Writing Paragraph Structure

Respuesta correcta: A) Coffee farming in the Tarrazu valley has changed over the last decade.

• A) Coffee farming in the Tarrazu valley has changed over the last decade.Correct: it names the topic and adds the writer's angle, so it can control every other sentence.
• B) The road up to the farm is steep and the turns are very narrow.This is a supporting detail about the road, but it cannot carry the whole main idea.
• C) My uncle grows coffee on three hectares near San Marcos.It is a personal example about one relative, so it narrows the focus too much.
• D) Last March I drank four cups of coffee in a single morning.A funny anecdote that stands alone and does not build any general idea.

Respuesta correcta: C) Last summer my cousin won a prize in mathematics in Limon.

• A) I made a vocabulary list and reviewed it every night for a month.This is a concrete action that supports the topic and gives evidence for the habit.
• B) My teacher suggested practice tests from the ministry website.It names a useful source of practice, so it explains how she actually prepared.
• C) Last summer my cousin won a prize in mathematics in Limon.Correct to cut: it changes person, place and subject, so it breaks unity with the topic.
• D) On exam day I felt nervous, but I answered every single item.It reports her feelings on exam day, which belongs to the preparation topic.

Respuesta correcta: B) The Alajuela Saturday market, a lively tradition, offers produce and crafts.

• A) The Alajuela Saturday market sells vegetables that taste wonderful.It limits the paragraph to produce and its quality, so crafts would fall outside the frame.
• B) The Alajuela Saturday market, a lively tradition, offers produce and crafts.Correct: it names the place, adds detail, and is broad enough to hold the whole paragraph.
• C) Last Saturday, after breakfast, we left the house at seven in the morning.It narrates the speaker's morning, but it never says what the paragraph is about.
• D) Marta and I carried four bags because the stalls close at noon.It is only a detail, and without a main idea first the reader has no frame.

Respuesta correcta: D) Topic sentence, then the details in time order, then the conclusion.

• A) Conclusion first, then the topic sentence, then the supporting sentences.Starting with the conclusion inverts the path, because the idea must be announced first.
• B) Supporting sentences, then the conclusion, then the topic sentence.Details before the main idea leave the reader guessing, and nothing has been opened yet.
• C) Topic sentence, then the conclusion, then the supporting sentences.The conclusion arrives before the support, so it has nothing to summarise.
• D) Topic sentence, then the details in time order, then the conclusion.Correct: the idea is announced, developed step by step, and then closed with a summary.

Respuesta correcta: A) By contrast, the library in town is quiet but it closes early.

• A) By contrast, the library in town is quiet but it closes early.Correct: 'By contrast' marks a difference, which is exactly the link between the two situations.
• B) As a result, Alonso now studies in the forest when the weather is fine.'As a result' signals a consequence, yet the two habits are alternatives and not effects.
• C) For example, he carries a notebook and two pens to the reserve.'For example' introduces evidence, so a general claim has to come before it.
• D) In the same way, both places suit students who read a lot.'In the same way' joins similar points, but these two places are opposed and not parallel.

Respuesta correcta: B) As a result, the park reopened the trail so hikers could walk again.

• A) However, the park reopened the trail so hikers could walk again.'However' signals contrast, but no opposing idea appears here, only a cause and its effect.
• B) As a result, the park reopened the trail so hikers could walk again.Correct: 'As a result' presents the dry week as the cause and the reopening as the effect.
• C) In addition, the park reopened the trail so hikers could walk again.'In addition' adds extra weight, yet the second sentence is a consequence and not a bonus point.
• D) Otherwise, the park reopened the trail so hikers could walk again.'Otherwise' shows what happens if a condition fails, which is hypothetical here.

Respuesta correcta: D) If the council approves the plan, our streets will be cooler next summer.

• A) On the first Saturday of the month, forty neighbours came with spades.A concrete example that supports the argument, but it is not a closing move.
• B) The city has three parks and one very small playground for children.A neutral fact about facilities that ends the paragraph without any conclusion.
• C) Trees give shade, absorb carbon dioxide and reduce noise on busy roads.This is a body sentence with reasons, so it belongs before the closing appeal.
• D) If the council approves the plan, our streets will be cooler next summer.Correct: a persuasive paragraph usually closes with a recommendation tied to its topic.

