《英语写作基础》word版.doc

英语写作基础第一章英语写作常识与规范第一节标点符号1 顿号“、” 英语没有顿号，一般用逗号取代。汉语中用顿号表示一句话中间并列的词和词组之间的停顿。如：This kind of machine is widely used in India, Russia, the U.S.A. and China. (这种机器在印度、俄罗斯、美国、中国广泛应用。)2 书名号 汉语书名号为，表示书籍、报刊等名称。英语中不用书名号，而是用斜体字表示，以区别于印刷体；但打字或书写时，因没有斜体字，便在书名或刊名下划一横线。例如：I often read the newspaper-New York Times.(我经常阅读纽约时报这份报纸。)3 句号 英语的句号是是实心的小圆点，即 “.”, 常用于陈述句和祈使句之后。而汉语的句号是空心圆圈，即“。”。4 冒号 英语中的冒号一般只用来对主句进行说明、引申、解释等等，汉语中除有上述相似用法外，更多用于直接引语的说明及一般函件的开头语。例如：The year is divided into four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter.(一年分为四季：春、夏、秋、冬。)5. 逗号 “，” 在英语中，引起直接引语的说明以及一般函件开头的称呼语等一类用语后都用逗号，而不象汉语那样用冒号。（但美国用冒号）。逗号是英文写作中最常用的标点符号。对中国学生而言，也是最容易出错的地方。因为以中国人写作的思维，只要一句话意思没完，便要用逗号，而对于英文写作，只要句子结构完整便要用句号。例如：逗号误用：I set out for the biggest bookstore in town, at the school gate I saw a girl of my class, she was going there, too, we decided to go together, we walked, the bookstore was not far away.正确的句子：I set out for the biggest bookstore in town. At the school gate I saw a girl of my class. She was going there, too. We decided to go together. We walked. The bookstore was not far away.(我开始去城里最大的书店。 在学校门口我看见了班里的一个女孩, 她也要去那儿, 我们决定一起去, 我们走着,书店就在不远处。 )6. 分号 表示短暂而明确的停顿，主要用法有两种。一是连接两个内容相关但语法逻辑上完整的独立分句，分句之间不用连词。分号就相当于逗号与连接词的组合。如：The project was finally completed; we were very pleased.(我们很高兴我们终于完成了计划。) 相当于The project was finally completed. We were very pleased. 或The project was finally completed，and we were very pleased.7. 省略号 英语的省略是三个实心的小圆点，位于一行的中间。英语etc不能和省略号连用而汉语则可以。如： 正确的句子：There is a pen, two apples, three oranges ect in the box. 标点误用： There is a pen, two apples, three orangesetc. in the box.8. 引号 “” 引号用来表示文中的直接引语，英语中单引号和双引号都可用，汉语一般只用双引号，但引号中如再加引号可用单引号。“I heard stop thief, stop thief being shouted, ” he said.第二节 文章的总体布局在写作时，无论是手写还是使用打字机或电脑，都应注意文章的总体布局，如题目的写法、行文的间隔、字体字号的选择等等。题目应放在第一行的中间，第一个单词的首字母和每一个名词、动词、形容词、副词等的首字母都要大写。题目中的功能词如冠词、介词、并列连词、不定式小品词除了作为第一个单词首字母要大写外，其他情景下一般要小写。但among，between，about等双音节、多音节介词也可首字母大写。题目中若有冒号、破折号，其后面单词的首字母应大写。题目的结尾除了可使用问号或感叹号外，不可使用其他标点符号。如：My First Visit to the Summer PalaceDickens and David Copperfield What Can the Artist Do in the World of Today?在正文的布局上，段落应清晰，各段的排列应保持一致。每段开头一般应向右缩进4至5个字母的间隔。但在电脑排版中，也可左右都对齐。但在这种情况下，段与段之间应多空一行。无论采用哪种方式，都应注意保持格式的一致。单词与单词之间应留一个字母的间隔，每一完整句之间一般留一个或两个字母的间隔。标点符号应书写清楚，特别应注意英文句点与中文句号之间的区别。课堂练习1指出下列句子中标点符号用法上的错误并加以改正。1) The job is difficult, however, we will try our best to finish it.2) The examination was over; and we were overjoyed.3) As I opened the door, he told me, that I was late.4) The universal symptom of the suicide impulse, is depression.5) Tom, Sarah and Mary, are going to join us on the first phase of this project.6) An employee, who expects rapid promotion, must quickly improve his or her worth.7) I had a heart-to-heart talk with Linda, and John.8) We painted the room, pink.9) Following the instruction the technician installed the machine within one hour.10) The process may be waiting for a signal, or the process input, may be delayed by network interrupts.2给下面的段落加标点，并改正大小写。