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Quickway 3 Reading

What is a Minority Group?

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Quickway 3 Unit 2 Writing

The Supporting Sentences

Consider this short paragraph:

My hometown, Kingston, is famous for several amazing natural features. First, it is noted for the Princeton River, which is very wide and beautiful. Also, on the other side of the town is Queenston Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep.

When you read this topic sentence:

My hometown Kingston, is famous for several amazing natural features.

A question comes to your mind:
What are the natural features that make Kingston famous?
You then expect that the rest of the paragraph will give an answer to this question.
Now look at the sentences after the topic sentence.

First, it is noted for the Princeton River, which is very wide and beautiful.

It gives an answer to this question. That is, the second sentence gives some explanation for the fact that Kingston is a famous town. Similarly, we can see that the third sentence also gives some explanation for the fact that Kingston is famous by giving another example of an "amazing natural feature," in this case, Queenston Hill.

The second and third sentences are called supporting details. They are called "supporting" because they "support," or explain, the idea expressed in the topic sentence. Of course, paragraphs in English often have more than two supporting ideas. The paragraph above is actually a very short paragraph. At minimum, you should have at least five sentences in your paragraph. Here we can see our paragraph about Kingston with a few more supporting sentences:

My hometown Kingston is famous for several amazing natural features. First, it is noted for the Princeton River, which is very wide and beautiful. Also, on the other side of the town is Queenston Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep. The third amazing feature is the Big Old Tree. This tree stands two hundred feet tall and is probably about six hundred years old.

The Concluding Sentence

It is usually a sentence at the end of the paragraph which summarizes the information that has been presented. You can think of a concluding sentence as a sort of topic sentence in reverse.
The topic sentence and concluding sentence hold the supporting sentences in the paragraph. Look at the concluding sentence in our paragraph about Kingston:

My hometown is famous for several amazing natural features. First, it is noted for the Princeton River, which is very wide and beautiful. Also, on the other side of the town is Queenston Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep. The third amazing feature is the Big Old Tree. This tree stands two hundred feet tall and is probably about six hundred years old. These three landmarks are truly amazing and make my hometown a famous place.

The concluding sentence,

These three landmarks are truly amazing and make my hometown a famous place,

summarizes the information in the paragraph. It is similar to, but not exactly the same as, the topic sentence.

Details in Paragraphs

Whenever possible, you should include enough details in your paragraph to help your reader understand exactly what you are writing about. In the paragraph about Kingston, three natural landmarks are mentioned, but we do not know very much about them. For example, we could add a sentence or two about Princeton river concerning HOW wide it is or WHY it is beautiful.

Consider this revision:

My hometown is famous for several amazing natural features. First, it is noted for the Princeton River, which is very wide and beautiful. On either side of this river, which is 175 feet wide, are many willow trees which have long branches that can move gracefully in the wind. In autumn the leaves of these trees fall and cover the riverbanks like golden snow. Also, on the other side of the town is Queenston Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep. Even though it is steep, climbing this hill is not dangerous; some firm rocks along the sides can be used as stairs. There are no trees around this hill, so it stands clearly against the sky and can be seen from many miles away. The third amazing feature is the Big Old Tree. This tree stands two hundred feet tall and is probably about six hundred years old. These three landmarks are truly amazing and make my hometown a famous place.

We can also add more details to the paragraph to describe the third natural feature of the area, the Big Old Tree.

Quickway 3 Unit 2 Writing

The Supporting Details

What are the supporting details?
They come after the topic sentence, making up the body of a paragraph.
What do they do?
They give details to develop and support the main idea of the paragraph.
How do I write them?

You should give supporting facts, details, and examples.

The Closing Sentence

What is the closing sentence?
The closing sentence is the last sentence in a paragraph.
What does it do?
It restates the main idea of your paragraph.
How do I write one?
Restate the main idea of the paragraph using different words.

Example:

There are three reasons why our school Qadi Ayad is considered one of the best high schools in Tetuan. First, Qadi Ayad has a highly qualified faculty. All the teachers have a long experience, rich background knowledge and highly professional skills. Second, Qadi Ayad has a high standard of education. Students obtain high scores in regional and national exams and are encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Qadi Ayad’s administration, faculty and parents all contribute to develop a social and academic climate which gives its students a strong sense of belonging and pride. As a result, a lot of students prefer to come to Qadi Ayad to continue their high school studies.

Quickway 3 Unit 1 Writing

The Topic Sentence

Definitions, descriptions, and examples:

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Gateway Cultural Awareness

UNIT 1
The World's Cultural Heritage:
1-Machu Picchu:
Old Peak; sometimes called the "Lost City of the Incas" is a well-preserved pre-Columbian Inca ruin located at 2,430 m on a mountain ridge. Machu Picchu is located above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, about 70 km northwest of Cuzco. Forgotten for centuries by the outside world, although not by locals, it was brought back to international attention by Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham who rediscovered it in 1911, and wrote a best-selling work about it.

Here are some pictures about Macho Picchu:

Here are some short videos of Machu Picchu:

Gateway Cultural Awareness

UNIT 1
The World's Cultural Heritage:
2-Kathmandu:

The Kathmandu Valley, located in the Kingdom of Nepal, lies at the crossroads of ancient civilizations of Asia, and has at least 130 important monuments, including several places of pilgrimage for the Hindus as well as the Buddhists. The cities of Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur, located in this valley, present a high style of Nepalese art and architecture. Kathmandu valley was accorded the status of a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the year 1979. It is rich in culture and the valley itself is and has been the cultural and political hub of Nepal. Other cities in the country include Pokhara, Janakpur, Biratnagar, Birgunj.

Here are some pictures and bout Kathmandu :

Here are some short videos of Kathmandu:

Quickway 3 Grammar

THE PASSIVE:

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Quickway 3 Listening for Second Year Classes

Unit One

"Women in the War"

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Gateway Listening for First Year classes

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Visit the following links to improve your

Grammar:
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/index.htm

-The Passive:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/passive.htm

-The relative Clause:
http://online.ohlone.cc.ca.us/~mlieu/adjclause/what_h.html

- The Phrasal Verbs:
http://www.eslcafe.com/pv/
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-phrasal-verbs_2.htm

Writing:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
http://www.teacherjoe.us/Write.html

Listening:
http://www.eslstudyguide.com/listening-intermediate.php
http://www.eslstudyguide.com/pronunciation.php

Speaking:
http://www.world-english.org/onlineschool_free.htm

Reading:
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/reading/index.htm

Vocabulary:
http://www.manythings.org/vocabulary/