Respuesta correcta: A) I cycle to school every morning, and the ride takes about twenty minutes.

• A) I cycle to school every morning, and the ride takes about twenty minutes.Correct: one idea, one clean pair of clauses, and no fact is stated twice.
• B) I cycle to school every single morning, and in the morning I cycle to school.'Every morning' and 'in the morning' repeat the same time, so one of them should go.
• C) Cycling is something I do, and my activity in the morning is cycling too.This is wordy nominalisation, because the action is hidden inside nouns instead of verbs.
• D) I cycle, I also pedal, and furthermore I ride my bicycle to school.Three verbs describe one single action, so the paragraph swells without gaining meaning.

Respuesta correcta: C) Her cousin got a tourism job in Heredia after passing an English exam.

• A) Her English teacher always wears a red scarf on Friday mornings.A detail about clothing that neither shows an employer nor proves anything about jobs.
• B) English is spoken in many countries around the world today.It is a true general fact, but it names no local outcome, so it stays outside her claim.
• C) Her cousin got a tourism job in Heredia after passing an English exam.Correct: it shows a real job in Heredia that followed from English, so it proves her point.
• D) English has a very large number of words and irregular verbs.This describes the language itself, not the effect English had on anyone's employment.

Respuesta correcta: B) It introduces new information that the paragraph never developed.

• A) It repeats the topic sentence word for word at the end.Repetition is not the problem here, because the fault is the new content the paragraph never set up.
• B) It introduces new information that the paragraph never developed.Correct: a concluding sentence must wrap up the developed idea and never open a fresh topic.
• C) It is too short to be accepted as a real sentence.A short sentence can summarise perfectly well, so length is not a test of a conclusion.
• D) It contains a spelling mistake in its second word.That is a mechanics matter, and the sentence here is spelled correctly and structurally complete.

Respuesta correcta: C) Small coffee growers deserve higher prices than the market now offers.

• A) At six the coffee farm wakes up, and the pickers arrive before the sun.This is a narrative opening with a time sequence, so it tells an event instead of arguing.
• B) The beans dry on patios for up to twelve days under a thin cloth.This describes a process step by step, so it informs the reader about what happens.
• C) Small coffee growers deserve higher prices than the market now offers.Correct: it states a debatable claim that evidence in the paragraph could defend.
• D) Green hills roll north from Turrialba toward the Caribbean lowlands.A descriptive sentence about the landscape, which paints a picture and takes no stand.

Respuesta correcta: A) Grind the beans, heat the water, filter the grounds, then pour the coffee.

• A) Grind the beans, heat the water, filter the grounds, then pour the coffee.Correct: every step grows out of the previous one, so the reader can follow the method.
• B) Drink the coffee, grind the beans, heat the water, filter the grounds.Drinking comes first here, which reverses the process before anything has been made.
• C) Heat the water, drink the coffee, pour the coffee, grind the beans.Drinking and pouring appear before heating and grinding, so the order breaks in the middle.
• D) Grind the beans, filter the grounds, drink the coffee, heat the water.Filtering and drinking arrive before heating and pouring, so the sequence collapses early.

Respuesta correcta: D) Because buses are slow and overcrowded, the city should invest in rail.

• A) Buses in San Jose are sometimes late, and the roads are busy at seven.It offers two observations only, and a thesis must take a position that evidence can support.
• B) Public transport is a topic that everybody in the capital can discuss.It announces a topic but takes no stand, so there is nothing there for the paragraph to argue.
• C) There are many buses, and there are also trams, and there are routes.It merely counts the services and repeats the same opening, so no argument appears.
• D) Because buses are slow and overcrowded, the city should invest in rail.Correct: it states what the city should do and gives the reason the evidence will confirm.

Respuesta correcta: B) A topic sentence, three linked details, and a closing summary of the point.

