Chapter 5 - Paragraph Structure

Chapter 5: Paragraph Structure

5a: A Five-paragraph Essay

The number of paragraphs may vary in each essay, depending on the amount of information or ideas to be presented. However, a five-paragraph essay is a format commonly adopted for essay writing. To ensure that an essay is well-structured, its paragraphs should be closely knitted.

Answers

Pros and Cons of Video Games	Paragraph
It is true that playing video games may lead to health risks and other negative effects. However, there are also arguments for playing video games.	3
It is believed that playing video games may cause various health problems. In extreme cases, video game addiction may result in an unhealthy lifestyle. According to a study from St Patrick’s University in 2017, 10% of primary school students surveyed spent an average of 21 hours a week gaming, and heavy gamers tended to skip meals and sleep less. Dr Anderson Craig, a psychologist studying the effects of violent video games, also found out that high exposure to violent video games could increase aggression. Players tend to be more aggressive even when they are not playing video games.	2
There are good arguments both for and against playing video games. Playing video games is good for us, provided that we can keep the negative impact to the minimum. To reap benefits from playing video games, it might be wise to choose games carefully and limit the amount of time spent on it. As with other things, moderation is the key.	5
One of the advantages is that playing video games may improve one’s social skills and body co-ordination. Some video games promote teamwork and social interaction while others enhance memory and eye-hand coordination. An example of this is Overcooked. Players have to communicate and co-operate to complete each cooking task in the game. Hence, gamers will develop better social and collaboration skills.	4
Video games have been gaining popularity worldwide. With a wide variety of choices, there must be something for people of different ages. However, they are not without controversy. On the one hand, video games do have positive impacts on players; on the other hand, the health problems they bring should not be underestimated.	1
Introductory paragraph (Giving background information and setting the focus for discussion –the pros and cons of video games) Body paragraph 1 (Building on the introductory paragraph and discussing the negative impacts) Body paragraph 2 (Moving from the negative effects to the positive ones) Body paragraph 3 (Providing supporting ideas and examples for the positive effects) Concluding paragraph (Giving advice to video game players)

5a 5b 5c 5d 5e 5f

Activity 1

Read the following five jumbled paragraphs about the pros and cons of video games. Arrange them in the correct order . The highlighted parts help to show the linkage between the paragraphs.

Re-ordering jumbled paragraphs

Pros and Cons of Video Games	Paragraph
It is true that playing video games may lead to health risks and other negative effects. However, there are also arguments for playing video games.
It is believed that playing video games may cause various health problems. In extreme cases, video game addiction may result in an unhealthy lifestyle. According to a study from St Patrick’s University in 2017, 10% of primary school students surveyed spent an average of 21 hours a week gaming, and heavy gamers tended to skip meals and sleep less. Dr Anderson Craig, a psychologist studying the effects of violent video games, also found out that high exposure to violent video games could increase aggression. Players tend to be more aggressive even when they are not playing video games.
There are good arguments both for and against playing video games. Playing video games is good for us, provided that we can keep the negative impact to the minimum. To reap benefits from playing video games, it might be wise to choose games carefully and limit the amount of time spent on it. As with other things, moderation is the key.
One of the advantages is that playing video games may improve one’s social skills and body co-ordination. Some video games promote teamwork and social interaction while others enhance memory and eye-hand coordination. An example of this is Overcooked. Players have to communicate and co-operate to complete each cooking task in the game. Hence, gamers will develop better social and collaboration skills.
Video games have been gaining popularity worldwide. With a wide variety of choices, there must be something for people of different ages. However, they are not without controversy. On the one hand, video games do have positive impacts on players; on the other hand, the health problems they bring should not be underestimated.