6.7  The Paragraph

A simple rule for paragraphing is to develop one main topic or subtopic per paragraph. However, this rule isn't always easy to follow. Paragraphs that are too long make your writing hard to follow, but paragraphs that are too short make your writing seem choppy. When you write, think of a paragraph as a bite-sized piece. Don't choke your reader on 200-word monsters, and don't give your reader pieces too small to pick up with a fork.

If you are writing a 450-word response to a prompt, five to ten paragraphs will be about right. You can also think in terms of pattern parts. A topic-aspect (informational) writing with four aspects would give you six paragraphs if you wrote one for each pattern part.

   You Fix It.

Here is a writing from an earlier section with a number of errors in conventions and mechanics built in. Your job is to make the corrections. When you are finished, compare your work with the corrected version that follows.

Sometime's you get a flat tire when your just two far away to walk the bike home. If you're carrying the right materials and tools; you can patch the tube yourself and save that home long walk.

You'll need a pump, wrenche's and prying tool's, and a tube patch kit. Twenty minutes is enough time.

First, use the wrenche's to remove the wheel from the bike. Carefully remove the tub from the tire. Pump up the tub to find the whole or leak. With the scratching tool in the patch kit rough up the surface of the tube around the leak put glue on the tube on an area larger than the patch. When the glue starts to get sticky, remove the patch cover, place the patch on the glued area: and press down firmly for a minute or too.

When the dry is glue, carefully slid the tube back onside the tire, making sure you don't disturb the patch. Pump up the tube slowly squeezing the tire in several places to make sure the tube is seated properly.

Finally pack up your tools and ride home: Be on the lookout for broken glass, nail's, potholes, or any other road hazards that could rune your happy ending.

Click here for the corrected version of this writing.

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