Unit 2: Unity and Support
Once you have done some planning, the first two keys to good writing are unity and support. Unity means "togetherness"; this meaning doesn't change in the context of writing, where it refers to the ideas coming together and staying on topic within a piece of writing. Likewise, "support" has a meaning in writing that is pretty much the same as in other contexts. When we talk about support in writing, we are talking about how you demonstrate ideas to be true.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 7 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- explain why staying on topic is important;
- compose effective topic sentences;
- define the Three Es (evidence, elaboration, explanation);
- identify potential reader questions;
- apply strategies to create specific details that bring writing to life;
- identify "red flags" that can make writing unclear; and
- distinguish main ideas from supporting ones.
2.1: Topic Sentences
Read this section about staying on topic, and then get some practice looking for unity in paragraphs by writing out the topic sentences and identifying off-topic sentences in this activity. Compare your responses to the answer key.
Now that you know the key points of a topic sentence, get some practice identifying the parts of a topic sentence in the following activity. After you have finished, compare your responses to the answer key.
Read the lecture about common errors you want to avoid when writing topic sentences. After reading about common errors, get some practice identifying effective topic sentences in this activity. After you have finished, compare your answers to the answer key.
Consider everything you have learned about topic sentences and get some practice writing them based on sets of main ideas in this activity. After you have finished, check your answers against the answer key. Note that answers will vary, but you should get a sense of whether you are on the right track.
Topic sentences will direct the content that follows them in almost all paragraphs, with introduction and conclusion paragraphs being rare exceptions. Read this overview about the key components of topic sentences.
2.2: The Three Es
Once you have written a good topic sentence that will help you stay on topic in your paragraph, it is time to start supporting the point made in that sentence. How you support your statements and ideas in writing is vital to its effectiveness. This support will make up the bulk of your writing. In this text, you will learn about different and complementary ways to support what you say.
2.3: Anticipating Questions
An important way to approach support is to think about it in terms of your readers. Read the following annotated paragraph to see what some reader questions might be.
Complete this activity to continue thinking about the types of questions readers may have and get some practice identifying places in a paragraph essay where more support is needed – in other words, places that raise questions but do not go on to answer them. Check your responses against the answer key, but know that answers will vary.
Complete this activity to practice creating support to complete a partially written paragraph. After you are finished, check the answer key, but know that answers will vary widely.
2.4: Bring Writing to Life
In addition to understanding the 3 Es and anticipating reader questions, a final tactic to help you sufficiently support ideas in your writing is being specific. In this text, you will learn some ways to do this in your writing to bring it to life.
Watch this video and see how the examples that show the reader information instead of just telling them makes writing much more lively and interesting.
After reading the text and watching the video, practice using the tips you learned about making your writing more interesting and descriptive by doing the following activity. Note that there are no specific correct answers, but you can compare your responses to the answer key for some ideas.
2.5: Writing Red Flags
Read this section to look at two paragraphs with similar content but many differences in depth and quality of the supporting ideas and details. Write your responses to the questions, then compare them to the answer key.
There are several "red flags" to be careful about in writing, and one of them is using words or phrases that are too general. Read this section for more information and examples of things to watch out for.
2.6: Main Ideas
Understanding the relationships between main ideas and supporting details is an important part of writing effectively. Do the following activity to get some practice. When you are done, compare your answers to the answer key.
Read this section and complete the included activities, in which you identify the main ideas and supporting details of different paragraphs. When you are done, check your work against the answer key.
Do the following activity to get more practice organizing ideas and thinking about the relationships between general and specific ideas. When you are finished, compare your responses to the answer key to see if you are on the right track.
Unit 2 Assessment
- Receive a grade
Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.
- This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
- You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
- You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.