, the idea in the topic sentence. Ex.: Beaches are fun in summer and in winter. In summer, you can swim and do many other water sports. If you dont like water sports, you can play beach games or relax on the warm sand. In winter, beaches are less crowded, so they are good places for solitary walks. Also, on a clear winter night, nothing is more fun than sitting with a group of friends around a big bonfire, talking, laughing, and singing. All year round, a beach is a place to have fun. Each point is discussed in order: summer and winter. PARAGRAPH UNITY A paragraph must follow the rule of unity. Unit means one, so the rule of unity means that all the sentences are about one main idea. For example, if your paragraph is a description of your living room, you should write sentences only about your living room. Dont write about any other room in the house. Another way of stating the rule unity is to say that all the supporting sentences in a paragraph must be relevant to the main idea. That means that they are all directly related to the main idea. If they are not, they are irrelevant. For example, if your paragraph is about your mothers cooking, a sentence such as My sister is also a good cook is irrelevant because the paragraph is about your mother, not your sister. Your writing: As you write or revise what you have written, check the sentences in your paragraphs to make sure that they relate to the topic sentence. Sometimes, youll find that a sentence doesnt fit in a paragraph because it really belongs in another. At other times, a particular sentence may not belong in any paragraph and should be dropped. Practice: In each paragraph, one or more sentences break the rule of UNITY. Find these irrelevant sentences and cross them out: Paragraph 1: Find one irrelevant sentence Christmas was my favorite holiday when I was a child, and Christmas morning was my favorite part of that special day. My brother and I usually woke up before dawn. We always got up while it was dark and ran into the living room to see what Santa Claus had brought us. After our parents got up, we all went into the living room to open our presents. After that, we ate breakfast. We always had the same special breakfast on Christmas morning. Mother makes a special breakfast on our birthdays, too. After breakfast, we played with our new toys. Paragraph 2: Find two irrelevant sentences: Visiting my childrens dentist is like visiting Disneyland. When you enter the office, Mickey and Minnie Mouse greet you at the door: In the middle, there is an area where young children can play with stuffed animals on the floor. On the right, there is a small room where older children can play video games. The dentists name is Dr. Aubrey. He graduated from dental school five years ago. My children dont mind going to the dentist now because it is so much fun.

Paragraph 3: Find one irrelevant sentence: Our new house is a model of energy efficiency. It stands on the corner of Elm and Oak streets. The walls are prepared with a double thickness of insulation. The roof is covered with a series of twenty solar panels. In place of an air conditioner, we have a heat exchange unit that keeps the temperature stable in both winter and summer. THE CONCLUDING SENTENCE Paragraphs that stand alone (that is, which are not part of a longer composition) often have a concluding sentence at the end. A concluding sentence closes the paragraph so that the reader is not left expecting more. Sometimes the concluding reminds the reader of the main point by restating the topic sentence in different words: Ex.:1 Therefore, living in a place like that is both safe and comfortable. 2. All year round, a beach is the place to have fun. 3. The gifts, the special breakfast, but mostly the family togetherness made Christmas morning a special time that I will always remember.

DETAILED OUTLINE
Topic Sentence: _____________________________________________________________________ A. Main Point: _____________________________________________________________________ 1. Specific idea: _________________________________________________________________ 2. Specific idea: _________________________________________________________________ B. Main Point: _____________________________________________________________________ 1. Specific idea: _________________________________________________________________ 2. Specific Idea: _________________________________________________________________ C. Concluding Sentence: ____________________________________________________________

Adapted from: HOGUE, Ann. First Steps in Academic Writing.: Longman REYNOLDS, Jerry D.; STEET, Marion; GUILLORY, Ivory. Improving Basic English Skills: NTC