you should take clothes for hot and cold climates the desert even though its in africa gets very cold at night in addition dont forget the small essentials water purifying tablets a needle and cotton a pair of sunglasses and one or two good books I also took a penknife a sleeping bag and a stove第二章 遣词造句第一节 词的类型英语词汇极多：牛津英语词典收了四十多万个词。当然并没有人认识或需要使用这么多词。常人为了一般的目的只用其中很小的一部分。学习用英语写作的中国学生应先学会使用最有用也最常用的词来表达自己的思想。有时初学者会误用一些词，这些词往往并不全错，只是不恰当、不准确、不地道、或不生动。因此，对初学者来讲，对选词的方法有基本的了解是有益的。常用的词按文体来分有正式的（formal），一般的（general），口语的（colloquial）。这类词主要用于正式文体，多数源于希腊和拉丁文，其特点是多音节词较多。如下列单词，前一个是一般词汇，后者是正式词汇。same-identical, speech-oration, learned-erudite, destroy-annihilate, stiff-rigid, try-endeavor, piece-fragment而下列词汇前一个是口语化的词汇，后者是一般词汇aint-am not， damn-very， cool-very good另外，还应注意一些词的感情色彩，例如 country, nation, state, land的原义有相同之处，都相当于中文的“国家”，但它们的涵义却很不同。country指地区、其人口及政府，nation主要指人民，state主要指政府及政治组织，land比country的意思广泛些，而且文雅些，并更有感情色彩。关于词义中国学生特别要注意一点：不应把一个英语词的中文译法看作它的确切意思，如大家都知道send的意思是“送”，便会造出这样的句子：He came to send me the letter.（应为He brought me the letter.）, 或I sent my friend to the station yesterday(应为I went to the station with my friend to see him off. )再如family和home都可译为”家”, 但他们的意思很不一样:family指亲属,而home指住的地方.第二节 英语写作常见错误与分析除了措辞不当外,在造句方面中国学生尤其是初学者也经常犯一些错误,如何写出准确得体的英文句子。句子的质量直接影响作者思想内容的表达，而一些最基本的句子层次的错误往往会降低整篇文章的质量。下面我们对一些在英语写作中典型的病句实例逐一加以剖析一 不一致（Disagreements）所谓不一致不光指主谓不一致，它还包括了数的不一致，时态不一致及代词不一致等例 When one have money, he can do what he want to.(人一旦有了钱，他就能想干什么就干什么)剖析：one是单数第三人称，因而本句的have应改为has ;同理，want应改为wants.本句是典型的主谓不一致改为：Once one has money, he can do what he wants (to do)二 修饰语错位（Misplaced Modifiers）英语与汉语不同，同一个修饰语置于句子不同的位置，句子的含义可能引起变化对于这一点中国学生往往没有引起足够的重视，因而造成了不必要的误解.例如:例1 I believe I can do it well and I will better know the world outside the campus.剖析：better位置不当，应置于句末三 句子不完整（Sentence Fragments）在口语中，交际双方可借助手势语气上下文等，不完整的句子完全可以被理解可是书面语就不同了，句子结构不完整会令意思表达不清，这种情况常常发生在主句写完以后，笔者又想加些补充说明时发生例There are many ways to know the society. For example by TV, radio, newspaper and so on.剖析：本句后半部分for example by TV, radio, newspaper and so on.”不是一个完整的句子，仅为一些不连贯的词语，不能独立成句改为：There are many ways to know society, for example, by TV, radio, and newspaper.四悬垂修饰语（Dangling Modifiers）所谓悬垂修饰语是指句首的短语与后面句子的逻辑关系混乱不清例如：At the age of ten, my grandfather died. 这句中at the age of ten只点出十岁时，但没有说明谁十岁时按一般推理不可能是my grandfather,如果我们把这个悬垂修饰语改明确一点，全句就不那么费解了改为：When I was ten, my grandfather died.例 To do well in college, good grades are essential.剖析：句中不定式短语“to do well in college”的逻辑主语不清楚改为：To do well in college, a student needs good grades.五 词性误用(Misuse of Parts of Speech)“词性误用”常表现为：介词当动词用；形容词当副词用；名词当动词用等例 None can negative the importance of money.剖析：negative系形容词，误作动词。改为：None can deny the importance of money.六 指代不清(Ambiguous Reference of Pronouns)指代不清主要讲的是代词与被指代的人或物关系不清，或者先后所用的代词不一致。