Organizing – Paragraph Structure, Topic Sentences and Transitions Quick Quiz Answer Key

1) The first paragraph should feature sentences 1, 2, and 3. (These sentences are all related, in that they set the scene, before the others go into specific details that are focused on a single topic)

 

2) The third paragraph should feature sentences 7, 8, 9 and 10. (These sentences are all related, in that they are all focused on providing more detail about the general topic of injuries in horse racing)

 

3) Choose the most effective topic sentence to place before the first sentence in the paragraph that you just worked with = Selective breeding takes time to affect differences in an organism’s physical characteristics and these are not all positive (this is general enough so as not to mean the author repeats the same information in the following sentences in the paragraph, but gives enough specific detail so that a reader knows what to expect)

Feedback for other options: Selective breeding can significantly alter an organism’s physical characteristics (this would be acceptable, but doesn’t provide quite as much information as the better option), Selective breeding is regularly performed on different animals that people rely on (this would not be acceptable because it suggests the author will be talking about more than one animal, which he/she doesn’t).

 

4) Read the following short paragraph and decide where it should be split into two different paragraphs:

1Scientists replicated the special orientation of shark scales that helps them swim faster through the water to produce the swimming suit that multiple Olympic gold-medal winner Michael Phelps wears. 2Velcro was created to copy the hooking mechanism of plant burrs that help them attach their seeds to animals, which disperse them in the environment. 3Marine biologists noted that the shape of whale fins allows them to minimize drag and maximize lift while swimming, which led to the creation of more efficient wind turbines and aeroplane propellers. 4Paint manufacturers copied the tiny rough patches found on Lotus petals so that dust and dirt would aggregate before being swept away by rainwater to leave a clean house. 5Construction companies are tapping into the design used by a beetle that helps it gather water from the atmosphere so that buildings are more environmentally friendly.

Answer = it should not be split at all (all of these sentences are related; they are all just examples of the same general phenomenon)

 

5) Now choose the most effective topic sentence to place before the first sentence.

Answer = People often use examples from the natural world to provide the design guides they need to solve human problems (this is general enough so that the author does not repeat information in the coming paragraph, but is specific enough so the a reader knows what is coming)

Feedback for other options: If we mimic animal behaviour we can solve many human problems (this is not really suitable because the author is not talking about mimicking animal behaviour, but rather the physical characteristics of different animals and plants), Animals from a variety of ecosystems possess unique adaptations that people can copy to solve human problems (this is not really suitable either, because the author does not go on to talk in any detail about how his/her examples come from different ecosystems and it implies that there will be no mention of plants as examples).

 

6) Add in the most effective transition between your chosen topic sentence, and sentence 1 in the original paragraph.

Answer = For example (The author is about to start listing examples, so this is the ideal introduction to these, whereas As a result implies more of a direct link to the general opening statement than would make sense for such a specific example; For this reason implies more of a cause and effect relationship rather than one you would apply to this situation).

 

7) Add in the most effective transition between sentence 1 and sentence 2 in the original paragraph.

Answer = In addition (The author is now listing a completely different example – adding to the first one; Also would be acceptable, but it implies more of a connection to the first example than the preferred option; Secondly does not work here because the author has not used ‘Firstly’ to begin with).

 

8) Add in the most effective transition between sentence 2 and sentence 3 in the original paragraph.

Answer = Similarly (The author is now providing a similar but different example, whereas Conversely implies that this example is somehow an opposite example to the previous one; Next implies some sort of time order to the sequence of examples, which is not important, or even true)

 

9) Add in the most effective transition between sentence 3 and sentence 4 in the original paragraph.

Answer = Cleverly (The author is rightly implying that this particular human development was a clever one, whereas Then again alludes to a non-existent order in which these examples are delivered, or were devised by their inventors; Separately wrongly implies that this example is somehow separate from the others, which are grouped together in some way)

 

10) Add in the most effective transition between sentence 4 and sentence 5 in the original paragraph.

Answer = Likewise (The author correctly suggests that this example is similar to the previous one, which was also developed by construction/development professionals and relates to water, whereas Finally again implies some sort of time-based order to the way these examples are delivered, or when they were devised, as well as suggesting that this is the final example available [it’s not; it’s just the last one the author has used]; Ultimately wrongly implies again that this is the last example, or that this statement somehow depended on what came before) 

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