Writing Skills

🏷️ MOOCS

Week 1

Paragraph: a group of sentences about one main idea

A paragraph includes

• Topic sentence

  • Topic: tell the audience what the general idea is going to be about
  • Controlling idea: tell what you want to say about the topic

• Body: supporting sentences

  • Supporting ideas followed by details and examples

• Concluding sentence: summarize the ideas of paragraphs and often the topic sentence

Paragraphs need

• Unity: everything is about the same topic and supports the topic sentence

• Cohesion:

  • All ideas flow smoothly from one to the next
  • Order of ideas needs to make sense
  • Use transition words
  • Repeat key words

Week 2

Essay

Introduction

• Hook
• Funnel
• Thesis statement

Body paragraphs:

• Support thesis

• 3 or more

• Topic sentence

  • 2-4 supporting ideas
  • 1-3 examples or details
  • Conclusion sentence
  • Transition for coherence

Conclusion

• Keep brief
• Summarize major points
• Restate thesis
• Make a prediction, call to action, suggestion
• Make the thesis feel finished
• Don’t introduce new ideas

https://www.coursera.org/learn/writing-skills-for-success/home/week/1