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Paragraph Structure



"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." - Joseph Addison


Let's review before we move on.

Reading comprehension is built upon attaching bits of new material to things that you already know. Using pre-reading techniques helps you to develop these connections. Remember, if you do not recall what you just read -- stop! It is a total waste of time to continue reading when you do not understand what you just read. Go back and see if re-reading it helps. If not, assess why you don't understand.


Make the most of your reading/studying time by ensuring it is productive. Sometimes you could simply be tired, hungry, or need to get up and do something physical for a little bit. Then come back to the passage you were struggling with. If it is still giving you trouble, you will need to apply some more advanced comprehension techniques.

This lesson will go further into other pre-reading techniques that you can employ before you start reading, or better, as you are reading!

Beginning, Topic Sentences


Paragraph construction is fairly uniform. The first sentence in a paragraph should introduce the basic idea of that paragraph. It is your signal to attend to what you can expect to read in that paragraph.

An advanced pre-reading technique, in addition to those you learned in the previous lesson, is to read the first sentence of every paragraph. Read ONLY the first sentence the first time through the material.

The first sentence of a paragraph is called the topic sentence, and as such, it introduces the topic of the paragraph.



Not all material is as well-constructed as others, and you will find some materials that do not follow this method of paragraph construction. Some advanced materials will have paragraphs that are pages long. Other materials are more broken down, as is the case with this course material. This course is designed as an online course, and as such, the paragraphs must be significantly shorter than they typically appear in a book. As you can see, the length of this paragraph is much longer, and while in a book it would be acceptable; for reading on a computer, it is much more difficult to comprehend. Anything that is difficult to comprehend might appear to be a poorly constructed paragraph.

Middle, Information


The sentences that come after the topic sentence are called "supporting sentences." These sentences typically support the topic sentence. They are evidence, or proof, that establishes the topic put forth by the topic sentence. They usually contain supporting details, examples, or other information of significance. One general rule of thumb is that most paragraphs have a minimum of three middle, or supporting information sentences. This is not a hard and fast rule, but it is one for you to be aware of. When you go back to really read the lesson or chapter, you will now pay attention not only to the topic sentences, but to the supporting information as well.

End, Conclusion


The last sentence of a paragraph is the concluding sentence. It will often mirror or reflect the information put forth in the topic sentence. Or, it will summarize the supporting information of the middle sentences and establish a conclusion based on that information. A good last sentence of a paragraph should leave the reader with the feeling that that bit of information was introduced, supported, and summarized.

A good concluding sentence should leave the reader with the feeling that everything has been tied up in a nice neat package. Because it is a summarizing sentence, it also lends itself to another advanced pre-reading technique. When you move through the material, taking in the first, topic sentence, of every paragraph, taking in the summarizing, or concluding, sentence will help to close the loop of questions your brain has summoned.


Example

In the following selection, try using the techniques you just learned. First, read only the first sentence of each paragraph. Then, read the first and last sentence of each paragraph.

1.  Lavender*

Lavender! Often called the Queen of Fragrance, this delightful flowering herb is easy to grow and will bless you with wonderful flowers and fragrant foliage with each late summer harvest until the next growing season. Lavender got its name from the Latin word lavare, meaning "to wash." Lavender has been used for centuries to clean and purify. More recently, the scent of the lavender plant has been shown to have a calming, almost sedative effect. Is it any wonder that lavender is one of the most romantic and popular scents from the plant world?

A.  Where did Lavender Originate?

Lavender is a Mediterranean plant, growing in the rocky gravel of the mountains under a hot sun. Today, lavender is grown around the world. The hot weather plant grows very well in places like southern Europe, Australia, and the U.S. Keep in mind, with the popularity of this plant, it has been cultivated to grow in a multitude of climates, including cool and rainy Britain.

Lavender has been used through the centuries as a perfume from the time of the Egyptians and Romans, when Cleopatra seduced both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. It has also been used for its healing and antiseptic qualities. Lavender wards off insects and was often hung over doorways or near a bedside as a form of protection. Stories claim lavender warded off diseases such as cholera and the bubonic plague.

In Britain, Queen Elizabeth I used lavender to treat her migraines, as well as wearing it as a perfume. The wife of King Charles I, Henrietta Maria, introduced the idea of perfuming soap with lavender oil, using it as a potpourri, then bathing and washing garments in lavender. However, it was Queen Victoria who cemented lavender's place in history and in the English gardens. She used lavender for everything from washing floors and furniture, to keeping her linens and garments fresh and sweet-smelling with lavender sachets used in closets and cupboards. Whatever the queen did, the world copied.

In Britain, Queen Elizabeth I used lavender to treat her migraines as well as wearing it as a perfume. With the movement for natural scents and remedies, lavender once again has risen in popularity. I was first introduced to lavender when a friend of mine gave homemade soap and bath salts to me that were scented with lavender from her garden. I was an immediate convert. The next day I planted lavender in my garden and have had lavender in every garden since.

