Short paragraphs about 150 words on various topics, shows how the paragraph is developed from a basic idea and elaborated further, keeping one idea in the paragraph.
Sample Paragraphs
A lethal game of hide-and-seek
A lethal game of hide-and-seek (177 Words): Barack Obama's stepped-up drone campaign, with its dubious
definitions of targets and threats, cannot be reconciled with the rule
of law
On the one hand, the United States is rightly exercised about the
gruesome killings, almost certainly by government-supported thugs, of
Syrians. On the other hand, the Obama administration has so greatly
expanded the Bush policy of drone strikes as to leave neutral observers
queasy about the legal regime governing the new tools of warfare. As in
so many other aspects of human life, the march of technology has greatly
outpaced the laws and institutions to regulate the behaviour they make
possible. The country that is most closely associated with targeted assassinations
of its enemies in recent decades is, of course, Israel. Because of the
existential threats it faces, the make-up of its geographical
neighbourhood, the virulent rhetoric often directed at it, the
unexpiated historical guilt over the Holocaust, and the terrorist
attacks that it has been subjected to, Westerners unconvinced of the
lawfulness or wisdom of the policy have nonetheless managed to live with
it. But with the greater U.S. technological sophistication and the
global reach of its military, the hard questions can no longer be
avoided.
Ramesh Thakur
124 words
Henry Graham Greene was born in 1904 in St. John’s House, a
boarding
house of
Berkhamsted School on Chesham Road in
Berkhamsted,
Hertfordshire, England, where his father was housemaster.
[8]
He was the fourth of six children; his younger brother,
Hugh,
became
Director-General of the BBC, and his
elder brother,
Raymond, an eminent physician and mountaineer. His
parents, Charles Henry Greene and Marion Raymond Greene, were
second
cousins; both members of a large, influential family that included the owners
of
Greene
King brewery, bankers and businessmen. Charles Greene was Second Master at
Berkhamsted School, where the headmaster was
Dr Thomas Fry, who was married to Charles'
cousin. Another cousin was the right-wing pacifist
Ben Greene,
whose politics led to his internment during World War II.
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Greene)
Narration
Developing Composition Skills –Mary Ruetten (237)
(Why Do People Lie?)
One reason people lie is to achieve personal power. Achieving personal
power is helpful for someone who pretends to be more confident than he
really is. For example, one of my friends threw a party at his house
last month. He asked me to come to his party and bring a date. However, I
didn’t have a girlfriend. One of my other friends, who had a date to go
to the party with, asked me about my date. I didn’t want to be
embarrassed, so I claimed that I had a lot of work to do. I said I could
easily find a date even better than his if I wanted to. I also told him
that his date was ugly. I achieved power to help me feel confident;
however, I embarrassed my friend and his date. Although this lie helped
me at the time, since then it has made me look down on myself.
Mo Fung (Jackie) Chan
Narration
Developing Composition Skills Mary Ruetten(88)
(Describe a Stressful Time in Your Life)
Money causes teenagers to feel stress. It makes them feel bad about
themselves and envy other people. My friend, for instance, lives with
her family and has to share a room with her sister, who is very cute and
intelligent. This girl wishes she could have her own room and have a
lot of stuff, but she can’t have these things because her family doesn’t
have much money. Her family’s income is pretty low because her father
is old and doesn’t go to work. Her sister is the only one who works.
Because her family can’t buy her the things she wants, she feels a lot
of stress and gets angry sometimes. Once, she wanted a beautiful dress
to wear to a sweetheart dance. She asked her sister for some money to
buy the dress. She was disappointed because her sister didn’t have money
to give her. She sat in silence for a little while and then started
yelling out loud. She said her friends got anything they wanted but she
didn’t. Then she felt sorry for herself and asked why she was born into a
poor family. Not having money has caused this girl to think negatively
about herself and her family. It has caused a lot of stress in her life.
Ai Thianh Tran
Classification
Developing Composition Skills –Mary Ruetten (153-4)
Types of Newspapers in India
Newspapers in India are classified into two categories according to the
amount and completeness of information in them. Newspapers in the first
category have more information and truth. Those in the second category
do not have much information and sometimes they hide the truth.
Newspapers in the first category have news collected from different
parts of the country and also from different countries. They also have a
lot of sports and business news and classified ads. The information
they give is clear and complete and it is supported by showing pictures.
The best know example of this category is the Indian Express. Important
news goes on the first page with big headlines, photographs from
different angles, and complete information. For example, in 1989-90, the
Indian prime minister, Rajive Ghandi, was killed by a terrorist using a
bomb. This newspaper investigated the situation and gave information
that helped the CBI to get more support. They also showed diagrams of
the area where the prime minister was killed and the positions of the
bodies after the attack. This helped the reader understand what
happened. Unlike newspaper in the first category, newspapers in the
second category do not give as much information. They do not have
international news, sports, or business news and they do not have
classified ads. Also, the news they give is not complete. For example,
the newspaper Hindi gave news on the death of the prime minister, but
the news was not complete. The newspaper didn’t investigate the
terrorist group or try to find out why this happened. Also, it did not
show any pictures from the attack or give any news the next day. It just
gave the news when it happened, but it didn’t follow up. Therefore,
newspapers in the first group are more popular than those in the second
group.
