A nice alternative to the “firstly, secondly, finally” type of paragraph is to look at the question from different perspectives.
As an example, let’s plan some ideas for paragraph 2 from this lesson.
- Topic: reasons why children should read books and study historical events of their own countries
- The child’s perspective: young children like learning about where they live, it makes sense to them
- The parent’s perspective: they studied the same books and historical events, they can help their children, there is a sense of continuity across the generations, passing down knowledge
- Example: reading Shakespeare or learning about the Battle of Hastings in English schools
- The school’s perspective: a consistent curriculum of topics, clear limits to teaching scope, easy to visit key locations on school trips
We now have a good plan for a 5-sentence paragraph. If you have time, have a go at writing it!