试看下面这一句：Mary was friendly to my sister because she wanted her to be her bridesmaid.(玛丽和我姐姐很要好，因为她要她做她的伴娘。)读完上面这一句话，读者无法明确地判断两位姑娘中谁将结婚，谁将当伴娘。如果我们把易于引起误解的代词的所指对象加以明确，意思就一目了然了。这个句子可改为：Mary was friendly to my sister because she wanted my sister to be her bridesmaid.例1. And we can also know the society by serving it yourself.剖析：句中人称代词we和反身代词yourself指代不一致。改为：We can also know society by serving it ourselves.七不间断句子(Run-on Sentences)什么叫run-on sentence?请看下面的例句。例 There are many ways we get to know the outside world.剖析：这个句子包含了两层完整的意思：“There are many ways.”以及“We get to know the outside world.”。简单地把它们连在一起就不妥当了。改为：There are many ways for us to learn about the outside world.或：There are many ways through which we can become acquainted with the outside world八 措词毛病(Troubles in Diction)Diction是指在特定的句子中如何适当地选用词语的问题，囿于教学时间紧迫，教师平时在这方面花的时间往往极其有限，影响了学生在写作中没有养成良好的推敲，斟酌的习惯。他们往往随心所欲，拿来就用。所以作文中用词不当的错误比比皆是。学生所接触的词汇主要来自精读和泛读，他们所掌握的词汇有口语、一般用语、正式用语，也有俚语、方言；有美国英语，也有英国英语。他们对同义词或近义词的细微区别不太了解，英语词与近义汉字区别不清。例如：误: He finally resolved the problem. 正:He finally solved the problem. resolve 的汉语意思是“使分解”、“解决”，resolve虽有解决之意，只是解决的不是问题，而是contradiction 或doubt, 解决问题应用 solve。又如：The increasing use of chemical obstacles in agriculture also makes pollution.(农业方面化学物质使用的不断增加也造成了污染。)剖析：显然，考生把obstacles“障碍”，“障碍物”误作substance“物质”了。另外“the increasing use (不断增加的使用)”应改为“abusive use(滥用)”。改为：The abusive use of chemical substances in agriculture also causes/leads to pollution.而英语则有词性的变化，学生辨别词汇种类的能力不够，同一汉语意思的动词、名词和形容词分不清，造成词汇错误。例：误：The students complaint that there are too much homework.正：The students complain that there is too much homework.误：If you work hard, you will be sure to success.正：If you work hard, you will be sure to succeed. 九累赘(Redundancy)言以简洁为贵。写句子没有一个多余的词；写段落没有一个无必要的句子。能用单词的不用词组；能用词组的不用从句或句子。如：In spite of the fact that he is lazy, I like him.本句的“the fact that he is lazy”系同谓语从句，我们按照上述“能用词组的不用从句”可以改为：In spite of his laziness, I like him.例For the people who are diligent and kind, money is just thething to be used to buy the thing they need.剖析：整个句子可以大大简化。改为：Diligent, caring people use money only to buy what they need.十不连贯(Incoherence)不连贯是指一个句子前言不对后语，或是结构上不畅通。这也是初学者常犯的毛病。例The fresh water, it is the most important things of the earth.剖析：The fresh water 与逗号后的it 不连贯。It 与things 在数方面不一致。改为：Fresh water is the most important thing in the world.十一综合性语言错误(Comprehensive Misusage)所谓“综合性语言错误”，是指除了上述十种错误以外，还有诸如时态，语态，标点符号，大小写等方面的错误。例1Today, Money to everybody is very importance, ours eat, cloth, live,go etc.针对电大学生来说，他们在作文中常犯的语法错误的类型有：名词单复数变化错误；时态不一致谓语或句型出错，句子不完整；介词、冠词遗漏等。(1) 时态、人称和数用错汉语动词无时态、人称和数的变化，而对英语动词来说，这些都至关重要。例： 误：They said they can complete the work in three months.正：They said they could complete the work in three months.误：My father is a work and my mother is teachers.正：My father is a worker and my mother is a teacher. （2) be 动词遗漏 在主系表结构中，汉语中没有动词的句子是允许的，英语中每个完整的句子都必须有动词来承担谓语，如：“我累了。”这个句子没有动词作谓语，而用形容词，但英语形容词不能作谓语，一定要写成：Im tired.