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Get some pracitce with paragraphs:
Try doing this exercise for the sample passage on water management.
Then, check below for our answers.
Paragraph 1
| One of the most persistently troubling
parts of national domestic policy is the development and
use of water resources. Because the technology of water
management involves similar construction skills, whether
the task is the building of an ocean jetty for protection
of shipping or the construction of a river dam for flood
control and irrigation, the issues of water policy have
mingled problems of navigation and agriculture. A further
inherent complexity of water policy is the frequent conflict
between flood control and irrigation and between requirements
for abundance and those for scarcity of water. Both problems
exist in America, often in the same river basins; one is
most typically the problem of the lower part of the basin
and the other the problem of the upper part. |
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Main Idea: Developing and using water resources is extremely difficult.
Tone: Passionate? Exultant? No! Like an encyclopedia? Yes! Didactic
(lecturing), explanatory, impartial.
Why did the author include this paragraph?
He or she wants to tell us about water management. The author is filling
us in on the problems in water management so he or she can go on to
a more interesting point about the problems.
What shift did the author have in mind in moving
on to this paragraph?
No shift applicable, but keep in mind where we started when we move on to the
next paragraph.
What bearing does this paragraph have on the main
idea of the passage so far?
The first sentence sounds like a main idea candidate. First sentences
of first paragraphs are generally IMPORTANT, so pay special attention
to the openers.
Paragraph 2
| Then there are the problems of cities located along the
major American rivers, not infrequently directly on the very flood plains
of highly erratic streams. In the arid parts of the land it has recently
become clear that climate varies over time, with irregular periods of serious
drought followed by wet periods marked by occasional floods. The problems
of land and water, then, are inherently difficult. For this reason alone,
shortcomings and failures have probably been inevitable. Moreover, in the
scale of the undertakings that have been attempted involving on occasion
no less than the reversal of stream flow and the altering of the natural
features of whole river basins, it is inevitable. |
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Main Idea: In addition to technology and irrigation problems,
there are others reasons that water management is a pain in the ass, including
climate control.
Tone: Same: didactic (lecturing), explanatory, impartial.
Relation to Preceding Paragraph: Last paragraph discussed some
problems in water management. This paragraph says “wait, there are more
problems”.
Why did the author include this paragraph?
He or she wants to make the case that water management stands out
from most other domestic policies as a major pain. The more problems
the author lists, the stronger his or her case.
What shift did the author have in mind in moving
on to this paragraph?
This is a shift in a list. Problems in water management include A, B, C, D. .
. . Last paragraph was technology and irrigation. This one is river cities and
climate change.
What bearing does this paragraph have on the main idea of the passage so far?
It develops the idea that water management poses complicated challenges. And it
provides more evidence to support the point.
Paragraph 3
| Nevertheless, the most startling fact about the history
of water projects in the United States is the degree to which their shortcomings
have been associated with administrative failures. Again and again these
shortcomings have proved to be the consequences of inadequate study of water
flow: of soil, of factors other than construction technology and of faulty
organization. In 1959, the Senate Select Committee on National Water resources
found that twenty different national commissions or committees charged with
examining these problems and seeking solutions had emphasized with remarkable
consistency the need for coordination among agencies dealing with water. |
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Main Idea: Despite other problems, biggest problem is administrative
(read: government) failure.
Tone: “Startling” fact, “Again and again”.
The author is clearly frustrated with the failure. He or she is critical of
the government.
Relation to Preceding Paragraph:
This paragraph takes a turn, but builds on the previous ones.
The other paragraphs laid out the typical descriptive issues you would
expect with water management—technology, irrigation, etc. This
paragraph begins to be more evaluative and persuasive: “Yes,
water management is tricky, but if the government were really doing
its job, we could handle it.”
Why did the author include this paragraph?
In this paragraph the author makes his or her central point. Turns
out the Big Idea is “there are lots of unavoidable problems
in water management, but the biggest problem of all is how incompetently
government deals with these problems.”
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What shift did the author have in mind in moving
on to this paragraph?
This is a shift from unavoidable environmental and technical problems
to avoidable, with the most distressing being the government’s
failure to deal with the problems. Now it turns out that the previous
two paragraphs were essentially background leading up to his or her
argument. In order to make his or her point about administrative failure,
the author had to first sketch out situation. And to look reasonable,
the author also had to acknowledge that water management is not a
piece of cake before proceeding to criticize the government for botching
it.
What bearing does this paragraph have on the main
idea of the passage so far?
This paragraph brings out the main idea.
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