B.  Varieties of Lavender:

There are more than 300 varieties of lavender, creating a lot of confusion about the various types. For example, English lavender, considered to be the queen of all lavenders, includes Lavandula angustifolia, Lavandula officinalis, Lavandula vera, Lavandula delphinensis, and Lavandula spica. Here are five categories of lavender you will most likely find available at your garden centers:

2.  Growing Lavender


A.  Propagation of Lavender

Lavender is a wonderful plant for your perennial garden or your herb garden. It is versatile and resilient, as long as you don't drown its roots and it gets plenty of direct sunlight. While lavender can be grown from seed, I've had far better luck taking cuttings from plants that I want to duplicate. In the spring, when the new growth is relatively soft, take a shoot that is about two inches long, and pull it down sharply against the stem. This will leave a bit of a tag or "heel". You'll dip this heel in rooting hormone powder and plant it in a pot filled with sandy compost. While it is rooting, keep the soil lightly moist, never wet. Protect your rooting plants from cold, keeping them indoors until all danger of frost has passed. In about six weeks, you'll be able to plant your new lavender plants directly into your garden. This is an easy way to fill in an entire lavender garden space with only one or two original plants.

B.  Soil Preparation and When to Plant

Lavender loves alkaline soil. For those who live in areas with more acid soil, add lime or crushed eggshells to the soil to keep the pH high enough to make your lavender plants happy. Lavender needs quick draining soil to prevent root rot, so break apart any clay soil and add small gravel and sand before planting. Lavender can be planted in the garden once all danger of frost is gone. If you're prone to particularly cold winters, consider planting your lavender garden against the south side of the house or a south-facing wall where it will benefit from the radiant heat.

C.  Water Needs

Lavender needs only periodic watering. Once your plant is established, you can get away with allowing the soil around the roots to actually go dry before watering again. Lavender is a tough plant and actually thrives and blooms better when it is somewhat neglected! Do not feed lavender. It will lead to soft growth and it will diminish its fragrance.

D.  Harvesting

You can begin harvesting about mid-August, but every area is slightly different. If you want tightly closed blossoms, watch your lavender carefully so that you cut it at exactly the right time. If you plan to use crushed flowers, you can wait a bit longer and allow the flowers to open up a little bit. Cut your lavender about mid-morning, allowing any dew from the night before to dry off. Don't cut if it has rained. Wait for a dry day. I always cut my lavender with the longest stems possible. I can always cut them off later if they're too long for my purposes.

When I harvest a lot of lavender at a time, I take rubber bands and tie them around the base of a handful of stems so that I can hang them right away. Rubber bands are best because they will still hold the bunches securely, even after the stalks have dried and shrunk a bit. I like to dry my lavender inside so that I can enjoy the heavenly fragrance while the bunches are drying. The only important consideration is to make sure there is enough air flow around your lavender to dry completely. I will tie a ribbon around the rubber band to make it more decorative.

E.  Pruning Lavender

The most common question about caring for lavender plants is, "How do you prune lavender?" For most people, you will prune your lavender just before the arrival of winter, when the plant goes into its winter dormancy. You can certainly prune in the spring, but you'll have to prune again in the fall. The reason for this is to protect the plant from exposing too much of its live branches to the dry and destructive winds of winter. If your lavender plant is allowed to over-winter, totally exposed to winter's drying winds, you may end up with a dead plant by springtime because all the plant's moisture has evaporated.

Shaping the plants into small mounds will help prevent this problem by allowing the entire plant to be covered with snow, further protection from evaporating winds. For those who live in more temperate areas, and don't have to worry about freezing winds, you can prune after flowering as your schedule permits.

Without pruning, lavender plants become woody, more open and spread out. This is not as pretty a plant as it could be. If you have older, woody plants, try a severe pruning early in the spring to see if you can force new growth from the base of the plant.

3.  Essential Oil


Lavender oil is highly prized and often sought after. I'd love nothing better than to tell you that you can do this at home, avoiding the expense of having to purchase lavender essential oil at the store. Sadly, I can't do that. It takes 75 pounds of lavender flowers to make three ounces of essential oil, which must be aged for a year before it is ready. I've raised lavender for many years, but I don't believe I have ever harvested 75 pounds. I don't think I have even harvested 25 pounds for one ounce of essential oil! Essential oil extends the fragrance of all your lavender products, but should never be applied directly to your skin. To use as a massage oil, a few drops of lavender essential oil added to a few ounces of a carrier oil like almond or grape seed oil.

*Used with permission from Acreage Magazine.

First Sentences:

Lavender!

Lavender is a Mediterranean plant, growing in the rocky gravel of the mountains under a hot sun.

Lavender has been used through the centuries as a perfume from the time of the Egyptians and Romans, when Cleopatra seduced both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.

In Britain, Queen Elizabeth I used lavender to treat her migraines as well as wearing it as a perfume.

There are more than 300 varieties of lavender, creating a lot of confusion about the various types.

Lavender is a wonderful plant for your perennial garden or your herb garden.

Lavender loves alkaline soil; for those who live in areas with more acid soil add lime or crushed eggshells to the soil to keep the pH high enough to make your lavender plants happy.

Lavender needs only periodic watering. You can begin harvesting about mid-August, but every area is slightly different.

The most common question about caring for lavender plants is, "How do you prune lavender?"

Continue on in this manner. You may wish to highlight the first sentence of every paragraph in one color and then highlight the concluding sentence in another color.

Merely by reading through the first and last sentences, you will know more about lavender than you probably knew from the beginning. Based on using this technique, see how well you can answer the following questions in the Review section.

This is a helpful pre-reading technique that can help you to familiarize yourself with information prior actually reading the entire selection. This is not, however, the best approach to test-taking for reading comprehension. We will cover more about that in a later lesson.



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