误：He will sure to come and help me.正：He will be sure to come and help me.(3) 句子不完整 有的考生因为对句子结构认识模糊，所以出现只写半句的现象，这也是造成失分的原因之一。误：Because the kids thought their wages were too low.正：Because the kids thought their wages were too low, they demanded a high pay.误：While waiting for the bus.正：While waiting for the bus, he talked with the little girl.(4) 介词、冠词遗漏还有一些考生因为没有熟练掌握介词或者冠词的用法，也会出现明显的错误，造成丢分现象。误：Because his mistake several people died.正：Because of his mistake several people died.误：I have never seen such beautiful picture. 正：I have never seen such a beautiful picture.课堂练习：1选择最恰当的词汇1）He was born into a revolutionary _. (home, family)2）Would you like to stop by my _ (family, home) and have a cup a of tea?3）During the fighting a few soldiers were _ (injured, wounded).4）In the accident his right leg was _ (injured, wounded).5）Later he _ (found, found out) that the real cause of the fire was negligence on the part of the man on duty.6） n arriving in the ancient city he _ (found, found out) that it was very quiet and beautiful.7） o you know the _ (cause, reason) why he has resigned?8） The main _ (cause, reason) of the stoppage was the insufficient supply of raw material.9） Empress Dowager Cixi was _ (famous, notorious) for her cruelty.10）The enemy troops were driven back when they _ (attempted, tried) to cross the border.2改正下列句子中的错误1) Much more money is offered in Hong Kong, you can enjoy a more comfortable life there than in some other cities.2) Because the operator was careless. The new computer was damaged.3) One should sift the flour before they make the pie.4) A group of we manages will fly to the convention next Saturday.5）.I looked at the tree I had felled with my hands in my pockets.6）The hostess served toast to her guest that was badly burned.7）The dealer sold the Mercedes to the town banker with leather seats.8）She laughed as John raged with delight.9）He returned the bike to a neighbor that was broken.10）To get up early, the clock was set at six.第三章 文章的总体结构及框架第一节英汉表达的差异中国人与西方人看问题的方法的确在许多方面存在着差异，而且这种差异的的确确在束缚着中国学生，成为他们英文写作中的拦路虎，使他们不能畅所欲言，不能准确而简洁地表达思想。首先，让我们关注一下英美人与中国人思维方式的不同。英美人的思维方式是直线式的，他们在遣词造句谋篇上遵循着从一般（general）到具体（specific），从概括（summarize）到举例（exemplify），从整体（whole）到个体（respective）的原则。请看短文：Soccer is a difficult sport（1）A player must be able to run steadily without rest（2）Sometimes a player must hit the ball with his or her head（3）Players must be willing to bang into and be banged into by others（4） They must put up with aching feet and sore muscles 上面的这则短文中，主题句（main idea sentence）也就是文章的中心是第一句，（1）（2）（3）（4）句是用来说明主题句的。 而在汉语中，我们习惯于先分后总，先说原因后说结果，即所谓的“前因后果”，如果要表达相同的意思，我们通常这样说： 足球运动员必须能不停地奔跑，有时得用头顶球，撞别人或被别人撞，必须忍受双脚和肌肉的疼痛，所以说，足球运动是一项难度大的运动。再比如写下面一则便条，因你母亲突然生病，周末你不能和汤姆去跳舞了，你找了舞跳得很好的时黛来代替你，并表示抱歉。 