Purnachander Thangada
Description
Developing Composition Skills –Mary Ruetten (129)
(Describe College Life)
Most students like the freedom they have in college. Usually college
students live on their own, in the dormitory or in an apartment. This
means they are free to come and go as they like. Their parents can’t
tell them when to get up, when to go to school, and when to come home.
It also means that they are free to wear what they want. There are no
parents to comment about their hair styles or their dirty jeans.
Finally, they are free to listen to their favorite music without
interference from parents.
Description
Paragraph Power George M. Rooks (11)
The Best Place to Visit
(topic sentence) California is the most wonderful place to visit
because of its variety of weather and its beautiful nature. (subject
development) Visitors to California can find any weather they like.
They can find cool temperatures in the summer; also they can find warm
weather in the winter. They can find places that are difficult for
humans to live in the summer because they are so hot. Or they can find
places closed in the winter because of the snow. On the other hand,
visitors can find the nature they like. They can find high mountains
and low valleys. Visitors can find a huge forest, a dead desert, and a
beautiful coast.(summary sentence) So California is the most wonderful
place to visit because of its weather and nature.
Description
Developing Composition Skills –Mary Ruetten(64)
(Describe Your Favorite Room)
The first thing we did as soon as we came to the U.S.A. about two years
ago was to search for an apartment in order not to live with one of our
relatives. After looking for one month to find a suitable apartment, I
finally found the apartment where we have been living. It includes a
living room three bedrooms, and a kitchen. Probably the living room is
my favorite room of all because we often gather together there after we
come home from work or school. It is a comfortable room for our family.
Entering the living room from the front door, we can we a new piano in
the corner, with a vase of colorful flowers on it. In the opposite
corner stands a Sony television, which I bought for my children to watch
cartoons and for us to see films and get the daily news. Besides, there
is a sofa next to the piano, a loveseat beside the TV, and also a low
table between them. This is a comfortable place to sit while we watch TV
or talk. On one of the light blue walls is a tranquil picture of the
sea. The floor is covered with a dark red carpet, which my children like
to play on. They also like to sit on it when they watch TV. The large
window is shaded by a light colored curtain, giving the room a soft,
bright feeling. A ceiling fan with small lights is hanging from the
ceiling, whenever the fan and lights are on, we can see dangling images,
which are reflected from the furniture in the room. Generally, our
living room is a place where we receive our guest, gather together to
discuss any topic and enjoy our leisure time.
Bachvan Doan
Explanation Paragraph Power George M. Rooks (10)
Important Swiss Customs for Foreigners
(topic sentence) Three important Swiss customs for tourists to
know deal with religion, greeting, and punctuality. (subject
development) The Swiss people are very religious, and Sunday is their
holy day. On Sunday, people rarely work in the garden, in the house,
or even on the car. Foreign tourists should know that the most
drugstores, supermarkets, and banks are closed on Sunday. The Swiss are
also a formal people. For example, they seldom call acquaintances by
their first names; the German “Herr” and French “Monsieur” are much more
frequently used in Switzerland than the English “Mister” is used in the
United States. A tourist should therefore say either “Herr” or
“Monsieur” when greeting an acquaintance, and only use the person’s
first name if he is a close friend. In addition, Switzerland is the
land of watches and exactness. It is important to be on time to
parties, business, meetings, and churches because Swiss hosts, factory
bosses, and ministers all love punctuality. It is especially important
for tourists to be on time for trains: Swiss train conductors never wait
for late arrivers. (summary sentence) In summary, Swiss customs are
very easy to follow and very important to remember!
Paragraph Power George M. Rooks
(24-25)
Group A (150 words)
(topic sentence) The battles of Marathon and Tours are examples of how war has often determined the development of Western civilization.
(subject development) The
basis of Western civilization was probably decided at the Battle of
Marathon about 2,500 years ago. In this battle, a small number of Greek
soldiers led by a famous Greek general defeated 100,000 invading
Persians under the Persian king. Because the Greeks won, Greek ideas
about many subjects matured and became the foundation of Western
society. Whereas Marathon laid the basis of Western civilization, its
structure remained the same as a result of the Battle of Tours in A.D.
732. Before this battle, Muslim armies had taken control of a large
number of countries, but they were stopped by a group of soldiers led by
Charles Martel in France. If the Muslims had won at Tours, Islam might
have become the major religion of Western society.
Group B (154 words)
(topic sentence) The battles of Marathon and Tours are examples of how war has often determined the development of Western civilization.
(subject development)
The basis of Western civilization was probably decided in Greece at the
Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. In this battle, 10,000 Greek soldiers
led by Miltiades defeated 100,000 invading Persians under Darius I.
Because the Greeks won, Greek ideas about philosophy, science,
literature, and politics (such as democracy) matured and became the
foundation of Western society. Whereas Marathon laid the basis of
Western civilization, its structure remained the same as a result of the
Battle of Tours in A.D. 732. Before this battle, Muslim armies had
taken control of countries from India to the Atlantic Ocean, but they
were stopped by a European army under Charles Martel at this battle in
southwest France. If the Muslims had won at Tours, Islam might have
become the major religion of Western society.
