Page 59 - Improve_Your_Written_English [Marion_Field]

P A RAGRA PHING YO U R WO RK / 45

the kettle with shaking hands and filled it. Hardly aware
of what I was doing, I plugged it in and took a mug out
of the cupboard. Still in a daze, I made the coffee and
took some scalding sips. Then gingerly I picked up the
envelope and slit it open.

There follows a short paragraph with the topic sentence
underlined. The brevity of the paragraph emphasises Cathy’s
amazement at the wedding invitation. In the final paragraph
the topic sentence is at the end as the narrator’s amaze-
ment reaches a climax when she gives a reason for her
astonishment.

It was a wedding invitation! ‘Mr and Mrs Collins’
requested ‘the pleasure of the company of Miss Cathy
Singleton at the wedding of their daughter, Lydia . . . ’
I dropped the card in amazement. Was my niece
really old enough to be married? Had my sister at last
decided to bury the hatchet or had Lydia forced her to
send the invitation? I couldn’t believe that I, the black
sheep of the family, had actually been invited to the
wedding of my estranged sister’s daughter.

Using single sentence paragraphs
Most paragraphs contain a number of sentences but it is
possible to use a one-sentence paragraph for effect. Look at
the following example:

He heard the ominous sound of footsteps but
suddenly he realised he had a chance. There was a key
in the door. Swiftly he turned it in the lock before his
captors could reach him. While the door handle rattled,