此英语便条为： July 6，2002 Dear Tom， I am sorry to inform you that I wont be able to go to dance with you this weekend My mother is suddenly taken illIn order not to disappoint you，I have asked Shi Dai to take my placeShe is a better dancer，I thinkMy regrets Joe 从便条中可以看出，英语表达先“果”I wont be able to go to dance with you this weekend后“因”my mother is suddenly taken ill，即所谓的“先果后因”。 一般来说，在单个句子中，英语句子也是先中心，也就是将主要思想、结果放在句首，放在主句里表达；而汉语正相反，一般为后中心，主要的观点、信息往往放在句末。如： He had to stay at home yesterday because he was ill因为他病了，昨天他不得不呆在家里。 Tragedies can be written in literature since there is tragedy in life生活中既然有悲剧，文学作品就可以写悲剧。 所以说，大学生用英文写作时，就要按照英美人的思维模式进行思考，也就是说要学会用英语进行思维，避免写出中国式的英语。 二、接下来，让我们看一下英汉句子结构的特点。英语属印欧语系，汉语属汉藏语系，两种语言相距甚远，英语结构紧凑，汉语结构松散。语言学家以“竹节句法”来比喻英语句子，即英语句子是由断不可缺的各种连接词衔接而成，宛如节节相连的竹子；而汉语句子则被比喻为“流水句法”，所谓的流水指少用乃至不用连接词仍行文流畅。所以说，英语重形和，汉语重意和。英语句子中如果少了连接词如or，but，if，so，because，when，although ， in order that，so that，所要表达的意思就支离破碎了，而汉语如没连接词，只从句子本身的意思就可以把概念或关系表达清楚。如： Conquer the desires，or they will conquer you你如不能战胜欲念，欲念将要战胜你。 An English man who could not speak Chinese was once traveling in China一个英国人，不会说中国话，有一次在中国旅行。 三、就是因为英语中各种连接词与替代词的广泛使用，使得英语中出现“多枝共干”式的长句，复合句；汉语则常用短句，简单句。请看下面一个英语长句以及其汉意。 It was on a Sunday evening，when he was lying in the orchard listening to a blackbird and composing a love poem，that he heard thegate swing to，and saw the girl coming running among the trees，with the redcheeked， stolid Joe in swift pursuit一个星期日的傍晚，他正躺在果园里，一面在听画眉鸟的啁啾，一面在写一首爱情诗，忽然听得大门砰地关上，接着看见那姑娘从树丛里奔出来，后面飞跟着那呆头呆脑的红脸的乔。 这是个英语强调句，其重心是：he heard the gate swing to and saw the girl coming running among the trees，而when he was lying in the orchard listening to a blackbird and com posing a love poem是一个时间状语从句，这两个句子通过it wasthat这个强调句型巧妙地合为一个复合长句，整个句子简单明了，结构紧凑，若用汉语表达则须分成好几个短句。再如： The president said at a conference dominated by questions on yesterdays election results that he could not explain why the Republicans had suffered such a widespread defeat，which in the end would deprive the Republican Party of long-held superiority in the House在一次记者招待会上，问题集中于昨天的选举结果，总统就此发了言。他说他不能理解为什么共和党遭到了这样大的失败。这种情况最终会使共和党失去在众议院长期享有的优势。 这个英语长句是由一个带有分词短语的主句，两个宾语从句和一个非限制性定语从句组成，整个句子的主干简单明了：The president saidthat，若用汉语来表达，须把此长句拆开分成三个单句来分别叙述。 四、英语的另一个显著特点是被动句多。英语重物称，常常选择不能施行动作或无生命的词语作主语，由于这些“无灵”物称充当主语，使得被动句大兴其道。在英语被动句里，不必强调动作的施行者，就将其置于句尾由by连接；不必、不愿或不便言明动作的施行者，就干脆将其省略。相对而言，汉语习惯于人称化的表达，主语常常是能施行动作或 有生命的物体，所以汉语中主动句多。请看例句： It has been known for a long time that there is a first relationship between the heart and the liver长期以来，大家知道心脏与肝脏的关系是最主要的。 The famous hotel had been practically destroyed by the big fire大火几乎使这家有名的旅馆全部毁灭。 They were given a hearty welcome他们受到热烈欢迎。 五、英语的又一显著特点是其丰富的时态。不同的语言具有不同的时态，有的语言甚至很少或没有时态，汉语基本上就是借助词汇来表示各种时间和动作的，汉语动词除了只有“着”、“了”、“过”的若干说法与英语的进行时、完成时或过去时相对外，别无其他与英语相对应的时体形式；而英语不仅有时态，而且种类繁多（共有16种时态），区分细微，习惯性强。英语就是通过这些固定的语法手段将动作的进行过程与状况描绘得更准确更精细，有时甚至能表达说话人的感情色彩。如： Youre always asking me such questions！你老是问我这样的问题！（用现在进行时表示厌烦） I am now living in a very pleasant flat我现在住在一间非常舒适的公寓里。（用现在进行时表示满意） 所以，传递同样的意思，英语只要选用合适的时态就可以了，汉语则必须使用词汇手段。