• A) A topic sentence at the end, two details, and then no conclusion at all.With the main idea at the end, the reader must guess the focus while reading the details.
• B) A topic sentence, three linked details, and a closing summary of the point.Correct: the idea is announced, the details develop it in order, and the last sentence closes it.
• C) Four unrelated facts and no topic sentence anywhere in the paragraph.Without a topic sentence the paragraph has no focus, and separate facts cannot hold together.
• D) A topic sentence, one very long sentence, and then the paragraph stops.One sentence cannot develop an idea, and no closing sentence means the paragraph stops abruptly.

Respuesta correcta: C) A second idea about noise levels in her neighbourhood.

• A) Her first idea, which already has three supporting sentences.That idea is already supported, so nothing in its structure requires a new paragraph.
• B) The example about her grandfather's farm in Bagaces.An example belongs inside the paragraph it illustrates, and moving it breaks that link.
• C) A second idea about noise levels in her neighbourhood.Correct: two main ideas in one paragraph destroy unity, since a paragraph develops only one.
• D) The closing sentence that summarises her first idea.A closing sentence stays at the end of the paragraph whose idea it summarises.

Respuesta correcta: D) Add a topic sentence at the start and group the details under it.

• A) Add two more sentences so the paragraph becomes longer and richer.More length never fixes a missing opening, because the reader still cannot see the focus.
• B) Copy the whole paragraph onto a new page and begin again there.Changing the page changes nothing, since what matters is the order of the ideas inside.
• C) Repeat the first sentence at the end to close the paragraph.Copying a sentence creates redundancy, and a real conclusion has to develop the point.
• D) Add a topic sentence at the start and group the details under it.Correct: a clear topic sentence sets the focus and grouping the details restores unity.

Respuesta correcta: B) Opened in Alajuela last year, the structure is still in use today.

• A) Nevertheless, the new aqueduct was opened in Alajuela last year.'Nevertheless' signals contrast, yet no previous sentence states an opposing idea.
• B) Opened in Alajuela last year, the structure is still in use today.Correct: an alternative name keeps the reference clear without repeating the same noun.
• C) It is very long, and it is also expensive, and it is also modern.Stacking 'it is' clauses with 'also' adds no information and blurs the reference.
• D) Alajuela, a city in the valley, is a city that has an aqueduct.This shifts the focus to the city, so the paragraph describes a place and not the aqueduct.

Respuesta correcta: C) Quetzal birds live in the cloud forest, and the cool damp air suits them.

• A) The cloud forest is wet, it is green, it is cool and it is quiet.Four simple predicates pile up facts, yet no sentence explains why any of them matters.
• B) Many birds live there, and there are also frogs and also butterflies.Every sentence repeats the same pattern and 'also' adds nothing to the information.
• C) Quetzal birds live in the cloud forest, and the cool damp air suits them.Correct: the sentence links a fact about the bird to a reason, which is real elaboration.
• D) Monteverde has a cloud forest, and Costa Rica has many green forests.It repeats two similar facts and develops neither, so the reader gains almost nothing.

Respuesta correcta: A) Finally the wind stopped, and the family saw no damage to the roof.

• A) Finally the wind stopped, and the family saw no damage to the roof.Correct: it narrates the last action and closes the story by showing the danger passed.
• B) Storms near Nicoya usually arrive between May and November every year.A general fact opens a new idea here, and the story never set that up.
• C) The best hurricane plan for any family includes three steps and supplies.It jumps to advice the paragraph never gave, so it belongs in a different text.
• D) In conclusion, the text above has described a storm in the south.A comment on the text itself tells the reader nothing about the outcome of the event.

Respuesta correcta: D) Merge the repeated points, keep the best example, then state the conclusion.

• A) Add more examples of the same point to make the paragraph look richer.More examples of a point already made four times adds length and repetition together.
• B) Change the font and the spacing so the repetition becomes less visible.Presentation changes how a paragraph looks, but not the fact that the idea repeats.
• C) Split the paragraph into four shorter paragraphs, one for each repetition.Repeating the same point in four paragraphs multiplies the problem instead of solving it.
• D) Merge the repeated points, keep the best example, then state the conclusion.Correct: merging removes the redundancy, and one example plus a closing sentence gives unity.