又如： It has been noted that those who live，or have lived，in the shadow of death bring a mellow sweetness to everything they do人们已经注意到大凡受到死亡威胁的人或是死里逃生的人对于他们所干的任何事总是兴趣盎然。 六、从词汇方面讲，英汉两种语言也有很大差异。就词组而言，英语中的词组或短语可谓林林总总，丰富多彩，有名词短语、动词短语、形容词短语、介词短语、分词短语、不定式短语与独立结构等，它们的语法功能不一而足，可作主语、谓语、宾语、定语、状语与表语等。如： Marriage may be compared to a cage：the birds outside despair to get in and those within despair to get out婚姻好比鸟笼，外面的鸟儿想进进不去，里面的鸟儿想出出不来。（不定式短语to get in，to get out作状语） I am utterly in the dark about the matter我对这件事完全不知道。（介词词组in the dark作表语） Christmas is coming up圣诞节就要到了。（动词短语come up作谓语） 相比之下，汉语更偏重以单音节或多音节的单词为其基本的句法成分，而且其短语用法十分有限。 语言的形成与发展深受本国、本土、历史、地理、风土人情等各方面的影响，英语、汉语也不例外。英语中某些词的含义并不完全与汉语对等，比如lover这个词，大多数中国人认为是“爱人”（丈夫或妻子），其实在西方lover指的是情夫或情妇；再比如First Lady，在英美等国指的是总统夫人或州长夫人，而在中国常会被误解，认为是“原配夫人”，说不定还会有“二奶”、“三姨太”之类；又如intellectual这个词，在英美等国其范围较小，只包括大学教授等有较高学术地位的人，不包括普通的大学生，而多数中国人认为intellectual就是“知识分子”，而且汉语中的知识分子所指范围很广，大学教师、中学教师、大学生、医生、工程师、翻译人员以及一切受过大学教育的人都可以称为知识分子。 此外英语中的许多词常常一词多义，它们所表达的各个含义，分别与汉语中几个不同的词或词组相对应，所以，在用英文写作时，一定要慎重地选词用词，以期贴切地表达思想。 第二节 段落的基本结构段落是文章的基本构成成分，其作用是围绕文章的主题或中心思想从不同角度进行有组织的、逻辑性强的说明或阐述。段落由一系列围绕同一主题的句子组成。当新的主题出现时，就应开始新的段落。段落一般由三部分构成：主题句（topic sentence）、支撑句（supporting sentence）或扩展句（developing sentence）和结尾句（concluding sentence）。请看下面的一篇短文：What is a topic sentence? The topic sentence introduces the paragraph. What does it do? It tells the reader what your paragraph will be about. Example: There are three reasons why I want to learn English. One reason is that English has become an international language. It is now used by most international companies, including the company where I work, for business communication. Another reason why I want to learn English is so that I can travel to English-speaking countries. The United States, England, Australia and many other countries all use English as their primary language. Finally, I want to learn English because I plan to move to the U.S. in the future. I will become a manager for my company soon. For all these reasons, I am very excited about learning English.ANALYSIS:What are you going to tell the reader about? Topic Sentence: There are three reasons why I want to learn English.文章中的第一句就是段落的主题句，顾名思义，段落的主题句是表达该段落主题或中心思想的句子，段落的其他句子都是对该主题句的进一步扩展或论证。所以，写好主题句往往是写好文章的关键。在构思主题句时，应注意两个常见的问题，一是主题句太空泛，没有具体内容；二是因一个段落中出现一个以上的主题句而使得段落的中心内容不明确。段落的主题句一般位于段落的开头，尤其是对议论文更是如此。同样是这篇文章，我们再来看一下它的支撑句。Supporting SentencesWhat are supporting sentences? supporting sentences come after the topic sentence, to explain your topic sentence. The supporting sentences with their supporting details make up the body of a paragraph. What do supporting sentences do? They give information to develop and support the main idea of the paragraph. How do I write supporting sentences? You should give information, facts, details, and examples. supporting sentences often answer the question Why? Example: There are three reasons why I want to learn English. One reason is that